8+ Kids' Books Illustrated by Erin McGuire

I first discovered Erin McGuire's artwork when I reviewed French Ducks in Venice in the early days of this blog. Ever since then, I have kept an eye out for her distinct style and have discovered that she has done the covers - and sometimes the interior artwork - for many chapter books and novels. Today's list is a sampling of some of the wonderful covers she has done!

• A Song for Bijou by Josh Farrar
  When Alex develops a crush on Bijou, he does not realize how her strict family, her experiences during the 2010 Haitian earthquake, and the judgmental attitudes of their classmates will impact their budding relationship. 
• Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
  When Hazel's best friend Jack is hit by a snowball containing a shard of glass, he suddenly becomes cruel and callous, then disappears into the woods with a mysterious woman. In this retelling of The Snow Queen, Hazel realizes she must be the one to save him and bring him home again.

• The Hard Pan Trilogy by Susan Patron
  In this series, which begins with the 2007 Newbery Medal winner, The Higher Power of Lucky, a young orphan from a very small town in California struggles to come to terms with the loss of her mother, the love of her guardian, Brigitte, and various other problems that befall her community. The first two books were originally illustrated by Matt Phelan, but Erin McGuire redid the covers when the third book was published in 2011. The titles in this trilogy, with links to my reviews are below:
• The Higher Power of Lucky (2006)
• Lucky Breaks (2009)
• Lucky for Good (2011)
  
   

• Nancy Drew Diaries series by Carolyn Keene
  This latest middle grade reboot of the Nancy Drew series represents a return to the traditional sleuthing associated with the character, without relying on a lot of technological gadgets and other modern aids to solve her cases. There are ten titles in the series. (Links are to my reviews, where available.)
• Curse of the Arctic Star 
• Strangers on a Train
• Mystery of the Midnight Rider 
• Once Upon a Thriller
• Sabotage at Willow Woods
• Secret at Mystic Lake
• The Phantom of Nantucket 
• The Magician's Secret
• The Clue at Black Creek Farm
• A Script for Danger
   

• Saranormal series by Phoebe Rivers
  Sara Collins is a twelve-year-old psychic who tries to lead a normal life while also communicating with ghosts and discovering more and more of her own supernatural powers. There are 11 titles in the series. (Links are to my reviews.)

• Ghost Town
• Haunted Memories
• Mischief Night
• Spirits of the Season
• Moment of Truth
• Giving Up the Ghost
• The Secrets Within
• Kindred Spirits
• Playing with Fire
• A Perfect Storm 
• Yesterday and Today

• Shelter Pet Squad series by Cynthia Lord
  In this chapter book series, Suzannah, a second grader, can't have a pet of her own due to her landlord's strict rules, so instead she joins the Shelter Pet Squad, where she is the youngest member. In each book of the series, the squad works to find a home for a specific animal by researching it needs and finding the best potential owner to meet them. There are three books so far. (Links are to my reviews.)

• Jelly Bean
• Merlin
• Paloma

For samples from these books, and more art by Erin McGuire, visit her website. See more illustrator book lists here.

Bout of Books Progress Day 7 / Final Wrap-Up Post

Another Bout of Books has come to an end! On day 7, I finished two books:

• Friendly Gables by Hilda van Stockum (vintage MG)
• The Wonderful Year by Nancy Barnes (vintage MG)

I also read about half of Howl's Moving Castle, but decided to sleep rather than try to rush through the rest of it.

My final reading total for the bout was 30 books, which is 6 more than I originally planned. I did not, however, complete all of my specific goals. Here they are again, with notes on what I did and did not accomplish:  

• Read three titles for Fumbling Through Fantasy.
  I read one (The Gammage Cup) and a half (Howl's Moving Castle). I take a really long time to read fantasy, so I sort of had a feeling I might not accomplish this goal anyway.  
• Read one Old School Sunday title.
  I ended up reading five of these. They were more interesting than the fantasy titles, and I always have a backlog so they were readily available. 
• Read my 1960s and 1970s titles for Newbery Through the Decades.
  Read both (The Gammage Cup for the 60s, Summer of the Swans for the 70s.) I also read my 80s title (On My Honor). 
• Read ARCs for middle grade books coming out in June and July.
  I ended up reading all of these except Lucky Strikes, which for some reason I didn't realize was YA until now. I've decided not to read it at all. 
• Read ARCs of chapter books coming out in June and July.
  I read all of these. 
• Read all the YA ARCs I currently have.
  There are two I didn't get to: Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories and It's Not Me, It's You.

