Read below to find our staff picks for October 2023 and learn more about these must-reads!
Learn more about these staff picks →Tag: Middle Grade
MacKids Spotlight: Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson
This month’s Author Spotlight highlights Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson, the author of Eagle Drums, a magical realistic middle grade debut about the origin story of the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Alaskan tradition.
Discover More about Rainey Hopson and Eagle DrumsDiscussion Guide: Eagle Drums
Discussion Guide: Eagle Drums
Eagle Drums
By Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson
Ages 8-12
On Sale Now!
A magical realistic middle grade debut about the origin story of the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Alaskan tradition.
As his family prepares for winter, a young, skilled hunter must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping—the same mountain where his two older brothers died.
When he reaches the mountaintop, he is immediately confronted by a terrifying eagle god named Savik. Savik gives the boy a choice: follow me or die like your brothers.
What comes next is a harrowing journey to the home of the eagle gods and unexpected lessons on the natural world, the past that shapes us, and the community that binds us.
Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson is part cultural folklore, part origin myth about the Messenger’s Feast – which is still celebrated in times of bounty among the Iñupiaq. It’s the story of how Iñupiaq people were given the gift of music, song, dance, community, and everlasting tradition.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EAGLE DRUMS HERE →Discussion Guide: Gone Wolf by Amber McBride
Discussion Guide: Gone Wolf by Amber McBride
Gone Wolf
By Amber McBride
Ages 10-14
On Sale 10/03/23!
In middle-grade debut, Gone Wolf, award-winning author Amber McBride lays bare the fears of being young and Black in America.
In the future, a Black girl known only as Inmate Eleven is kept confined — to be used as a biological match for the president’s son, should he fall ill. She is called a Blue — the color of sadness. She lives in a small-small room with her dog, who is going wolf more often – he’s pacing and imagining he’s free. Inmate Eleven wants to go wolf too—she wants to know why she feels so Blue and what is beyond her small-small room.
In the present, Imogen lives outside of Washington DC. The pandemic has distanced her from everyone but her mother and her therapist. Imogen has intense phobias and nightmares of confinement. Her two older brothers used to help her, but now she’s on her own, until a college student helps her see the difference between being Blue and sad, and Black and empowered.
In this symphony of a novel, award-winning author Amber McBride lays bare the fears of being young and Black in America, and empowers readers to remember their voices and stories are important, especially when they feel the need to go wolf.
DOWNLOAD THE Gone Wolf DISCUSSION GUIDE HERE →Thrilling and Chilling Reads for Halloween & Beyond! 2023
Looking for books that will send a chill down your spine? Or a sweet Halloween treat for young readers? Whatever floats your ghost, this book list will get readers in the Halloween spirit!
Discover more spooky stories →Latinx Voices for Kids & Teens
Looking for recommendations for books by Latinx authors? We’ve got you covered! Keep reading to discover new books and revisit your favorites! Plus, download our Latinx Voices catalog and watch our book buzz!
Discover Latinx Voices for kids and teens here →Staff Picks – September 2023
Read below to find our staff picks for September 2023 and learn more about these must-reads!
Learn more about these staff picks →Graphic Novel Preview: Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham
Graphic Novel Preview: Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham
Our Graphic Novel Preview series invites readers to look inside graphic novels. This month, we’re highlighting the heartwarming young adult graphic novel Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham, out January 9th.
Look inside Lunar New Year Love Story →MacKids Spotlight: Christina Wyman
This month’s Author Spotlight highlights Christina Wyman, the author of Jawbreaker, a refreshingly honest middle-grade debut novel about toxic sibling rivalry, socioeconomic disparity, and dental drama.
Discover More about JawbreakerMy Life Series Educator’s Guide
Janet and Jake Tashjian’s award-winning My Life series, praised by Kirkus Reviews as “a kinder, gentler Wimpy Kid with all the fun”, follows the coming-of-age misadventures of middle-grader Derek Fallon in school and through his attempts to follow his bliss as a cartoonist, video gamer, stuntboy, and ninja. Hilarious and uplifting, young readers will find themselves relating to Derek’s problems and inspired by his solutions.
Learn more about how to use the My Life series in the classroom and bring these activities to life for each book in the series in this new educator guide!