As kids get halfway through middle school they could lose their ability to use adjectives. I’m normally a glass-half-full kind of a guy. However, the essays that I see in 9th grade have a majority of students who need a map, compass and guide dog in order to find adjectives. They’d be overly excited if they came up with two ways to describe the weather in July and then ask for a waiver on future assignments. A Tale of Plagues and Perfumes is one of the more original middle-grade releases you’ll read this year. It does that by delving into a world that mglit readers know as familiar, but not too familiar, and exploring a realm that other books haven’t had the scents to do.
smells like teen readingWild About Capybaras! packs a lot of fun in its early-elementary package.
Wild About Capybaras! What the heck is a capybara? Do capybaras, sloths and quokkas belong to a slow-moving club that secretly meets south of the Equator? Is it really possible to Giggle and Learn? Giggle and Learn Series are Toon Books by Kevin McCloskey that are smarter than they look and more fun than they seem. Wild About Capybaras! is a fun book to read, which raises the question, can early-elementary ages really have fun reading? So many questions, let’s unpack them. However, in case you’ve got to split, the answer is “yes”.

What Makes A Bird?, timeless STEM that crosses into enjoyment
Quite often, we’ll talk about all-age comic books. These are comic books that can be enjoyed by any age; but have the ability to serve as entertainment for young ages. Is there such a thing as an all-age reference book? There is, but to call them a ‘reference book’ could be a disservice to how entertaining some of them are. What Makes A Bird? An Illustrated Guide to the Bird World is a fun, entertaining ‘reference book’ that belies the dreaded boring label young ages might apply to something that’s not brain rot. The book has a classic, timeless vibe that can be attributed to its illustrations and presentation.

The Traitor Moth, adventure fantasy that hides in plain sight for 8 and up
It could’ve begun as a side comment, or maybe even a dare. Write a book that has an action backbone, with the heart and emotive lessons that are age-appropriate, and entertaining, for upper-elementary and mglit audiences, with a moth as the main character. A moth. That flighty, lightweight, seemingly pointless creature who is hopelessly attracted to light and the punchline to a classic Norm Macdonald joke and its nemesis, Gregory Illininivich. Author Katherine Orton heard this sidebar, slipped into her moth exoskeleton, said hold this light and created The Traitor Moth. This is the first in the Moon Realm fantasy book series that lives in the world of eight through twelve-year-old, reading-because-it’s-awesome space.
Adventure fantasy at a jumping off pointA Fishboy Named…Sashimi, starts a beautiful, early graphic novel friendship
Dan Santat is an author whom elementary-aged students know. Dan Santat is an illustrator whom elementary-age students know. By the time kids enter elementary school, they’ve read at least two illustrated books from Dan Santat and one of his graphic novels. * His name is as ubiquitous in children’s literature as Michael Connelly or James Patterson are for adult readers of a certain type. A Fishboy Named…Sashimi is an early reader graphic novel from Dan Santat that does what his fans expect and continues in a strange, new, wonderful direction.

Double Crossed, the kind of can’t-miss, non-fiction that kids want to read
Double agent: an agent who pretends to be a spy for one country or organization while in fact acting on behalf of an enemy. The concept of a double agent makes my head spin. I understand who a spy is and what they do. A double agent gets a little tricky when it comes to fully comprehending who or what they’re spying on. They have to report to their handler in their home country, as well as their contact in the country they’re spying on. Additionally, they have liaisons in both countries and need to keep their cover identity intact. Failure to do so is almost certainly torture and death, plus all manner of pain their families and loved ones would be subject to. Longest prologue ever. Double Crossed: The WWII Spies Who Saved D-Day is the amazing, non-fiction account of D-Day and the duplicity that was needed in order for it to succeed.

It’s a Danny Go’s Volcano Adventure, world, we’re just living in it
When you know, you know, and even though I don’t have children in that demographic, you know when you see Danny Go. Danny Go! is the manic show for toddlers through first grade that your friend’s children are humming. The thing is, that the music is very catchy. It’s legitimately catchy-in a non-ironic manner, that adults will be bouncing along to the beats too. Their videos have millions upon millions of views. The videos have a wide cast of characters with distinct personalities. They’re hopelessly entertaining and Danny Go’s Volcano Adventure takes that spirit and jams it into an illustrated book for the same age.

Jake Spooky and the Wolves Within Him is why kids read
There’s a 1 on the spine of Jake Spooky and the Wolves Within Him. Jake Spooky is a punk rock ghost. He’s got the surly soul of today’s teens and throws up wolves, at least in this first book does that. Jake lives with Brand-O, a cool, flip-flop-wearing human with an old-school television as his head and an upright walking cat who doesn’t speak much, named Quincy. Elementary school graphic novel readers-Are you not entertained? If a graphic novel were a character in a movie, then Jake Spooky and the Wolves Within Him is Maximus Decimus. Its absurd, playful content gleefully runs circles around other early reader, graphic novels. Amidst all of this running, it still has the bandwidth to ask an obvious question, and yes, we are.
Yes, yes we are, part deux



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