Kate's Tales of Books and Bands

The middle grade sci fi/fantasy round-ups are back, after a break for Kidlitcon.  Please let me know if I missed your post! The Reviews Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor, at Chapters and Charms The Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol, at proseandkahn (audiobook review) Black and Blue Magic, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, at Say What? Critter Haven, by Angelina Moretti, at Page Turns (you tube book talk) Eventown, by Corey Ann Haydu, at Log Cabin Library Explorer Academy: The Falcon’s Feather, by Trudi Treueit, at Mom Read It Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret by Trudi Truett, at Redeemed Reader Forgotten City, by Michael Ford, at Say What? Gribblebob’s Book of Unpleasant Goblins by David Ashby, at Minerva Reads The House with Chicken Legs, by Sophie Anderson, at Magic Fiction Since Potter The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, by Lamar Giles, at Always in the Middle , Falling Letters , proseandkahn , and Unleashing Readers Lavender-Green Magic, by Andre Norton, at Tor Little Apocalypse, by Katherine...

I'm easing back into blogging after the excitement of Kidlitcon 2019 with a fun cover reveal! Dino Knights, the first book in a new series by Jeff Norton (@the jeffnorton) comes out June 6th from Awesome Reads ! Here's the synopsis: "Imagine medieval times where the dinosaurs never went extinct. When dinosaur stable boy Henry Fairchild stops a vicious T-Rex from attacking his master, he is invited to join the most elite group in Brecklan, the brave Knights of Panterra, the Dino Knights. But before he can prove himself, the enemies of Brecklan attack with a flock of pterodactyls and kidnap Lord Harding. Whether he's ready or not, Henry and the Dino Knights mount a daring rescue mission...but nothing is what it seems." And here's the cover, by George Ermos: Sounds (and looks) good to me! The Jim Henson Company is making a live action tv show based on the book, which sounds like lots of fun too. Dino Knights can be preordered here.

I must start with a bit of a disclaimer-- Seventh Grade vs the Galaxy , by Joshua S. Levy, for Timeslip Tuesday isn't a "time travel book."  But time travel does happen in it, getting our young heroes out of a sticky situation....and it having happened once, I'm thinking it might pop again in future adventures (I hope there will be future adventures!). School 118 is a ship in orbit around Ganymede, which, though it might sound interesting to readers, isn't of particular interest to the elementary/middle school kids who are being schooled there.  Just boring routines of school, made more unpleasant for  seventh-grader Jack by his father's disgrace and the social fallout that's come Jack's way because of it.   But then everything dull and boring is shattered when the ship comes under attack, and  strange "Quarantine" countdown begins. Jack and two classmates, Ari and Becca, sneak off to the engine room to investigate what's happened, and Ja...

So yesterday evening was the end of a crappy weekend in which nothing went well and the weather was ick and there were no tasty snacks, and I gave up trying to Do all the Things around 7:30 pm and started reading The Deepest Blue , by Sarah Beth Durst, because I really wanted to.  By 8:30 I was not quite halfway through and cursing daylight savings because clearly I'd be staying up late till I finished.  But I read with such happy absorption that it only took me till 9:30, and then I could go to bed at peace!  It's always so nice to be reminded of why exactly one labels oneself a Reader. But enough about me. The Deepest Blue is set in the same world as the Queens of Renthia series, a world of bloodthirsty spirits barely (and sometimes not) controlled by strong women.  Unlike the three Queens books, this one is set on the islands out in the ocean, where people also live in the middle of a constant battle of wills between their queen and her heirs and the spirits, b...

What with organizing Kidlitcon (coming up the week after next!) and finishing home renovations before Kidlitcon company comes to stay with me, I have no time for the Sunday round-ups.  But I do have lots of reviews planed for the next few weeks, and I'll be back rounding up at the end of March!

Nothing from me this week (I am busy busy busy getting Kidlitcon 2019 all ready to go!), but here's what other people wrote about mg sci fi/fantasy books (let me know if I missed your post!) The Reviews Arlo Finch series, by John August, at Nerdophiles Dragon Flight (Dragon Slippers #2) by Jessica Day George, at Hidden In Pages . Let Sleeping Dragons Lie, by Garth Nix and at Sean Williams, at Locus Loki's Wolves (The Blackwell Pages #1), by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr, at Say What? The Lost Girl, by Anne Ursu, at Waking Brain Cells Music Boxes, by Tonja Drecker, at Cat's Corner A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem: a Dastardly Plot, by Christopher Healy, at alibrarymama The Secret of Vault 13, by David Solomons, at Ms. Yingling Reads Sweep, by Jonathan Auxier, at Imaginary Friends Watch Hollow, by Gregory Funaro, at Rajiv's Reviews Who Let the Gods Out? by Maz Evans, at Say What? Two at alibrarymama --The House in Poplar Wood, by K.E. Ormsbee, and The Boy, the Bir...