Personal Touch. In the land of Liberty, citizens add their seal to official documents. A design’s seal is unique … and usually of personal significance to the person who carries it. Do you recognize this seal?

Personal Touch. In the land of Liberty, citizens add their seal to official documents. A design’s seal is unique … and usually of personal significance to the person who carries it. Do you recognize this seal?


The Jacket turns a simple misunderstanding into one boy’s wrestling with his understanding of race, equality, and bigotry. The Cat Who Went to Heaven is a picturesque historical piece about a Japanese artist. It includes many simplified versions of stories about the life (and reincarnations) of Buddha. Drizzle is a delightful save-the-farm story that includes a magical rhubarb patch and regularly scheduled rainstorms.
For your Bookshelf. Nothing encourages kids to read and reread a series like having copies on your home bookshelves. The award-winning Byways Books are available as both paperbacks and hardcover library editions. (Contact CJ via email if you’re interested in ordering author-signed copies.)



In Buried Fire, the new minister at the church on the hill revels in the discovery of an ancient cross buried on their grounds. Meanwhile, a boy on a sleepy hillside is trapped and changed by a malicious thought that rises up from the Pit. In The Gravedigger’s Son, Ian is destined to follow in his father’s footsteps, watching over the dead. The only problem is, he’d really rather be a healer. And Night of the Howling Dogs is a survival story about a scout troop camping in Hawaii when an earthquake hits.
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Summer Reading! Time for a fresh sticky post, where I’ll keep my July BINGO board, part of the Summer Reading Challenge for #MGCarousel at Elymnifoquent.com, where Elza and I blog about middle grade books.

Play along! Grab your July bingo board here >>
Can’t read those tiny book covers? I’ve listed the titles/authors. Continue reading #MGCarousel – Summer Reading Bingo

Celebrating a triple BINGO! I’ve listed the title/author over on the original post – #MGCarousel – Summer Reading Bingo (June edition). And I’ll post my July bingo board shortly, which I’ll be working at in addition to #CampNaNoWriMo. (Hooray for a playful summer schedule!)
Every one of the Byways Books includes beautiful full-color art by my illustrator, Hannah Christenson. Here’s a sampling from Book #3, Over the Bridge: A Zane Johns Adventure.

The Peculiar (The Peculiar, #1)
Stefan Bachmann

In an England irrevocably marked by war against the Sidhe, Bartholomew Kettle must hide from prying eyes because of what he is. A changeling, born with both human and faery blood. Continue reading The Peculiar

In The Spindlers, Liza can tell something’s wrong with her brother. His soul has been stolen by the spindlers, and if she doesn’t get it back, Patrick will be gone for good. Wednesdays in the Tower is the second book in the Castle Gower series, which I love because … a sentient castle! And Freaks is a historical mystery with steampunk trimmings that centers around the members of a freak show.