Archives de catégorie : Middle Grade

BRITTLE MAGIC de Kate O’Shaughnessy

Everyone in the Brittle family has a magical talent – except Shiloh. But she’s determined to unlock her own greatness in this charmingly quirky novel about family and forgiveness from Newbery Honor winner Kate O’Shaughnessy.

BRITTLE MAGIC
by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Knopf Books for Young Readers, October 2026
(via Park, Fine & Brower)

Nearly every member of the Brittle family has an extraordinary talent—except Shiloh.

Her aunt makes pickles that tell your fortune. Her great-aunt brews tea that gives you good dreams. Her sister can grow pumpkins the size of a small house. And her older brother—who died before Shiloh was born—had a gift no one will talk about. Her mom says Shiloh doesn’t need a talent to be special. But Shiloh knows she’s destined for greatness. And with the Brittle family reunion coming up, she’s determined to prove it to all her relatives.

When Auntie Dee’s fortune-telling pickles reveal that Shiloh does have a talent—and that it’s somehow connected to her late brother—Shiloh feels more confused than vindicated. Why would her mom have kept this from her?

The pickles’ prophesy offers cryptic clues for finding her talent—something involving an oven? and a new friend?—and Shiloh throws herself into the search. But discovering the truth about herself means digging up secrets her mom would rather keep buried.

This year’s family reunion may well be the most dramatic one yet…

Newbery Honor winner Kate O’Shaughnessy gives us a moving, magic-tinged story about family, friendship, forgiveness . . . and fortune-telling pickles!

Kate O’shaughnessy is a 2025 Newbery Honor winner for The Wrong Way Home. She is also the author of The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane and Lasagna Means I Love You, both of which received numerous starred reviews. A book nerd, animal lover, former chef, and outdoor enthusiast, Kate lives in California with her family.

THE WANDERING SHOP SERIES: SOCKS & SECRET QUESTS de Triona Murphy

In a land where heroic quests are assigned and undertaken in an orderly manner (with perhaps too much red tape), Peri of the Southern Plains does not play the role of a hero—she merely outfits them for their journeys. . . until she must strike out on an illicit adventure of her own. The Wandering Shop series is a charming illustrated middle-grade fantasy, perfect for fans of The Adventurers Guild and Wilderlore.

THE WANDERING SHOP SERIES: SOCKS & SECRET QUESTS
by Triona Murphy
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, September 2026
(via Writers House)

Peri has been waiting for her magic to show up . . .

But there’s been no sign of it since she was chosen as an Apprentice Shopkeeper a year ago. Now she travels with a magical shop that equips adventurers for their quests, unsure if she’ll ever do more than stock shelves, mend mittens, and knit non-magical hats that mostly just keep heads warm.

Then a dark wizard kidnaps the Master Shopkeeper, intent on using her power to create an unstoppable army.

To save her master, Peri must leave the cozy shop and seek help from the closest adventuring team, who are really good at arguing and really bad at working together. As Peri’s magic unexpectedly begins to show itself in the items she’s knitting, it’s up to her and her team to stop the dark wizard before war breaks out—or it won’t be just her shop at stake, but the entire kingdom.

Triona Murphy designs (unfortunately non-magical) knitting patterns, which provided the inspiration for Peri’s unique magic. She lives near Portland, Oregon, with her husband and three kids in a house overflowing with board games and books.

THE INTERSTELLAR SISTERHOOD OF MOONIE AND JUNIE de Katie Kordesh

Sold in a fierce US bidding war, The Interstellar Sisterhood of Moonie and Junie is the first book in a series about two very different girls who become tried and true best friends. Vibrant, unique, and laugh-out-loud funny, Katie Kordesh’s graphic novel debut is The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza meets The Babysitters Club graphic novels.

THE INTERSTELLAR SISTERHOOD OF MOONIE AND JUNIE
by Katie Kordesh
HarperAlley, Summer 2026
(via Writers House)

Welcome to the Moon! We’re so glad you’re here. . . but I have some bad news.

The moon is boring.

Don’t believe me? Ask Moonie. She lives on the Moon all alone with not a friend in sight (unless you count her rock collection: Daisy, Raul, George, and Stinky). Flares and an S.O.S. message in the dirt haven’t brought anyone new to the moon, so a desperate Moonette launches a letter in a bottle out into the vastness of space. . .

