I’ve spent pretty much my entire adult life as a journalist, a dining critic, or a humor columnist. But over the past ten years, my reading choices have been influenced less by, say, The New Yorker, than by my daughter, Hannah. As she grew from Knuffle Bunny to Junie B. Jones to Judy Moody, so did I. And when she began reading middle-grade novels, I did too. Then I began writing them. There is something amazing about the endless possibilities of a kid’s imagination before they get cynical and start to care about things like being cool that makes middle-grade the sweet spot for ideas. It’s like Hannah came along and recalibrated my brain—for reading and writing alike.
I wrote...
Penelope March Is Melting
By
Jeffrey Michael Ruby
What is my book about?
Something sinister has come to Glacier Cove, an icy-cold town on top of an iceberg. And the only person who seems to notice is a 12-year-old bookworm named Penelope March. When Penelope meets a mysterious man in an ice house who seems to know terrifying secrets—not only about Glacier Cove but about Penelope herself—she is pulled into an ancient mystery and a confrontation with the coldest, cruelest enemy ever known. It’s an offbeat, imaginative adventure story full of horror, humor, and heart, with a razor-sharp female protagonist and a supporting cast of fearsome and lovable characters. Also, magic cookies, volcanoes, chainsaw art, and a submarine staffed by military penguins.
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The Books I Picked & Why
The Matchstick Castle
By
Keir Graff
Why this book?
This madcap book, about a boy and girl who discover a crazy mansion in the forest that looks like it was built by a drunken madman, made me laugh out loud. As they join forces with the house’s unforgettably weird inhabitants to try to save the house from the wrecking ball of a “crazed bureaucrat,” it’s impossible not to be drawn in. It’s one of those quirky adventure stories where every twist and turn comes from seemingly nowhere, while also making perfect sense. Plus: wild boars! Graff has made a career out of creative stories populated with memorably eccentric characters, and this one is my favorite.
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Red Menace
By
Lois Ruby
Why this book?
Lois Ruby is a YA veteran who has more than 20 books to her name, many of them historical fiction, including the beloved Steal Away Home, which appeared on basically every year-end best list back in 1994. She also happens to be my mom. And her latest book, which takes place during the “red scare” of the 1950s, is among her best. It’s a tense story about a baseball-crazy 13-year-old boy whose parents are accused of being communist sympathizers, turning his life upside down when he’s supposed to be studying for his bar mitzvah. The clock-ticking backdrop, leading up to the notorious execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for supposedly passing on nuclear secrets to the Soviets, gives the whole book terrifyingly high stakes.
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The Bone Houses
By
Emily Lloyd-Jones
Why this book?
I don’t understand why this book wasn’t a massive cultural phenomenon with movies and action figures and volumes of online fanfic and whatnot. First of all, Lloyd-Jones can write with a capital W. In this fantasy novel, she paints a bleak and vivid picture of a tough-as-nails gravedigger living in a world where the dead don’t always stay dead. But even as these living corpses begin to attack their village and the plot gets particularly dark, the narrative is always character-driven and full of heart. On one level, The Bone Houses is great, taut horror, but it also has the kind of poignance and insight that make it stick with you long after you close the book.
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When You Reach Me
By
Rebecca Stead
Why this book?
Count me among the zillions of people who loved When You Reach Me, winner of the Newbery Medal in 2010. I’ve seen more than one person describe it as a modern-day A Wrinkle in Time—a book that figures heavily in Stead’s plot. But When You Reach Me resonates with me far more than L’Engle’s classic. There is something about the sad, enigmatic way this is constructed with multiple storylines that just stick with you. It’s got time travel but it’s not sci-fi; it’s got puzzles but it’s not a mystery exactly. It’s just a weird, lovely book about the mysteries of life and power of friendship.
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Out from Boneville
By
Jefferson Smith
Why this book?
I admit I have never entirely warmed to most graphic novels, but this one, the first in the Bone series, is timeless. The epic adventures of cousins Fone Bone, Smiley Bone, and Phoney Bone—all of whom look like a cross between Casper the Friendly Ghost and a giant tooth—start here with lots of slapstick and cutesy animals. But there’s a lot going on under the surface. It’s a twisted fairy tale with striking art, endearing characters, and swashbuckling adventure. The whole thing is packed with so many whimsical ideas and situations that whenever I read it, I find myself energized and eager to write.
