Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "middlegrade"

Beware the leafy girl ... hide from the wounded soldier .... and what's a FREAK SHOW doing there?

What could be creepier than a fair?

Tee-hee! Find out more about my forthcoming novel, Carter and the Curious Maze (Dundurn, Aug 2016), watch the new book trailer here: https://www.goodreads.com/videos/9804...

That's me playing the spooky soundtrack. Enjoy.

ARCs are available now from Dundurn Press.
Here's more about the book on my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2016/01/...

"In classic ghost story tradition, an exquisite tension builds...this book is a delicious, spine-tingling treat for midde grade readers. Every scary page makes it imperative to keep reading ..." --Canadian Children's Book News, Spring 2016

What a fantastic review from CCBC, thank you so much. This book is a weird little mind-bender for sure, and was just nominated for a Hackmatack Reader's Choice Award, 2016-2017. It's been compared to Goosebumps by KirkusReviews, and to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by others. Here's to weird, scary and fascinating tales, and monsters, because hey, we've all got lingering monsters right? I see you, Myles ....

Here are a few more reviews:

ALA Booklist: http://www.booklistonline.com/Myles-a...

Canadian Teacher Magazine:
http://www.canadianteachermagazine.co...

And for fun, here's the book trailer (with me playing guitar!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oyVz...

Could not be MORE excited to reveal the cover for my next book, Alex and The Other!

It's book 4 in the award-winning, middle-grade series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong, and it's coming March, 2018.

Creepy aliens, a lost cat, an EVIL TWIN! Can you say "doppelganger?"

Stay tuned! Here's a longer blog post about the new book: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/06/...

Beware tall strangers whispering in the trees.
Beware the haunted bathroom mirror at school.
But most of all ... BEWARE THE OTHER!

Win an ARC copy of my next book, Alex and The Other (forthcoming from Dundurn Press, March 2018)! It's book four in the award-winning series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong, middle-grade horror for kids in grades 3-6.

An evil twin story with a twist, enter the Goodreads Giveaway now: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Hurry, contest ends Friday November 17/2017, at midnight!

For a longer blog post about the contest: https://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/11...

If you're going to the Ontario Library Association SuperConference in Toronto this week (Feb 1-3), then come and grab your free copy of my next book, Alex and The Other! It's the next book in the award-winning middle-grade horror series, Weird Stories Gone Wrong.

When: Thursday Feb. 1/2018
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Where: Dundurn Booth, Exhibitor's Hall, Metro Convention Center

I'll be signing a box o' books, and handing out bookmarks along with my wonderful series illustrator, Shawna Daigle.

Hope to see you there!

Here's the #booktrailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBT0d...

Here's a longer blog post about the event: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/01/...

"The realities of middle school life combined with a creepy mystery adventure story make Alex and The Other a fun and fast-paced tale that fans of spooky stories will enjoy. RECOMMENDED"

Thanks CM Magazine! What a great review for my next book, Alex and The Other, book 4 in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series. Book 2 in the series,
Myles and the Monster Outside, won the OLA Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honour Book award last year.

If you love middle-grade horror stories, in particular stories about EVIL TWINS, you'll love this one! Alex is a lonely boy, not exactly bullied but not exactly popular either, and one day he meets his doppelganger, who slowly replaces him at school then at home.

Shy, quiet Alex needs help. Who can he turn to? And more importantly, who is the real Alex,
anyway?

Watch for this great new weird story, Alex and The Other, coming from Dundurn Press, March 2018.

Here's a longer post about the review: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/02/...

Hey Goodreads, SO HONOURED to introduce OCULUM, my new middle grade dystopia, coming from Dancing Cat Books this spring, 2018!

Here's the back cover copy:

“William, you cannot go out that door. You have no idea what’s out there. If there IS anything out there!”

So says Miranda1 to William1 in their perfect, domed world of Oculum. They are the oldest children of the one thousand chosen, raised by robot Mothers, taught to read, write and tend the fruit trees, but in a closed world without love or freedom.

Then one day, William1 finds a hidden door. What awaits Outside?

A destroyed ancient city of rubble, where orphaned children like Mann and Cranker live rough with only Grannie to feed and protect them. It’s a world without beauty or fruit trees, plagued with death and hunger.

But change is coming, if only Miranda1 and William1 can find the way out of Oculum …"

OCULUM is available April/18. For media contact and preview copies, contact:
http://cormorantbooks.com/dcb/oculum/

TO PRE-ORDER: https://www.amazon.ca/Oculum-Philippa...

Blow out the candles! My newest book, Alex and The Other, is coming out on March 31/2018!

It's been a while coming, 18 months have passed since the last book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series was published. That was Carter and the Curious Maze in August, 2016.

Since then, the series has won an award--Myles and the Monster Outside won 2017 OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book-- and been nominated for a few more.

All to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX AND THE OTHER, welcome to the world!

Here's a longer blog post about the book, why I wrote about an evil twin, loneliness (which I think is an under-represented theme in middle grade fiction) and a boy whose best friend is his cat: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/03/...

Happy Book Birthday to my new middle-grade, environmental dystopia: OCULUM is now available everywhere and its birthday is today, which also happens to be Earth Day.

Which is interesting, because the story is about a near future Earth, where humanity has survived plague, collapse and environmental disaster. Specifically, pollinators have all died off and there are no fruit trees anymore -- and who wants to live in a world without peaches?

Why is the book called OCULUM? What's it mean anyway? Were there specific challenges writing a middle-grade dystopia vs. a dystopia for young adults? What's the difference? What other middle-grade dystopias are there to recommend?

All that and more on my tell-all blog post today. Happy Book Birthday! http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/04/...

ALEX AND THE OTHER gets an "E" for "Excellent" from Resource Links Magazine!

There's no tougher time for an author than that (seemingly endless) time between the publication date of your book, and the first reviews. SO, MANY MANY thank yous to those readers who have already read and reviewed Alex and The Other here on Goodreads.

And now I'm also honoured to say that the book has just received an "E" rating from Resource Links magazine (stands for "Excellent"), their highest rating.

AND, as if that isn't enough, they've also listed the book as part of the Summer Highlight Tween Reading list, so the review is online all summer!

Go read the full review here now: http://journal.canadianschoollibrarie...

For a longer blog post, with links to the book trailer (with illustrations by series illustrator Shawna Daigle), the FREE teacher's resource guide for using the book in the classroom, and more reviews, click here: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2018/06...

Happy summer reading, everyone!