Tag Archives: diverse middle grade books

Episode 82: Graphic Novels R Cool (Who Knew!)

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In this episode of the Two Lit Mamas podcast, the Mamas get graphic but Tipper Gore can chill – no warning label required for this bundle of sweet, fun, and entertaining Middle Grade (ages 8-12)and Young Adult (ages 13 and up) novels in comic form! That’s right, the mamas are chatting about graphic novels and *spoiler alert* they are loving them.   

Book Chat:

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz
Inked by Dominic Bustamante, Colored by Eleonora Bruni

EVE by Victor LaValle
Illustrated by Jo Mi-Gyeong, Colored by Brittany Peer

Break by Kayla Miller

Doom’s Day Camp by Joshua Hauke

Animal Rescue Friends by Meika Hashimoto and Gina Loveless
Illustrated by Genevieve Kote, Breakdowns by Axelle Lenior

World Class byJay Sandlin 
Illustrated by Patrick Mulholland, Colored by Rebecca Nalty

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier 

Episode 80: Mystery & Mayhem for the Holidays

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The Mamas get festive for the last episode of 2023 with a holiday-themed short story collection for 8–12-year-olds filled with murder, mystery, and mayhem. If you enjoy a holiday haunted house, listen in as the Mama’s say good-bye to 2023 with a book chat about creepy funhouses, famous cat burglars, and conspiracies meant to silence the most benevolent among us. Happy Holidays!  

Book Chat:

The Very Merry Murder Club edited by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens

Episode 76: Game On!

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The Mamas want to help get your Middle Schoolers off screens with game-themed novels for 8-12 year olds! Join the book chat as the Mamas share two new fantasy/sci-fi novels that will appeal to gamers: one book is set in a haunted woods and includes three sixth-graders who play a game to save the town, and the other book is set in a floating fun park that is taken over by androids and only the owners’ son and friends realize it. Both books are sure to satisfy your little gamers as much as they did the Mamas. And, if you know a few adults who struggle with putting down the gaming controls, the Mamas have a grown-up, gaming-themed book that will give their screen-weary eyes a break too. Now, get out of that gaming chair, take your dog for a walk, and bring the Mamas along.

Middle Grade Book Chat:

The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien

Futureland: Battle for the Park by H.D. Hunter

Grown Up Book Chat:

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Episode 71: MG Books for Foodies

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The Mamas revisit their favorite topic, food! Gather the kid foodies in your life and share these fun summer reads for ages 8-12 that focus on diversity, overcoming adversity, friendship, family and most importantly delicious foods. The Mamas will wet your appetite for fiction, fusion food and cake! If you can stave off hunger, hang on to the end of the episode for recommendations from the Mamas for six new books with LGBTQIA+ characters and themes in honor of PRIDE month.  

Book Chat:

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

The Takeout by Tracy Badua

Pick 6: LGBTQIA+ Books for Middle Grade

Ellie Engle Save Herself by Leah Johnson

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff 

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros

Glitter Boy by Ian Eagleton

The Song of Us by Kate Fussner

Episode 69: YA! YA

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In this episode, the Mamas ditch Middle Grade books (although their humor remains squarely in Middle School – don’t worry) for Young Adult reads to provide the sweet, stinky teens in your life with recs for fun summer fiction and the perfect high school graduation gift. Then, the Mamas share new Middle Grade, Young Adult and Adult recs to add to your TBR pile in preparation for beach or pond-side reading. Enjoy!    

Book Chat:

Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly DeVoss

First-Year Orientation, short story collection edited by Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith

Pick 6: Six Books the Mamas Want to Read this Summer

Bea and the New Deal Horse by L.M. Elliot (MG)

Wildseed Witch by Marti Dumas (MG)

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (YA)

Fat Girl on a Plane by Kelly DeVoss (YA)

The Pisces by Melissa Broder (Adult)

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (Adult)

Show Links:

Mobile Bookstore: www.blackworldschoolers.com

Episode 67: Short & Sweet

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The Mamas are serving up short and sweet stories for your snacking pleasure in the 67th episode of the Two Lit Mamas podcast, a kidlit book review show, highlighting light-hearted short story collections that are perfect for the Middle Grade classroom. 

Book Chat:

Super Puzzletastic Mysteries an anthology edited by Chris Grabenstein

The Ice Cream Machine by Adam Rubin

Pick 6: The Mamas fave short stories for grown ups

The Space Between the Trees by Jo Kaplan from the anthology Into the Forest

The Lake by Ray Bradbury

Jackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon from Jackalope Wives and Other Stories

The Falling Girl by Dino Buzzati

The Other Side by Jaquline Woodson

Currents by Hannah Bottomy Voskuil

Episode 66: Revisiting the Pandemic

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The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming – it’s the perfect time to revisit the global pandemic (record scratch) – wait, what? Margie would like it known that it was Heather’s idea to read Middle Grade books about the pandemic during spring break. Don’t worry, dear listeners, it’s not as bad as it sounds, even Margie begrudgingly agreed in the end that the reads were worth it. Join the Mamas  for a gentle discussion on the power of disruption. 

Book Chat:

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac

Don’t Stand So Close to Me by Eric Walters

Happy Spring Break!

Episode 65: STEM Books that Rock

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Would you rather read STEM books or STEAM books? The Mamas say yes to both. The book chat this episode is loaded with STEAM themes as well as hot topics that impart natural life lessons gently and honestly without being preachy. The Mamas couldn’t be happier with their chosen Middle Grade reads unless they were being  defended by surly cats and driven around by labradoodles while reading them. They follow up the giddy book chat with a rousing game of Would You Rather in honor of a return to sunny days and spring flowers. Don’t forget to take the Mamas on spring break. They’re happy to drown out whining kiddos on long road trips.

Book Chat:
Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Holler of the Fireflies by David Barclay Moore

Episode 63: Happily Ever After

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The Mamas went in search of lighthearted, feel-good reads to balance out the important yet difficult Middle Grade stories they’ve been consuming lately. Luckily they found them in a fantasy story and an historical fiction book. So, if you (or your kiddo aged 8-12) need some balance in your reading diet, join the Mamas for a laugh, a little harmless murder, and some happily ever afters.

Middle Grade Book Chat:

The Swifts, a Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

Bonus Book Chat: Big Girl Books

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Circe by Madeline Miller 

Episode 62: Important Stories of Adversity

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Episode 62 of the Two Lit Mamas podcast hits all the feels, including the good, the sad and the funny, with a book chat about two important diverse stories for middle grade (ages 8-12) that plumb the depths of tragedy and adversity through the agony  of racism and classism. The Mamas hope you will not back away. Then, the Mamas move on to  a fun new game called Two Books and a Fake. Will you be fooled?

Book Chat:

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat