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Tag: #scholastic

  • Kelly Yang Interview

    Kelly Yang is the award-winning author for kids and young adults with popular titles such as the Front Desk series, Parachutes, Little Bird Laila, and more. She graciously took the time to answer my questions about her work, and share what’s coming next. Enjoy! 1. When did you feel ready to start pitching your own…

  • Dear America authors

    Well, I did it. Finished the 43 book series, and didn’t give myself eye strain this time. Yay! Anyway, I’ve already written my top five books so now I want to discuss the authors. Much like in Animal Farm, some authors are better than others. My favorites tend to fall to Kristina Gregory or Patricia…

  • Three Girls in the City

    Horse girls may be more familiar with Jeanne Betancourt for her popular Pony Pals series, here she takes a different slice of life approach with, as the title says, Three Girls in the City. The premise is as follows: NYC, 2002. Three 13 year-old girls meet at a summer photo Carolyn, fresh from Wyoming, motherless…

  • My Sister the Vampire

    Yes, I return to the world of early 2000s nostalgia with this series-My Sister the Vampire. This time I read all eighteen books. Here’s the initial premise. When Olivia Abbott moves to town, she’s excited to join the cheerleading team and make new friends. Then she meets Ivy Vega. At first, Ivy, pale and dressed…

  • Sarah Masters Buckey Interview

    Sarah Masters Buckey is the author of several mysteries in the American Girl historical line, and the stand-alone History Mystery series. She graciously took the time to answer my questions about the historic fiction genre, working with the American Girl brand and what’s coming next. Enjoy! 1. What first drew you to writing? More specifically,…

  • Top 5 I Am Canada

    I finally got my hands on this Scholastic series for our Northern neighbors. Much like the My Name is America books, this male-focused line tackles the journals of young men at important historical junctures in Canadian history. It seemed to be short-lived as there were only thirteen novels, but they were a rollicking ride. Unlike…

  • Series Highlight: I Survived

    Funny story. Even though I have seen this series around for years (it was first published around 2009), it was placed next to the “Choose your own adventure” series and like an idiot, I judged it by the cover and thought it was another one of thsoe with cooler covers. Fast forward to last month,…

  • History Mystery P2

    The second half of the series gets a little bit darker. The mysteries involve dangerous individuals whose actions are not explained away as a misunderstanding or bitterness. Often there is real hate or greed motivating them, and they have the weapons to back them up if others get in their way. There is more exploration…

  • History Mystery P1

    I have discussed this a little bit in my historical fiction pages but as I’m rereading this for the first time in years, I thought I’d go a little more in-depth with my thoughts. For those that are not in the know, History Mystery was a 1997 spin-off of Pleasant Company’s very popular American Girl…

  • Reading Goals 2025

    I’m beginning this year with my feel-good favorite by Steve Kluger, My Most Excellent Year. This is the tenth year in a row I’ve read it and just the sort of comfort-reading one needs when faced with so much uncertainty in the world. This year I truly mean it when I say I want to…