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A sweet middle grade graphic novel about a Taiwanese girl living in Seattle who enters a cooking competition in hopes of winning enough money to bring her grandmother (a-ma) to the US for her birthday.

Paperback

A funny middle grade novel with a grandpa who has been aged-back thanks to science to be in middle school again. There’s a science fair, and experiments that go very wrong...or maybe more right than they ever imagined.

Hardback

I mention this book when talking about Before We Were Yours...both involve children being taken from their families to be put up for adoption in unjust ways.

Paperback

A heartbreaking and riveting historical fiction based on true events. Kids are taken from their poor families in TN and put up for adoption to rich families. (Lots of trigger warnings for this one - the biggest is child abuse / mistreatment, but there's more)

Hardback

I mention this book when talking about Beyond The Bright Sea...both are set on islands in historical settings

Paperback

I read this for Carolyn Chaffin's middle-grade book club on instagram (it's the book for May) and it's a really beautiful, quiet historical fiction novel about a girl searching for her identity. When she was a baby she was set adrift in a small boat and found by the man who's been raising her. She's on the quest to find out more about her birth parents. A beautiful story.

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A steampunk fantasy graphic novel about a girl who disguises herself as a newsboy, and the inventor and strange young man she meets. Secrets lay around every corner and all is not as it seems. A great first book...now I want to read the sequel!

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The final (currently available) book of the Thursday Next series. Jasper Fforde, please hurry up and write book 8!! This plot, is as always, totally wacky...but I love the Thursday Next books and they are just my sense of humor.

Hardback

This was a thought provoking graphic novel (not middle grade, for a teen or adult age group I would say) about the author's father, who became famous on the show Quiz Kids, and the lasting impact that made on his father's life. Sobering and fascinating.

Hardback

Oh wow this book was interesting. My favorite thing was the older people in it, who are all such great characters. They're into solving cold cases and meet together every Thursday to discuss this....until one day a real mystery happens and they get involved in investigating. A dryly humorous but still serious book. Masterfully done. (trigger warnings for themes of euthanasia)

Paperback

I loved this book! It's hard to describe without spoilers...but a girl learns that something special happens when she bakes, and she must learn to use this ability wisely. Written in the sassiest, funniest young girl tone. Recipes at the end of each chapter.

Paperback

I definitely wanted to read this book after Tae Keller's second book -- How to Trap A Tiger -- won the 2021 Newbery & Asian Pacific awards. This first book focuses on a young girl in a egg-drop contest, her friends, and her mom who is dealing with depression. Ponders the idea of what you do when science "goes wrong." Tenderly told and interesting.

Paperback

The #hyggedunit pick for April by @linesIunderline on instagram. I enjoyed this historical mystery with the premise of "what if Sherlock Holmes was a woman" pretty well...some of the character names and plot nuances got confusing as I was listening on audio, and I felt like I missed out on some of the more "inside" Sherlock Holmes references, but all in all very enjoyable and I'd like to come back to this series.

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Wow this book was good! Pete Fanning puts together the story of Nina, a girl with a journalistic spirit, and her elderly neighbor who has a story to tell. (Content warning, racism/wrongful imprisonment)

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher. A fun chapter book about a beaver son who decides to build a robot to do his chores for him. Predictably, all does not go to plan, and Bronson has to learn lessons about the role of technology and how to be more responsible.

Paperback

An amazing adaptation of the Wrinkle in Time novel. (be sure to make sure you order the English version...I had a hard time finding it here on bookshop...so this appears to be the Spanish edition I have linked!)

Hardback

A short, punchy book that has served as a creative "kick in the pants" for me lately. Especially good if you're a traditional artist, but also relatable conceptually for writers, podcasters, and other creative types.