MG Reading for the New Year

 

Happy new year--let’s explore some new middle grade books! Here are some excerpts from interviews I did with three MG authors for my blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb.

 

Maybe you’re looking forward to the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl? Fred Bowen’s latest sports-themed novel, Special Teams, might fit the bill. Bowen told me: “In Special Teams, Leo wants to play wide receiver because those are the players who score touchdowns and get all the glory. His particular skill set, however, makes him better suited to be a defensive back. The book is about how Leo comes to terms with that.” He added, “The writer and professor Scott Galloway has advised young people (mostly young men) not to ‘follow their dreams’ but instead to find something they are good at and that contributes to society. I think that is good advice and applicable to sports and life in general.”

 

Or maybe you’d like something a little scary? Check out Ally Russell’s new novel, Down Came the Spiders. Russell said: “Down Came the Spiders was inspired by a very common fear. A lot of people are afraid of spiders and bugs. (Even I keep my distance from creepy crawlies.) My editor and I wondered if young readers might want to curl up with a spooky book about arachnids, and it seems like we were right!” About her character Andi, she said, “I thought back to my own middle-school years, and I remembered how difficult the transition to young adult/teen was, especially as a kid who loved Halloween and trick-or-treating, so I wrote about that experience from Andi's perspective.”

 

Last but not least, what about a friendship story featuring a snowman? Take a look at Simon Stephenson’s new novel, The Snowman Code. He said of his characters Albert (the snowman) and Blessing: “Before I was a writer I was a children's doctor and I worked with kids in the care system. I always wanted to write something they might see themselves in.  Blessing is a kid like the ones I knew, and embodies much of the strength and resilience I saw in those kids.” He added, “At the opposite end of the scale, I always find it very funny when somebody is certain they are correct while clearly being wrong and Albert embodies that. There is another part of him, though – a kind of polite formality – that I think comes from my beloved late grandparents.”

 

I hope your 2026 is filled with good reading!

 

--Deborah Kalb