this week's round up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs etc. (10/15/23)

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

first--today is the last day of public nominations for the Cybils Awards!  If you haven't yet shown love for a elementary/middle grade sci fi/fantasy book published in the US or Canada between Oct 16 2022 and Oct 15 2023, don't miss your chance!  I have gathered together a list of some of the books still waiting for your consideration--do visit and see if there's one you love and give it its chance to shine! And I've starred the books in this round-up that are eligible and haven't been nominated yet.  (There are of course lots of other worthy categories, from picture books to HS non fiction....)

The Reviews

Alex Wise vs. the End of the World, by Terry J. Benton-Walker, at Mark My Words

Bella Bright and the Ghost Game, by Carolyn Ward, at Scope for Imagination and Book Craic

The Bellwoods Game, by Celia Krampien, at Bookworm for Kids

Book Review: 'Percy Jackson: The Chalice of the Gods' (thecosmiccircus.com)

Coyote Queen, by Jessica Vitalis, at  Always in the Middle… 

*The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía, by Alexandra Alessandri, at The Banner

*Forever Twelve, by Stacey McAnulty, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Grave Thief, by Dee Hahn, at Pages Unbound 

Ice Children, by M.G. Leonard, at Valinora Troy

Just a Pinch of Magic, by Alechia Dow, at Punk-Ass Book Jockey  

*Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu, by Erika Lewis, at proseandkahn

*The October Witches, by Jennifer Claessen, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads

*Project F, by Jeanne DuPraa at Dede  (@professional_bookworm_dede) 

*The Puppets of Spelhorst, by Kate di Camillo, at Semicolon and Cracking the Cover

Scarewaves, by Trevor Henderson, at  Ms. Yingling Reads

Sky, by Holly Webb, at Book Craic

Three Tasks for a Dragon by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by  P.J. Lynch, at Mark My Words  and Cracking the Cover

Vivian Lantz's Second Chances, by Kathryn Ormsbee, at Charlotte's Library

Authors and Interviews

Shanna Miles (*The Fall of the House of Tatterly) at teenlibrariantoolbox.com

Alechia Dow (Just a Pinch of Magic) at teenlibrariantoolbox.com

Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble (The Raven’s Song) at Bellis Does Books (wordpress.com)

Sylvia Whitman (*If you Meet the Devil, Don't Shake Hands) at Smack Dab in the Middle

Sean O’Brien (*White House Clubhouse) at Literary Rambles:

Jessica Vitalis (Coyote Queen) on Telling the Truth: Sometimes You Have to Make It Up, at Cynthia Leitich Smith and an interview at From The Mixed Up Files

 Lisa Schmid (Hart & Souls), at From The Mixed Up Files

Other Good Stuff

Spooky Stories for Middle Grade Readers 2023 – Scope for Imagination

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Best Children's Book Picks October 2023