I am a bit late with this post and so my November book pile is mounting up. Here are some of the Middle Grade titles on my pile and why I selected them from the thousands of books I encounter each time I visit a bookshop or library. I will also be reading picture books, junior nonfiction and a few other middle grade titles on my Kindle:
The Cloud Thief by James Nicol
I have read 190 pages of the 290 in this book and I am LOVING it. I am sure I will finish this one later tonight. I loved a previous book by James Nicol - The Spell Tailors and so that is why I picked this one up at The Book Bunker at Westmead Children's Hospital.
Blurb from the author web page: Mara lives with her father in a drought-stricken village, where rain comes at a price controlled by powerful cloud-makers. Without enough water, the village crops, animals and people will continue to suffer. When Mara’s father’s illness takes a turn for the worse, she sneaks to The Cloud Factory in the hopes a healthy cloud will help him. But stealing a cloud isn’t simple, as Mara soon finds – and she begins to discover the secrets behind The Cloud Factory…
The Windeby Puzzle by Lois Lowry
Bookseller blurb: Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in? Inspired by the true discovery of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany, Newbery Medalist and master storyteller Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron age world as she breathes life back into the Windeby child, left in the bog to drown with a woolen blindfold over its eyes.
I have been a fan of Lois Lowry ever since (decades ago) I read The Giver. Later I loved The Willoughbys and the Gooney Bird Greene series.
This is a US title. Ours here in Australia has a different cover. Here is the Australian publisher blurb: For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has always been everyone's hero: a pro football superstar, a beloved member of the neighbourhood and a really, really great dad. But there's something not right about ZJ's dad these days. He's having trouble remembering things, seems to be angry all the time and is starting to forget ZJ's name. Bit by bit, ZJ has to face this new reality that his family can't keep holding on to his dad's glory days. As his dad begins to have more bad than good days, will they ever find happiness again?
Jacqueline Woodson was the 2020 winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award from IBBY.
Bravepaw by LM Wilkinson
Blurb from the author page: Titch has always longed for adventure - just like the gallant mouse hero Bravepaw in all her favourite stories. But she is the smallest mouse in her family, living in a peaceful little village where nothing exciting ever happens . . . until DIRE TROUBLE comes to the Plateau! Titch and her best friend Huckleberry must set out on a DANGEROUS QUEST to take the Heartstone to repair the crack in the heart of Alluria before the whole world breaks apart. Can Titch ever hope to live up to the legend of Bravepaw?
This book is a junior novel and it is Australian. I am excited to discover if this might have a chance with our 2025 CBCA Awards as a Younger Readers Notable title.
The Lost History by Melanie La'Brooy
UQP Blurb: After rescuing Princess Seraphine from the evil Malevolents, servant girl Penn thought her fate had finally changed. But now her powerful Talisman is gone and Seraphine is ignoring her again. Even worse, the ruthless Inquisitor has been summoned to uncover why Malevolence has returned to Arylia and fingers are pointing at Penn. Her only hope is to find the Lost History, which might be the key to unlocking both the Inquisitor’s and her own mysterious past. But someone else is hunting for it – only they want to destroy it. Even as she races to retrieve the Lost History, Penn knows that if she digs up her past, she might not like what she finds. Because Malevolence has started calling to her and she’s finding it strangely hard to resist …
I was sent this as a review copy back in late August but I just didn't have time to read it before I headed to the IBBY 2025 Congress in Trieste. I previously read The Wintrish Girl.
The What on Earth institute of Wonder by Lisa Nicol
Publisher blurb: A mind-boggling expedition into the secrets of the Animal Kingdom with only an invisible map of the human heart as a guide. (Unless, of course, you count the talking parrot.) What on Earth could possibly go wrong…? Sal has always had an affinity with animals – especially the lost kind. But when two rare and endangered creatures appear out of nowhere, life takes a detour into strange and uncharted territory... One elephant, one kakapo, one unlicensed teenage driver, one boy waiting for the world to end and a twelve-year-old girl with a very special gift.
I adored a previous book by Australian author Lisa Nicol - Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth.
The Midwatch by Judith Rossell
Bookseller blurb: Banished to the Midwatch Institute for Orphans, Runaways and Unwanted Girls, Maggie Fishbone is sure she’s in for a life of drudgery. But she quickly discovers there’s more to the Midwatch than meets the eye … The city shimmers with jewels and secrets, and soon Maggie is thrust into an adventure that takes her deep underground, high above the clouds and face to face with danger itself.
I own a small, limited edition print of an illustration of Withering by sea. Australian author/illustrator Judith Rossell is a master storyteller.
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