SMACK DAB NEWS

Congrats to Michele Weber Hurwitz, who celebrated a book birthday this week for Ethan Marcus Makes His Mark (S&S/Aladdin), her fourth middle grade novel. It's the sequel to last year's Ethan Marcus Stands Up.

Siblings Ethan and Erin Marcus are invited to attend a prestigious invention camp during winter break of seventh grade. The camp is run by the enigmatic, mysterious tech sensation Zak Canzeri, known to the world as "Z." Fidgety Ethan wants to finally create a working desk-evator (a device to allow kids to stand at their classroom desks) which he flubbed at the school Invention Day. Perfectionist Erin desperately wants to beat her archenemy Marlon Romanov, who thinks that girls aren't as good as boys at science. But at the camp, both Ethan and Erin question their abilities against a roomful of geniuses. On the last day, they team up with two new friends and think of a spectacular invention -- if there's enough time to create it and present to the judges! Narrated by five kids, the story allows readers to experience the same events from different perspectives.

CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR? POEMS OF RACE MISTAKES AND FRIENDSHIP by Irene Latham and Charles Waters has been recognized as:

an NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor Book,

a 2018 Kirkus Reviews' Best Middle-Grade Book

and a 2019 NCTE Notable Poetry Book

Hopefully this recognition will get the book into more readers' hands and help #startaconversation.


Also, if you haven't heard the good news, Indie bookstores are thriving! The American Booksellers Association says that small, independent bookstores fell by about 40 percent during the mid-90s to 2009. Some have since recovered, and this year, sales are up more than 5 percent compared to a year ago! The "buy local" movement has been a driving force, says the ABA, and customers are increasingly spending in their neighborhood stores. So please continue to support your local bookstore this holiday season, and always.