Nonfiction

New Releases for May 2022!

By Karen Latchana Kenney on May 2, 2022 / Articles, Book Lists, Fiction, New Releases, Nonfiction

May brings a bounty of new middle grade books, fiction and nonfiction, covering many different perspectives and cross-cultural voices. Here is just a sampling of what’s new this month.

José and the Pirate Captain Toledano

by Arnon Z. Shorr (Author) Joshua M. Edelglass (Illustrator)

Set in the shadows of the Spanish Inquisition, this is the coming-of-age story of José Alfaro, a young refugee who forms a powerful bond with the mysterious Pirate Captain Toledano. It’s also a dynamic pirate adventure on the high seas, with hand-to-hand combat and ship-to-ship action, and the powerful story of a dark time in history when people took different paths to survive.

Rise of the School for Good and Evil

by Soman Chainani

The battle between Good and Evil begins. Two brothers. One Good. One Evil. Together they watch over the Endless Woods. Together they choose the students for the School for Good and Evil. Together they train them, teach them, prepare them for their fate. Then, something happens. Something unexpected. Something powerful. Something that will change everything and everyone. Who will survive? Who will rule the School? The journey starts here. Every step is filled with magic, surprises, and daring deeds that test courage, loyalty, and who you really are. But they only lead you to the very beginning of the adventures that are THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL.

The Lion of Mars

by Jennifer L. Holm

Life on Mars is pretty standard…. until a mysterious virus hits. Don’t miss this timely and unputdownable novel from the bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish.

Bell has spent his whole life–all eleven years of it–on Mars. But he’s still just a regular kid–he loves cats and any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don’t they have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It’s up to Bell–a regular kid in a very different world–to uncover the truth and save his family…and possibly unite an entire planet.

Small Town Pride

by Phil Stamper

Jake is just starting to enjoy life as his school’s first openly gay kid. While his family and friends are accepting and supportive, the same can’t be said about everyone in their small town of Barton Springs, Ohio.When Jake’s dad hangs a comically large pride flag in their front yard in an overblown show of love, the mayor begins to receive complaints. A few people are even concerned the flag will lead to something truly outlandish: a pride parade.

Except Jake doesn’t think that’s a ridiculous idea. Why can’t they hold a pride festival in Barton Springs? The problem is, Jake knows he’ll have to get approval from the town council, and the mayor won’t be on his side. And as Jake and his friends try to find a way to bring Pride to Barton Springs, it seems suspicious that the mayor’s son, Brett, suddenly wants to spend time with Jake. But someone that cute couldn’t possibly be in league with his mayoral mother, could he?

Kings of B’more

by R. Eric Thomas

Two Black queer best friends face their last day together with an epic journey through Baltimore in this magnetic YA debut by bestselling author of Here for It R. Eric Thomas. With junior year starting in the fall, Harrison feels like he’s on the precipice of, well, everything. Standardized testing, college, and the terrifying unknowns and looming pressures of adulthood after that—it’s like the future wants to eat him alive. Which is why Harrison is grateful that he and his best friend, Linus, will face these things together. But at the end of a shift at their summer job, Linus invites Harrison to their special spot overlooking the city to deliver devastating news: He’s moving out of state at the end of the week.

To keep from completely losing it—and partially inspired by a cheesy movie-night pick by his Dad—Harrison plans a send-off à la Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that’s worthy of his favorite person. If they won’t be having all the life-expanding experiences they thought they would, Harrison will squeeze them all into their last day together. They end up on a mini road trip, their first Pride, and a rooftop dance party, all while keeping their respective parents, who track them on a family location app, off their trail. Harrison and Linus make a pact to do all the things—big and small—they’ve been too scared to do. But nothing feels scarier than saying goodbye to someone you love.

Singing with Elephants

by Margarita Engle

A powerful novel in verse from Newbery and Pura Belpré Award-winning author Margarita Engle about the friendship between a young girl and the poet Gabriela Mistral that leads to healing and hope for both of them. Cuban-born eleven-year-old Oriol lives in Santa Barbara, California, where she struggles to belong. But most of the time that’s okay, because she enjoys helping her parents care for the many injured animals at their veterinary clinic. Then Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature, moves to town, and aspiring writer Oriol finds herself opening up. As she begins to create a world of words for herself, Oriol learns it will take courage to stay true to herself and do what she thinks is right–attempting to rescue a baby elephant in need–even if it means keeping secrets from those she loves. A beautifully written, lyrically told story about the power of friendship– between generations, between humans and animals–and the potential of poetry to inspire action and acceptance.

This Is My America

by Kim Johnson

The Hate U Give meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting first novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system. Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time–her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a “thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town’s racist history that still haunt the present?

History Comics: The National Parks: Preserving America’s Wild Places

by Falynn Koch

In this volume, turn back the clock to 1872, when Congress established Yellowstone National Park as an area of unspoiled beauty for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. Meet the visionaries, artists, and lovers of the American wilderness who fought against corruption and self-interest to carve out and protect these spaces for future generations. See for yourself how the idea of National Parks began, how they’ve changed, and how they continue to define America.

