Getting Back into a Routine

Happy Monday everyone.

I have been so lax in posting on my blog lately. I'm going to try to get back into a routine of posting regularly.

So check back on Mondays and Wednesdays. I will try and post at least one of those days and maybe both.

There is a blog, Always in the Middle, that posts about middle grade books every Monday. They call it  MMGM (Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays). People review middle grade books. There is a click to their site and you can read what they have been reading. I used to post pretty regularly on this site, but haven't did it for a while, but I always try and go visit it every Monday.

Last Monday Patricia Tilton put up a very good review of my MG book, Duck and Cover. It was a nice surprise when I went over to her blog yesterday and saw it.

You can click here and read it. 

It is available on Kindle on Amazon. We are currently working a few kinks out of the manuscript, and the paperback will be put back up for sale shortly.

Happy reading and happy writing!

MMGM - Hank Zipzer The Curtain Went UP, My Pants Fell DOWN

Welcome to Marvelous Middle Grade Monday!

Henry Winkler is coming to our town in October. He is going to the local schools and speak to the children and then he is going to be the speaker at a dinner that evening. My husband and I are going!

I've always liked Henry as The Fonz, so I decided to see how his writing skills were. His books are co written by Lin Oliver.

I am reading his books and so far - I love them!

I have just finished:

Hank Zipzer The Curtain Went UP, My Pants Fell DOWN
Grosset & Dunlap 2007
27,254 words 158 pages

Hank and math just don't get along. In fact, he is lucky to get a D. Heather Payne, Miss Perfect. Miss I'd-Love-To-Do-Homework-For-The-Rest-Of-My-Life. Miss How-Many-Extra-Credit-Problems-Can-I-Do? Miss I've-Never-Gotten-Anything-Lower-Than-An-A-With-Thirty-Three Pluses, has been assigned to tutor him. He couldn't believe it, he almost fell out of his chair.

But, if he wants to be the King in the school's play, Anna and the the King of Siam (and he really, really wants to), his father says he has to get a B+ on his next math test.

They study together and he actually starts to get the hang of long division. Will he get a B+ on his test? But, if he does, there is someone else blocking his path to playing the King - Nick McKelty. Nick is the school bully with iguana-cage breath and he also wants to be king.

This is a super funny book and I thinks kids will love it.

Next week I will blog about another one of his books. 

Now go over to Shannon Messenger's Blog and see what other Middle Grade books people are blogging about.

Happy Writing - and Reading!

MMGM - sleuth or dare Partners in Crime

sleuth or dare Partners in Crime 
by Kim Harrington
Scholastic 2012

. . . is the latest book I've read.
I obtained this book from the Kellogg's Family Rewards Program.

Both girls are smart, but Darcy and Norah are different as salt and pepper. Darcy dresses in black and purple, lives and breathes the internet and computers and gets in trouble on a regular basis. Norah is a goody-goody and loves to help people. They have to create a fake business for a school project, but they don't want to do the ordinary like dog walking or pet sitting.  They decide to set up a website for their fake business - a detective agency called Partners in Crime.

To their surprise, their fake agency gets an email about a real case. Someone wants them to find their twin sister. They jump on the chance to solve a real mystery. Along the way, they get threats from someone who doesn't want them to solve the case. But, that only makes them more determined.

If you like mysteries, this is a fun read of only 29,944 words that I think kids will enjoy reading.

Want to read reviews on other middle grade books?
Follow the links on Shannon Messenger's Blog.


Posted by Janet Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

MMGM - Eight Keys

This week I read:
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur.
A Yearling Book
2011
 

On the author's site, I found this description. I couldn't put it any better.

Elise has loved her life with Aunt Bessie and Uncle Hugh so far, and she’s always been best friends with her neighbor, Franklin. But when Elise starts middle school, suddenly everything goes wrong: more family moves into their house; things with Franklin seem off, somehow; she can’t keep up in school; and her locker partner is a nightmare.

That’s when Elise discovers a secret, one that has been waiting for her since she was a little girl.

She’s never given much thought to the eight locked rooms above her uncle’s workshop in the barn; that is, not until she’s ready for something to change, not until she finds a key with her name on it…

But, I would like to add that I grew to care about Elise. She did grow and  learn. I rooted for her and liked the person she became. This story covers bullying and changing relationships.

Give it a read. I think you will like it.  
 In comes in at 44,910 words.

For more middle grade fun, check the links on

Shannon Messenger's Blog.

Posted byJanet Smart  on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.