My Favorite Three!

We at TeachingAuthors are posting about our favorite book or books of 2017!  April’s pick is the stunning debut middle grade novel Train I Ride by Paul Mosier. I can’t choose just one. Every book I read tends to be my favorite. However, knowing I can’t include them all, I zeroed in on these three unforgettable reads.

The first is Monica Kulling’s Mary Anning’s Curiosity. 

What an imaginative recreation of Anning’s childhood! Born in 1799, Anning is considered the world’s greatest fossilist, discovering her first big find at the age of twelve. The cover art by Melissa Castrillon is exquisite. The middle grade novel is an accessible and inspirational read for second to seventh graders. It’s downright enthralling. Anning may have been uneducated, poor – and a woman! – but her groundbreaking work influenced modern understanding of prehistoric life. In 2010, she was named among the ten most influential British women of science. A perfect read to introduce the possibilities of science to young readers. For more information, please look here.


Yvonne Ventresca”s thrilling Black Flowers, White Lies is my next choice.

A 2017 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal Winner, this young adult psychological thriller is a page turner. The protagonist Ella's deep, almost supernatural connection to her deceased father has brought her great comfort. She always believed her father died a hero. Then her mother remarries and her stepbrother divulges that her father died in a mental hospital. Ella starts to spin emotionally out of control, facing unexplained events that shake her to the core. Is she going mad, just like her father? Or is she being haunted? For more information, please look here. 

My last book comes from Harold Underdown’s Kid’s Book Revisions workshop, held in partnership with Eileen Robinson. 

 Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder, is written for screenwriters, but the discussion targets plotting techniques that are invaluable for writers of any genre. “Save the Cat” is that moment that defines who your hero is and it makes the reader root for the hero for the rest of your story. It’s the scene where the reader meets the hero and the hero does something, says Snyder, like saving the cat. At this point, the audience – or the reader, as the case may be – becomes engaged in the hero’s story and invested in the outcome.

Don’t forget! To enter our drawing for a chance to win an autographed copy of Train I Ride (Harper), written by Paul Mosier, use the Rafflecopter widget on April's post (see below). You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.

If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on April’s blog post or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today! In your comment, tell us what you'd do with the book if you win our giveaway--keep it for yourself or give it to a young reader?

(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)

Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA THE WIDGET on April’s post here. The giveaway ends December 20, 2017 and is open to U.S. residents only. 

Happy Reading!!

Bobbi Miller