C.J. Milbrandt's Blog, page 44

The Dagger Quick

The Dagger Quick
Brian Eames

[image error]

Until the day Captain William Quick arrives at port in Kitto’s hometown, the boy has no idea that his hard-working cooper father (that’s a barrel-maker, by the by) had ever done anything more interesting than turn staves into barrels.

Privateers and pirates. Step-mothers and half-brothers. Old secrets and hard memories. Slave ships and cheeky monkeys. A vivid adventure that takes the time to explore the complexities of integrity, loyalty, and bravery. Eames has...

#amreading Historically

[image error]

Sees Behind Trees was a surprise favorite for the year, the story of a Native American boy who’s limited by severe nearsightedness, yet can do things no other person in their tribe can accomplish. Homer Price is a childhood favorite that was fun to reread. I’d forgotten most details, but I definitely remembered that doughnut machine! And We the Children kicks off a serial tale (told in parts). Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School is shaping up to be a contemporary quest & a historica...

BYWAYS: Illustrations

Every one of the Byways Books includes beautiful full-color art by my illustrator, Hannah Christenson. Here’s a sampling from Book #10, Back on Track: A Ganix Johns Adventure.

[image error]

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone Does My Shirts
Alcatraz, #1
Gennifer Choldenko

[image error]

Moose’s family has moved to Alcatraz, where his father works as a prison guard, in hopes of enrolling his sister Natalie in a special school in San Francisco. Lemon cakes and button boxes. Baseball games and piano lessons. Convict cooking and laundering for money. Charm school smiles and knowing when to say no.

I am really sort of loving Choldenko’s ability to take imperfect people (who really get my back up at times) and cultivate the...

#amreading Assortment

[image error]

This set makes it obvious that I’d been tackling the more challenging letters for an A-Z Reading Challenge. Zinnia and the Bees is mostly about family and friendships … and anger and isolation … and not giving up. Oh, and yarn-bombing! The Year of the Book is a slice-of-life story about Anna, who is ABC (American-born Chinese), shy, bookish, and a little embarrassed by her mother. The Queen’s Nose (set in England) is about a girl, her uncle, and a magical coin that grants wishes. All you hav...

BYWAYS: Behind the Header

[image error]

I’m back with another peek behind the scenes on the Byways book covers. One of the unchanging features on the header is the circle of stars that surrounds the volume number. If you take a quick tally, you’ll find there are thirteen stars. It’s a nod to the original thirteen colonies. The thirteen stars also show up on the cloak pins worn by Liberty’s rangers.

[image error]

This time around, I’m letting you see more of the huge griffin that’s partly obscured by the header on Byways #4, Up the Mountain: A...

The Luck Uglies

The Luck Uglies
Paul Durham

[image error]

Rye O’Chanter and her friends run a bit wild in Village Drowning, bending rules and breaking laws. But harmless fun changes to real danger when Rye encounters a Bog Noblin, horrible creatures who eat people and wear their feet for necklaces. In times past, the villagers trusted the Luck Uglies to keep them safe, but no one’s allowed to speak of them these days. They’re considered exiles and outlaws … and worse.

Cloaked strangers and strange beasts. Muddled histori...

#amreading Edibly

[image error]

Kimchi & Calamari is about a Korean boy raised by Italian parents in New Jersey. A school assignment pushes him into learning more about his heritage. Fortunately, the Milk is pure whimsy with fun illustrations. Lower middle grade that would be perfect for read-aloud. And Twerp is further proof that I’ll read any book in which Shakespeare is a theme.

Are you following me on GoodReads? >>

 

BYWAYS: Meet Zane Johns

[image error]

Zane Johns has a short temper, a love for excitement, and a surprisingly noble ancestry (on his mother’s side). He intimidates people almost as much as he avoids them. Oddly enough, Zane’s the only brother with a lifelong friend.

[image error]

Flight of the Phoenix

Flight of the Phoenix
Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, #1
R. L. LaFevers

[image error]

When Nathaniel’s parents are lost at sea, he’s sent to live with his father’s cousin, who decides it’s high time 10-yr-old Nate take up the Fludd family tradition of adventuring. Governesses and tidy sums. Aunts and airplanes. Mapmakers and mites. Spitting camels and hungry gremlins.

This! This is my favorite kind of lower middle grade story—simple enough for young readers, but smart and funny, with an appealing amount of...