dear mr. hemingway’s 2019 holiday books & pairings
The Merriest Middle Grade Books
guts by Raina telgemeier (graphix)
My boys and their peers always seem to gobble up anything that Telgemeier writes. Guts is perfect for this age group with such a relevant subject matter.
From the Publisher “Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it’s probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, where she’s dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. It soon becomes clear that Raina’s tummy trouble isn’t going away… and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships. What’s going on?
Raina Telgemeier once again brings us a thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face — and conquer — her fears.”
P.S. Pair this book with a colorful HYDRO FLASK water bottle. The are all the rage!!!!
belly up (a funjungle novel book 1) by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster)
Get your kiddos into mysteries with this fun series. A 12 year old boy solving the mysterious death of a hippo at the zoo his parents work at…perfect for our 5th and 6th graders. This chapter book is a good old fashion mystery without all the inappropriate language and content that can appear in older middle grade and YA books!!!! Love it!
From the Publisher: “Twelve-year-old Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Fitzroy has murder on his hands and trouble on his tail. He believes that Henry, the hippopotamus at the brand-new FunJungle, has been murdered. The zoo’s top brass claim the hippo went belly up the natural way, but Teddy and his feisty friend Summer McCraken have other ideas. Could the culprit be FunJungle’s animal-hating head of operations? Or is it FunJungle’s owner—Summer’s dad—a man who is much more concerned about money than animal welfare? The deeper Teddy and Summer dig, the more danger they’re in—because when it comes to hippo homicide, the truth can’t be caged!”
Diary of a wimpy kid: wrecking ball by Jeff Kinney (amulet books)
Greg is back with his wacky family and more drama to fill the pages of Book 14. This series is another hit in my house with all my boys. Light and funny…perfect book to unwind to at the end of the day!
From the Publisher: “Once the walls come down, all sorts of problems start to crop up. Rotten wood, toxic mold, unwelcome critters, and something even more sinister all make Greg and his family wonder if the renovations are worth the trouble. When the dust finally settles, will the Heffleys be able to stay . . . or will they need to get out of town?”
The thirteen story treehouse by Andy Griffiths (Feiwel & Friends)
This book is the start of a binge worthy reading series for kids. Imagine living in a treehouse???? How unbelievably cool is that? Filled to the brim with entertaining distractions makes it a difficult place to live when you are trying to write a book. Your kiddos will want to climb into the pages of this book for sure.
From the Publisher: “Andy and Terry live in a treehouse. But it’s not just any old treehouse, it’s the most amazing treehouse in the world! This treehouse has thirteen stories, a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a secret underground laboratory, and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots marshmallows into your mouth whenever you are hungry.
Life would be perfect for Andy and Terry if it wasn’t for the fact that they have to write their next book, which is almost impossible because there are just so many distractions, including thirteen flying cats, giant bananas, mermaids, a sea monsters pretending to be mermaids, enormous gorillas, and dangerous burp gas-bubblegum bubbles!”
stargazing by jen wang (First Second)
Graphic novels are a wonderful genre for our kids. They have a way of telling a story through conversations and pictures that really sit well with our young ones. I am a sucker for a good friendship story. Enjoy
From the Publisher: “Moon is everything Christine isn’t. She’s confident, impulsive, artistic . . . and though they both grew up in the same Chinese-American suburb, Moon is somehow unlike anyone Christine has ever known. But after Moon moves in next door, these unlikely friends are soon best friends, sharing their favorite music videos and painting their toenails when Christine’s strict parents aren’t around. Moon even tells Christine her deepest secret: that she has visions, sometimes, of celestial beings who speak to her from the stars. Who reassure her that earth isn’t where she really belongs.
Moon’s visions have an all-too-earthly root, however, and soon Christine’s best friend is in the hospital, fighting for her life. Can Christine be the friend Moon needs, now, when the sky is falling?
Jen Wang draws on her childhood to paint a deeply personal yet wholly relatable friendship story that’s at turns joyful, heart-wrenching, and full of hope.”
Dear Mr. Hemingway’s 2019 Holiday Books & Pairings
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