Middle Grade Presenters
Peter Brown
Peter Brown is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel for children, The Wild Robot, which served as inspiration for the recent animated film from Dreamworks. His children’s books have earned numerous honors, such as a Horn Book Award, a Children’s Choice Illustrator of the Year Award, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award, and a Caldecott Honor. Peter lives in Maine with his wife, X. Fang, who is also an author and illustrator. Visit Peter at www.peterbrownstudio.com.
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Can a robot survive in the wilderness?
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is–but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island’s unwelcoming animal inhabitants.
As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home–until, one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.
Kalyn Josephson
Photo Credit: Alex Hayashi
Kalyn Josephson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, sometimes-baker, and full-time consumer of too much tea. She lives on the California coast with two tiny black cats in a house in constant need of repair. She is the author of several fantasy series for kids, teens, and adults, as well as the owner of The Cove Books.
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SOLVE THE PUZZLES. SURVIVE THE GAME.
Orphan Kit Devlin knows two things for sure about her scheming relatives:
1) They’re cursed, with someone doomed to croak every three years like clockwork.
2) They only care about one thing: themselves.
When wealthy Grandpa Amos dies, all the Devlins come running to his remote Scottish manor for their piece of the inheritance—only to find a mysterious, magical game instead. Whoever solves his riddles will win his fortune. But everything is not what it seems, like the crimson-eyed cat who only talks to Kit and the misfit cousin with secrets to hide. As the clues grow more perilous, Kit learns there’s more to the family curse—and her spellbinding connection to it—than she ever suspected. If she wants answers, she has to survive the game… and win.
Julian Randall
Julian Randall is a Living Queer Black poet from Chicago. His poetry and essays are published in The New York Times Magazine, POETRY, and Vibe. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize. Julian holds an MFA in Poetry from Ole Miss. His first book, Refuse, won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. Julian has previously worked as a youth mentor, teaching writing workshops to children on house arrest. He is the author of the Pilar Ramirez duology, The Chainbreakers, and Shook.
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Malik Page—though unless you're his mama, call him "Shake"—dreams of making the Marshall Grove varsity basketball squad as an eighth grader. Then he'll be on his way to joining the ranks of Chicago legends like his pops and late Uncle Kenny. But when Shake fractures his ankle in a championship game, he's sidelined for the first time since his first dribble.
As his world is turned upside down, Shake feels like there’s ginger ale bubbling in his chest and sweat slicking on his palms. With a best friend who’s getting more distant by the day, a growing silence between him and his dad, and varsity tryouts fast approaching, Shake will have to cross up every obstacle to find a way back onto the court—and back to being himself. Thankfully in Marshall Grove, the sky is always full of hope.
Christopher Roubique
Christopher Roubique grew up in rural Wisconsin and filled his time—and his heart—with the joys of fantasy and science fiction. His own books leap from those same joys, folding in his Cajun and Indigenous heritage, passion for mental health, and plenty of fantastical creatures. He still lives in Wisconsin and has squeezed his wife and daughter beside all those stories in his heart, too.
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Thanks to a prophecy revealed when he was little, thirteen-year-old Kyta always knew that he was destined to save the world. But waiting for that moment has kept him on edge his whole childhood, preventing him from having fun like other kids in his tribe. So when the ground quakes and the trees whisper that something is wrong, Kyta leaps into action, desperate to fulfill his destiny.
He is horrified to find that the precious Egg of the World Turtle, on whose vast shell everyone and everything lives, has been stolen by invaders. The Turtle is angry and grief-stricken, threatening to upend the very land under their feet. The invaders refuse to heed the warning of the tribes and return the Egg . . . so Kyta comes up with a plan to steal it back!
It’s risky and dangerous . . . but abandoning the Egg is certain doom. Kyta assembles other kids who could sneak into the invaders’ fortress and pull off the heist, but getting four very different personalities to work together is harder than he thought. And when they discover that the Egg is being guarded by an evil collector, his savage ogres, and a beast so terrible that it defies description, their odds seem all but impossible! Will Kyta be able to fulfill his destiny, or did he set himself up to fail . . . and the world to fall?
Inspired by the Indigenous American folktales, this thrilling and heartwarming fantasy shows the importance of teamwork, respect for nature, and believing in yourself.
Philip Stead
Philip Stead is the author of the Caldecott Medal-winning book A Sick Day for Amos McGee. He and his wife, illustrator Erin Stead, collaborated on Bear Has a Story to Tell, Lenny & Lucy, and The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, based on a previously unpublished children’s story by Mark Twain. Philip has also written and illustrated his own books, including Hello, My Name Is Ruby; Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat; and A Home for Bird. Philip and Erin live in Northern Michigan. Visit Philip online at philipstead.com.
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In a kingdom ruled by a capricious king, the castle rests on the backs of twenty-four goats, and the welfare of those goats rests on the back of a girl called Bernadette. So when one goat escapes, it’s up to her—with the help of a very forgetful wizard and a Boat That Does Not Grant Wishes—to bring it back safely.
Her task may be straightforward, but this book is anything but. Like a swirling herd of restless goats, the chapters are all out of order. The ending may prove to have been the beginning all along. All the while, the author of Bernadette’s saga—a character himself—hurries to write her a resolution, with very mixed results. And if you’re feeling lost, don’t worry; the story has twenty-four morals, of varying advisability, to edify you along the way.
Award-winning picture book author and illustrator Philip Stead makes a confident debut as a novelist in this laugh-out-loud, one-of-a-kind illustrated tale, chock-full of running gags, broken fourth walls, and underdog triumph.
Gilded edges, a velvet-touch jacket with foil accents and embossing, a foil-stamped cloth case and printed endpapers make A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic as thrilling to hold as it is to open, a perfect gift for any young reader.
Emma Steinkellner
Emma Steinkellner is an illustrator, writer, and cartoonist living in Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated comic Quince. She is the author and illustrator of The Okay Witch and the graphic novel series Nell of Gumbling.
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Six very different kids’ stories collide at an unforgettable last day pool party in this hilarious and relatable story about friendship, popularity and the messiness of growing up.
When her name gets skipped at the eighth-grade graduation ceremony, Rose decides she is done being invisible. She’s determined to finally stand out and make her unfulfilled middle school dreams come true at the upcoming pool party. But she’s not the only one who wants to make a splash…BFFs Liv and Juhi are on the verge of a friend break-up when Juhi reveals her family is moving, and Liv uses the party as a chance to scout for a new bestie. Queen bee Maya was forced by her mom to come to unpopular Dustin’s party to be “nice”. And meanwhile, her not-so-social cousin Paul is just trying to avoid all the pool party pandemonium.
By the time the sun sets, unexpected twists and ridiculous mishaps will make this the weirdest, wildest last day of school ever. Get ready, because this party is about to go off the deep end.