Podcast appearances and mentions of amal unbound

Aisha Saeed joins us to discuss Omar Rising (Nancy Paulsen Books, Feb. 1). Kirkus calls this companion to her New York Times-bestselling middle-grade debut Amal Unbound “a powerful tale about a preteen pushing back against systemic injustice” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Sara Zarr, Ian O'Connor, and Sarah Moss.

2021 is officially coming to an end! It's hard to believe, but we have both read almost 100 books apiece this year - some have been amazing and others definitely have not. We tackle our best and worst books of 2021 in this week's episode! We are sorry for the difference in audio quality in this episode. Due to COVID-19 and social distancing we were not able to record in person and technology was not in our favor. We aren't including our top books of the year in the description, so make sure to check out the episode to found out what they are! Recent Reads- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Current Reads- Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey Sophia's Honorable Mentions: 1. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall 2. Lost in the Neverwoods by Aiden Thomas 3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 4. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed Morgan's Honorable Mentions: 1. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto 2. The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun 3. The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager 4. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid 5. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 6. The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas 7. The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon 8. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Sophia's Bottom 5 Books: 1. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden 2.Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight 3. Gilded by Marissa Meyer 4. The Young Elites by Marie Lu 5. This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz Morgan's Bottom 7 Books: 1. We Are All The Same In The Dark by Julia Heaberlin 2. If the Fates Allow: A Short Story by Rainbow Rowell 3. The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling 4. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins 5. Beautiful Things Evil People Do by Kailee Reese Samuels 6. Big Boned by Jo Watson 7. This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

In honor of Young Reader's Day November 9, we read Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed. This book came out in 2018 and is a juvenile fiction novel following Amal, a young girl in a small village in Pakistan who has her whole life in front of her until she ends up as an indentured servant with no foreseeable way out. It's a truly impactful story of perseverance and heart, and is important for young readers to read and possibly learn about other cultures outside of their own. We dive into Amal's story and talk about all the twists and turns and our own takeaways from her situation, so we will be talking about spoilers later in the episode. In this episode we reference TikTok creator Rhylee Passfield with a handle of @rhyleep95. She's one of the funniest people on the app, and info about her can be found in this article: https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/the-latest/meet-the-mind-behind-the-cursed-cosplay-mr-burns-rhyleep/13607108 Books we mention: The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling, This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry, Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, Yearbook by Seth Rogen, Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed. Check out Pages n' Pages on Instagram. These opinions are entirely our own. Image by Kapona via Vector Stock.

First Draft Episode #319: S. K. Ali S. K. Ali is the New York Times bestselling author of Morris Award Finalist Saints and Misfits and its sequel Misfit in Love, Love From A to Z and its forthcoming sequel, Love From Mecca to Medina, and picture book The Proudest Blue. She also co-edited, with Aisha Saeed, the middle grade anthology Once Upon an Eid.

Today we're drinking a blueberry lemon homemade kombucha and Mikkellers Spontanorange. Our RLXP includes posh sandwiches & a black hat. HSSTWKWM touches on two Quests we've covered, both Spanky's and Pokemon. We've played Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun (NES) and The Walking Dead: A New Frontier. Our recommendations are Amal Unbound and Boston Harbor Horror. Links - Boston Harbor Horror - https://asylum94.com/boston-harbor-horror/ Amal Unbound - https://g.co/kgs/nskfXc Paliroots - https://www.paliroots.com/ MMIW - https://mmiwusa.org/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/grandrapidians/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/grandrapidians/support

Librarian Natalie McCall chats with New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed. Saeed has written books for both teens (Written In the Stars, Yes No Maybe So) and children (Amal Unbound, Bilal Cooks Daal). She has also contributed essays and short stories in various collections (Hope Nation, Our Stories, Our Voices, Once Upon An Eid). Natalie and Aisha talk about rewriting Goldilocks (to depict her as the little house-destroying criminal she was!), letters to Judy Blume, and how stories about people of color can be just as universal and relatable as “classics” about white people. Aisha's Eight

Lois Reitzes talks with Nicole Clifton, president of social impact and the UPS foundation, and April Nelson about "Black Voices from Big Brown"; New York Times best-selling author Aisha Saeed about her novel “Amal Unbound"; and and Geo Sipp, director of Kennesaw State University's School of Art & Design about the exhibition "The 9th Art: Frames and Thought Bubbles," which features comic book art.

First Draft Episode #290: Loan Le Loan Le, editor at Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books and debut author of A Phở Love Story. Links to Topics Mentioned In This Episode: Bringing the Devil to His Knees: The Craft of Fiction and the Writing Life, edited by Charles Baxter and Peter Turchi Bringing Down the House: Essays on Fiction by Charles Baxter The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot by Charles Baxter Jen Ung, Senior Editor at Simon PUlse and editor of A Phở Love Story

In this episode, the first page of three middle grade books will be read:The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman,Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, andBlended by Sharon M. Draper

Listen to why youth librarian, Lisa K, thinks you should read Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed. Written For: 4th-6th Genre: Realistic Fiction Themes: gender roles, Pakistan, indentured servitude, family, bravery Check it out here: https://search.westervillelibrary.org/iii/encore/search/C__St%3A%28amal%20unbound%29__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold

Enjoy our presentation of Amal Unbound written by Aisha Saeed and published by Nancy Paulsen Books. Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal's Pakistani village, but she had no complaints, and besides, she's busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when--as the eldest daughter--she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn't lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens--after an accidental run-in with the son of her village's corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family's servant to pay off her own family's debt.Amal Unbound was a YALSA Top Ten Pick for Reluctant Readers and a 2019 ALSC Notable Children's Book.Amal Unbound  is recommended for ages 10 and up for violence. Please see Common Sense Media for more information and reviews. http://bit.ly/AmalUnbound_ReviewsThis title is available as an ebook and audiobook on Libby by Overdrive. Libby Ebook -  http://bit.ly/AmalUnbound_LibbyEbookLibby Audiobook - http://bit.ly/AmalUnbound_LibbyAudioPlease visit www.calvertlibrary.info for more information.Music: Dub the Uke (excerpt) by Kara Square (c) copyright 2016. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mindmapthat/53340 

Hosts Lexie and Marah read Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed. Join in the discussion about one teenage girl living a life of an indentured slave on this episode of KPRB. #KPRBpod Rate KPRB on Apple Podcasts: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/apple-podcasts/id525463029 Buy Amal Unbound : https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399544682 Check out the author's website: https://aishasaeed.com/bio/ KPRB website: https://kprbpod.com/

First Draft Episode #234: Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Leah on the Offbeat, and co-author of What if it’s Us, and Aisha Saeed, New York Times bestselling author of Written in the Stars and Amal Unbound, teamed up to write Yes No Maybe So. This episode of First Draft is brought to you by Steven Sater’s Alice By Heart, a debut young adult novel in which the Tony Award-winning co-creator of Spring Awakening tells the story of a young girl who takes refuge in a London Tube station during WWII and confronts grief, loss, and first love with the help of her favorite book, Alice in Wonderland. Alice By Heart is out from Penguin Random House now. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Becky’s previous episode of First Draft Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples Aisha Saeed was a co-founding member of We Need Diverse Books Jon Ossoff, the politcian whose run for a U.S. House seat brought Becky and Aisha together and inspired Yes No Maybe So, is running for Senate. Learn more about him and donate to his campaign here! Becky co-wrote another book, What if it’s Us, with Adam Silvera (listen to his First Draft interview here) Long Shot (movie) Nancy Paulsen of Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is Aisha’s long-time editor Donna Bray at Balzer + Bray has been Becky’s editor for her entire career, and she edited YES NO MAYBE SO Love, Simon (movie based on Becky’s debut novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapien’s Agenda) I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too;  Michael Dante  DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!

This podcast is about a book called Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed.

This podcast is about a book called Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal's Pakistani village, but she had no complaints, and besides, she's busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when—as the eldest daughter—she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn't lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens—after an accidental run-in with the son of her village's corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family's servant to pay off her own family's debt.Life at the opulent Khan estate is full of heartbreak and struggle for Amal—especially when she inadvertently makes an enemy of a girl named Nabila. Most troubling, though, is Amal's growing awareness of the Khans' nefarious dealings. When it becomes clear just how far they will go to protect their interests, Amal realizes she will have to find a way to work with others if they are ever to exact change in a cruel status quo, and if Amal is ever to achieve her dreams.

