Middle Grade Readers Archives - Page 11 of 39

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle

17 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Caribbean American, Cuban, Cuban American, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Poetry, Verse Novel/Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Exactly a year ago today, POTUS and Cuba's President Raúl Castro announced a joint agreement reestablishing relations between two countries that have maintained a complicated half-century plus of separation. Released December 17, 2014, the official Cuba Policy Changes have made the island nation quite the destination of...

Ling & Ting: Together in All Weather by Grace Lin

02 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers

Grace Lin’s 'not exactly the same’-twins debuted in 2010, then 'shared a birthday’ a couple of years later, and had 'twice as silly’ adventures together. Five years since they arrived on bookshelves everywhere, they're still Together in All Weather – and yes, they're as whimsically captivating as...

Moon Bear by Gill Lewis, illustrated by Alessandro Gottardo

23 Nov, by SIBookDragon in British, Fiction, Laotian, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

I'm warning you right up front: get the tissues ready. A tweenage boy forced to live away from his family just after his father's death, a baby bear who has lost his mother, evil-doers bent on suffering and destruction, complicit everyday people made desperate by circumstances – yes, Moon...

Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart [in Booklist]

18 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW Says a grateful admirer to Joseph and his unlikely traveling companion, “You boys. You got some kind of courage.” In the Wild West of 1890 Washington State, Joseph, not yet 13, has lost his mother and sister to typhoid and his father to a...

BOOK: My Autobiography transcribed by John Agard, illustrated by Neil Parker

12 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Biography, British, Caribbean, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Oh, oh, oh. What a perceptive, thoughtful, gorgeous gift are these pages. Yes, if books have a soul, this would be it – not to mention history, context, and universal appeal bound in as well. Guyanese British poet/playwright/children's writer John Agard 'transcribes' the story of Book over the centuries and...

There Is No Right Way to Meditate and Other Lessons by Yumi Sakugawa

06 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Japanese American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Google "meditation health benefits" pretty much any time and you'll always get news articles just a few hours old touting improved mind/body results. We've all seen the headlines, heard about the latest reports, and yet SOME of us remain stubbornly resistant, especially those concerned about...

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin [in School Library Journal]

05 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW Suzy and Franny met in a pool back when "making a friend, and having one, seem[ed] like the easiest thing in the world." But just before seventh grade, Franny – who could already swim underwater at age 5 – is dead by drowning. Smart, logical, full-of-facts...

Husky by Justin Sayre [in School Library Journal]

04 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Young Adult Readers

Davis knows that every kid will "get boiled down to only one adjective…. It's decided. There. Permanent." Among his closest friends, Ellen is Mean, while Sophie is Pretty. Davis is "the Fat one, but everyone calls [him] husky." He hopes to escape his adjective, but being...

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy [in School Library Journal]

03 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW "The word fat makes some people uncomfortable," Willowdean Dickson remarks. Called Dumplin’ by her mother, Will insists that fat is "not an insult." She's comfortably self-aware, buoyed by her late aunt, whom she still deeply mourns, and her picture-perfect best friend. When she introduces herself...

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon [in School Library Journal]

02 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Black/African American, Caribbean American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Japanese American, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW Nicola Yoon’s superb debut begins and ends with books. Stories are how 18-year-old Madeline has survived with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency – "you know it as 'bubble baby disease’" – in her sanitized world that includes only her doctor mother and a nurse. She's been content...

The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984 by Riad Sattouf, translated by Sam Taylor

30 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Arab, European, French, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction

By 2, he knew he was "perfect." The toddler Riad with his "[l]ong, thick, silky, platinum-blonde hair," might have been "awake for only a few hours a day, but it was enough: when it came to living, [he] was a natural." And so begins the first...

The House that Sonabai Built by Vishakha Chanchani, photographs by Stephen P. Huyler

29 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Children/Picture Books, Indian, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, South Asian

Married at 14 to a much older man, Sonabai spent the first decade of wifehood cooking and cleaning for her demanding in-laws. When the couple moved to a tiny village to be on their own, Sonabai had far less to do, but she became a prisoner in her...

My Name Is Arnaktauyok: The Life and Art of Germaine Arnaktauyok by Germaine Arnaktauyok and Gyu Oh

28 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Canadian, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Her name alone is imbued with such meaningful history. She was called Arnaktauyok by her mother, in accordance with a request made by a blind woman who took care of her motherless mother, who insisted a baby with such a name "would have very good eyes." That...

Once Upon a Time in Japan, translated by Roger Pulvers and Juliet Winters Carpenter, illustrated by Manami Yamada, Tomonori Taniguchi, Nao Takabatake, and Takumi Nishio

21 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Short Stories, Translation

A "cheapskate" who longs for a wife who will work hard but never eat, a greedy young man who attempts to steal his brother's good fortune, a magic "hood" that allows the wearer to understand animals, a boy whose nap lasts three years, a wily fox who...

For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai’s Story by Rebecca Langston-George, illustrated by Janna Bock

12 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Children/Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Pakistani

As deemed in 2011 by the United Nations, October 11 is the International Day of the Girl. BookDragon is officially whoo-hooo-ing a day later (although I'm all for every day being IDG anyway!). Perhaps the world's most recognized 'girl' is Malala Yousafzai who, at 15, was shot three times...

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

05 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, British, Children/Picture Books, European, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Wonderstruck. I know, I know – that's the title of Brian Selznick’s previous jaw-dropping accomplishment on the page ...

The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home (Part 1) by Konami Kanata, translated by Ed Chavez

25 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation

Who can resist a lost little kitten? Furry-friendlies unite: this adorable black-grey-and-white fluff-bundle will set your heart all aflutter. Wandering out with Mommy Cat and two siblings, this little one gets lost. She's woofed at by a dog (thankfully leashed), and narrowly misses getting run over...

Secret Coders (Volume 1) by Gene Luen Yang & Mike Holmes

18 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Black/African American, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hapa/Mixed-race, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

"Listen. I'm going to tell you a story -- " Well, of course, if two-time National Book Award finalist (third time will be the charm!) Gene Luen Yang is involved with the explicating, you're going to listen, and listen well. This former high school computer science...

Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir by Maggie Thrash

16 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

At 17, Maggie Thrash and her mother are visiting her brother in New Mexico where he's attending college. "I don't approve of your running off with this person you haven't seen in two years," her mother admonishes her, while her brother deadpans a "I'm bitterly...

Colossal Paper Machines created by Phil Conigliaro, text by Theo Baker

07 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Labor Day already? How about some working fun – literally??!! The directions are right on the cover: pop out, fold, glue. It really is that straight-forward to create these "10 giants models that move!" They're not exaggerating on size: the book alone is a few pounds of heavy...

BookDragon Middle Grade Readers