Two Middle Grade Reads

I'm sharing two middle grades today! 

(Note the appealing covers on both titles. They draw readers in!) 

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor was one of my favorite read-alouds as a classroom teacher. As I look back on what I enjoyed about this book, I realize the qualities are similar in O'Connor's latest Wish (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016).

Charlie is the main character, and her family life is less than ideal, so she is sent to live with an aunt and uncle she doesn't know. As she begins to life this new life, she notices an intriguing stray dog -- and vows to find and keep her. Tenderly and smartly written, Wish is a middle grade story about the importance of home-- no matter where we may find it. 

Love That Dog and Hate That Cat were also two highly circulated titles in my classroom -- especially when we wrote poetry. These novels in verse are two of my go-to titles. 

And now Creech's latest book Moo (HarperChildren's, 2016), becomes another title to add to this list. In this book, the main character Reena and her family have moved to Maine, encountering a very different type of life. An interesting neighbor named Mrs. Falala (who owns a cow named Zora) adds mystery to the story, and their connection plays a part in Reena's adjustment to her new home. Moo  shows us how a change of scenery changes everything - and how the people around us each have their own rich stories to tell. 

I highly recommend both books. And as I write about them here,  I know I will be rereading these for years to come.