Tag Archives: Middle Grade

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | November 22, 2021 · 11:33 am

The Haunted Hanging Tree Blitz

Middle Grade / YA Historical Fiction

Publisher: Austin Macauley

The Haunted Hanging Tree is a historical fiction book involving ten-year-old Scooter Kane and his twelve-year-old sister, Mary. They accidently learn their great-great-great-grandfather, William Kayne, was hanged for murdering the sheriff of Dry Glutch, California in 1873. Kayne swore he was innocent as he stood on the hanging platform in front of the locals and announced his soul would never leave the town until his name was cleared. Scooter and Mary leave their Iowa home to visit Uncle Armando and Cousin Carlos in the historic gold rush country of Northern California determined to learn the truth about their long dead relative. Carlos and his friend, 3J, lead Scooter and Mary on horseback to the “Hanging Tree,” which Scooter soon believes is haunted with William Kayne’s spirit.

About The Author

David Krumboltz was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After graduating from the University of Iowa, he served about 3 ½ years as an officer in the Navy both on land and at sea with his last duty station being Treasure Island. He became an accidental writer when he and his sister decided to jointly write a fictional children’s mystery book, “Counterfeit Detectives,” with the setting being their childhood town just for their own entertainment. For the last 15 years, he has been writing an automotive column in the San Francisco Bay Area about classic cars for The East Bay Times/Mercury News. Recently a second book has been published called “The Haunted Hanging Tree” co-authored with his son, Michael. Michael, earned an undergraduate degree from Miami University of Ohio and a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from St Mary’s College of California. He has worked as a writer for Yahoo and is currently a writer for Netflix. Both authors live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Enjoyed by seniors as well as kids, the book has received excellent reviews and is available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble.

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by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | November 15, 2021 · 5:00 am

Gobbledy Virtual Book Tour

Holiday/Middle Grade

Date Published: 10-24-2020

Publisher: Spark Press

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Ever since eleven-year-old Dexter Duckworth and his brother, Dougal, lost
their mom, everything has been different. But “different” takes
on a whole new meaning when, one day just before Christmas (or Kissmas, as
they call it), Dexter finds a golden rock in the forest that hatches into an
adorable alien. Gobbledy is smarter than he seems and is lost on planet
Earth. Before long, Gobbledy takes Dexter, Dougal, and their best friend Fi
on an adventure of friendship, family, and loss―one that requires them all
to stay out of trouble, protect Gobbledy from a shadowy group called the
Planetary Society, and prepare for their school’s Winter Extravaganza
Play, where Dexter has to be a dreaded Gingerbread Man.

Gobbledy is a fun-filled holiday story that adds up to two brothers, three
friends, unlimited jars of peanut butter, a ketchup factory, and one little
alien far, far from home.

2021 Independent Press Awards Winner in Holiday

2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Silver Medal Winner

2021 Book Excellence Awards Finalist in Holiday

2020 New York City Big Book Awards Winner in Holiday

2020 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Gold Medal Winner

2021 15th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards Finalist

“Hugely entertaining as well as emotionally moving.”

―Kirkus Reviews

“This charming alien-in-the-attic story boasts engaging characters,
witty storytelling, and a furry little beast that will eat anything, all
wrapped up in a warm holiday package.”

―Booklife

“A delightfully entertaining novel by an author with a genuine flair
for originality and the kind of narrative storytelling style that will fully
engage the imaginative attention of appreciative young readers ages 8-11,
Gobbledy by Lis Anna-Langston . . . will prove to be an immediate and
enduringly popular addition to elementary school, middle school, and
community library collections.”

―Midwest Book Review

“In Gobbledy, Lis Anna-Langston offers her readers a sparkling novel
of discovery, adventure, and the abiding consolation of friendship . . .
Eleven-year-old protagonist Dexter’s progress from bumbling
troublemaker to triumphant (but still bumbling) hero is sweet, utterly
convincing, and thoroughly engaging. This novel’s generous heart won
me over from the get-go.”

―John Gregory Brown, acclaimed author of A Thousand Miles from
Nowhere

About the Author

Lis Anna-Langston was raised alongside the winding current of the
Mississippi River on a steady diet of dog-eared books. She attended a
creative and performing arts school from middle school until graduation and
went on to study literature at Webster University. She is a Parents’
Choice Gold and a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award Winner. She draws
badly and sings loudly, and loves ketchup, starry skies, and stories with
happy endings aliens.

