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

Welcome to the first really fall-ish round-up of MG SFF from around the blogs! I am typing this while wearing my coat, because it is cold and haven't found the strength to close the windows (they are 150 years old, and don't go up and down well.  I cracked the glass of a storm window on my first try, and gave up).

Please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews:

Constable and Toop, by Gareth P. Jones, at Finding Wonderland

Eva, by Peter Dickinson, at Views From the Tesseract

Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo, at Hope is the Word

The Forbidden Library, by Django Wexler, at Reader Noir

The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jennifer L. Holm, at Read Write Tell

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke, at Books Beside My Bed

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford, at The Book Smugglers and Redeemed Reader

The House of Secrets, by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini, at Claire M. Caterer

The Iron Trial, by Holly Black and Cassandra Claire, at Waking Brain Cells, My Precious,  In Bed With Books, and Hidden In Pages

Janitors: Strike of the Sweepers, by Tyler Whitesides, at Geo Librarian

Loki's Wolves, by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr at Log Cabin Library

The Lost Children (Mysteries of Ravenstorm Island) by Gillian Philip, at Wondrous Reads

Lug: Dawn of the Ice Age, by Dave Zeltser, at Librarian of Snark and The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

The Magic Thief: Home, by Sarah Prineas, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at Fantasy Literature

The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier, at Reads For Keeps

Nuts to You, by Lynne Rae Perkins, at A Year of Reading

The Only Thing Worse Than  Witches, by Lauren Magaziner, at Charlotte's Library

The Pirate's Coin, by Marianne Malone, at Fantasy Literature

Rose, and Rose and the Lost Princess, by Holly Webb, at Jen Robinson's Book Review

Rose and the Magician's Mask, by Holly Webb, at Sharon the Librarian

The Runaway King, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at One Librarian's Book  Reviews

Scare Scape, by Sam Fisher, at Dead Houseplants

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen, at Reading the End

The Song of the Quarkbeast, by Jasper Fforde, at Sonderbooks

Spirit's Key, by Edith Cohn, at Akossiwa Ketoglo and Charlotte's Library

Terror of the Southlands (Nearly Honorable League of Pirates, book 2) by Caroline Carlson, at Librarian of Snark

There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around, by Vivien Vande Velde, at The Wanderer

Tom's Midnight Garden, by Philipa Pearce, at Leaf's Reviews

Turning on a Dime, by Maggie Dana, at Annie McMahon

Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life, by P.J. Hoover, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Whispering Skull, by Jonathan Stroud, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile, Sharon the Librarian, Social Potato, and The Book Monsters

The Witch's Boy, by Kelly Barnhill, at Book Nut

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop, by Kate Saunders, at Tales of the Marvelous

Heavy Medal (the Mock Newbery blog of School Library Journal) is up and running again--A Snicker of Magic, by Natalie Lloyd, is discussed here, and The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing here.


Authors and Interviews

Jasper Fforde (The Wizard of Kazam) at SLJ

Madelyn  Rosenberg (Nanny X) at From the Mixed Up Files


More Good Stuff

Scenes From the Multiverse, a Tuesday Ten at Views From the Tesseract

Scientific American picks up on the reading Harry Potter = greater empathy study

Why you should come to Kidlitcon if you are fan of MG and YA spec. fic, at Charlotte's Library--a list of  spec. fic. authors who will be there.

And a reminder--the registration for Kidlitcon is Sept. 19th!  More info. here. 

Us Cybils organizers are busily working to form our panels of judges, to be announced (d.v.) toward the end of next week...but in the meantime, start thinking of your favorites from last year! Anyone can nominate books published in the previous Cybils year (Oct 16, 2013- Oct. 15, 2014), 1 per category, beginning Oct. 1.   (This year I am going to be Sane (another d.v.)  and not be jealous of the fact that YA Spec Fic always gets more books nominated than MG Spec Fic.)