. . . and that bottle floats perfectly to the porthole of a rocket. In that rocket is Juniper Lee Holmes, Junior Space Explorer and Field Scientist (and alien), who is on an intergalactic space expedition— otherwise known as a “family vacation”—with her parents. She has logged many findings about this strange solar system but knows nothing about the Moon.

They are perfect pen pals; Juniper is proof of other intelligent life in the universe, and Moonie can provide scientific data about the Moon for Junie’s Field Guide for Intergalactic Space Explorers. Everything is going STELLAR. That is, until letters and walkie-talkies no longer suffice. Moonie wants Junie to venture to the Moon so they can explore moon caves, make dirt angels, and go crater sledding together. But Junie has a long list of fears, including heights, open bodies of water. . . and in-person communication.

Will Moonie be able to lure Junie to visit the moon? Will Junie’s fears prevent them from meeting and curing Moonie’s loneliness? Have you ever seen an extra-terrestrial duck? A glorburger? An alien with social anxiety? Find your answers (and possibly a Moon Princess) in The Interstellar Sisterhood of Moonie and Junie!

Katie Kordesh is the artist of Sam with Ants in his Pants and the author-illustrator of Enola’s Best Friend and the forthcoming Merpig. An Indiana native, Katie is based in L.A. She was previously the social media illustrator for the N.F.L. She also has an Emmy. The Interstellar Sisterhood of Moonie and Junie is her graphic novel debut.

SPIRIT SERVICE de Sarena & Sasha Nanua

Ghostbusters meets The Baby-Sitters Club in this supremely sweet and spooky story about four seventh graders who start a small business helping their local neighborhood spirits pass on to the other side.

SPIRIT SERVICE
by Sarena & Sasha Nanua
Simon & Schuster, April 2025
(via Park, Fine & Brower)

All Raveena wants is to bring back her school’s beloved arts program. It’s been six months since her music-loving grandmother passed, and four since Hollows’ Peak Middle School cut its entire arts budget. Now Raveena has no way to practice music, and worse, no way to honor Grandmama’s memory.

But Raveena’s world turns on its head when she and her friends stumble upon an otherworldly discovery: an old-fashioned telephone with the ability to contact ghosts!

With her newfound possession, Raveena devises the perfect plan to raise funds for the arts program: Spirit Service, an agency that guides deceased townspeople to the afterlife by reconnecting them with their living loved ones. The best part? There are tons of spirits in need of assistance—and people willing to pay big bucks to communicate with them.

But not all spirits are interested in peacefully moving on…

To keep their neighborhood safe, Raveena and her friends must dive into the history of their town and the mysterious phone, and in the process, uncover secrets that are much closer to home.

“Canadian authors Sareena and Sasha Nanua have created an enjoyable story that thoughtfully explores the ways people process grief…This is an entertaining, tender-hearted read for middle graders who like their realistic fiction with a little zap of the paranormal.” —Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books

“A perfect fit for fans of the Baby-Sitters Club series craving a haunted vibe.” —Booklist

Sarena and Sasha Nanua are twin sisters who love stories about friendship, ghosts, and all things magical. Born on Diwali ten minutes apart, they began writing books together at the age of nine. They are graduates of the English and professional writing programs at the University of Toronto and are the authors of Spirit Service, Sisters of the Snake, and Daughters of the Dawn.

GRIN de D. W. Gillespie

Full of chills and twists, a twelve-year-old boy is thrilled that he’ll get to play endless games at his family’s arcade, but soon realizes he’s in the fight of his life when he’s forced to save himself and his possessed Uncle from a sinister video game.

GRIN
by D. W. Gillespie
Delacorte Press, August 2025
(via Park, Fine & Brower)

Danny is spending a week with his Uncle Bill who runs a massive retro arcade called PixelWorks. His only plan is to play as many games as possible from open to close, but he wasn’t expecting to find the Holy Grail of arcade collectors, a gruesome looking game titled Grin.

Anyone who plays the game becomes surprisingly violent, and soon with the help of his friend Jodi and a knowledgeable videogame streamer, Danny realizes that Grin holds the soul of a dead serial killer.

Soon, the killer makes the jump into Bill’s body, and it’s up to Danny to figure out a way to stop him for good.

Born and raised in Middle Tennessee, D.W. Gillespie wrote his first short story in second grade. It involved (unsurprisingly) monsters wreaking havoc on some unsuspecting victim. Some things never change. He began writing seriously after taking a creative writing class in college, and he’s written steadily ever since. He lives in Tennessee with his wife and two kids, and on dark nights, you might find them huddled around a campfire sharing spooky tales.