Middle Grade Readers Archives - Page 20 of 39

The Bird King: an artist’s notebook by Shaun Tan

08 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Whenever I open a Shaun Tan book, my face just gets a goofy grin. It's a Pavlovian reaction, guaranteed. Although his latest doesn't come with a straightforward narrative, it does manage to cleverly include tidbits and reminiscences from his entire oeuvre to create a whimsical portrait...

Wandering Son (vol. 3) by Shimura Takako, translated by Matt Thorn

01 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Shimura Takako, a well-established manga artist recognized for her LGBT focus, continues her gender-bender series with sensitive honesty. That said, don't let the sweet, fuzzy cover fool you: Shimura knows well that protecting her two wide-eyed protagonists from their less-than-understanding peers will become less and...

Jefferson’s Sons: A Founding Father’s Secret Children by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

29 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Let me start with what has been deemed as historical record. According to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation – which not only owns and operates Jefferson's legendary home, Monticello, but maintains the most comprehensive website focused on "Monticello, Jefferson, his family, and his times" – this is the official...

Prophecy [Book 1 of Prophecy Series] by Ellen Oh + Author Interview [in Bookslut]

07 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Korean, Korean American, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Young Adult Readers

As the mother of three young girls, Ellen Oh is constantly on the lookout for good books that showcase female empowerment. She's found a few here and there – say, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson, The Hero and the...

Mimi’s Village: And How Basic Health Care Transformed It by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

18 Dec, by SIBookDragon in African, Canadian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

When Mimi and her little sister Nakkissi go to fetch the family's water from the stream one hot day, Mimi does something she knows she shouldn't: she realizes that tired Nakkissi can't walk all the way home without a drink, so she gives her "two handfuls...

I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 by Lauren Tashis, illustrated by Scott Dawson

07 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Hawaiian, Japanese American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

Today – December 7, 2012 – is the 71st anniversary of the "date which will live in infamy," as named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in describing the assault on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base and launching the United States into World War II. That the attackers...

Captain Long Ears by Diana Thung

02 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Indonesian, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

So enthralled by Diana Thung's August Moon earlier this week, I immediately ordered Captain (her first and only other title thus far), and was delightfully tickled to find a blurb on the back cover from Gene Luen Yang (of first-ever National Book Award graphic novel finalist-fame for American Born Chinese): "Goofy and endearing...

Escape to Gold Mountain: A Graphic History of the Chinese in North America by David H.T. Wong

30 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Canadian eco-architect David H.T. Wong's debut defies simple categorization: while clearly a graphic work for younger readers (much of the language is soooo totally tweenage vernacular), Escape covers some 200 years of history through the fictional story of a Chinese Canadian American family, also named Wong, whose experiences...

August Moon by Diana Thung

28 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Indonesian, Middle Grade Readers, Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

Get ready for surreal delight. When a mysterious creature with an imbedded bullet turns up, Fi and her scientist father head to the town of Calico – linked "to the rest of the country! and the world!" by a single bridge. They'll be staying with Fi's Uncle...

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees by Deborah Ellis

24 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Canadian, Iraqi, Middle Eastern, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Bestselling Canadian anti-war activist Deborah Ellis’s four nonfiction titles (thus far) for younger readers should be bundled together and sent to every policymaker throughout the world. Two of those four, Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely through a Never-Ending War and Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak, give voice to children living...

Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu and Andrés Vera Martínez

21 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Chinese, Chinese American, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Latina/o/x, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction

Little White Duck is a visual feast that showcases the childhood memories of author Na Liu, and vibrantly enhanced by her artist husband Andrés Vera Martínez. Liu introduces herself with an adorably grinning "Ni Hao!," explaining that she was born in Zhifang, a suburb of...

Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak by Deborah Ellis

18 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Canadian, Israeli, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Palestinian, Young Adult Readers

Given the latest headlines in the Middle East, this seems to be the perfect time for another Deborah Ellis title. Best known for her Breadwinner Trilogy (The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey, and Mud City) which became a tetralogy this fall with My Name is Parvana, Ellis is an...

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui, translated by David Karashima

01 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Déjà vu: If the title seems at all familiar to you even though the book's U.S. pub date happened this fall, don't be surprised because you've probably, already seen various iterations of the story on other multiple platforms. While this is the original 1967 bestselling...

Horrible Hauntings: An Augmented Reality Collection of Ghosts and Ghouls by Shirin Yim Bridges, illustrated by William Maughan

31 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction

With post-Frankenstorm horrors looming for large portions of the East Coast (my baby brother and his wife's downtown NYC building was submerged in 20 feet of water, and they've been told they can't get back in for at least three weeks ...

Stories 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 by Eugène Ionesco, illustrated and translated by Etienne Delessert

24 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, European, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Short Stories, Translation

How strange to admit that Dave Eggers taught me Eugène Ionesco – Mr. Theatre of the Absurd himself – wrote kiddie stories in addition to his dozens of plays (Rhinoceros, The Chairs, The Bald Soprano, being some of his signature pieces). Eggers founded McSweeney's which recently debuted McMullens,...

The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames | Njinga: “The Warrior Queen” by Janie Havemeyer, illustrated by Peter Malone

21 Oct, by SIBookDragon in African, Biography, Children/Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction

Those Dastardly Dames are increasing their fold (yippeee!), this time to welcome a 16th-century West African queen named Njinga, meaning "twist," because she was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck! She certainly found her fighting spirit early on: as the eldest daughter...

The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses | Sacajawea of the Shoshone by Natasha Yim, illustrated by Albert Nguyen

20 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Middle Grade Readers, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Nonfiction

Girl-powered Goosebottom Books expands both their Thinking Girl's Treasuries of Real Princesses and Dastardly Dames this month. After nearly paralyzing herself writing the first six royal titles, Head Goose Shirin Yim Bridges swore she would get some help as the series grew. True to her...

That Night’s Train by Ahmad Akbarpour, translated by Majid Saghafi, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

13 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Iranian, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Banafsheh, a blue-eyed little girl aged 5, is traveling with her grandmother one night on a train, and notices a young woman sitting across from them reading a book. "If my mother were alive, she would be reading a book, too," she thinks longingly to...

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

12 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Since Brian Selznick’s remarkable Wonderstruck has been out for almost a year, this may be rather old news for you. However, if, like me, you're crawling out from that comfy rock and need an unforgettable fix to take back under, here's your perfect next choice. Oh,...

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

11 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers

Every once in a while, being formulaic can produce splendid results. Take Grace Lin's 2010 Newbery Honor book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – what made it so successful? Spunky, independent-minded young characters, intricately layered storytelling within the story, and, of course, Lin's signature whimsical, illuminating illustrations. Lin's latest has all...

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