Made in Korea

by Sarah Suk

Frankly in Love meets Shark Tank in this feel-good romantic comedy about two entrepreneurial Korean American teens who butt heads–and maybe fall in love–while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.

There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.

Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity–one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover… What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school–all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for. But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.

The Peach Rebellion

by Wendelin Van Draanen

From the author of The Running Dream comes a heart-swelling historical tale of friendship, family, and the power of sisterhood to help heal the wounds of the past and step boldly into the future.

Ginny Rose and Peggy were best friends at seven, picking peaches on hot summer days. Peggy’s family owned the farm, and Ginny Rose’s were pickers, escaping the Oklahoma dust storms. That didn’t matter to them then, but now, ten years, hard miles, and a world war later, Ginny Rose’s family is back in town and their differences feel somehow starker. Especially since Peggy’s new best friend, Lisette, is a wealthy banker’s daughter. Still, there’s no denying what all three girls have in common: Families with great fissures that are about to break wide open. And a determination to not just accept things as they are anymore. This summer they will each make a stand. It’s a season of secrets revealed. Of daring plans to heal old wounds. Of hearts won and hearts broken. A summer when everything changes because you’re seventeen, and it’s time to be bold. And because it’s easier to be brave with a true friend by your side.

Land of the Cranes

by Aida Salazar

From the prolific author of The Moon Within comes the heart-wrenchingly beautiful story in verse of a young Latinx girl who learns to hold on to hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees.

Nine-year-old Betita knows she is a crane. Papi has told her the story, even before her family fled to Los Angeles to seek refuge from cartel wars in Mexico. The Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan, what is now the Southwest US, called the land of the cranes. They left Aztlan to establish their great city in the center of the universe-Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City. It was prophesized that their people would one day return to live among the cranes in their promised land. Papi tells Betita that they are cranes that have come home.

Then one day, Betita’s beloved father is arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to Mexico. Betita and her pregnant mother are left behind on their own, but soon they too are detained and must learn to survive in a family detention camp outside of Los Angeles. Even in cruel and inhumane conditions, Betita finds heart in her own poetry and in the community she and her mother find in the camp. The voices of her fellow asylum seekers fly above the hatred keeping them caged, but each day threatens to tear them down lower than they ever thought they could be. Will Betita and her family ever be whole again?

Hope you enjoy these and the many other middle grade books releasing in May! Happy reading . . .

Diversity in MG Lit #34 March 2022

By Rosanne Parry on March 16, 2022 / Articles, Book Lists, Diversity, Fiction, Nonfiction

I’ve heard some interesting predictions in a recent Publisher’s Weekly article about how 2022 is going for children’s publishing. Ongoing concerns about the price of paper and shipping are somewhat concerning. Continuing strong sales for MG books are again encouraging. But here’s the item that really caught my eye. For the first time ever at Scholastic they will have a year (in2023) with more than 50% of their titles from diverse creators and about diverse topics. The promotion of these books will begin in 2022 and the effects, I think, will resonate long beyond this watershed moment. I know how hard booksellers and librarians and agents and editors at every publishing house have worked to make increased diversity possible. I’m so proud of how far we’ve come in making the face of children’s book writing resemble the faces of the children we serve more closely.

Here’s a roundup of some of the diverse books coming out in March.

First up, something for the younger end of MG readers. Just a Girl by Lia Levi is the translated memoir of a Jewish Italian girl who lived through the Holocaust. I think it makes a good introduction for the youngest readers. The author writes of her childhood with great tenderness as if she is speaking to her own grandchildren. She is careful at tense moments to assure the young reader that even with the discrimination, the loss of rights and jobs and home for Jewish people, things will turn out alright for Lia and her sisters and parents. They move many times to escape the Nazis. In the end they take shelter in a convent where she learns not only to receive the compassion of others but to find that well of compassion within herself. Many illustrations and an album of family photos round out this wartime memoir.

Two novels in verse for March

Alias Anna: a true story of outwitting the Nazis by Susan Hood and Greg Dawson. Memorably set in WWII Ukraine and then Germany, this is the story of two sisters who used their talent playing the piano to escape her parent’s fate. They hid in plain sight as a students in a prestigious German music school. One of the authors is the son of the main character Zhanna Arshanskaya. The book includes family photographs, an afterward about how the story Zhanna had kept secret for decades came to light, a list of the music she and her sister played, the role music played in WWII and lots of source notes. Current events in Ukraine should make this a story of particular interest.

Wave by Dian Farid with art by Kris Goto is set in California in the 1980s. It tells the story about 13 year old Persian American girl with OCD who finds refuge in a surfing and Rumi poetry and her best friend Phoenix.

