• Lists

    12 Therapy-Positive Middle Grade Books

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    October 1 – 7 is Mental Illness Awareness Week and to boost the openness and acceptability of mental health, I’m sharing 12 therapy-positive middle grade books. I’ve got a number of other book lists available including 16 Middle Grade Books About Mental Health and 9 Middle Grade Books for World…

  • Lists

    15 Middle Grade Books by Hispanic Authors

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    We’re smack dab in the middle of Hispanic American Heritage Month and although I did create a blog post highlighting just a few storytime picture book creators, I wanted to make sure I shone the spotlight on some amazing middle grade creators too! There are so many amazing Hispanic authors…

  • Lists

    18 Zombie Books for Kids & Teens

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    Halloween is right around the corner and for many, that means pulling out all the stops for all things spooky and scary. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m a pretty big scaredy-cat, so I’m not a big fan of the horror genre. That being said, I’ll give most things…

  • Lists

    12 Middle Grade Books Set in NYC

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    The Big Apple is an iconic setting for so many books and movies. New York City is such a big setting, it often becomes a character in its own right. These 12 middle grade books set in NYC, range in genre and style, but all have the same setting. I…

  • Lists

    10 Middle Grade Anthologies

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    I’m really excited to share this book list with you today! I think anthologies are a great way to introduce readers to A LOT of writers in a very non-threatening way. But, first let me back up a bit and explain what I mean. An anthology is a collection of…

  • Activities

    Norse Mythology for Tweens

    With the popularity of Rick Riordan’s books, I was sure that the new series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard would be a HUGE hit, but I think I jumped the gun a little too quickly because most of the kids I know have had the chance to read…

  • Activities

    Tween Program: DIY Spa Night

    We were super busy last night in the library.  Each year we ask our middle school group (Jr. Friends) to help us film a commercial to promote the summer reading club.  Thankfully, our government access channel staff helps us with the filming and sound.  So, while 20 kids had to…