This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/21/14)

Before I get to the round-up, I want to share the fact that the registration deadline for Kidlitcon 2014 (Sacramento, Oct. 10th and 11th) has been extended to September 26!  And if both days are too much, there's the option of registering for just Friday or Saturday....If you are a lover of kids books, even if you aren't a blogger yourself, do consider coming!  It is the most kindred spirit filled conference possible for us introverted children's book readers.  Plus there will be great authors to meet, and lots of books to go home with -- Chronicle Books just wrote in asking "how many of each title should we send...."  And there will be tasty eats and drinks (thank you, Lee and Low, for sponsoring refreshments for Friday afternoon's Author Meet and Mingle!).

Now on to the round-up; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

The Accidental Keyhand (Ninja Librarians 1), by Jen Swann Downey, at Fantasy Book Critic

The Book of Kindly Deaths, by Eldritch Black, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Centaur Rising, by Jane Yolen, at Sharon the Librarian

Doll Bones, by Holly Black, at YA Book Bridges

Evil Fairies Love Hair, by Mary G. Thompson, at Charlotte's Library

The Forbidden Flats, by Peggy Eddleman, at The League of Extraordinary Writers

The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jennifer L. Holm, at BooksForKidsBlog and Views From the Tesseract

Frostborn, by Lou Anders, at Smitten Over Books

Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle, by George Hagen, at My Precious

The Hero's Guide to Being and Outlaw, by Christopher Healy, at Semicolon

Home (Magic Thief 4), by Sarah Prineas, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Hook's Revenge, by Heidi Schulz,  at A Reader of Fictions, Pop! Goes the Reader, and Manga Maniac Café

The Iron Trial, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, at She Reads She Blogs and The Midnight Book Girl

Jacob, King of Portalia, by Casey Clubb, at Bitches n Prose  (with giveaway and interview)

Janitors, by Tyler Whitesides, at Batch of Books

The Last Present, by Wendy Mass, at Time Travel Times Two

The League of Seven, by Alan Gratz, at The Book Monsters

Little Green Men at the Mercury Inn, by Greg Leitich Smith, at Guys Lit Wire

Loot, by Jude Watson, at Proseandkahn

Maddigan's Fantasia, by Margaret Mahy, at Fantasy Literature

Magic in the Mix, by Annie Barrows, at books4yourkids and Charlotte's Library

Nanny X, by Madelyn Rosenberg, at This Kid Reviews Books

The Nethergrim, by Matthew Jobin, at Good Books and Good Wine (audiobook review)

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, at The Ninja Librarian

Pennyroyal Academy, by M.A. Larsen, at Snuggly Oranges

The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu, at Pages Unbound

Rose and the Magician's Mask, by Holly Webb, at Word Spelunking (giveaway)

Rump, by Leisl Shurtliff, at The Children's Book Review

The Secret of the Key, by Marianne Malone, at Fantasy Literature

Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, at The Book Monsters

Strike of the Sweepers (Janitors Book 4), by Tyler Whitesides, at LDS Women's Book Review

The Time Smugglers, by Rosie Morgan, at This Kid Reviews Books

The Whispering Skull, by Jonathan Stroud, at In Bed With Books

The Witch's Boy, by Kelly Barnhill, at alibrarymama, Librarian of Snark, and In Bed With Books

Authors and Interviews

Peggy Eddleman (The Forbidden Flats) at The League of Extraordinary Writers

P.J. Hoover (Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life) at Literary Rambles (giveaway)

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black (The Iron Trial) at Tor

J.B. Cantwell (Aster Wood and the Lost Maps of Almara) talks about "Publishing Middle Grade in the Indie Age" at Middle Grade Ninja

Edith Cohn (Spirit's Key) at Smack Dab in the Middle

Other Good Stuff

A nice look back at  the Middle Grade/Elementary spec. fic. shortlist from last year's Cybils at Library Chicken (and don't forget to nominate for this year starting Oct. 1!)

Another nice Tuesday Ten at Views From the Tesseract; this week it's Scientists and Inventors Wanted.

A look at Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory, by Lucy Mangan, at Books Together

The Medical Journal of Australia offers a new reason why Tolkien's bad guys really lost in The Hobbit--an Unexpected Deficency.  Here's the abstract:

"Objective: Vitamin D has been proposed to have beneficial effects in a wide range of contexts. We investigate the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency, caused by both aversion to sunlight and unwholesome diet, could also be a significant contributor to the triumph of good over evil in fantasy literature."

(via Fantasy Faction)

And from io9, a look at the real inspiration behind Disney's Robin Hood.

And the world of Harry Potter in absolutely dazzling miniatures.

RIP IX (Readers Imbibing Peril) is up and running through Oct. 31 (this is a reading challenge for books spooky and mysterious....)

And finally, it's time for A More Diverse Universe! Check out the links thus far, and add your own!