New Young Adult Books for Fall

There are some great new titles out this fall for your middle-school aged children to enjoy! Check 'em out!!

EIGHTH GRADE IS MAKING ME SICK

 by Jennifer L. Holm; illustrated by Elicia Castaldi

The funny, quirky, totally original story of story of Ginny, told entirely through her stuff

 

From the author of the beloved Babymouse and Squish graphic novel series and the winner of three Newberry Honor books—Our Only May Amelia, Penny from Heaven, and Turtle in Paradise—comes another must read! Ginny has big plans for eighth grade. She’s going to try out for cheerleading, join Virtual Vampire Vixens, and maybe even fall in love. But middle school is more of a roller-coaster ride than Ginny could have ever predicted. Her family has just moved into a fancy new house when Ginny’s stepdad loses his job. (Can worrying about money make you sick?). Ginny’s big brother keeps getting into trouble. And there’s a new baby on the way. (Living proof that Ginny’s mom and stepdad are having sex. Just what she needs.) Filled with Post-its, journal entries, grocery lists, hand-drawn comic strips, report cards, IMs, notes, and more, Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick is the sometimes poignant, often hilarious, always relatable look at a year in the life of one girl, told entirely through her stuff.

 

Part graphic novel, part scrapbook and altogether original, Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick is just right for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Babymouse!

 

Jennifer L. Holm is the author of three Newbery Honor Books—Our Only May Amelia, Penny from Heaven, and Turtle in Paradise—as well as the Babymouse and Squish series, which she collaborates on with her brother, Matthew Holm. She lives in California with her husband and two young children. Jenni survived eighth grade. Barely.

 

Elicia Castaldi is an award-winning illustrator and author. She was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and has loved making art since she can remember. After graduating RISD she moved to (the best place on earth) New York City, where she plans to forever remain.

 

EMILY AND JACKSON HIDING OUT

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Plucky orphans Emily and Jackson star in another Wild West escapade that includes lots of dastardly villains and comic cliffhangers!

 
Emily Wiggins is thrilled that she and her orphan friend Jackson have escaped the clutches of the Child-Catching Services and Emily’s villainous uncle Victor. Emily and Jackson are now living happily with her loving aunt Hilda. But just a mighty mouth minute! Someone’s snooping around for an orphan child on the run! He knows Jackson is hiding nearby and aims to get a reward for snatching him and sending him to work at a mill. What in leapin’ livers should Jackson do? And Emily can’t rest easy either, since some sort of creature is coming to their gate when Jackson and Emily are home alone. What in simmering succotash is that moving pile of dirt? Is it a heap of black rags, is it a dusty tumbleweed, no it’s . . . Now what in shaking shivers will happen next?

 

Readers will welcome the rip-roaring return of Emily and Jackson as they plot to outwit the dastardly villains bent on catching them at any cost.

 

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a Newberry medalist and grew up in Anderson, Indiana, and Joliet, Illinois. Naylor worked as a teacher and an editor before she began to write full-time in 1960. She sold her first book for children in 1965 and now lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with her husband, Rex, who is a speech pathologist. They have two grown sons and four grandchildren. Naylor was delighted to create another rollicking Wild West adventure, and says she’s never experienced as much excitement as her character Emily Wiggins.

 

HORSE DIARIES #9: Tennessee Rose

by Jane Kendall; illustrated by Astrid Sheckels

The next book in the well-loved series, told in first-person narrative straight from the horse’s mouth

 

Horse lovers are in for a treat! It’s Alabama, 1856. Tennessee Rose is a dark bay Tennessee Walking Horse with a rose-shaped marking on her forehead. She loves dashing around the plantation in the running walk that her breed is famous for, then coming back to her comfortable stall and her friend Levi, the slave boy who is her groom. But as the Civil War approaches, Rosie begins to question plantation life. Is slavery fair? Could Levi be free? Like Black Beauty, this moving novel is told in first person from the horse’s point of view and includes an appendix full of photos and facts about Tennessee Walking Horses and the Civil War.

 

This book is for anyone who has ever dreamed of hearing a horse’s story—established fans and newcomers alike will be sure to speed through it!

 

Jane Kendall is the author of Horse Diaries #4: Maestoso Petra, as well as many other titles. She has also illustrated more than two dozen children's books. Jane has been a senior writer for Greenwich Magazine since 1992. She has written for The New York Times on film history and teaches a college-level writing course for the Institute of Children’s Literature. She was an enthusiastic rider growing up, and on one memorable occasion went Christmas caroling on horseback.

 

THE WONDROUS JOURNALS OF DR. WENDELL WELLINGTON WIGGINS

by Lesley M. M. Blume; illustrated by David Foote

Discover the past world we all forgot—the world that just might hold the key to our future

 

The journals of Dr. Wendell Wellington Wiggins might just be the most extraordinary contribution to the study of the earth’s past since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. In the incredible pages of these thought-to-be-lost diaries, Dr. Wiggins—whom we now must consider the greatest paleozoologist of all time—has divulged the secrets of the truly ancient animal world: a world before human beings; a world before dinosaurs; a world that, until now, existed well beyond the outer reaches of human imagination. From deadly Amazonian Whispering Vines (Vitus Sussurus) to curious creatures called Brittle Bones (Futilis Ossis) to a mysterious pet named Gibear (Chiroptera Vicugna Pacosis), the discoveries of Dr. Wiggins will forever change the way we think about the world before us.

 

Lesley M. M. Blume has authored five children’s books for Knopf, including Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins & Other Nasties. She lives in New York City.

 

David Foote is a film director, fine artist, animator, and illustrator who envisions the world through a fantastical black-and-white looking glass. He lives in New York City.

 

GROWING UP MUSLIM

by Sumbul Ali-Karamali

A candid and comprehensive look at what it’s like to grow up Muslim in America

 

Growing up Muslim in Southern California, Sumbul Ali-Karamali found herself answering questions from friends and schoolmates about her life: What do Muslims eat? Why do they dress the way they do? Why do they pray five times a day? What do their holy days celebrate? Who is Muhammad? What do Muslims believe about him? What are the tenets of Islam?

 

This book is a comprehensive introduction to one of the world’s major religions. It explores the fundamentals of Islam, Muhammad and his mission, and the Muslim perspective, as well as the development and spread of Islam and current demographics. This enlightening work will provide young readers with essential information about Islam in the everyday context of Muslim life in America, encouraging tolerance and acceptance.

 

At a time when the Islamic faith is widespread and often misunderstood, this book can be used to open the dialogue and create understanding and tolerance.

 

Sumbul Ali-Karamali holds a BA from Stanford University and a JD from the University of California, Davis. She earned a graduate degree in Islamic law from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African studies, where she also served as a teaching assistant in Islamic law. She has been a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law in London and is the author of the highly praised and award-winning adult book The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and That Veil Thing.

 

These books are availale at your favorite bookstore, and of course, online at Amazon.com!