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for educators, librarians, parents, and everyone who loves middle grade books!  My goal is to help you connect kids between 8-12 with fantastic reads because I believe that a book can change the trajectory of a child’s life.  And I want to help you introduce kids to those amazing, life-shaping books and bring you inspiring (and fun!) conversations with the authors and educators who make that magic happen. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two tween girls, a 5th grade teacher, and finally beginning my summer vacation!! Before we begin, I have a few quick announcements! First - a reminder that Monday nights are the #MGBookChat Twitter chats with some really amazing topics coming up this summer like STEM in Middle Grade, Inspiring Kids to Write, Grief in Middle Grade, and several Open Chats where you can bring your own topic to discuss. So if you are like me and have a tendency to forget those sort of things, set a reminder on your phone for Mondays at 9pm EST and check out #MGBookChat on Twitter. Second - I will be at NerdCampMI this July 8th & 9th - so if you are headed that way this summer, please please do say hi. And finally - I am really excited to tell you that I will be rejoining the All the Wonders team as their Podcast Network Developer to produce a new array of shows cultivating a wider variety of perspectives and stories in the world of children’s literature. First up is All the Wonders This Week -  a brief, topical show released every Tuesday where a guest and I will chat about all things wondrous and new in the world of children’s literature. So stay tuned for that this summer! But - no worries - Books Between isn’t going anywhere! This is episode #74 and today’s show features the Top 20 books that my students loved this year, a reflection on what went right and what went wrong for me this last school year, and a conversation with Rajani LaRocca - author of Midsummer’s Mayhem.   Top 20 Student Favorites Let’s start with the top 20 books that my 5th grade students loved and recommended this school year. Because it’s one thing for an adult to enjoy a book, but for it to really make an impact, it has to connect with its intended audience. There have been plenty of books that I loved, but for some reason didn’t seem to resonate with middle grade readers.  Honestly, I think THIS list is way more valuable than ANY list that any adult puts out.   I couple notes before we begin. My students have pretty much free choice to read what they want in class and for homework at night, but we did have two book clubs this year - one in the fall featuring immigrant and refugee experiences and then we just wrapped up our fantasy book clubs. So that context likely influenced what books they had most exposure to. Also - our four main read alouds this year were Home of the Brave, a non-fiction title called When Lunch Fights Back, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Thief of Always.  Only two of those made it into this Top 20.   And there are only six graphic novels on this list, which might surprise some adults who like to complain to me that “all kids read these days are those graphic novels”. (Can you hear my eyes rolling?)   I also want to be transparent about how I calculated this “Top 20”. So, at the end of the year, we did various wrap-up and reflection activities. In mid-June, I send out a quick survey one morning asking them for their top reads of the year. They also worked on an end-of-the-year reflection celebration slideshow and one slide was devoted to sharing their favorite books. Also, each student worked on a “Top 10 List” (or” Top 5 List” or whatever - an idea I got from Colby Sharp) listing their most highly recommended books of the year - recommended for their current class and to be shared with the incoming 5th graders. So… I tallied up each time a title was mentioned in any of those places. And here are the top 20 titles my 5th graders loved and recommended.   Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi This graphic novel is still a strong favorite with my fifth graders. Maybe slightly less so this year, but I think that’s because a LOT of them already read it in 4th grade.    Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney Still going strong! Admittedly, not every mention was book one, but the series is a perennial favorite among my students and one that they love to reread in between other books.    Ghost by Jason Reynolds The Track Series has gained a lot of momentum this year - and mainly through word of mouth. It was one of our school’s ProjectLIT selections so there was some buzz around that, but only one of my students was able to make it to those meetings so the popularity of this title is due strictly to kids recommending it to other kids.    Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai This title was one of the immigrant /refugee themed book club selections from the fall and even though just four kids read it in that club, it was quickly passed around after that. If you know children who enjoyed books like Refugee or Amal Unbound, Escape from Aleppo is a great next book to introduce them to next.   Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Every child that picked this book up and read it, ended up calling it a favorite.    The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West This title was one of our Fantasy Book Club options and it really lends itself to fabulous discussions if you’re looking to round out that genre.   Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder I will admit - I was totally surprised this made the top 20. Not because I don’t like it - I LOVE this book, but I didn’t really witness it being read or talked about a lot past September or October. But clearly it made a lasting impact on those that did read it.   Dog Man by Dav Pilkey In the same vein as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this series of books are the go-to rereads when a student isn’t sure what they want to read next. It’s one of those comfort reads that always winds up back in their book boxes.   Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol This graphic novel was passed from kid to kid this year with so many of them reading it multiple times.   Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin Which was a second shocker to me because this novel is a class read-aloud in 3rd grade. So all the love for this one came from students who remembered it fondly and reread it. Maybe because I happened to have a few copies in our room? Which reminds me to make sure to have those previous year’s titles available in our classroom library.   Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins Another one of our hot fantasy book club picks - this series is a winner. Year and after kids fall in love with the characters! And it will make you fall in love with a cockroach. That’s some powerful writing!   Smile by Raina Telgemeier Still…. after all these years. This book has that special spark.   Crush by Svetlana Chmakova  When this graphic novel came out in this past October, I bought one copy and immediately the kids grabbed a pen and paper and started their own waiting list.    The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix  The credit for this book’s popularity falls squarely to a book trailer that our school librarian showed our class. It got us all sooo hooked that I splurged a bit and bought three copies for our classroom. And it just took off from there. In fact, I haven’t even read the darn thing yet because I could never get my hands on a copy. And actually, I think it’s the only title on this list that I haven’t read.    Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson Because…. of course!  And actually, our classroom copy of this book didn’t even make it past March. The spine cracked and then the pages started falling apart, so I’ve got to get another copy for the fall. It was clearly well-loved.    Blended by Sharon Draper Whoa did this novel take my class by storm!  And it wasn’t part of a book club, it wasn’t a read aloud, it didn’t have a snazzy book trailer - it just really resonated with kids. And they just kept recommending it to each other.   Front Desk by Kelly Yang This was THE hot title this fall!  It was one of the choices for our immigrant/refugee book clubs but unlike some of the other titles, this one had a huge resurgence after the clubs ended with kids rereading and passing it along to their friends all through the year. It was constantly in someone’s book box.    The Unicorn Rescue Society by Adam Gidwitz & Hatem Aly This was another fantasy book club option. And I think, the popularity of this book is really due to the fact that it had a phenomenal book trailer that hooked kids with it’s humor. It was also a shorter book with lots of great illustrations so kids quickly finished it, passed it along and were on to the next in the series.    Okay - we are down to the top two. And not surprisingly, they are both class read alouds. It makes sense that the books every child read or listened to would be high on a list of class favorites. But as I said before, two of our read alouds didn’t make the cut so these two truly did connect with the class.   The Thief of Always by Clive Barker Oh my word is this book amazing!  And for many students - it’s their first foray into horror. The chapter illustrations are gruesome and disturbing and wonderful…. If you know kids that like scary books with that paranormal twist… who like something a little weird - this book is perfect!  And it makes a really great read aloud.   Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling I added this one as a read aloud this year since it was the 20th anniversary, and I honestly wasn’t sure if the kids were going to like it.  That first book does have a slow start, but it was by far their top rated read aloud and the title most frequently found on their favorites lists and their recommended lists.  Harry’s still got the magic.   Reflection   One of the most important aspects of our last few weeks together at school is time for student reflection and feedback for me and my own reflection on what went well this past year and… what did not.    First, let me share with you 5 things that stood out in my students’ final feedback survey. And yes, this is information from a particular class, but I think you’ll find something useful to take away from their responses as well. When asked what they liked most about class, the top responses were Flash-light Fridays (where we turned off all the lights and they got to read with flashlights anywhere in the room), the read alouds, all the Harry Potter activities (house sorting, trying Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, I sent them acceptance letters to Hogawarts, etc.), and doing the one-pagers. When asked what changes I should make for next year, they suggested more book clubs, students getting to vote on our read alouds, and… many of them said they don’t like sitting in groups. That they wanted to be spread out more and have their own space. (Which is interesting - because a couple years ago I came REALLY close to doing away with individual desks and switching to tables and mainly flexible seating options that have been very popular and whenever I have brought that up, my students have consistently told me - they like their own desk and their own space.) When asked “Did you read more or less than last year?”, 33% said a little more and 50% said a lot more. And only one child said that they read less this year.  When asked how I could be a better teacher, the most common responses were to give more reading time, read more books aloud, and a suggestion to ask kids to read even more each night. When asked what books we should have more of in our classroom library, they wanted more scary books, more books with magic, more books in a series, more poetry, and of course, more graphic novels.   So those were some big takeaways from the feedback from my students. And of course, as I reflect and revise and look for professional development opportunities over the summer, I pair their feedback with the things I saw going well and also things that did not. Here are some “wins” and some “fails” from this past year. A win - the book clubs centered around immigrant and refugee stories. Students learned a lot, had a new perspective on events they may see in the news, and bottom line - just really enjoyed those books.  Since many students requested more book clubs, I am considering adding another round or two - perhaps centered around neurodiversity and understanding ourselves and others.  A fail - not reading nearly enough poetry and nonfiction. So if I think about expanding book clubs, perhaps shifting a little to a poetry reading club or clubs that want to explore a particular nonfiction topic might be a way to go.  A win - read alouds kicked butt this year.  After three times reading aloud Thief of Always, I had the voices down, and I finally felt like I knew that story inside and out and could take them places this year that I never would have even realized the first time we read it together. That just reinforces to me how much can be gained be rereading a text multiple times.    A fail - not reading enough shorter texts - picture books and short stories. And also, every single one of our read alouds this year featured a male protagonist. And I am NOT letting that happen again next year. Or ANY year! Nooo way! A win - when a student told me she wanted to read books with gay, trans, and queer characters, within 3 minutes I was able to gather a huge stack from our classroom library to plop on her desk so she could find something that might appeal to her.  A fail - she didn’t know we had that many titles! I had book-talked many of them, but next year - maybe I’ll have a “Read with Pride” bin to rotate some of those titles in and out.  I want to be careful to not “other” those stories and separate all of them, but I do want students to be able to find them easily.  A win - students read far more diversely this year than any prior year. And I had many, many boys who without much reservation read Baby Sitter’s Club books, and books about girls getting their periods, and other novels with female protagonists that in year’s past might be met with push-back and laughter.  I am maybe seeing a possible cultural shift there. Maybe. I’m hoping.  A fail - not taking enough time to explicitly explore bias and structural racism, the impact of social norms and honestly - all the things that are tricky to talk about but that NEED to be talked about.  And that was better this year, but still not enough.   And I know this is not the work of a summer but the work of a whole career, a whole lifetime.    And as always, we are learning together so I’d really love to hear from you about any feedback you received from the children you work with, what your successes and misses were this past year, and what books your kids loved. You can connect with me on Twitter or Instagram - our handle is @books_between or email me at booksbetween@gmail.com and I’d love to share your ideas. Rajani LaRocca - Interview Outline   Joining me this week is debut author Rajani LaRocca! We chat about baking, Shakespeare, the novels that influenced her as a child, writing ideas for kids, her unparalleled skill at finding the perfect GIF, and  of course - her debut novel Midsummer’s Mayhem!   Take a listen.   Midsummer’s Mayhem   For our listeners who have not yet read Midsummer’s Mayhem - what is this story about?   You novel has so many elements that I love - a bit of mystery, a dash of earthy magic,  - it’s like The Great British Baking Show meets Shakespeare! And the recipes are so mouth-watering, so unique! Did you actually make all of the recipes in the book? Can we talk about Vik?!  I had no idea until the very end which way he was going to go. I love how you created this mystery surrounding him that was multi-sensory - not just visual, but musical, and the earthy scents of the forest….   Mimi is very inspired by Puffy Fay - her celebrity chef idol. Who is your celebrity writing idol?   A very important question - do you say “JIF” or “GIF”?   However you say it, you are the QUEEN of the Gif!!   Your Writing Life   You said recently, “Often when I sit down to write a chapter, something surprising happens, and things go in a completely different direction than I’d planned.”  What was one of those moments in Midsummer’s Mayhem?   My students and kids are always eager to hear writing advice from authors.  What’s a tip or trick that you’ve picked up along the way that has helped your writing?    What are you working on now?   Your Reading Life   You’ve mentioned before that the books you read as a child helped shape who you are today. What were some of those books?   What are some books that you’ve read lately that you’d recommend to our listeners?   Thank you!   Links:   Rajani’s website - https://www.rajanilarocca.com Rajani on Twitter - @rajanilarocca Rajani on Instagram - @rajanilarocca   Books and topics we chatted about: A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle) Meet the Austins (Madeleine L’Engle) The Arm of the Starfish (Madeleine L’Engle) The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin) The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) Amar Chitra Katha graphic novels The Simple Art of Flying (Cory Leonardo) Seventh Grade vs the Galaxy (Joshua Levy) Caterpillar Summer (Gillian McDunn) Planet Earth Is Blue (Nicole Panteleakos Super Jake and the King of Chaos (Naomi Milliner) All of Me (Chris Baron)   Closing   Alright - that’s it for our show this week. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they will love or an idea about a guest we should have or a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org.  And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.   Talk with you soon!  Bye!  

