Maria's Mélange

    Posted - by John David Anderson Hardcover, 384 pages Expected publication: May 2nd 2017 by Walden Pond Press ISBN 006233820X (ISBN13: 9780062338204) From John David Anderson, author of the acclaimed   Ms. Bixby’s Last Day,   comes a humorous, poignant, and original contemporary story about bullying, broken friendships, and the failures of communication between kids. In middle school, words aren’t just words. They can be weapons. They can be gifts. The right words can win you friends or make you enemies. They can come back to haunt you. Sometimes they can change things forever. When cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School, Frost and his friends Deedee, Wolf, and Bench come up with a new way to communicate: leaving sticky notes for each other all around the school. It catches on, and soon all the kids in school are leaving notes—though for every kind and friendly one, there is a cutting and cruel one as well. In the middle of this...

I am always happy to jump in and help spread the love of great books. Walden Pond Press puts out some amazing titles, and this is no exception. Read on for my thoughts about the book, some information about the author, and a chance to win a signed copy! This post is also going up on International Women's Day. I'm always thrilled to support books written by amazing authors who also happen to be women. Thank you, Elana K. Arnold, for your work!  A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold illustrated by Charles Santoso On Sale: 03/14/2017 ISBN: 9780062445827 ISBN 10: 0062445820 (information from the publisher) From acclaimed author Elana K. Arnold and with illustrations by Charles Santoso, A Boy Called Bat is the first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum. For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so ...