New Month, New MG Books

 

New Month, New MG Books

 

It’s the beginning of August, and in the spirit of discussing things that are new, I’ve interviewed a lot of interesting middle grade authors recently about their new books on my (other) blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb.

 

Here’s a sampling…

 

Amy M. O’Quinn has written a new biography for kids of Beatrix Potter, Becoming Beatrix: The Life of Beatrix Potter and the World of Peter Rabbit. She told me: “Of course, everyone remembers her as a gifted author and illustrator, but I think that people outside of the UK are also beginning to realize just what an impact Beatrix had in the conservation and preservation of the English Lake District. She has also become an acknowledged expert of mycology (years after the fact), sheep breeding, farming, etc., but I imagine the majority will still associate Beatrix mostly with her writing and illustrating talents. I’m just happy that her other pursuits and successes are being recognized and celebrated.”

 

On the fiction side, I interviewed several authors about their new middle grade novels, including Anna Rose Johnson, Kwame Mbalia, Yehudi Mercado, and Will Taylor.

 

Johnson’s new historical novel is titled The Star That Always Stays. She said that “the basis of this story was inspired by my great-grandmother’s early teen years—a girl of Ojibwe heritage navigating her mother’s divorce and remarriage at the dawn of World War I. Once I began doing genealogy research, I was fascinated by her story and felt I could use it as the plot for a middle grade novel. This was one of the most fun aspects of drafting.”

 

Mbalia’s new novel, The Royal Trials, is the second in the Last Gate of the Emperor series he writes with Prince Joel Makonnen. Mbalia said he hopes kids take away a “sense of adventure that the future can hold. It would be awesome if kids who might become azmari-engineers in the future read this book now. There’s also the idea that not everyone will like everything you do, and that’s perfectly fine. All you can do is continue to work towards a better tomorrow.”

 

Mercado’s novel, Chunky Goes to Camp, is a sequel to his novel Chunky. Mercado said: “My time at Jewish summer camp was such a special time in my childhood that I couldn't not do an entire book about it. I wanted to celebrate my friendship with Pepe and the idea of having a friend you're so connected to also have the ability to see my imaginary mascot was so fun.”

 

And Taylor’s novel is titled The Language of Seabirds. He said: “Seabirds really started out just vibes, as they say. The title came to me first, along with an image of a boy on a beach watching another boy run past. I knew from that it was a first-crush love story, and I set about digging into who these boys were and what each of them was hoping for.”

 

I also interviewed Liam Francis Walsh and Alan Gratz about their new middle grade graphic novels.

 

Gratz’s new book, Captain America: The Ghost Army, focuses on the Marvel superhero. Gratz said: “Cap is a living, breathing human being who actively embodies one of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes: ‘Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.’ I hope that's what our country is, and will continue to be.”

 

And Walsh’s book, Red Scare, looks back at the 1950s. “Around 2011 I was getting all sorts of old movies out from the library, and I zeroed in on the sci-fi ones from the ‘50s and watched every one I could find. I loved the way they looked, and I wondered what it would be like to remix one so it better reflected the unvarnished reality of the world in 1953: kids with polio, limited opportunities for women, soldiers returning from war with PTSD, etc.”

 

I hope you check out some of these books and have some fascinating new reading experiences!

 

--Deborah Kalb