A Sampling of New Middle Grade Books

 

A Sampling of New Middle Grade Books

 

It’s May, and time to dive into some great new middle grade books. I had the pleasure over the past month of interviewing three MG authors: Sydney Dunlap, L.M. Elliott, and Teresa Robeson, on my blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb.

 

Dunlap’s new novel, It Happened on Saturday, focuses on the issue of human trafficking. She told me: “It Happened on Saturday grew out of my work with child trafficking survivors and my realization that there was very little literature for young readers addressing this topic, even though kids ages 11 to 14 are especially vulnerable. I decided to write a character-driven, age-appropriate novel to help middle grade readers understand the risks and the need to be careful and aware as they go online and use social media.”

 

Elliott wrote a historical novel, Bea and the New Deal Horse, which takes place during the Depression of the 1930s. Elliott said of the relationship between her protagonist, 13-year-old Bea, and a chestnut horse she comes to love: “Wrestling with her own hurts and distrust stemming from all the catastrophes that have befallen her in her short 13 years, Bea instinctively empathizes with the horse’s wary, angry, and at times dangerous attitude—especially after learning of his mistreatment under a previous owner. She saves the chestnut from colic and the glue factory. In turn, he will learn to trust her, carry her in breath-taking flight over jumps, and teach her to find joy again. After many mishaps and doubt, this ‘beaten-up horse and beaten-down girl’ will find that poetic and almost balletic communion possible between a horse and a gifted rider.”

 

Robeson has written a nonfiction book about the Dalai Lama, Who Is Tibet’s Exiled Leader?: The 14th Dalai Lama, part of the “Who Is” series about notable people. When asked what she sees as some common perceptions and misconceptions about her subject, she said: “I’m not really aware of what people think of the Dalai Lama, but a possible misconception they might have is that he is holier-than-thou. That is completely not the case! He will readily tell you that he was a mischievous and headstrong child. He’s comfortable with the idea that while he is the embodiment of the eternal Dalai Lama spirit, he is also a fallible human being like everyone else. He doesn’t have to be a saint to teach compassion, his mission in life, and he wants people to know we don’t have to be perfect to be compassionate.”

 

Please take a look at these books, and thanks for reading!

 

--Deborah Kalb