Author Aisha Saeed takes us behind the scenes of her middle grade novel, AMAL UNBOUND.

Intro Hi everyone! This is Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of two girls, and enjoying my extra reading time over the holiday break and the chance to relax. This is episode #66 and today we are celebrating some of the best middle grade books published in 2018. Main Topic - The Top 20 Middle Grade Books of 2018 I’m a bit of a data nerd, and I have always been into tracking my reading - from my color-coded index card system in high school to my alphabatized Excel Spreadsheet in the early 2000s to now where I do a mix of Goodreads and a bullet journal. So looking back over the last couple of years since I started doing this show, in 2016 I read 60 middle grade books with 31 of those published in 2016. And my top three books of that year were Booked, Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, and The Wild Robot. (You can find that list here.) Last year, I read 79 middle grade with 55 of those published in 2017. A jump I will totally attribute to the intensity of being on the CYBILS committee. And my top three books of 2017 were Posted, Refugee, and Orphan Island and my top three graphic novels last year were Real Friends, Pashmina, and All’s Faire in Middle School.  (You can find the full list here.) This year, I read 59 middle grade books with 41 of those released in 2018. Before I start - a quick caveat. Selecting ONLY 25 titles was almost impossible.  I enjoyed just about every book I read this year, and I know each one will find it’s reader.  So how to choose the top twenty-five? I have two criteria - the writing is immersive (a book I couldn’t put down) and the story has that something special - unique character, an intriguing plot twist, or a thought-provoking theme (a book I can’t forget).   And again this year, I decided to separate out the graphic novels so be on the lookout for another best of podcast soon featuring just the middle grade graphic novels.    Okay, let’s get to it!  Here are my Top 25 middle grade novels of 2018: Granted by John David Anderson From the author of the soon-to-be movie, Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and last year’s amazing Posted is this story about Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets - one of the few remaining fairies entrusted with the job of Granter - a fairy who ventures into the dangerous human world to grant a wish. Ophelia’s increasingly difficult quest to grant a little girl her wish of a purple bike will keep you turning the pages. And her reluctant friendship with the slobbery dog Sam - along with some other hilarious touches like Ophelia’s special song - will make this novel one you won’t forget.   Where the Watermelons Grow by debut author Cindy Baldwin This book - better than any I’ve read - captures the heat and the swelter of a scorching-hot drought-ridden summer. Our protagonist, Della, is feeling the weight of that and also the burdon of her mother’s re-emerging schizophrenia. But this novel is also laced with the sweetness of friendship and watermelon and hope and a touch of maybe magical honey.     Every Shiny Thing by Cordelia Jensen & Laurie Morrison This dual narrative novel is about Lauren and Sierra.  The two girls end up living next to each other and becoming friends when Lauren’s neighbors become Sierra’s foster parents.  As Lauren starts to become more aware of her priviledge, she comes up with a - shall we say “ill-advised” Robin Hood scheme that quickly starts to spiral out of control.  Watching Lauren and Sierra get deeper and deeper and deeper into that pit and wondering how on earth they were going to dig themselves out is what kept me turning those pages. And what makes this book unique and fresh was the strength of the two perspectives - Lauren’s chapters in prose and Sierra’s in verse.   The Three Rules of Everyday Magic by Amanda Rawson Hill Believe. Give. Trust. With those three magical rules passed on to her from her grandmother, Kate tries to grapple with the changes in her life. Divorce, faltering friendship, and her grandmother’s worsening dementia. Along with the typical difficulties of a 12 year old! I loved this book for its blend of beautiful prose and realism.   Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya This middle grade coming of age novel tells the story of 8th grader Marcus Vega who ends up traveling to Puerto Rico with his mom and younger brother in search of the father who seemed to abandon them years ago. And yes, his journey is about discovering family, but it’s also about discovering his culture. This book is a beautiful homage to Puerto Rico and a story that captures the experiences of many kids with family connections that represent multiple languages and backgrounds.  It reminds me a bit of the graphic novel Crush with a twist of Torrey Maldonado’s Tight.   The Frame Up by Wendy McLeod MacKnight This novel was not only unforgettable but it utterly changed the way I experience walking into a musuem forever. And to me - that is the mark of an excellent book. It makes you see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Frame-up is set in a real-life place - the Beaverbrook Gallery in New Brunswick, Canada. And the art director’s son soon discovers that the paintings are…. alive. And they can travel into other paintings - which is completely fascinating when you consider that this museum includes art from different eras. And multiple paintings of the same person.  What the author does in this world is spell-binding. But things start to get dicey when suddenly the art director’s son and Mona, a young girl in one of the museum’s prized paintings, find themselves desperately trying to stop both an art heist and a plot to destroy their community forever.   Everything I Know About You by Barbara Dee This book was a fun mix of humor and history intermixed with realistic depictions of issues that young people are coping with - like body shaming and eating disorders and figuring out that whole friendship thing while staying true to yourself and your values.  What made this book stay with me long after that last page was read was the main character, Tally, whose self-confidence and style and body positivity are inspiring.   So Done by Paula Chase This upper middle grade coming of age story centers around friends Mila and Tai.  The girls have spent the summer apart and as fall starts, it has become more and more clear that their friendship is sputtering out. And yes, part of that is typical things like finding new interests and more focus on boys, but there is this one massive secret hanging over both girls’ heads that threatens to not only destroy that friendship, but could destroy families, too.The slow, shocking reveal of what that secret really IS kept me turning the pages and what made this book stick with me so long afterward are the voices of the characters that are so fresh and unique and real!  During the first chapter, I had a huge smile on my face because I was so happy to be reading a book that sounds like some of my students when they are talking to each other - and don’t think any adult is within earshot. Chase has this incredible knack for voice, and I cannot wait to see what other middle grade books she has coming our way!   The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson Johnson has expertly woven together multiple storylines across two different eras that are beautifully fused together in the final chapters.  The main character, modern-day Candice, discovers a decades old mystery that takes her and the quiet bookworm boy across the street on a quest for a long-lost treasure. But to figure out the clues, they have to delve into some long buried town history that some folks would rather keep hidden. This book is rich with details and touches on topics that are not common in middle grade - like the end of segregation and its impact on black schools and the concept of passing. It’s beautifully written and if you have older middle grade kids who loved The Westing Game and who love mysteries, this is a great book to put in their hands.   You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino Alex Gino’s second novel for middle grade readers is a sweet story about Jilly, White and hearing, who befriends a Deaf Black ASL user on a fandom website where they connect over their mutual love of a fantasy series. When Jilly’s new baby sister is born Deaf,  she and her parents struggle with which expert advice to follow and everyone makes some missteps along the way. Based on reviews from those in the Deaf community, Gino does seem to get that representation right. To me this book is one to have in your classroom or library because it shows one character’s pathway through learning about incredibly important but tricky topics like white priviledge, racism, micro-agressions, and abelism. And done in a way with warmth and heart.   Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez I’ll admit - this one almost got past me!  I was at school and had forgotten my book at home. And so on a whim, I picked up this book from my classroom library and promptly forgot that any other book existed and promptly fell for Stella’s sweetness and charm. Stella is a third grader, born in Mexico, but now living in Chicago with her mom and older brother. She’s struggling with being in a different class than her best friend, Jenny,  and dealing with the accompanying worries that Jenny might be forming a closer relationship with another girl. Stella is also figuring out where she fits in with her outgoing family since she is more quiet and is working through some speech difficulties. Three things stand out to me about this book - its utter realness, the excellent illustrations sprinkled throughout, and also the fact that this novel intersperses Spanish in the most organic and well-executed way that I’ve ever encountered before. They pop up frequently and naturally, and yet I feel confident that most non-Spanish speaking readers can fairly easily figure out what those words mean from the context.   Takedown by Laura Shovan I LOVE books that immerse me in a subculture - like Victoria Jamieson’s Roller Girl, and the Irish dancing in Kate Messner’s The Seventh Wish. I was fascinated to learn about wrestling moves and the tournament process in this novel. And of course it doesn’t hurt that the two main characters - Mikayla (known as Mickey) and Lev are written so vividly and honestly. Told in alternating point of view chapters, Mickey and Lev are each dealing with their own middle school difficulties of faltering friendships and dicey family dynamics. When they both wind up wrestling for the same elite traveling team, Lev needs to cope with having a new wreslting partner (a girl), and Mickey has to deal with a wrestling culture that isn’t exactly keen to accept her. How these two characters grow and how their stories intertwine have stayed on my mind - months later.   Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart Another incredible story from a favorite author of so many of my students. Good Dog is told from the point of view of Brodie - a dog who we meet just after he’s entered the great beyond after his death. And as our sweet, noble Brodie figures out the rules of this new place, and makes some friends, he remembers more of his past life on Earth. And remembers the danger that his boy, Aidan, is still in. And Brodie has to decide whether to move on to that ultimate Forever or if saving his boy from that threat is worth the awful price he’ll have to pay to even attempt helping him.  I love this book for so many reasons - but mostly for how it quietly but powerfully connects with Gemeinhardt’s previous novel, The Honest Truth.  I don’t want to say more, but…. if you have a kid who has read and loved that book - give them Good Dog right after.   Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai This is another novel that snuck up on me and then wouldn’t let go of my heart. For the last couple of years, my 5th graders and I have read Home of the Brave together as the first read aloud. This year I decided to have their book clubs centered around refugee and immigrant stories - with a focus on #ownvoices novels. And Escape from Aleppo was the only book club choice I hadn’t yet read - and so I read along with the kids in that club and followed their reading schedule and joined their discussions. And I completely agree with their assessment - this book is fabulous. It’s about 14-year-old Nadia, who we meet as her family is evacuating their home in Syria in an attempt to flee to Turkey. But in the carnage, Nadia ends up separated from her family and has to make her way through the city of Aleppo in a dangerous effort to reunite with them and to figure out who in the war-torn city she should trust to help her. What stands out to me most is the searing depiction of modern-day war and how much my students saw themselves in Nadia’s flashbacks to pre-Arab Spring Aleppo. Scenes were everything seems stable and Nadia is all about the latest episode of her favorite reality TV singing show and what color she should paint her nails. If you are looking for a companion book to Alan Gratz’s Refugee, this is an excellent choice. And one that will stay with you for a long, long time.   Rebound by Kwame Alexander This is the much-awaited prequel to the much-loved and much-awarded, novel-in-verse The Crossover. This book is all about Josh & Jordan’s father - Chuck “Da Man” Bell. But - this is an origin story. So when we first meet him, he is just Charlie - an 80’s kid reeling from a family tragedy and trying to find his way forward and trying to find his smile again. When home becomes tense, he is involuntarily shipped off to his grandparent’s house for the summer where he starts to find that path forward. I loved this book for it’s awesome illustratations and all those great 80s references.   Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson Esteban, Tiago, Holly, Amari, Ashton, Haley - these six kids are brought to an abandoned art room each Friday, left on their own, and allowed to simply talk. And eventually - their stories unfold. Stories of deportation, of harassment, of parent death and incarceration. Of hope and of despair.  And by the end of that year, they have formed a bond and a vow to harbor each other. It’s Jacqueline Woodson so you know it’s gorgeously written, but it also speaks to a great need for empathy in our country right now. And I can attest that it’s not just one of those “important” books that kids don’t really like. It was one of the top requested book club selections and currently has a huge waiting list in my room, so I can vouch for it’s kid appeal.   Small Spaces by Katherine Arden Okay - this book creeped me the heck out! And it was glorious! This paranormal horror story is about a young girl named Ollie whose mom tragically died last year, and understandably - Ollie is withdrawn and rather raw.  One fall day, Ollie disovers this strange book that tells the legend of two local brothers who come under the influence of The Smiling Man - with horrific results. When Ollie takes a field trip to a nearby farm, she and her friends Coco and Brian end up in an other-wordly battle to survive the lure of those mysterious forces. This book is so immersive and atmospheric and has one brilliant twist at the end that has me shuddering just thinking about it! Oh - and if you’re the type of person that isn’t at all freaked out by scarecrows - read this book and that will change.   Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed There has been sooo much love for this book this year - and if you haven’t yet read it, I will add my voice to all the others telling you…. it’s incredible.  This novel is about a young Pakistani girl whose dream is to finish her education and to become a teacher. But when her mother is struggling with depression after having her fifth baby - another girl - Amal ends up staying home to take of the household. And then, to make matters far worse, she ends up insulting a poweful man in her village and be forced into indentured servitude to work off her family’s debt to him. It was this section of the book and Amal’s complicated relationship with man’s family and other servants that was the most compelling to me.  Amal Unbound was the  middle grade pick for the 2018 Global Read Aloud and is worthy of a spot in any middle grade collection.   Blended by Sharon Draper As 2018 came to a close, I started scouring the social media feeds of readers whose taste I rely on to see what books from the previous year I may have missed. And by far the one that I kept bumping into… was Blended. And oh were they right to push me to read it! And...confession time - this is the first Sharon Draper book I have read! You may already know her work from Out of My Mind or Copper Sun.  This novel is about an 11-year-old girl - Izzy to her mom but Isabella to her Dad.  Her parents are divorced and every week Isabella has to switch - switch households, switch bedrooms, switch backpacks, switch expectations…. and sometimes feels like she has to switch identities. Her father is black and and lives a far more swanky lifestyle now and Isabella’s mother is white and their home definitely has a more casual vibe. I loved this book because I know how many students can relate to Izzy’s frustrations with parental tug-of-war and that awkwardness with people coming into their lives. But this book had so many more themes that will definitely strike a chord with kids today - racial profiling, school threats, micro-agressions, police shootings, and the myriad other things that make up children’s day-to-day experiences. The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden Ahhh - this book!  I just…. Okay - plot first. This is the story of Zoey - a seventh-grader whose primary goals in life are to keep her two young siblings quiet and out of the way of her mom’s boyfriend and his father, to scrounge up enough for them to eat, and to stay completely invisible at school. But all of those things become tricky when her teacher pushes her to join the Debate Club after school. This book is about rural poverty, the nuances of the gun debate, domestic vioience… but the way those threads play out are not at all what I had expected - and so much better. This is the novel I wish I had read as a young middle school teacher when I thought that giving an hour’s worth of homework that required colored pencils, a ruler, and internet access was a perfectly acceptable thing to do.     Front Desk by Kelly Yang Another stand-out debut! And every time I see another starred review or another reader gush about this book, it just makes me heart a little more happy. Front Desk is about Mia Tang whose family - recent immigrants from China - wind up running a motel under less than ideal circumstances. Mia’s expectations of life in America - juicy burgers, a pet dog, a yard, and big pool - differ A LOT from her true life, which she keeps hidden from her classmates. Her life is tough. But once she starts to harness the power of her writing, Mia starts to realize that even the big injustices in life can start to change. Front Desk was another fall favorite of my students and a perfect book club book.  And the last time I checked, it was offered through Scholastic for a great price. The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown When a sequel comes out to a book that you adored - characters who have found a home in your heart - it’s with trepidation that you crack open that cover and start a new journey with them. Oh but thank you Peter Brown because you did not disappoint and in fact…. I may love this story even more than the first. It’s hard to say anything without giving away the first book if you haven’t read it yet. (And if that’s the case - get on that!) But I will say that this sequel has more action, more human interactions, and therefore - more personal connections that kids can latch onto. And it deals with some big moral and ethical questions!  It’a a brilliant story with a touch of the Iron Giant, a sprinkle of The Odyssey, and a little dash of The Good Place.     Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes This is the story of Jermone - a young black boy playing outside his home with a small toy gun. A black boy who gets shot and killed by a police officer in the first pages and whose presence haunts the rest of the pages - and whose story - along with the other boys - haunts me still.  And I can see in my classroom the impact it makes on the young kids who read it. There are instantly caught by that first title page - “Dead” - and those first words - “How small I look. Laid out flat, my stomach touching the ground. My right knee bent and my brand-new Nikes stained with blood.”  Jerome is the first ghost boy we meet, but later there will be Emmett Till and others who get to tell parts of their stories. This book was both completely immersive and has that quality of staying with you long after you’ve read it. And it’s a rare book that deals honestly with racism and police violence in a way that is age appropriate and clear.  And so many people have said, “This is an important book.” It IS - but don’t get it just because of that - get it and read it with kids because it’s an excellent book. Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo This is, I believe, the first sequel that Kate DiCamillo has ever written. And if this is the quality of a DiCamillo sequel then I hope she writes a TON more - because this book ripped me apart and put me back together again. And I mean that in the best possible way! This book is the follow-up to Raymie Nightingale and focuses on Raymie’s quirky friend - Louisiana Elefante. Lousiana’s grandmother wakes her up in the middle of the night, piles her into the car, and is off to face her reckoning with the curse that has hung over their family’s head. Well, they end up in a Georgia Motel run by a cranky lady - where Louisiana has to take on more than anyone her age should have to.  But also learns a lot about grace and the goodness of humankind as well. Raymie Nightingale was a book I liked pretty well, but nothing compared to this. It’s like this story sat in a rock tumbler until all the extra grit fell away and this sparkling gem emerged at the end.   Tight by Torrey Maldonado This book was fast-paced, fresh, and had such a…. bite to it!  It’s the story of 6th grader, Bryan, who loves comics, who loves drawing superheroes, and who loves his mother and a life of no drama. His dad brings enough of that into their life. Money in their family is… tight. So he worries about that and worries about being perceived as “soft” - not tough enough. But then his parents, sort of... set him up with a friend - this neighborhood kid named Mike. And at first, Bryan resists. He gets  weird vibe from this kid. But then the boys bond over comics and Netflix shows and spend more and more time together. They’re tight. But that friendship turns toxic when Mike starts luring Bryan into skipping school, hopping the turnstiles in the subway...and worse. Tight is an exceptional books - raw and real. If you have kids who like Jason Reynold’s Ghost and who liked the Miles Morales Spiderman - this is the book for them!   Alright - those are my top 25 middle grades books of 2018. Now - I want to hear from YOU! What were your favorite reads of the last year and which ones should I make sure to read in the year ahead? Closing Alright, that wraps up our show this week! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Books Between is a proud member of the Lady Pod Squad and the Education Podcast Network. This network features podcasts for educators, created by educators. For more great content visit edupodcastnetwork.com Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher so others can discover us as well.   Thanks and see you soon!  Bye!