Two graphic novels for March

The Aquanaut by Dan Santat is at first glance a zany, fanciful story about what happens when a group of sea creatures figure out how to animate an old diving suit and come ashore in search of a new home. It is also a story of faithfulness to family and finding (or reclaiming) your true calling. Young eco-warriors will find lots to cheer for. And anyone who is trying to hold it all together in the face of great loss will find a heartfelt message of redemption–all wrapped up in vivid panels of Santat’s warm and energetic illustrations. On a personal note, I was an avid fan of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and I was delighted to spy a few tributes to Cousteau in the artwork.

Wingbearer by Marjorie Liu & eny Aida Issakhanian is another story for animal-lovers. In it Zuli is raised in a magical tree that shelters the spirits of birds waiting to be reborn. When the tree is threatened Zuli and her owl companion go on a quest to save the souls of birds.

I am a huge fan of the MG picture book.

Blue: a history of the color as deep as the sea and as wide as the sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, illustrated by Daniel Minter. The history of where blue dye and paint came from is rich and fascinating and often cruel. Natural blue paints and dyes were hard to make and highly prized. I was fascinated to learn about the lengths people went to get the color blue. A perfect mix of science and history.

The Angel of Santo Tomas: the story of Fe Del Mundo by Tammy Yee. Here is a small press gem from Tumblehouse. The story of WWII in the Philippines is one I’ve not seen in literature for children. A remarkable young Filipina doctor left her comfortable medical practice in the US to serve her home country. She spent the war years taking care of children in an internment camp in Santo Tomas.

March Debuts

With the number of diverse books for MG readers growing dramatically, I’m going to try to focus more on debut titles. One such novel is Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence by Sonja Thomas. Unabashed science nerd Mira Williams faces a summer of navigating new territory without her best friend at her side. Whether it’s dealing with changes in employment for her parents, a science fair rival or the mysterious illness of her beloved cat, Mira learns the value of tenacity.

Finally here are 5 contemporary MG novels from veteran writers Kelly Yang, Naomi Shihab Nye, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Ernesto Cisneros.

Those Kids from Fawn Creek by Erin Entrada Kelly

The Turtle of Michigan by Naomi Shihab Nye

New from Here by Kelly Yang

Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros

Diversity in MG #32 January 2022.

By Rosanne Parry on February 17, 2022 / Articles, Book Lists, Diversity, Fiction, Nonfiction

Hello Mixed Up Files friends. I’m so happy to step into the new year spreading the word about all the new diverse books for MG readers. I’ll begin with three nonfiction books that came out last fall and end with some new fiction.

Threads of Peace: how Mohandas Ghandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Changed the World by Uma Krishnaswami is a dual biography of two great leaders in non-violent resistance. I appreciate very much how the flow of history is presented. It points out similarities and differences between British-ruled India and the Jim Crow South. We see how each man developed their ideas about non-violent resistance to tyranny over many years and much study. Teachers will be glad to see lots of source notes, maps, a glossary and timelines. Readers will appreciate the many historical photographs and the lively writing. Perfect for middle school and high school history classes and also a great book club choice for church youth groups.

Black Birds in the Sky: the story and legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert is a detailed account of the destruction of a thriving Black community in Oklahoma. It describes how black families in the Greenwood district of Tulsa became so economically successful. It highlights notable people of the era such as Ida B Wells-Barnett. (happy side note: my local public high school changed its name from Woodrow Willson High to Ida B. Wells High) This title is generally shelved with the YA titles and is best suited to older middle grade readers.

I’m a big folktale fan. The graphic novel BlancaFlor: the hero with secret powers, a folk tale

from Latin America by Nadja Spiegelman & Sergio García Sánchez was right up my alley. The art is energetic and whimsical. The story, everything you want in a folktale. It is billed as a feminist leaning story but I found BlancaFlor a tad too self effacing to claim that crown. She is stuck between a prince in desperate want of her magic powers and a family admonishing her not to show off–familiar ground for many mortal girls and women. There is also a Spanish edition of this title and it is from the same publisher who created Black Heros of the Wild West. I’m looking forward to many more diverse graphic novels in their future. (TOON 2021)

I wish Annie Blooms (the bookstore where I work) had a manifesto section. Aint Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, art by Jason Griffin, would be its star title. It’s a short but powerful reflection on breathing. A timely topic but also an evergreen one given the rates of asthma in inner city children and emphysema in minority adults. I think the book will speak deeply to MG and YA readers. It’s best value though is in the implicit encouragement to write and illustrate a manifesto of your own. (Atheneum 2022)

I have a suspicion that while many aspects of everyday racism are the same as always, there is an increase in that particularly pernicious entitlement nonsense. “You only got …insert impressive achievement here…because you are a minority.” Ugh! This is exactly the territory Waka T Brown covers in her novel Dream, Annie, Dream. Seventh grader Annie Inoue lands a lead in the middle school musical The King and I only to hear from classmates that she only got the part because she’s Asian. Her hard won self confidence unfolds beautifully. A solid follow up to Brown’s debut While I Was Away. (QuillTree 2022)

Nonfiction

New Releases for May 2022!

José and the Pirate Captain Toledano

by Arnon Z. Shorr (Author) Joshua M. Edelglass (Illustrator)