You can find her in the wilds of South Carolina plucking stories out of
thin air. Find more fab facts at www.lisannalangston.com.

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Tagged as Gobbledy, Holiday, Lis Anna-Langston, Middle Grade

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | February 12, 2021 · 5:00 am

Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere Blitz

Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere

Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle-Grade Fantasy

Publisher: Dragon’s Egg Books

A shapeshifting magic fantasy adventure filled with dragons, witches, wizards, fairies and fun.

Dirk is a budding boy wizard who hatched as a dragon and has a ring that turns him back into one. For his summer vacation, he’s leaving Roman Britannia on a secret journey to tell the dragon who raised him she’s free from a curse.

He doesn’t realize he’s being tracked by his worst enemy, the sorceress who abducted him as a baby and blames him for her husband’s death. Treacherous Ethelda thinks Dirk has her fiendishly powerful wand and she’ll do anything to get it back.

The Roman Army wants the Wand of the Black Sphere, too, worried Ethelda will use it against them, and they’re looking for Dirk, the last one seen with it. But Dirk’s halfway around the world dealing with monsters and magic they couldn’t imagine.

Praise for Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere:

“The third volume of Stevens’ middle-grade series is a perfect balance of education and entertainment. … Detailed illustrations by the author enliven scenes throughout. … The lively final volume of a charming series.” – Kirkus Reviews

Other Books in the Dragon Lad Trilogy:

Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg

Publisher: Dragon’s Egg Books

Fly through page after page of adventures with Dorg as the young dragon discovers an astonishing truth about himself: he may not be a dragon after all.

Dorg hatches small due to a magic curse. A tough start in the biting, clawing, flame-spitting world he lives in. At first, all he wants to do is end the curse, so he can be like the other dragons. But friends and enemies help him see that being a big, mean dragon isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

Along the way, he encounters a mysterious pendant, shapeshifting dragons, a grouchy witch who loves wildlife, an absentminded wizard, and a swarm of friendly insects.

Heartwarming and humorous, this book is the first in a trilogy of stories about learning to live in harmony with one’s self as well as with nature. An egg-straordinary fantasy awaits the reader.

Amazon

Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman

Publisher: Dragon’s Egg Books

Magic and adventure abound in this second book in the Dragon Lad trilogy.

“Tale of the Talisman” follows our young, dragon-hatched hero as he seeks his parents, his past and his destiny in Roman-ruled Britannia. A boy without a history — at least one that he can remember — Dirk turns to his shape-shifting friends for help. They launch him on a quest involving the one clue he has to his previous existence: a magic talisman.

The wizard Beldor gives Dirk a ring that allows him to re-enter the realm he thought he’d left behind. Armed with this ring and a magic map, he travels a trail leading to a raging dragon, a slippery mermaid, two grasping sorcerers and a legion of Roman soldiers. He also rediscovers a long-lost friend and powers he never imagined.

Fast-paced and funny, “Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman” is a modern classic that can be read alone or as a companion to the first novel in the trilogy, “Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg.”

Amazon

Excerpt

Chapter Nineteen

Dorg tried to pull up. It only reduced the speed of his impact. He hit the ground hard and blacked out.

He regained consciousness in a daze of pain. His ears were ringing, jaw ached, wing burned, shoulder throbbed. Turning on his side to touch the inflamed shoulder, he dislodged the raven perched there. He grimaced at the bird as it squawked to the ground, then took in his surroundings.

He lay on a mat of animal skin in one of the human dwellings. Dug into the ground like a burrow, with stonework above and below the level of the ground, it had a domed, willow-frame roof covered with skins. In the center, some sort of animal fat burned in a soapstone trough with moss wicks, illuminating a short entry tunnel, benches, clothing hung from leather cords, and

baskets full of herbs, plants and tools made of antler, stone and bone. The dwelling was crowded, yet they’d managed to fit a dragon with large wings and a body the size of a small bull inside. As he wondered how, the raven demanded his attention.

“Tok!”

“Sorry, I don’t speak raven,” Dorg responded in the hawk language. “Do you speak hawk?”

