Archives de catégorie : Middle Grade

THE PROPHECYMAKERS de Julie Abe

If you’re unremarkable… How will you leave your mark on the world?

THE PROPHECYMAKERS #1
by Julie Abe
Bloomsbury Children’s Books, Winter 2026
(via Sterling Lord Literistic)

Lyra is Extremely Unremarkable. It’s even printed on her birth certificate. Her prophecy is the absolute worst rank in the realm. Lyra is also an orphan, shuttling from Guild to Guild, and looking for someone to take her in as one of their own. As soon as they find out about her fate, she’s shoved out the door, ragged suitcase in hand. If she doesn’t get into a Guild Registry before she turns twelve years old, she’ll be banished from the realm.

Her last chance is Waterfall Way. It’s a mysterious, beautiful village rumored to be rife with bad luck. Still, she’s determined to prove her worth. When her eccentric guardian requests she sort out Waterfall Way’s waterlogged, neglected magical library, she jumps at the seemingly impossible task. But, as she battles the bookdragons and makes friends with the villagers, she finds clues that hint that the prophecies that the realm relies on might not be exactly what they seem. Lyra may have an Extremely Unremarkable past, but she’s determined to fight fate for a future all her own.

THE PROPHECYMAKERS is a young middle grade fantasy where the heartwarming whimsy of Anne of Green Gables meets the sweeping adventures of Wilderlore, with a hint of A Wish in the Dark.

Julie Abe has lived in Silicon Valley, spent many humid summers in Japan, and currently basks in the sunshine of Southern California with never enough books or tea, where she creates stories about magical adventures. Her debut novel Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch received a starred review from Kirkus: “Bewitching… a must-read for fantasy lovers,” and was also listed as a Best Middle Grade Book by Kirkus Reviews, New York Public Library, Bank Street College of Education, and Book Riot. Julie is also the author of Eva Evergreen and the Cursed Witch; Alliana, Girl of Dragons; and Tessa Miyata is No Hero, as well as the young adult novels The Charmed List and Our Cursed Love.

BEASTIES de Peter Lerangis

In this all-new adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of the Seven Wonders series, Peter Lerangis, four kids discover an alien artifact in Central Park that turns them into animals. The clock is ticking for them to find a cure—before the park’s predators find them first!

BEASTIES #1
by Peter Lerangis
HarperCollins, April 2025
(via Sterling Lord Literistic)

On a field trip to Central Park, Riley and his classmates accidentally encounter a supernatural artifact that looks a lot like, well, honestly… a piece of poop. But one of them gets too close, there’s a blinding flash and suddenly the five friends are turned into various critters. Riley’s sister’s a hawk, the school bully’s a raccoon, and Riley? He’s transformed into everyone’s least favorite animal, a New York City rat.

Their once-dull morning quickly turns into a fight for survival. The kids have stay alive long enough find a way to turn themselves back to normal. But as it turns out, they’re not the only humans-turned-into-animals on the loose in Central Park…

As it turns out, Riley and his friends have accidentally thrust themselves into the center of a dangerous Manhattan-wide plot. And now they must use all their animal abilities to stop the bad guys, find the cure, and get back home without, you know, getting eaten on the way. It’s a wild adventure of a lifetime—because if they fail, these beasties will stay beasts forever.

Peter Lerangis is the author of more than one hundred and seventy books, which have sold more than six-and-a-half million copies and been translated into thirty-five different languages. These include the five books in the New York Times bestselling Seven Wonders series, The Colossus Rises, Lost in Babylon, The Tomb of Shadows, The Curse of the King, and The Legend of the Rift; two books in the 39 Clues series; and the Max Tilt and Throwback trilogies. He lives in New York City with his family.

FINDERS KEEPERS de Jeff Strand

A scavenger hunt takes a sinister turn in the third novel in the Eek! series, tales to scare you silly!

FINDERS KEEPERS
by Jeff Strand
Sourcebooks, April 2025

In the small town of Farlow, mysterious advertisements appear for a summer scavenger hunt. Twelve-year-old Maggie and her friends can’t wait. They have their team, and more than bragging rights, they want that huge cash prize.

On the big day, a strange man welcomes everybody to the game. The first items are ridiculously easy (« An egg? Seriously? »), but they quickly grow more difficult. When getting one of the items requires an actual crime―breaking into the school after dark―Maggie loses one of her teammates. But the others manage to steal Mr. Kramer’s favorite mug.

A bone from the cemetery seems like it’s as dark as the game can get, but when they’re asked to bring back a human head, nobody wants to play anymore. But it’s too late to quit…

Jeff Strand is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of lots and lots of books. Some are scary, some are funny, and most are both. He bets his cat is bigger than your cat.

