I just finished two really fun middle grade books whose covers caught my eye at the library on the ‘new’ shelf. I’m trying to boost the amount of MG that I read, to make sure I’m up with what’s going on, for my MG novel.
(Can I interrupt this regularly scheduled bit of book reviewing, just say how much I love our library system? We seriously have one of the top ten library systems in the country and holy cow, does it show. They have always have the latest books, great displays, beautiful reading environments, great programs for kids, and the online catalog of e-books just gets better and better. LOVE. MY. LIBRARY. You make us all better. Thanks SJCPL!)
The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold and Emily Gravett.
First of all, this book is a sheer tactile delight. From the cover, to the amazing illustrations throughout, the white on black text pages, the rough edges, the tiny little animations down near the page numbers – I loved it all, and it totally does the type of story justice. This to me is a fun middle grade story (it might be best for upper elementary readers) about the realness of imaginary friends. I have to say, I enjoyed the writing, although I didn’t fully relate to the real girl character in the story as much as I did to Rudger, the imaginary. I never had an imaginary friend as a kid, but any kid who does, or wishes they do, would love this!
Ms. Rapscott’s Girls by Elise Primavera.
Upper elementary readers (girls particularly) will enjoy this quirky story about a troupe of girls brought together by Ms. Rapscott who all have Very Busy Parents at home who have no time for them. The girls have lots of adventures and each of them has to grow a bit since they have developed some strange behaviors due to being ignored at home – become more brave, slow down and start paying attention, etc. all thanks to Ms. Rapscott. I would have LOVED this story when I was in elementary school, it would have been right up my alley!
So if you have a 9-11 year-old reader at home, snatch these up!