Elza and I love games almost as much as we love reading middle grade books. You’ll find more of these over on Middle Grade Carousel and posting throughout the day on our Twitter account. Follow us and play along! ~CJ
All posts by C. J. Milbrandt
#amreading Intensity
In New Kid, Jordan is the new kid at a private school full of rich kids and lacking in diversity. His insights and asides are often the subject of the comics he creates. A graphic novel that blends humor and honesty. In Flush, Noah’s dad is in prison for sinking the Coral Queen, a pleasure ship which has (allegedly) been emptying its holding tanks straight into the ocean. But no one can prove it. So Noah and his sister decide to get the proof they need. And The Empty Grave follows close on the heels of the previous book, bringing Lockwood & Co. to its series finale. All I’m going to say is … perfect.
August BINGO
I’m tackling my summer reading, one BINGO board at a time. Here’s what’s in store for August. I’ve already been poking through my Want to Read list on Goodreads & on the bookshelves at home to find titles that fit this month’s board.
Join usJoin in! Grab your board at MGCarousel.
July BINGO (x3)
That’s a Wrap. Here’s the final board for my July BINGO efforts. I managed a triple this month. Not bad, not bad.
Is that a pencil?
Elza and I love games almost as much as we love reading middle grade books. You’ll find more of these over on Middle Grade Carousel and posting throughout the day on our Twitter account. Follow us and play along! ~CJ
#amreading Wholeheartedly
In Takedown, Mikayla wrestles just like her two older brothers. It’s a Delgado family tradition. But the last thing Lev expected this season was being partnered with a girl. Tough choices & emotional depth. Loved it! Queen of the Bee is a straightforward lower middle grade chapter book, featuring Sophie’s family life & the challenges she faces at school. Mighty Jack and the Goblin King follows *immediately* on the heels of Mighty Jack. The friends try to take back what they lost. Sewers and portals and pipes, with a dangling plot thread that is driving me crazy … and final page that made me very, very happy.
Good Sport
Elza and I love games almost as much as we love reading middle grade books. You’ll find more of these over on Middle Grade Carousel and posting throughout the day on our Twitter account. Follow us and play along! ~CJ
#amreading Mightily
Charlie Bone and the Red Knight is the final installment in the 7-book series. Loved watching the final pieces slide into place. Excellent series with a satisfying resolution. A Likely Place is a very short story about a boy who doesn’t fit in with his parents’ or teachers’ expectations of him. And then there’s Mighty Jack, the first in a new series of graphic novels by Ben Hatke. Jack trades the family car for some magic beans, and…. Okay, not really. But there is a shifty salesman, a police report, a single mom, a mute sister, a homeschooled neighbor, and a boxful of alien seed packets. Note: Best to read the three Zita the Spacegirl books first.
I know this game.
Elza and I love games almost as much as we love reading middle grade books. You’ll find more of these over on Middle Grade Carousel and posting throughout the day on our Twitter account. Follow us and play along! ~CJ
#amreading Diligently
My attachment to Zenta and Matsuso, the two ronin detectives in Lensey Namioka’s series brought me to Village of the Vampire Cat, the fourth in the series. Tea ceremony, New Year traditions, and missing girls. Serafina’s Promise is a novel in verse set in Haiti, where life is hard. Her family scrabbles for the barest necessities, and tragedy strikes. Resilience and love are certainly themes, but a sobering read. And my read-through of Jenny Nimmo’s series (which is technically called The Children of the Red King even though I tend to call it the Charlie Bone series) continues apace. Charlie Bone and the Shadow is the penultimate title (6 of 7).
