by Phyllis | Jul 1, 2020 | Book reviews
Jason Reynolds’ award-winning middle-grade novel Ghost tells the story of a boy who joins a track team. But he’s not just any boy; he’s one who, three years ago,ran for his life from his father. He’s the one whose mother, struggling to work and...
by Phyllis | Jun 3, 2020 | Book reviews, Middle-grade voice example
Sometimes I stray from my core mission of reviewing middle grade novels. This novel is almost a middle-grade novel. After all, its narrator is twelve, perfect for middle grade. But the real protagonist is thirteen or fourteen, a boy who’s already lived enough...
by Phyllis | May 28, 2020 | Phyllis Wheeler's Books
Elk Lake Publishing will be publishing a book of mine in about a year, I’m happy to announce. The book, a middle-grade novel, features time travel. I’m not going to tell you anything more about it right now. Sign up for my occasional newsletter if you want...
by Phyllis | May 18, 2020 | Book reviews
In this young-adult book, Kia, a shy biracial kid whose issues usually keep her hiding in the shadows, is just entering high school. When a cool new coach shows up, she decides to join the track team. Turns out she’s good at it, because she’s been working on the new...
by Phyllis | Apr 7, 2020 | Book reviews
Picture book biographies are coming into their own lately, aimed at young kids and also older ones who can look at the notes in the back. Here’s a truly notable book, set apart by its amazing illustrations and its jewel-toned prose. Sojourner Truth was a woman...
by Phyllis | Apr 1, 2020 | Book reviews, Middle-grade voice example
Middle-grade voice involves a (usually) sassy or joking twelve-year-old who’s finding himself or herself in a pickle and agonizing about it in a very funny way. It’s unique to middle grade books, as far as I can tell. I’ve talked about it before, and...
by Phyllis | Mar 12, 2020 | Book reviews
Rob Currie’s debut middle grade novel, Hunger Winter, tells a suspenseful tale of brave kids in World-War-II Holland. After a neighbor bangs on their door late at night, Dirk must grab his six-year-old sister and flee from the Nazi secret police into the Dutch...
by Phyllis | Feb 4, 2020 | Book reviews
I know I said I’d be reviewing middle grade books on this blog, but this picture book is just too irresistible. Can YOU roar like a dandelion? How is that, exactly, roaring like a dandelion? This is an ABC book by Ruth Krauss, a widely known children’s...
by Phyllis | Jan 21, 2020 | Book reviews
Andrew Peterson’s middle-grade Wingfeather series that started out as an amusing tale full of rollicking names moves to epic scope along the way. In this fourth book, The Warden and the Wolf King (2014), it builds to a mighty conclusion full of heroic deeds....
