Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY by Roald Dahl

This book is a classic and I was thrilled to read it again this week. When I’m working on a middle grade project, I like to spice up my reading with both new books and books I loved from my childhood. Roald Dahl was/is my favorite author (him and Stephen King), and I figure when […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Note: This week’s book is actually edgy YA and it is filled with adult language and adult content. It is absolutely not appropriate for younger readers and adults should view it as the equivalent of an ‘R’ rated movie. Click here to read an interview with author Kody Keplinger! All right, one more again for […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book Review: THE GLOBAL WARMING EXPRESS by Marina Weber

First Paragraph(s): On a warm, sunny spring afternoon at the Penguin Burial Ground on the shore of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, a young emperor penguin named The Fluff wept for his mother. She had died after swallowing a piece of plastic floating in the ocean After the funeral, his colony offered their sympathies and departed, leaving […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book Review: MADE YOU UP by Francesca Zappia

WARNING: This week’s book is actually edgy YA and it is filled with adult content. It is absolutely not appropriate for younger readers and adults should view it as the equivalent of an ‘R’ rated movie. First Paragraph(s): If I was good at the grocery store, I got a Yoo-hoo. If I was really good, I […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: NIGHTSHADE CITY by Hilary Wagner

I should probably take a stab at a providing a summary of the book without giving too much away. Except one of the things I love about what Hilary does in Nightshade City is that she avoids scenes of direct exposition. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K, Esteemed Reader, so to speak. There’s […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book Review: STORYBOUND by Marissa Burt

First Paragraph: Una often told herself that she was invisible. Perhaps that was the reason people passed her in the halls, their eyes skimming over her slight form as if she were part of the scenery: a desk, a book, a classroom, a girl. It could also be the reason why Ms. McDonough, perched on her […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Book of the Week: WINDBLOWNE by Stephen Messer

Do you like kites, Esteemed Reader? If I were to say to you: “let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest height. Let’s go, let’s go—” Okay, I’ll stop now. But honestly, I love kite flying on a good windy day in the fall. I realize we’re almost out of those and no one […]

Middle Grade Ninja: The Greatest Idea for a Movie Ever

This kept me laughing hard this morning:

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Finding My Story’s Voice(s)” by Tracey Hecht

When I was a child I loved the Roald Dahl books. They made me laugh, used interesting language, and though they possessed characters unlike the people I knew in ‘real’ life, felt very believable to me. I can almost remember which Dahl books I read where in my house and at what stages during my […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Middle Grade Fiction Opened Another Way to Connect With My Kids” by Emilio Iasiello

I have been engaged in the craft of creative writing since I was in grade school, writing a weekly series for the mimeographed school “paper.” The stories were adventure-based with over-the-top characters engaged in action-packed heroics as they fought the bad guys and suffered knocks along the way. I knew I was on to something […]

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