At a school talk I gave last month, I asked students to tell me their thorniest writing problems. What made writing hard for them? Was there anything I could do to help? One student told me that she loved writing but always had trouble starting: She struggled to find what to write about. She had… Read more »
February 2019
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This month, whenever I can, I`m going to share a #MgLit read that I loved, and that I think a lot of other people would love too.
My first is DEEPHAVEN, written and illustrated by Ethan M. Aldridge. A very real and vulnerable non-binary protagonist stars in this tale of a school with a sinister secret.
Guinevere Tallow (known as Nev), the child of an absent mom and a dad in jail for his latest get-rich-quick scheme, accepts a mysterious school`s invitation to become a student, hoping to find a home. When Nev arrives at Deephaven, the mystery sweeps in with the tall, pale, and strangely predatory Patience Sleepwell, one of the prefects. She`s not the only mysterious and likely sinister character Nev encounters, though there are "normal" students, like Danny, a fencer, who becomes Nev`s best friend. It`s not before long that the two come face-to-face with the biggest mystery of Deephaven: a monster they encounter when all the first year students are locked in the wing where a student died. It`s soon clear that there is sinister magic afoot, and this monster is at the heart of it. Thank goodness Nev has an engineer`s meticulous mind, as well pockets full of interesting bits and bobs thanks to their self-described "magpie" tendencies.
Aldridge`s beautifully creepy illustrations add depth to important scenes. Short yet focused, this marvelous, empowering tale will be a treasure in middle school libraries and will keep readers hooked—especially kids who don`t feel they belong.
#ContemporaryMiddleGrade #MiddleGradeFantasy #LGBTQIA #MagicRealism #MiddleGradeBooks #BooksBooksBooks #RecommendedReading
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Each December, I make pepparkakor, Swedish gingerbread spice cookies, as part of our celebration of winter, darkness, and the year`s end. (Yes, those are hippos, along with the people and the round classic shapes.) When my son was little, we`d make these together every year. These days, it`s just me, and I do just a little (and it`s not the neatest bake), but oh, my, are those good. This recipe has a massive amount of spices (a full teaspoon each ginger, cinnamon, and cloves), which make each crispy bite utterly delicious.
#pepparkakor #SwedishBaking #DecemberBakes #cookies
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Articles
- The New York Times: “Young Heroines Who Are Saviors, Not Saints”
- Brightly: “Unexpected Paths: Encouraging Middle Grade Readers to Look Beyond the Obvious”
- School Library Journal: “Hearing Their Voices: Supporting Female Empowerment in Middle Grade Fiction for Tweens and Teens”
- MG Book Village: “My Audience”
- MG at Heart Writers’ Toolbox: “Using Imagined Conversations to Draw Character Relationships”