The raven uttered a “pruk” that reminded him of a human sigh. Then, revolving on his claws, he transformed into a handsome hawk with brilliant eyes and glossy feathers.

About the Author

J. C. Stevens began writing fiction, nonfiction and poetry at age five. The author’s first and favorite stories were about ghosts, witches and other spooky creatures. As an adult, Stevens served as a newspaper reporter, editor and teacher.

“Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg,” the first book in the Dragon Lad trilogy, debuted in 2015. The second book in the trilogy, “Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman,” appeared in 2017. The third and final book, “Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere,” was published in 2019. Stevens lives in Southern California. To learn more, visit https://www.dragonseggbooks.com.

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Tagged as Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere, J. C. Stevens, Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Fantasy

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | January 27, 2021 · 5:00 am

The Franklin Chemists Blitz

Middle Grade

Published: December 2020

Publisher: Warblebox

Elephant Toothpaste… submarines… rockets and a chase across the lakes of England. This book follows the adventures of Hannah and George as they find themselves on an unexpected adventure with their scientific Aunt Rosalind. When she disappears, they must protect her biggest scientific discovery from two scientists intent on stealing it as their own.

A fun and enjoyable STEM tale from an exceptional author.

#TheFranklinChemists #TillyTurbet #Warblebox #STEM #BookBuzz

Other Books by Tilly Turbet:

One Thousand-Eyed Spies

Publisher: Warblebox

Published: June 2018

Middle Grade

One Thousand-Eyed Spies is a fantastical middle-grade children’s story about Gopi, a hapless soldier who is tasked by his Queen with a quest to save the White Island. Gopi must cross an ocean, battle a sea dragon and deliver the heir to the Island to the Upper World and to safety until he is ready to return and fight for his legacy.

Eleven years later and Nana tells her grandson Jag the story of the White Island and how it came to sink to the bottom of the sea. Jag soon realises that there is more to his history than he has been told and a great sea voyage delivers him to a very different destination, one which exists many leagues under the sea and where he must fight for his destiny and the future of the White Island.

Amazon

Excerpt

“Listen.” She leant forward, whispering. “Between you and me, I don’t really like children. In fact, they’re just about my least favourite animal in the whole world. Worse than spiders. I just can’t bring 9 myself to care about your little plastic toys or your annoyingly loud games or your shocking lack of vocabulary. What’s your name?” “George.” “And yours?” “Hannah.” “It doesn’t matter, because I’ve forgotten you already,” confided Mrs Muddle. “I see forty, maybe fifty children just like you every week. If I cared about every child that I sent away from their family, it might make me sad; and you wouldn’t want me to be sad, would you? So instead, I don’t care. I don’t lose any sleep. I don’t shed a tear. Not ever.”

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by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | February 22, 2020 · 5:00 am

Abigail Waits Blitz

Abigail Waits banner

YA, Middle Grade, Bullying

Published: September 2019

Publisher: BookBaby

Bullying-the word itself brings negative connotations. It doesn’t differentiate race, gender or creed. Boundless with its grip and cruelty, the assistance of the internet leads it slithering through homes, schools, cities and countries. Meet Abigail, a victim of bullying that has hurt her mentally and physically. Hiding in the woods, away from words and hands that can hurt her is her only solace. Hannah, daughter to Cherokee Indian Chief Daniel Littlejohn, is continuing his work , after her father’s passing, locating Cherokee that perished deep in a thousand acre tract of woods to reunite them with their ancestors. At midnight is when Hannah enters the woods to be undetected. The forest seems to come alive! Walking by a stream she catches a glimpse of a girl. Hannah calls out and the mysterious girl disappears. “Who is this girl and why is she here?” Running to find her Hannah sees a pair of red eyes glaring in her direction. “Is this what father meant when he warned me about coming in the woods alone? Abigail watches Hannah. “Why does this Cherokee girl beckon me? Does she mean me harm?” Exiting the woods Hannah decides to seek help and assemble a team of trusted friends. Will time run out for the girl by the stream? The author has taken a mystical tale weaved with characters depicted in Indian folklore to spread the message of hope and kindness for anyone that has been a target of cruel behavior. Abigail takes us through the kind of despair where only isolation makes her feel safe. This happens too often in real life. Memorable and heartwarming the authors message is to look beyond someone’s nationality, disabilities , gender creed and see the individual for who they are.