2008 Nominations Middle Grade Fiction

The middle grade years are those with the most potential to turn a child into a reader for life. It's often the books you read between the ages of 8-12 that you remember long into adulthood as your dearest books of all. These are the years when kids really and truly start to figure themselves out as readers--their likes and dislikes and all the rest in between. It's during this time when children strike out on their own in earnest, reading for themselves and by themselves, all the while creating themselves.

In this Cybils category, we're looking for the 2008 novels that capture real life in all of its wonderful messiness. So we're not talking magic or superheroes or werewolves or elves. Instead, think adventures and school stories, mysteries and stories about families, and tales that tell kids of life across the globe. Tell us which of the Middle Grade fiction titles published this year you think kids will still be talking about when they're all grown up.

--Kerry Millar, organizer

Please leave a nomination -- including author and title -- in the comments below. One nomination per person, per category, please. Avoid duplicate nominations--it only takes ONE nomination to add a book to the list.

Comments

[Kate]

I nominate Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth (Walker Books for Young Readers, 2008). It's a great coming-of-age story set in Florida that I reviewed on my blog: http://kmessner.livejournal.com/64557.html

[Megan Germano]

Greetings From Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor

[Melisssa]

The Penderwicks at Gardam Street, by Jeanne Birdsall

[Sarah Miller]

RINGSIDE 1925: VIEWS FROM THE SCOPES TRIAL
by Jen Bryant

[JoAnn Early Macken]

Jimmy's Stars by Mary Ann Rodman
Farrar Straus Giroux

[Scope Notes]

"Shooting the Moon" by Francis O'Roark Dowell

[EM]

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

[Charlotte]

Eleven, Patricia Reilly Giff

[Charlotte]

Eleven, Patricia Reilly Giff

[Laurel Snyder]

The Girl Who Could Fly, Victoria Forrester

[Rebecca]

The Qwikpick Adventure Society by Sam Riddleburger.

[Jennifer]

Alice's Birthday Pig by Tim Kennemore

[Miss Erin]

The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower by Lisa Graff

[Cynthia Leitich Smith]

The Floating Circus by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

[Katie]

I nominate Cicada Summer by Andrea Beaty.

[Andrea]

Julia Durango's The Walls of Cartegena.

[Kim]

ATTACK OF THE GROWLING EYEBALLS, part of LIN OLIVER'S new Who Shrunk Daniel Funk series

[Sandra]

Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink by MAC

Jen Robinson says Anna Smudge is an "over the top romp" but still has "real-life concerns of middle school kids, such as neglectful parents, and fitting in at school."

Full review here:
http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/2008/07/anna-smudge-pro.html

[Andrea Vaughn]

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

[Amanda]

Savvy by Ingrid Law (this is domestic fantasy - so very much a problem novel about a family in crisis, but with a bit of magic in the mix - if that means it doesn't belong here feel free to disregard)

[Lisa Schroeder]

BRINGING THE BOY HOME by N.A. Nelson

[Cheryl Rainfield]

I nominate Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee. (Scholastic, Sept 2008). It is such an incredibly moving, and ultimately uplifting, book.

[Cat]

The Buddha's Diamonds

Carolyn Marsden, Candlewick Books

[Kathleen]

Not sure if it fits the category but DIAMOND WILLOW is my choice.

[nanetf]

The Curse of Addy Mcmahon is an awesome middle grades novel. It also has awesome graphics that parallel the terrific text!

[nanetf]

I'd wanted to nominate the fabulous middle grades novel, THE CURSE OF ADDY MCMAHON by Katie Davis, without using the (applicable) word awesome twice.....please post my correction!

[Deena]

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman
Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in her Head by Nancy Viau

[Steven]

Forever Rose by Hillary McKay

[Joan]

Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, by Nancy Viau

[Lindsay]

I would like to nominate My Cousin, the Alien by Pamela F. Service.
This is a great book for boys who are reluctant to pick up a book and read.

[Stephanie]

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

[Joan]

Hmm, I thought I did this already but it didn't seem to take. I nominate:

Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, by Nancy Viau

[Charline]

I nominate GROW A Novel in Verse by Juanita Havill (Peachtree Publishers, 2008). When Berneetha decides to create a community garden on a vacant lot, twelve-year-old Kate becomes determined to make that dream a reality.

This beautifully written, memorable novel captures real life in all of its messiness.

[Kristin Walker]

I nominate Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head by Nancy Viau.

(I had put this in the wrong place earlier. Sorry!)

[Rebeca]

Step Fourth, Mallory! by Laurie Friedman

[Louise]

From Alice to Zen and Everyone in Between by Elizabeth Atkinson

[Julie]

The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones (historical fiction inspired by real-life African American cowboy Nat Love) by Helen Hemphill (Front Street) is a fast-paced adventure that is proving to spark the imagination of those sometimes-tough-to-reach middle school boys.

[Jessica Burkhart]

MY SO-CALLED FAMILY by Courtney Sheinmel.

[Catherine Ipcizade]

TRACKING DADDY DOWN, By Marybeth Kelsey

[Toreyy]

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Conner

[Rosalee LuAnn]

Clementine, by Sara Pennypacker. Hilarious and darling.

[KT Horning]

"After Tupac and D Foster" by Jacqueline Woodson

[Becky]

No Cream Puffs by Karen Day

[Wizards Wireless]

Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker. I saw another nomination for Clementine, but it looked like it was for the first book which wasn't published this year.

[Jill]

A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg

[Julia]

42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

[Annie]

The Writing on The Wall by Wendy Lichtman. (Greenwillow; 2008)

It's the second in her Do The Math series, and just as wonderful as the first one.

[Nan Hoekstra]

I nominate Jeremy Cabbage and the Living Museum of Human Oddballs and Quadruped Delights
by David Elliott

[Susan Budgell]

I would nominate Fouling Out by Gregory Walters. This is a book young adults will really identify with.

[Fuse #8]

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor