Tag: Middle Grade

Malamander

By Thomas Taylor

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but that doesn’t mean cats shouldn’t be curious.

Malamander

Summary

Malamander is a middle grade book published in 2019. It is a quirky, creepy fantasy story that is extremely entertaining for kids. Malamanders main character is a young boy named Herbert Lemon, who works as the “lost-and-founder” at the Grand Nautilus Hotel in Eerie-On-Sea. Normally, his job consists of reuniting lost pieces of luggage with their owners, but when a young orphan named Violet stumbles into his storage room chased by a hook handed man, Eerie-on-sea becomes slightly more eerie!

Violet has no idea what happened to her parents. She lost them at the hotel when she was a baby-and since Herbert is the “lost-and-founder” it makes sense that he would help her find them. She thinks they went in search of the legendary Malamander-a magical being that is said to lay an egg that makes all your wishes come true. Violet and Herbert, with the help of the locals, set off on an adventure to not only solve the mystery of her parents but the Malamander too!

My Thoughts

Plot

I really enjoyed this book. I could see how the plot would be engaging for the intended age group. While predictable in some places, I don’t think that it took away from the plot. This story was part adventure, part fantasy, part mystery, part comedy-so I think it had a bit of something for everyone. I was thoroughly engaged throughout the entire thing. I thought the pacing was great, and was very age appropriate.

That being said, this is a solid middle grade book. I would not age this book down. There are themes, characters, and events that I don’t think would be good for an advanced younger reader. This isn’t a bad thing, it just has a very distinct audience.

Format

I read this book, and I do think that you will gain more from reading than listening to this book. That being said, I don’t know if an audio version even exists. The reason that I think you should read this book is for the illustrations. Interspersed throughout the story are pen and ink illustrations that add to the overall whimsy of the book. They really make the characters come to life!

Writing

You really get a feel for this book from the writing. It’s almost like you can smell the rotting seaweed and taste the saltiness in the air. Taylor has great command of pacing, which made this book feel like it went by in a blink, when in fact it is a longer read. The one thing that I would say is that until I heard Herbert talking about Pokémon cards, I thought that the book was based in maybe the early 1900s? But obviously not.

Characters

I thought the characters were a lot of fun. Obviously Violet and Herbert were more developed than some of the secondary characters, I think that the lack of information about the secondary characters actually added to the intrigue. For most of the book I couldn’t tell who was a good guy and who was a bad guy. This made for very fun reading. Unreliable narrators always make a book engaging. I would have to say that my favorite character in the entire story though, was Mrs. Hannover. She owned this odd bookshop with an animatronic monkey that told you what book to read next-and the monkey was always right. The bad guy, Sebastian Eel, I think fits with his name. Throughout the book you can tell he’s a slimy character.

I also love that Violet is written as a strong, black 12 year old. The thing I especially like about this fact is that she was never judged for her color. Herbert and the other characters welcomed her no matter what.

Final Thoughts

This was one of those books that when I finished, I couldn’t stop talking about. I would recommend it to every kid who liked adventure stories. Is it perfect, no. But for a kids book, I loved it. Five stars

Rating: 5 out of 5.

My All-Time Favorite Middle Grade Books

As a former children’s librarian, I have spent many hours around children’s literature, and have picked my favorites over the years. Since children’s literature is a very broad subject, I am limiting this list to middle grade fiction-or books that are written for grades 4-6ish. I would like to say these are in no particular order, but that would be lying. The first book is my favorite. The rest, it depends on the day. How many of these have you read?

Gone-Away Lake
by Elizabeth Enright

This Newbery Honor title published in 1957 has been a favorite of mine since around 1999, when I first read it in a book club between fourth and fifth grade. I fell in love with not only the story but the easy summer vibe. One of the things that I think makes Gone-Away Lake such a special book is that it’s told from the point of view of a young girl who can hold her own with the boys and likes exploring! This book is about friendship and adventure, and is a great story especially if you have children of multiple ages all wanting to read the same story. It also has beautiful pen illustrations interspersed throughout!

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
by Betty MacDonald

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was one of my early favorites. The titular character lives in a house built 100% upside-down, and is extremely knowledgeable about children despite having none of her own. All of the parents call her to help them with their poorly behaved kids, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle happily obliges. Each chapter is a separate child with a separate “cure” which makes this book great for bedtime reading-as each problem gets resolved at the end of the chapter. One of my favorite cures is the “Won’t Take a Bath Cure”, where Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle instructs the parents to let the little girl get as dirty as she wants, and then secretly plant radish seeds into the dirt while she sleeps. We can all guess what happens next.

The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin

Winner of the 1979 Newbery Medal, The Westing Game was my first real introduction to mystery books. I mean, I had read Nancy Drew, but I wasn’t invested in solving the case the same way. I really love how all the clues are laid out for you if you pay enough attention. I love that Raskin shows a wide range of ages and races, with the protagonist being a tomboyish girl named Turtle. Some people have put this book in the ‘didn’t age well’ pile, but I firmly disagree. The characters do have prejudices, and do make assumptions of others, but that’s just it. It’s the characters making the assumptions not the author. And throughout the short read, these characters learn to overcome their prejudices, learn from their mistakes, and become better people.

When Stars are Scattered
by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Moving away from books published well before I was born, When Stars are Scattered is a semi-autobiographical fictionalization of Omar Mohamed and his brother Hassan’s time in a Kenyan Refugee Camp. Published in 2020, it’s also a graphic novel, which makes a topic that could easily be depressing and overwhelming much more palatable for young readers. While this title is much longer than the previous ones, its format makes up for the size. With beautiful illustrations, and an even more beautiful message, When Stars are Scattered will pull at the heartstrings of all who read it.

In My Father’s House
by Ann Rinaldi

While only mentioned one time on this list, Ann Rinaldi was, hands down, my favorite author during my middle grade years. A historical fiction writer whose main characters were always young women, her stories spoke to the budding historian in me to learn more about American history. In My Father’s House follows Oscie Mason through the entire Civil War. Oscie is a proud southern girl who knows little about the politics that are about to change her life. A beautiful coming of age story, I will always have a copy of this title on my bookshelf.