Can you describe yourself with three book characters? I took up the challenge … and summed up my life with three redheads. (No, I do not have red hair.)
Who would you choose?
Describe Yourself
All posts by C. J. Milbrandt
Lock & Key Books
We’re halfway through the month already. Here are my book finds for the themes we set for May.
Day 01 – Key in the Title – There are dozens and dozens of possibilities. I just picked a few that I hadn’t featured anytime recently.
Day 02 – A Door on the Cover – Again, doors are a big deal in middle grade stories. I mean, hey! Portal Fantasy is a huge sub-genre. These are just a few. Look around! There are many, many more.
Day 03 – Inspired by Sherlock Holmes – I see we’re already getting creative with the them. Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite literary characters, so I’m always reaching for books inspired by the great detective.
Day 04 – Main Character is a Thief – another very popular theme in middle grade.
Day 05 – Gates on the Cover – Nearly as popular as doors, and always opening a way into intriguing places.
#MGCarousel Monthly Theme
Every month, Elza and I pick a theme around which to plan our posts. For May, we went with Lock & Key.
And because I enjoy little challenges, we created a list that embraces the theme in more specific ways. We definitely have fun trying to apply the theme to middle grade books. Piano keys. Locks of hair. Safes & thieves. I share my book finds on Twitter, but I’ll be doing a sort of summary post here, too.
You’re welcome to play along. Just use the #MGCarousel tag when you tweet.
#BookADayMay
Progress Report. It’s been nip and tuck since I’ve been on deadline for the last two weeks, but by the power of graphic novels, I’m hanging in there!
Isn’t that dangerous?
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 Otherworldly
In The Lighthouse Between Worlds, Griffin lives with his dad, who’s a lighthouse keeper on the Oregon coast. Homeschooled, he’s following in his father’s footsteps, learning to be a glassblower. They share the same quiet days and the same quiet grief, ever since Griffin’s mom died. But then an alarm shatters the quiet, and nothing can be the same again. Because the glass lens in the lighthouse is a portal, linking their world to several others. Cavern of Secrets is the second installment in the Wing & Claw trilogy. My review is spoiler-free: “Winter’s passed and Raffa is back. Little more can be said. It’s the middle book, so it does middle book things.” There you have it. And then there’s The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse. A princess who must preserve her people’s happiness and a girl who understands sadness team up to discover the secret of Dreadwillow Carse. This one has the feel of an allegory to it, and it wasn’t to my tastes. Too much of a downward spiral to the discoveries.
Which apartment is yours?
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 Mysteriously
In 80 Days or Die, close on the heels of Bk1, Max (and his cousin Alex) search for the ingredients of a medicine that could save the life of a friend. But in order to do so, they’ll have to recreate the journey that inspired their ancestor Jules Verne’s famous story, Around the World in Eighty Days. It’s not just a race against time. It’s a race against rivals. The 100-Year-Old Secret introduces Americans Xena and Xander Holmes, descendants of Sherlock Holmes, who tackle one of the great detective’s unsolved cases while visiting England. (I’d say it’s geared for lower middle grade readers.) And Snapdragon is a graphic novel about a girl who meets the town which, who can’t really be a witch. Probably.
#CurrentlyReading
#BookADayMay
May 1. Our annual challenge has begun! My strategy this year involves a combination of listening to books while I walk & do housework … and reading through the graphic novels I’ve been stockpiling since winter.
Nab your own calendar at Middle Grade Carousel >>