Learn interesting facts about women’s rights around the world in only 4 minutes

Intro Hi everyone! And welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to incredible stories. I believe in the power of books to bring communities together. And my goal is to help you connect your children and your community with fantastic books and share inspiring conversations with the people who make that magic happen. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of a 9 and 11 year old, a 5th grade teacher in Central New York, and glad to be back with you after a short hiatus to focus on school and supporting some local candidates in the mid-term elections! Before this year, I had NEVER done any phone banking or canvassing, but after being inspired by so many of YOU - I knew I had to get off my bum and get to work. This is episode #62 and Today’s show is all about promoting literacy in your community.  First, I’ll share some advice about launching a community book club based on my experience starting a ProjectLIT Book Club at my school. And then I’ll share a conversation with Harper & Maggie, two young girls who’ve launched Books & a Blanket - an organization to promote literacy and well-being among young children in need. Before we get started, I have a BIG announcement that I am delighted to tell you about!  For the whole month of December, Annaliese Avery and Jarrett Lerner and myself from MGBookVillage are teaming up with Lorie Barber and Erin Varley to bring you #HappyPottermas - a month-long celebration of all things Harry Potter!  There will be daily Twitter prompts and all the 9pm EST Monday night #MGBookChat topics throughout December will be all about Harry Potter! And…. I’ve got some special guests lined up for the December episodes of the podcast to talk about the Wizarding World.  And I would love to feature YOU on the show as well. So if you have THOUGHTS about Hogwarts, Snape, the books vs. the movies. If you have OPINIONS you want to share - I really, really want to hear what you have to say!  So, if you are interested in being featured on this podcast, just check out the link posted in the show notes, and I can’t wait to hear from you! Main Topic - Launching a Community Book Club This week I’m sharing some things I’ve learned about launching a community book club based on my experiences starting a ProjectLIT Book Club at my school. But whatever type of book club you might already have going or are considering starting - whether that’s a ProjectLIT club or not - I think you’ll get some good ideas from today’s discussion.  And - just know that every document I mention (flyers, surveys, discussion guides, etc…) are all available for you to download right in the show notes and on this episode’s post at MGBookVillage.org. And all of them are editable so you can download and adjust them however you need. Today I’ll be talking about the difference between ProjectLIT and other traditional community book clubs, including the pros and cons of each. Then I’ll share some ideas about how to prepare to launch your club, some ideas about how to decide what books to read and how to get copies of those books, how to get students and the wider community involved and excited, and then I’ll get into some specifics about planning meetings and hosting a community-wide book celebration. That’s a lot to cover! So let’s dig right in! What is the difference between a traditional book club with community involvement and a ProjectLIT Community Book Club - and what are the pros and cons of each? ProjectLIT is a grassroots literacy movement with community book club chapters all over the country. As of this week, there are now 592 chapters. Their goal is to increase access to culturally relevant books and promote a love of reading in our schools and communities. Each spring the ProjectLIT team consults with chapter leaders and announces a list of 20 books from middle grade to YA that include topics that will generate lots of discussion and bring awareness to issues in our society. Since this is the second year, there are now 40 books to choose from. The books feature characters from a wide variety of backgrounds and are usually #ownvoices - written by authors who share the marginalized identity of the main character. For example, some ProjectLIT books are Amina’s Voice by Hena Kahn and Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Some of the YA choices are Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. ProjectLIT is all about bringing together a community to discuss the big ideas put forth in these books and to encourage students to take a leadership role in planning community meetings and doing community service projects to promote literacy. It’s beyond just a book club that might meet to read and discuss books.  If you want to know more about ProjectLIT, their founder, Jarred Amato was a guest on this podcast on episode 54. So, if you are considering whether or not to launch a more traditional book club in your school or to be a ProjectLIT chapter, here are some pros and cons to keep in mind. Cons: The book choices are more limited. There are about 20 middle grade titles to choose from and about 20 YA, but I found that the middle grade titles weren’t all the best fit for my club which is geared toward 4th and 5th graders. For example, the March graphic novels are listed as middle grade but I decided to not offer that as one of our choices since it seemed more like a middle school fit.  I’m really hoping that the book options next year will include some lower middle grade titles to expand the choices for elementary kids and to include a variety of reading levels for older students, too. Many of the titles are newer so they are only available as hardcover which makes it financially challenging. And students are less familiar with them so you might need to do some book talks and sampling to get them really pumped about reading them. If you advertise an event as ProjectLIT, it does need to be one of the approved titles. You can mix things up but it does make it more complicated. And if you are trying to make your book club ALSO connect with other things like Battle of the Books or March Book Madness, it is a little bit limiting in that way.   PROS: The book choices ARE amazing! Long Way Down, Amal Unbound, The First Rule of Punk, Ghost, The Parker Inheritance - truly - these are fabulous reads!! Yes, they are new. But that also means that most kids haven’t already read them. I know when I’ve attempted book clubs with really popular books that have been out for awhile, some kids didn’t come because well - if they were interested in the book, they’d already read it. Newer books pull in those readers who will be literacy leaders. Those kids who want to be on the cutting edge and draw in the rest of their peers and community with their excitement. You have an amazing supportive community who are all working toward the same goals and really eager to help make your life easier by sharing ideas and resources. If you need discussion questions for Towers Falling - they are already done! There’s a wonderful Facebook group, a Sunday Twitter chat, and a weekly newsletter emailed to you. So, you are not in it alone. And because of that, there are great opportunities for clubs to collaborate and maybe Skype with other groups reading the same book to discuss beyond their community and to get ideas from each other. How can I prepare my launch to make the book club successful?   Doing some work ahead of time can really help get your book club started off on the right foot and get some community behind you from the very beginning. One of the first things I did was to decide who I might strong-arm into, I mean…. invite to partner with me. In most schools there are at least a couple book lovers who would be down with helping out. At my school - that would be the amazing Kelly. So I emailed Kelly - who was totally excited about launching a club at our school!  Sometimes you just have to ask people. Then I emailed our local public librarian, the PTO, our principal, and let them know about the awesome new club for kids that was coming soon.   Then, I needed to decide how often we would meet, when, and where.  And that really depends on two main factors - time available at your school or library. And YOU!  Because honestly - you are the one who needs to be the main force in making this work. So just...decide and promote the heck out of it!  Since our school day starts early, a before school time was not going to work. So I decided to offer the club to 4th and 5th graders after school from 2:10 to 3:15. The reason I went with 3:15?  Because that’s the time that Drama Club and the Book Cooks let out so I decided to be consistent with them so parents wouldn’t be confused about pick-up times. I also decided to go with Thursdays to avoid those other club days as well.  Now, I will say - I’ve had to do some push back against getting sucked into meetings on Thursdays. But I am holding firm. I don’t want the job to get in the way of my actual work - expanding literacy and love of reading in my school. So if there is a meeting on a Thursday? I’m not going. I’m with the kids doing THAT important work.   The next thing to decide is how many books you want to read throughout the year and when you want to hold a community-wide celebration of those books. Again - this all depends on YOUR availability and how many books you think you can get.  Maybe you start small with just 4 books and 4 events. Maybe every other month works for you. Since I have no chill whatsoever, I decided to go for once a month but to use our first month of school to let everyone get settled and start promoting it, and then officially launch in October.  Kudos to ANYONE who can jump start something the first month of school - I just can’t quite manage the logistics of that. So - cut yourself some slack and give yourself a month head start. After looking at the calendar and our school schedule, I decided that our community-wide celebrations would be the first Saturday of every month from 10am to 11:30am. I went with this for a few reasons - Everyone seems to already have things in the evenings and I really wanted parents and adults to be able to come. Our school gets out at 2:10 - very few adults can make it at that time if we had after school events. Sundays are often tough for some people in our community because of religious observances in the morning so I wanted to avoid any conflict there. I wanted it to be early enough in the day so that it didn’t wreck people’s entire day. They can come, enjoy, and then have all the rest of Saturday do whatever they want. The first weekend of the month tends to avoid most major holidays.   That being said - there is absolutely no possible way you can accommodate everyone’s schedule and avoid hockey tournaments and dance recitals and the plethora of other obligations people have. So - no worries!  If kids can’t come to the Thursday after school meetings, they are always welcome to just attend the celebration event! And if they can’t attend the community celebration, they are still welcomed wholeheartedly to the after school meetings. And if November doesn’t work out - come join us when your schedule frees up in the spring!  I really try to make it as socially and emotionally easy to join us as possible - whenever they can.   Okay - so once you’ve decided the meeting days and when your community book club celebrations will be - figure out a place to meet.  We meet in my classroom after school because I know that location will be available and I am not inconveniencing anyone else. And we meet in the school library for those Saturday celebrations. I had considered meeting at the local public library, but opted for the school library for a couple reasons - one, I am familiar with that space and have access to it so I can set up the night before. Perhaps you are noticing a theme here - make it as easy as possible for YOU. Also, I want the school and our library to be a literacy hub for the community.  And I wanted access to the technology in that space - Promethean Board and Chromebooks. And the public library didn’t have those options and the students and I were comfortable with our school’s space and technology.   Alright, so your prep phase should include the Who, When, and Where. Who - figuring out who will help you and who you will reach out to to let them know the amazingness that is coming. When you will meet with students and when you and those students will host the community book club celebration. And where -the location of these meetings.   How do you decide which books to read?   Picking awesome and interesting books are what’s really going to get people excited.  And I recommend letting kids have some ownership of that process. Kelly and I decided to pick the first book ourselves so we could do some work ahead of time to get copies and then have the kids vote on the other middle grade ProjectLIT choices.  You might decide to have the students pick from a list you provide or have them pick every other month so there is some variety but also honors student choice. We launched our book club with Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes. For us, this seemed like a good start for a few reasons. It was one of the books with an easier reading level and being in New York, our families have many personal stories about 9/11 that this book club would give them an opportunity to share. So I’d recommend picking a really high interest book to start that will get a lot of support in your community.   During our first after school meeting, I had the students do a book tasting of 15 ProjectLIT books that I thought would be a good fit for our 4th and 5th graders - Ghost Boys, The Wild Robot, Amal Unbound, Wonder, The Crossover, Rebound, Booked, Ghost, Patina, Sunny, The Parker Inheritance, The First Rule of Punk, Wishtree, and Refugee.  Perhaps you could give some choices that align with your goals and that ensure a variety of perspectives.  So - I had scrounged up multiple copies of each book and printed out evaluation forms. (Those are available to download right in the show notes!) Kids sat in groups of about 4 and examined and previewed about 3 books at a time.  Just like any other book tasting, I encouraged them to look at the cover, read the teaser material on the back cover or inside flaps, and read the first page. And I framed this for them as - don’t JUST think about what YOU like. Think about what books you like and what titles you think would be important and interesting for our community to discuss.  So - then they voted on their top choices. I had intended this to be done on a Google Form (which I will share with you) but our internet went down so we went old school and they wrote down their lists and we tallied them up. The seven books that got the most votes were The Wild Robot, Wonder, Amal Unbound, Ghost, Sunny, Wishtree, and The First Rule of Punk. And… I’m not gonna lie. I was a tad heartbroken that a certain book I really, really wanted to read with them didn’t quite make the cut. BUT - I had committed to honoring their choices. Also - Sunny was chosen but NOT book 2 of that series (Patina), so I just decided to go with it since each book can really stand on their own.   After that, I matched each book to a month - putting the two Jason Reynolds books (Ghost then Sunny after each other later in the year since their reading levels were more challenging) and timing Wishtree so our celebration would fall close to May 1st since that date plays a big part in the novel. So, as you schedule the books, think about what seasonal connections you might make and consider putting those more challenging books later on in the year. Also - some books will be available in softcover later in the year, so you might want to schedule those then to reduce costs.  Speaking of costs….   How do you get copies of the books?   