THE NIGHT MOTHER de Jeremy Lambert & Alexa Sharpe

Endless night befalls a sleepy seaside town, leaving it to young Madeline Tock to save her community from a threat known only as the Night Mother . . .

THE NIGHT MOTHER #1
by Jeremy Lambert
illustrated by Alexa Sharpe
Oni Press, October 2024
(via Defiore and Company)

The moon is stuck like a broken clock in the midnight sky, the sun a distant memory. No one in this quiet seaside town can remember how long this unnatural darkness has lasted. No one, that is, except for the curious girl who lives in the graveyard, caring for the dead: twelve-year-old Madeline Tock. In gratitude, the departed whisper their worries to her: beware this endless night and she who causes it.

Because there’s someone else who can hear the whispers, too. Someone whose gown is a map of the cosmos, hair a tangled constellation, eyes like the lights of faraway stars. The Night Mother. Her elemental duty is to gather the souls of the dead in her lantern, then send them to their eternal rest as beautiful moonlight.

But when her hunger for power drives her to take souls from the living, Madeline bravely stands up to defend her town and those she loves. Can Madeline help bring back the sun, or will she be lured by the starry promises of this mysterious woman?

THE NIGHT MOTHER is a lush gothic tale perfect for readers of all ages who relish in the wonder of the night sky.

« Myth-making with a majestic monster at its heart, laced with style and suspense. » —Kirkus Reviews

« A haunting yet poignant story that will leave readers hungry for more. » —Publishers Weekly

« Mysterious and spooky […] This gothic graphic novel will appeal to young readers who want to branch out from the popular tropes of middle grade stories. » —School Library Journal

Jeremy Lambert is a writer and filmmaker from Bowie, Maryland. He’s known for his comics work on Doom Patrol, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellmouth, Dungeons & Dragons, Goosebumps, The Hollywood Special, and his stories for Warhammer, among others. As a film producer, his productions for reakwater Studios, Ltd. have won an Academy Award and James Beard Award. He believes there are few things in life better than a nice pair of socks.
Alexa Sharpe is a Los Angeles–based book illustrator, who has worked on Lumberjanes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rolled & Told, and Uncanny Magazine. Her art is a window into dreamlike worlds that frighten and delight in equal measure.

JAX FREEMAN AND THE PHANTOM SHRIEK de Kwame Mbalia

What do you get when you combine Kwame Mbalia’s incredible imagination and world-building talent with trains, history, and ghosts? Nothing less than middle grade magic. The award-winning author of the best-selling Tristan Strong trilogy has created a secret world where kids can wield magic by summoning the power of their ancestors.

JAX FREEMAN AND THE PHANTOM SHRIEK
by Kwame Mbalia
Freedom Fire/Disney-Hyperion, October 2024
(via Defiore and Company)

On his twelfth birthday, Jackson « Jax » Freeman arrives at Chicago’s Union Station alone, carrying nothing but the baggage of a scandal back in his hometown. He’s been sent away from home to live with relatives he barely knows. But even worse are the strangers who accost him at the train station, including a food vendor who throws dust in his face and a conductor who tries to steal his skin.

At his new school, Jax is assigned to a special class for « summoners, » even though he has no idea what those are . . . until he accidentally unleashes an angry spirit on school grounds. Soon Jax is embroiled in all kinds of trouble, from the disappearance of a new friend to full-out war between summoning families.

When Jax learns that he isn’t the first Freeman to be blamed for a tragedy he didn’t create, he resolves to clear his own name and that of his great-grandfather, who was a porter back in the 1920’s. By following clues, Jax and his schoolmates unlock the secrets of a powerful Praise House, evade vengeful ghosts, and discover that Jax may just be the most talented summoner of all.

“Jax Freeman is my new best friend. I loved everything about this book—the characters, the humor, the page-turning adventure. I’m glad Kwame Mbalia is such a prolific writer because I will be bugging him for the sequel immediately.”—Rick Riordan, New York Times #1 best-selling author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians

“Funny, fast-paced, and full of heart and adventure. You’ll be laughing and cheering and racing through the pages—and guessing right up to the end.”—Shannon Messenger, New York Times best-selling author of the Keeper of Lost Cities series and Sky Fall series 

Kwame Mbalia is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and the publisher of Freedom Fire, an imprint of Disney Hyperion devoted to stories about the Black diaspora by Black creators. His debut middle-grade novel, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it was followed by Tristan Strong Destroys the World and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching.