Completely Full Bookshelf

P.S. I have blog news, including the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday Post Navigator (link below the blog title)! For information, as well as my Poetry Sunday post, click here. As a special Halloween-themed recommendation, I am recommending Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Here's the publisher's description: The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring.... In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only it's different. At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother,...

Edit (12/25/2016): A typo has been fixed. Blog news! First, since Thursday is extremely inconvenient for me to write blog posts, Poetry Thursday is now Poetry Sunday! The first official Poetry Sunday post is for "Come into Animal Presence" by Denise Levertov. Here is the link. In other news, I have started trying to make my blog easier to navigate. Firstly, I have labeled all of my posts, and you can view just one label by clicking on it in the far-right sidebar. Secondly, just below the blog title, there is now a link to the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday Post Navigator, which shows all of my MMGM posts with covers and links. Clicking on anything that has to do with the book (cover, title, or date) will send you to the review. I hope you like these new blog changes!

For my belated Poetry Thursday post (I skipped the one before this entirely), I am recommending "Variations On The Word Sleep " by Margaret Atwood. Here is the link. I hope you like it!

For MMGM, I'm recommending The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Here's the publisher's description: Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century. Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is a 2010 Newbery Honor Book and the winner of ...

P.S. I have changed the color palette of my blog slightly. I hope you like it! For MMGM, I'm recommending Wishing Day by Lauren Myracle. Here's the publisher's description: From beloved and bestselling author Lauren Myracle comes the first book in an enchanting trilogy about three sisters, the magic of traditions, and the extraordinary power of hope. This heartwarming, timeless story is perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Ingrid Law. On the third night of the third month after a girl’s thirteenth birthday, every girl in the town of Willow Hill makes three wishes. The first wish is an impossible wish. The second is a wish she can make come true herself. And the third is the deepest wish of her secret heart. Natasha is the oldest child in a family steeped in magic, though she’s not sure she believes in it. She’s full to bursting with wishes, however. She misses her mother, who disappeared nearly eight long years ago. She has a crush on one of...

Firstly, today's Poetry Thursday recommendation is for an extremely old poem: "'Hope' is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson. Here is the link. In other news, TEXAS TEEN BOOK FESTIVAL! On October 1, I attended the Texas Teen Book Festival in Austin, Texas (I was conveniently returning back from San Antonio that day), so, without further ado, images! I'm here! Is Mindy Kaling actually here? Sitting in the auditorium! Laini Taylor is waving to the crowd! Slightly fuzzy, but nonetheless: Mindy Kaling! So, if you were wondering if it was awesome, it was! I wasn't there for the entire festival, but I still enjoyed it!

Edit (October 6, 2016): A formatting error has been fixed. For MMGM, I'm recommending Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. Here's the publisher's description: For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid’s life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school… in short, strong enough to be a roller girl. In this graphic novel debut that earned a Newbery Honor and five starred reviews, real-life derby girl Victoria Jamieson has created an inspiring c...