This is the big challenge. Ideally, you want to gather enough copies for each student who wants to participate AND some extras for those in the community to borrow as well. (But that’s not always possible.) So, here are a few suggestions: Ask students to purchase the books themselves if they are able (I have this listed on our permission slip for each month’s club and having families that are willing and able to purchase books for their child helps free up funds to get books for other kids) Ask the PTO/PTA for funding - our PTO actually approached ME to attend a meeting and share the goals of the club.  Not only did I get more families interested in joining by talking to their folks, they gave us $250 for books! So definitely seek out your PTO! Take advantage of Scholastic points and perhaps ask teachers in your building to donate some copies. Not all of our books were available through Scholastic, but we had several members of the staff donate copies of Towers Falling because it was only $4! Try doing a Donors Choose project! Apply for grants! Right now, Kelly and I have a grant submitted that would totally cover the cost of the remaining books - so cross your fingers for us! Ask local businesses and organizations for support! Our local Lions Club is really receptive to opportunities to support the schools. And those local businesses and organizations might be EVEN MORE into it when you invite them to read the books with you and come to the book celebrations. I also make sure to thank all our donors by name during the meeting and you can also have a few “Sponsored by” flyers around as well. Collaborate with your school library and the local public library. They can often gather copies for you that kids and the community can check out.  The library right down the street from our school has a special display for our book club with our monthly flyer and the books stacked right underneath it available to check out. Start an Amazon Wishlist and share that link EVERYWHERE - in your email signature - in a newsletter - on social media… Ask friends to share it with their friends and family who might be looking for an opportunity to support a great cause.   How do you get students and the community to join your book club?   Alright - now that you’ve built something amazing and have everything organized and have a plan to get those books - you need to build that excitement so kids will come and continue coming!  And the community will read the books with you and come to the celebrations. Let’s start with the kids: I think the single most effective thing we did was at the beginning of the year, Kelly and I went into all the 4th and 5th grade classrooms with a stack of the book options and gave a quick book talk of each one and passed them around for the kids to look at. And then we passed out the permission forms.  After that, I make a quick visit at the beginning of each month to do a quick chat about the upcoming book and pass out those permission slips so you know who is coming and if they need a copy of the book. (And an editable copy of that slip is right in the show notes for you to download.) Wherever your school promotes events - on the morning announcements, in a newsletter, on a school calendar… get the club mentioned!  About once a week, I make an announcement reminding the kids to come to our weekly meeting AND reminding folks to come to the upcoming Saturday celebration. Our school also has a weekly news show - The Minoa Morning Messages - and some of our members made an appearance to promote the club and announce the next book. Be visible! Last year I spent a lot more time in my classroom whenever I could but this year I am making more of an effort to hang out by the buses at dismissal and say hello to kids not in my class during lunch. I have been surprised by how many kids approach me during those casual times and ask about the book club or see me and suddenly remember their permission slip! If out of sight means out of mind, then you‘ve got to literally be in their sights. And each of those encounters builds interest and awareness among the other kids (and staff) who observe those conversations!   So - how about getting the staff and community to come to your celebrations?  That can be a bit trickier, but I do have some ideas for you: Have the students invite them!  Each month, students help design an invitation and I print off a bunch of copies. Then we get some envelopes and personally invite every single member of the staff - not just classroom teachers, but secretaries, TAs, custodial staff, lunch monitors, the superintendent - everyone!  One student even snagged the mail carrier on his way in and handed him an invitation! I also give students multiple copies of the invitation - and the digital version for them to invite family members. We also branch out and invite folks at the town hall, the mayor, the fire chief. And based on their suggestions, I drive around and post flyers in areas they think would be a good idea - like the post office or the fire department or the local pizza shop. Another way to get the staff involved is to email them and ask them to read the book and come to the celebration. And last month, we had some extra copies of Towers Falling, so some of the kids just walked around after school and asked the staff if they wanted to borrow the book and talked up how good it was. And of course, included an invitation tucked into the front cover. Harness the power of social media! Our club has both a Twitter account (@ProjectLITMinoa) and an Instagram account (@ProjectLITMinoa) and are both nice places to showcase what the students are doing and share those awesome pictures of your events. And if you are on the social media platforms that parents and kids already use, it makes it easier for them to tag you and start to build awareness among the community. Have a social media presence also makes your club Google-able. You could also make a website, but that’s definitely an in-the-future step for us. Make a display and put it in a high traffic area in your school! Last month, I finally realized I needed to make a display of some kind because people kept asking when the next book club was and what books we were reading next. So having one place they can look is really helpful both to be informative and to also serve as an advertisement!   How do you run the student book club meetings?   One thing that I did on a whim was to start our very first meeting with a quick get-to-know-you activity. I definitely didn’t know all the students and I’m certain they didn’t know each others’ names, so we did a quick round of “When the Cold Wind Blows”. Basically each kid takes a turn standing in the center of the circle and says their name and something about themselves. Like, “My name is Corrina and I like Harry Potter!” And if that applies to you, you stand up and move like the wind to another seat.  That went over so well, that each month, when we have a new mix of students, we start with a new ice breaker. During that first meeting, I pass out the reading schedule (and yup - that’s right online for you!), and we start reading together! Sometimes we listen to the audio book and sometimes Kelly and I take turns reading it out loud. For the meetings after that first one, we take the first 10-15 minutes to discuss the reading we did last week - talking about any confusing parts, big ideas, connections, questions, favorite parts, or favorite quotes… and then I read aloud or we listen to the audio book for the next 20 or so minutes. And the last 20-30 minutes is planning time. This is when the kids take care of invitations, come up with discussion questions, trivia questions, brainstorm new ideas together - and basically take care of all the things that come up when planning an event. After that, we pack up and I escort the crew down to the main hall to be picked up and take that opportunity to connect with parents and answer any questions. So basically, our after school book club meetings are discussion, read together, plan together.   How do you host a great community book club celebration?   Honestly, I wasn’t sure this was going to work out at ALL. The Saturday morning of our first event, two things happened that did not bode well.  First, despite the fact that I had requested the room through the proper channels and filled out all the school-required paperwork, the library was locked and NO ONE with the key was available. Okay - so we just relocated to my room, and I scrambled to get the space organized. Second - several of the kids and staff had volunteered to come in early at 9:30 to help me set up and it was 9:50 and NO ONE was there but ME. And I thought - well…. I’ll just hang out here and grade papers and eat the cider and muffins I brought myself. But - then…. EVERYONE showed up!! And our final count was over 40 people and it was an amazing event!  So - here is the schedule we followed. First - ask for some volunteers to bring in drinks and snacks. We had cocoa (a BIG hit!), cider, donuts, and muffins. Kelly and I brought in some and parents had volunteered to supply snacks and drinks, too. When people arrived from 10:00 - 10:20, there was a sign-in sheet, and we had an activity set up at each table for them to complete when they came in. For Towers Falling, we supplied big pieces of paper and markers, and had people create their own Social Units diagram. For our next read, The Wild Robot, we’re planning on a build-your-own-robot craft. I think having something fun to do for the first 15 minutes as people arrive is a good idea since families want to get a snack and everyone wants to chat anyway. From 10:20-10:30 I welcome everyone, give a brief introduction - go through the agenda, explain what ProjectLIT book clubs are all about, show pictures of the book club in action that I’ve been taking throughout the past month, and give thanks to the organizations and donors and volunteers that have helped us out. It’s a quick power point, and I’ll drop a link to that in the show notes if you want to use it for your events.  Also, as each person arrives, we hand them a half-sheet copy of the agenda with an exit survey stapled to the back to we can get some feedback. From 10:30-10:50 is Group Discussion time!  Students pass out a discussion guide with six questions they’ve developed.  And each group takes about twenty minutes to chat about the book! These could be general questions like, what character could you relate to the most or what scene stood out to you? Or they might be specific to the novel, like “Why do you think Dejá’s father didn’t want her to learn about 9/11?”  For this particular book, we also asked the adults in each group to share where they were on 9/11 and what were their experiences and feelings on that day. From 10:50-11:15 is trivia! I created an online quiz based on the trivia questions that the kids made using the website Kahoot - which was lots of fun!  You do need access to a device though, so traditional trivia is fine, too!  We had everyone break up into teams of no more than 6 and then the top team each won a prize of a full-sized Hershey’s Bar, the second place team each got a Hershey’s mini, and the 3rd place team each got a Hershey’s kiss. That trivia game and those little prizes were such a HUGE hit - and the competition was quite fierce!  I’ll drop a link to that Kahoot if you want to check it out. From 11:15 - 11:20 - We drew prizes!  We were lucky enough to have some community members and parents donate books and a few small gift cards to Barnes & Noble and a local yogurt shop. So at the beginning of the meeting, we had a student in charge of passing out tickets and then we just drew names at the end of the meeting. From 11:20 - 11:30 is cleanup!   A few things I would change - we forgot to explicitly ask people to fill out the surveys and return them to us. Oops! And I forgot to take a big group picture! Next time, I’d also make sure that at least one of the book club kids were seated at each group. We also didn’t get as many community members who weren’t directly connected to the school as I had hoped. So, we are going to keep reaching out! And our next steps are to do more community service events like book drives and to find ways for the students to be literacy advocates in other ways in our community.   So, overall - it was REALLY successful and a TON of fun! Our new principal came - even though he hadn’t technically started until the following week! We had almost all the book club kids come with at least one family member - including bringing older siblings who were former students which was wonderful!  About six staff members came, including one with her new baby.   I was truly overcome with the passion and excitement and generosity that our community showed. And really - all I did was provide an outlet and an opportunity for kids and the community to express their passion for reading and literacy.   I know, if you decide to start a community book club in your school, you won’t regret it!   And if you have any questions at all, I’d be happy to chat more with you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or reach out on Twitter or Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. And if you have some suggestions or tips about how to run a successful community book club - I’d love to share your ideas so we can all learn from each other!   Maggie & Harper from Books and a Blanket - Interview Outline   Our special guests this week are sisters Maggie & Harper - founders of Books and a Blanket!  We talk about the origins of their project, their favorite books, and how you can help them promote literacy and well-being among young children in need.   Take a listen…   Books & a Blanket   What is Books and a Blanket and how did it get started?   How has Books and a Blanket changed from when you first came up with the idea?   How do you get all the books and blankets? And do you accept both used and new?   What are your plans for the future of Books and a Blanket?   How do you decide who gets them?   If our listeners wanted to get involved and help you out, what could they do? Your Reading Life   One of the goals of this podcast is to help educators and librarians and parents inspire kids to read more and connect them with amazing books.  Did you have a special teacher or librarian who helped foster your reading life?   We have a lot of teachers and librarians listening. What is something you want them to know?   What is something you wish teachers did MORE of?   What is something you wish teachers did LESS of?   What are some of your all-time favorite books?   What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?   Links:   Books & a Blanket website - https://booksandablanket.com Books & a Blanket on Twitter   Books & Authors We Chatted About:   Mr. Lemoncello’s Library (Chris Grabenstein) The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall) Penderwicks at Last (Jeanne Birdsall) The Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling) The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy) The Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stewart) The Candymakers (Wendy Mass) Nevermoor (Jessica Townsend) The Land of Stories (Chris Colfer) Rick Riordan Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer)   Closing   Okay, that wraps up our show this week!  I hope you’ll head over to BooksandaBlanket.com to help support a great cause.   And remember to check out #HappyPottermas throughout December for some magical fun.   If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Books Between is a proud member of the Lady Pod Squad and the Education Podcast Network. This network features podcasts for educators, created by educators. For more great content visit edupodcastnetwork.com   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher so others can discover us as well.   Thanks and see you soon!  Bye!

