Gregory the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (and sequels). Chapter Book. “When his two-year-old sister Boots tumbles into an air duct in his building’s laundry room, Gregor leaps after her and they fall, à la Alice, into another world. Gregor wants desperately to get home—until he hears that his father, who left Gregor heavy-hearted by disappearing […]

The Ghost of Rancho Espanto by Adrianna Cuevas. Chapter Book. “Between his father’s strict nature and his mother’s worsening illness, Cuban American Rafa has retreated into playing The Forgotten Age with Beto and Yesi. However, after they attempt to steal a slushie machine from the school cafeteria as part of the game, Dad decides Rafa […]

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. Chapter Book. “Ten-year-old Livy, who lives in Massachusetts, hasn’t visited her Gran Nicholas’s house in Australia for five years. When she returns for a visit, Livy is struck by the feeling that something very important is waiting for her. Sure enough, a peek inside her closet reveals “a […]

Fantasy is a quite popular genre for Middle Grade (ages 10 to 14 generally) readers. Six out of ten of the current NY Middle Grade Kids’ Best Sellers are fantasy. (Let’s not sleep on non-fiction though!) High Fantasy books are set in another world (think Lord of the Rings and Narnia). Low Fantasy books are […]

In my recent set of posts about Author Studies, I have been using Kate DiCamillo as an example. Dicamillo is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Each of her fellow ambassadors would also be a good subject for an Author Study. These authors have written a wide range of books, from picture books […]