This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (5/5/19)

Welcome to this week's round-up; please let me know if I missed your post!

Here's why I do these round-ups--

--for selfish reasons
I started because I wanted someone else to present me with all the mg sff reviews, but had to do it myself

--for another reason
I want to connect with all the other folks reviewing mg sff so that I can plug the Cybils Awards.  I'm the Cybil's organizer for the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category, and in just a few months, the call for Cybils Awards panelists will be going out.  I love all the panelists that have joined me in years past, but it would be great to have some fresh faces, and  I would really love more diversity in my group of panelists. You don't have to have a blog, just an online platform you use to talk about books (goodreads, youtube, podcasting, Instagram, etc.)  In the first round, which is most of the reading, we keep it to folks in North America, but international folks can be second round panelists (fewer books to get a hold of).  Here's a post I wrote a while back about being a panelist; please think about applying when the call goes out, and please let me know if you have any questions.

The Reviews

Aru Shah and the Song of Death, by Roshani Chokshi, at The Reader Bee, Hypable, and the B. and N. Kids Blog (my review) and a look at both books at Books and Waffles

The Assasination of Brangwain Spurge, by M.T. Anderson and You at Book Invasion (YouTube)

The Collectors, by Jacqueline West, at Redeemed Reader

The Fire Maker, by Guy Jones, at Magic Fiction Since Potter

Game of Stars (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #2), by Sayantani Dasgupta, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Golden Butterfly, by Sharon Gosling, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

Hamilin Stoop series, by Robert B. Sloan, at Tots and Me

Hyacinth and the Secrets Beneath, by Jacob Sager Weinstein, at Tales from the Raven

A Long Forgotten World, by Shannon Briwen, at Rising Shadow

The Middler, by Kirsty Applebaum, at Schoolzone

Music Boxes, by Tonja Drecker, at Charlotte's Library

Nell and the Cirus of Dreams, by Nell Gifford and Briony May Smith, at The Lancashire Post

Nevermore: the Trials of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend, at A Strong Belief in Wicker

The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away, by Ronald L. Smith, at Always in the Middle

Riverland, by Fran Wilder, at Charlotte's Library

Rumble Star, by Abi Elphinstone, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

Runaway Robot, by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, at Minerva Reads

Sweep, by Jonathan Auxier, at The O.W.L.

Trace, by Pat Cummings, at Fuse#8


Authors and Interviews

Kelly Barnhill (The Girl Who Drank the Moon) at the B. and N. Kids Blog

Kim Ventrella (Bone Hollow) shares her thoughts on magical realism in mg at Middle Grade Minded


Other Good Stuff

A gathering of books for Star Wars loving kids at Brightly