We tried to go very light on the spoilers in this #unabridgedhighlights episode, but a few minor spoilers were hard to avoid as we revealed what we loved about these books.​timeline *Introduction and Overview of Episode: 00:00 - 00:54 *Samira Ahmed's Love, Hate, and Other Filters: 00:55 - 16:30 *Aisha Saeed's Amal Unbound: 16:40 - 39:20 *Alan Gratz's Refugee: 39:32 - 57:33 other mentions *Clemantine Wamariya's The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After (with Elizabeth Weil) Check out what's coming up next.   want to support unabridged?​Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram. Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter. Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher. Check us out on Podbean.

Our first micro-episode, in which Andy dadsplains the beautiful Amal Unbound to a very sleepy Samara, and the two hosts rediscover the importance of the Model UN. Listen for the discussion on indentured servitude and feudal Pakistan, or listen for the terrible pronunciations. You decide.

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom, and spending a lovely weekend with my family inside away from the bitter cold playing epic games of Sorry and watching all the Star Wars movies. Again. This is Episode #41 and today I’m sharing with you some fabulous 2018 titles to look forward to this year and an awesome interview with EngiNerds author Jarrett Lerner! Book Talk - Most Anticipated Middle Grade Books of 2018 Typically in this segment, I share with you a few books centered around a theme. And during the last few episodes I was all about looking back at some of the best middle grade fiction and graphic novels of 2017. (If you missed those, go check out episodes #39 and #40.) But this week I want to talk about some of the most anticipated books of the upcoming year.  Some are long-awaited sequels or new installments in well-loved series. Some are new ventures for favorite authors. And some are by debut authors. So, buckle up and and get ready to add to your wish list. And just a reminder - before you scramble for a pen and paper. You can find every book mentioned here AND a picture of the available covers AND a link to pre-order them right through the Books Between Podcast link at AlltheWonders.com.  I’ve got your back, I know you’re busy, so it’s all right there for you.  And I’ve come to really love pre-ordering - it helps out favorite authors and it’s like a little gift to your future self. Two quick things to mention before I start. One - this is just a sampling of all the incredible books coming out this year. I’ll add some links to some great resources in the shownotes where you can find more complete listings of titles to browse through and discover some gems: http://www.readbrightly.com/middle-grade-books-2018/ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/98185.Middle_Grade_Novels_of_2018 https://mgbookvillage.org/2018releasedates/ https://electriceighteens.com/ And second - publication dates do change, so while I’ve mentioned the book release month - things sometimes change. All right - let’s get to it! Coming in January… Let’s start with the some sequels because there are some AWESOME sequels coming our way to give us something to look forward to during this dreary month…. Linda William’s Jackson’s follow-up to Midnight Without a Moon - A Sky Full of Stars is out this January as Rose struggles with the way to face the rising racial tensions in her community. Ooooo - and the new Fenway & Hattie is out this January!!!  I just can’t get enough of that little dog!  This third one is called Up to New Tricks so definitely snag that one for your Fenway fans - and for you, too! And Gordon Korman’s Supergifted is also set for a January release - this is the sequel to Ungifted - a great book about a boy named Donovan who is mistakenly transfering into a gifted program and has to figure out how to pass as brilliant.  This follow up is about his new friend, Noah. We are also getting another Terrible Two book in January - Terrible Two Go Wild! And a new Spy on History book - Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army! Ah!  And we a get a new HiLo book this January! It’s called Waking the Monsters! (As my husband said - yeah, that sounds like what I do every weekday.) Our 8 year old is SUPER psyched about this new book! - so keep ‘em coming Judd Winick! Okay - and it’s not really a sequel BUT - there is just released a GRAPHIC NOVEL version of the first The Wings of Fire book - ahhhh!!!  It’s illustrated by Mike Holmes and my students are going to FREAK when I tell them  tomorrow. Some other January releases that are looking fabulous are…. Betty Before X  - an historical fiction novel set in the 40s about 11-year-old Betty Shabazz - future civil rights leader.  This one is written by her daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson Winterhouse by debut author Ben Guterson - this is an urban fantasy mystery set in a magical hotel containing a huge library with secrets to discover. We are also getting the first middle grade book by picture book author Angela Dominguez called Stella Diaz Has Something to Say! Another novel that looks REALLY interesting is called TBH, This is SO Awkward by Lisa Greenwald and it’s told entirely in texts.  So I definitely need to check that one out. And my friend Emily Montjoy has been raving about Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard so I’m looking forward to my turn with that one. Also - Leslie Connor, the author of the critically-acclaimed All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, has a new novel out in January called The Truth as Told By Mason Butte - so definitely check that one out. Natalie Lloyd also has a new novel coming out this January! So if you liked A Snicker of Magic or The Key to Extraordinary, look for The Problim Children - which is described as a mix between Lemony Snicket and the Addams Family... Annnd - the new Elly Swartz novel - Smart Cookie!!  I had a chance to read an ARC of this one with my daughters and oh I can’t wait for it to be out in the world! On to February … One that I’ve had a chance to read ahead of time is Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy and Ali Fadhil.  I’ll talk more about this book later when I have time to really go into depth, but for now I’ll just say - preorder it. A great historical fiction about an Iraqi boy during the first Gulf War. Then we have The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta - a fantasy about a New Jersey girl discovering that she may, in fact, be an Indian princess. The 11:11 Wish by Kim Tomsic looks really fun. It’s about a dorky math nerd who vows to reinvent herself at her new school. And when she makes a wish as the clock strikes 11:11, she gets granted a magical object that might help her. Shannon Hitchcock, author of Ruby Lee & Me has a new novel coming out in February - this one is call One True Way. Another one to look out for in February is Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters. With all the buzz about Wrinkle in Time with the new movie coming out, this book looks really great. Aaand - we get a new John David Anderson novel in February!! This one (Granted) is so different from Ms. Bixby or Posted, but I just loved it! It’s a fantasy novel about a fierce fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets who runs into some trouble as she attempts to grant her first wish. In March, there are so books I am really looking forward to! My principal won’t mind if a take a month-long reading sabbatical, right? Like Vanessa is the debut novel by author Tami Charles - it’s set in 1983 and is about a young girl inspired by seeing Vanessa Williams get crowned Miss America and is encouraged by her teacher to enter a beauty pageant. Lauren Magaziner has a new book out in March called Wizardmatch that looks like a fun fantasy. And The Science of Breakable Things by debut author Tae Keller looks really good - a book about a scientifically minded girl competing in an egg-drop contest AND using those skills to try to help her mom deal with her struggles. In March we also get Colby Sharp’s Creativity Project! An “awesometastic” collection of short stories developed from the author’s prompts to each other. It is a fantastic read and such a clever idea!  Definitely one that teachers will want on hand to spark your writers’ imaginations. The Train of Lost Things  by Ammi Joan-Paquette is another favorite of my #BookVoyage friend Emily Montjoy - who has amazing taste by the way. (Definitely go follow her on Twitter @mrsmontjoyreads ! ) So I’m looking forward to a chance to read this one as well. Oh! And the next Dan Gemeinhart novel comes out in March!! It is called Good Dog and I can’t read the synopsis to you or I’ll start crying but it sounds simply wonderful. Of course it is - it’s Dan Gemeinhart! March lets us reconnect with some favorite characters with a great bunch of sequels coming out. We get a new Emily Windsnap book, Emily Windsnap and the Falls of Forgotten Island. And a new Star Scouts graphic novel - League of Lasers   The third Narwhal and Jelly book (Peanut Butter and Jelly) come out.   