I'm looking forward to writing all my reviews over the next three months so I can be ready for another round of intense reading when the August Bout of Books comes around! 

Bout of Books Progress Day 6

As the read-a-thon winds down, so does my reading. I made a lot of good progress, though, so even if I don't get much done on the last day, I'll still feel that it was worth participating. On day six, I read one single volume, which contained two books:

• Carney's House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace (vintage YA)
• Winona's Pony Cart by Maud Hart Lovelace (vintage MG)

I also started Friendly Gables by Hilda Van Stockum, and I hope to finish it before the end of the read-a-thon. 

Everything I Know About Surviving Middle School I Learned from a Middle Grade Novel

Today's topic for Armchair BEA is Surviving Fictional Worlds. Because I focus almost exclusively on realistic fiction written for children, there aren't many fictional worlds in the books I read that are all that different from the real world that I live in. But there is one world which, no matter the character, no matter the time and geographical location, is difficult to survive. That is the world of middle school. I have read what probably amounts to hundreds of middle grade novels set in middle school, and many of them have similar themes and messages. Today, I'd like to share a few things young readers can learn from these books about surviving middle school.

Tell the truth.

Lying is a big problem for many fictional middle schoolers. Often kids lie to impress a potential boyfriend/girlfriend, like Kevin Spencer (from Liar Liar by Gary Paulsen) who lies to get out of class in order to get closer to his crush, Tina, or Cici Reno (Cici Reno, Middle School Matchmaker), who pretends to be someone else on Twitter in order to get the attention of the boy she likes. Other characters lie to manipulate situations, like Avery from Fake Me a Match by Lauren Barnholdt, who tries to win over her stepsister by rigging a matchmaking service to pair her with her crush, or Sadie from Peanut by Ayun Halliday, who invents a peanut allergy in order to make herself seem more interesting. There are even characters who lie to cover up what they've done, such as Thad in How to Break a Heart by Kiera Stewart. In all of these situations, though, the lies snowball to the point where they take over the characters' lives and eventually, the awful truth comes out in an awkward and difficult confrontation. 

Make friends who share your interests. 

I have to admit that the ease with which girls find like-minded friends in fictional middle schools is not always believable. I really didn't have friends during middle school at all, so this idea that you could walk into the cafeteria (or detention, or an after school club meeting) and immediately find your tribe sometimes makes me roll my eyes. But it's definitely worked in series like How to Survive Middle School, Annabelle Unleashed, The Odd Squad, The Snob Squad, and Nerd Girls. Personally, though, I think Jamie's friendship with Isabella in the Dear Dumb Diary books is much closer to the truth for most middle schoolers.

Don't bring your diary to school. 

Harriet from Harriet the Spy learned the hard way what happens when you write down blunt observations of your classmates and those words fall into the wrong hands. Still, that hasn't stopped other fictional characters from keeping diaries and bringing them to school. In both Mackenzie Blue and  This is All Your Fault, Cassie Parker, diaries are stolen and shared with the very people from whom they should have been kept most secret. If a middle schooler is going to share her innermost thoughts, it is best to do so at home, and then hide the evidence!

Don't over-emphasize popularity. 

Many, many protagonists in novels about middle school worry about their popularity, but whether they lose it, experience it temporarily, or can't even achieve it in the first place, they eventually realize that being well-liked by many people is not as satisfying as have one or two close friends. This common theme runs through many popular series: Dork Diaries, Popularity Papers, The Classroom and The Winnie Years, as well as in titles like Always, Abigail, Mission (Un)popular, and Pack of Dorks.

To explore more of the world of fictional middle school, try these posts: 8 Funny Middle School Series for Boys and 12 Middle Grade Series About Friendship for Girls.