The 78-Story Treehouse as well as a new Dory Fantasmagory book called Head in the Clouds along with a new Stick Dog Stick Dog Crashes a Party.   We also get Elana Arnold’s follow up to A Boy Called Bat - Bat and the Waiting Game   And - probably the book that I have been waiting and waiting for. DYING to read with my daughters - is The Wild Robot Escapes - the sequel to Peter Brown’s incredible The Wild Robot!  So - mark your calendars for March 13th, pre-order this one, AND - if you haven’t yet read the first one…. well, what’s the matter with you? Get on that! In April we have lots to look forward to including sequels, like: The next Moon Base Alpha book called Waste of Space, Janet Tashjian’s My Life As a YouTuber , and Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl will be out. And Adrienne’s Kress’ second Explorers book - The Reckless Rescue!   And the third book in Jason Reynold’s incredible Track series will be out! It’s called Sunny and follows “the chillest dude on the Defenders team”, but one with a troubled life at home that hides behind that sunny smile. And, the debut by Laurie Morrison and Cordelia Jenson, called Every Shiny Thing looks really really good…. I’m also looking forward to the new Jewell Parker Rhodes novel called Ghost Boys. It’s about a young boy who is killed by the police when they mistake his toy gun for the real thing. And as a ghost, he witnesses how that event unfolds in his neighborhood and meets other ghosts like Emmett Till. Oh that gives me chills just thinking about it! And - we get a new Kwame Alexander novel this year!  It is called Rebound - the much-awaiting prequel to his Newbery-winning The Crossover. This one about Josh and Jordan’s father, Chuck Bell. On to the awesome May releases to watch for: Terri Libenson’s new graphic novel - Positively Izzy looks great- it’s the companion to Invisible Emmie. And the The Cobalt Prince, the second 5 Worlds graphic novel will be out. Another May release that I am so so excited about is Most Valuable Players - the next Phil Bildner Rip & Red book. There are three books coming in May that have been getting a lot buzz lately - one is called Bob - written by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. I can’t wait to see the awesomeness THAT collaboration brings! The second one is Aisha Saeed’s middle-grade debut, Amal Unbound, which is about a Pakistani girl forced into working as an indentured servant to pay off her family’s debts. Friends who have read this one are saying it is  incredible. And then I keep hearing about Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Let me just read you a bit from the description and tell me this doesn’t sound AMAZING! Okay, “Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1-She lives in a motel, not a big house. Number 2- Her parents hide immigrants. Number 3-She wants to be a writer.” In June we have some really cool books coming our way: Kate Messner’s new novel Breakout - based on some details from the real-life (and close to home for me) breakout of two prisoners in New York and how the community reacts to that situation. I can’t WAIT for this one!!   Also - Kate Beasley (of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness) and Dan Santat (of a million books you love, most recently the picture book After the Fall) are teaming up for a book called Lions & Liars - about a boy named Frederick who is sent to a disciplinary camp for troublesome boys. That one looks phenomenal!   And Laura Shovan’s new book Takedown is coming this June!  Can’t wait to read this novel about a girl who wants to join the wrestling team. I keep hearing people raving about it on Twitter. And Barbara Dee has a new novel coming out in June called Everything I Know About You.   We also get to read Wendy McLeod MacKnight’s new middle grade novel The Frame-up! I had a chance to read this one this past fall and it is phenomenal. It’s about a young artist who goes to live with his father for the summer and attends an art-camp at the museum where his father is the director. And he soon discovers that the paintings are alive! Truly - after reading this book, I’ll never look at another painting the same way again.  It’s so so good!   And thankfully I have July and August off from school, so I can catch up AND snag some summer release books such as…. Cindy Baldwin’s debut  - Where the Watermelons Grow And my daughter will be thrilled to know there will be a new Dog Man this summer called Lord of the Fleas!   Oh! And Denis Markell, author of Click Here to Start has a new novel coming this summer called The Game Masters of Garden Place. Also this summer is a cool book called Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya. Let me read you a blurb: “Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target.” And the rest of the description is so good - definitely check this one out. This August we also get a new Jess Keating book! This one is called Cute as an Axolotl: Discovering the World's Most Adorable Animals So after August, specific publication dates get a little harder to come by. BUT - a few things have popped up. Like.. A new Last Kids on Earth book called The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond   The new Nameless City graphic novel called The Divided Earth   The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden!! A new Beatrice Zinker book! And I can’t wait for Jarrett Krosoczka's graphic novel memoir coming out called Hey, Kiddo.   Also - I saw, I think... a Sarah Weeks has a sequel to So B. It coming out called Soof? That is definitely on my radar!   And the big news in my class this week - the 8th Amulet book!!!!!! Woohoo!!!  Oh my gosh - my students cheered when I told them that Kazu Kibuishi announced this on Twitter last week!  It is called Supernova and has a beautiful cover so go check that out and make all your middle grade readers happy by pre-ordering it now. So so much to look forward to this year! And of course - I’ll keep you posted about all the amazing books headed our way so we can stay up to date. And definitely make sure you check out the show notes and check out those links so you can dive deeper and discover awesome new books that you are looking forward to reading this year. Main Topic - A Conversation with Jarrett Lerner This week I am so excited to welcome to the show Jarrett Lerner - author of the fantastic middle grade novel EngiNerds. We chat about his plans for the sequel, the power of the perfect metaphor, and Project Runway! Take a listen….. Interview Outline: Enginerds Enginerds has been getting all kinds of love lately - congratulations!! I saw Colby Sharp used Enginerds as his example in his 5 ways to support authors you love video. For those who aren’t (yet!) familiar with Enginerds, can you tell what this story is about? What was your thought process like when deciding what your robots would look like and act like? Enginerds is in a long and glorious line of children’s books and movies and TV shows featuring robots. What are some of your favorites? We are getting a book two, right?! Other Middle Grade Projects So I saw on Twitter last month that you have teamed up with Analiese Avery (@_AJAvery) to launch @MG_BookBot. How did that get started and what are your plans?   And I am so excited about your new middle grade focused website -  MG Book Village!  Aside from the twitter hashtags, what are you hoping to include on the site? Tell me about your KidLit Mentorship Project…. Project Runway Your Writing Life What is your writing process like? What are you working on now? Your Reading Life One of the things I talk about a lot with other educators is the power of that one person to really influence a child’s reading life - either in a really positive way or sometimes in a negative way. Was there someone in your life who impacted you as a reader? What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? Thank You!   Links: Jarrett’s Website - https://jarrettlerner.com Jarrett on Twitter and Instagram Books & Authors We Chatted About: Jasmine Toguchi Series Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus The First Rule of Punk Kurt Vonnegut Baby-Sitters Club Sweet Valley High Judy Blume Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker Clementine Ramona Jerry Spinelli The Game Masters of Garden Place Oddity Other Topics We Chatted About: MG Book Village Website #MGBookathon Electric 18 Debut Group Project Runway The Kentaro Dead Cat Scene Tim Gunn’s Golden Rules Melissa Roske’s Interview with Jarrett Lerner Closing Alright, that’s it for today! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher. Or even better - tell a friend about us! Thanks and see you soon!  Bye!