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The Search for Sasquatch, MGLIT & more non-fiction, that fills its big shoes

We love to watch The Muppets because the movies and the old television show has something that works on a level that parents, as well as, children, could enjoy at the same time. Reading, especially non-fiction reading is a different animal altogether. The reading interests of elementary school students are, for the most a common one with some touch points that boys and girls both hit upon. When boys get into fifth grade they crave all things Bigfoot, Sasquatch, UFO, Bermuda Triangle or alien porthole. All of these things combine in the Venn Diagram of The Search for Sasquatch, a non-fiction book by Laura Krantz that at first glance might not seem like it’s on par for upper elementary school students.

The Search for Sasquatch is non-fiction that deftly balances science, storytelling, humor and Bigfoot into something that kids want to read.

A Bigfoot book that balances story, Stem and kids want to read it?

Grounded For All Eternity succeeds with its playfully evil intent if you let it

Grounded For All Eternity is hyperbole. True story: for a while, I thought hyperbole was pronounced hyper bowl and really was just people bowling really fast. This is a case where a youth does something bad, really bad, and thinks that they’ll be grounded for a very long time. This is also no ordinary kid. Mal lives in Hell, again, that’s not hyperbole, he lives in Hell. It’s hot, with lots of red and black décor, and has various circles that comprise neighborhoods with homes, fallen angels, and flying folks. Grounded For All Eternity is thrilling mglit that takes a leap of faith to follow its premise, but rewards readers with a story that’s ironically about redemption and friendship.

Grounded For All Eternity is devilish fish-out-of-water mglit about a trio of teens who live in Hell and leave for one night to have some Earth-bound fun.

It’s Ok, really, it’s OK. Read it and have fun

Let The Monster Out, succeeds were it not for those muddling meddling kids

Allegory, teen-angst, outsiders, corporate shenanigans, and overcoming your fears meet in mglit, what’ll ya have? If you’ve ever been to The Varsity in Atlanta, which is a fabulous place to grab a hot dog, they’ll greet you that way. Let The Monster Out is mglit that wants to be in the Stranger Things, but with-more-heart club, and almost gets there. It has high aspirations and does offer plenty of thrills along the way, but left us feeling empty as though the book was playing favorites, let us explain.

Let The Monster Out has moments of mglit through a techno thriller lens, but jams in feelings that moot the scares and slows the pace.

Evil Corporation and kids overcoming stuff 101

Unmasked gets to the big bad quickly and sustains the teen tension

I love it when a book series gets better with a subsequent release. Unmasked is the third book in the Fright Watch series by Lorien Lawrence and manages to do that. We also read The Collectors, which was the second book in the series and while it was enjoyable, it didn’t have as much of an age-appropriate scare that some readers want. Unmasked is about a middle school girl, Marion, who uses the artistic creation of monsters as therapy. Her latest creation is a sea monster that she calls Winston. It’s all happening as the Super Blue Blood Moon and the school dance are around the corner, and Marion has developed a crush on a boy. Things can get complicated when you factor in a super-realistic mask that even gives its creator the creeps.

Unmasked is the third book in the Fright Watch series. It improves upon its predecessor and brings the bad on quicker, whilst keeping the teen feels.

MGLIT, age-OK scares line up at the first page

Windswept is a fairy tale that those non-fairy tale reading mglit fans will dig

An anthology doesn’t always have to be allegorical. Windswept is a fantasy book that combines elements of those two categories into something that also crosses over in fables and fairy tales. To add to the trippy attitude of the book it has the all-seeing eye that’s firmly placed below a tree. And this is before you know anything about the plot, which is about children being literally swept away by the winds, never to be seen again.

Windswept is a book that blends little-known Scandinavian elements to create age-appropriate dread for the fairy tale reluctant set.

Not all fairies have wands or sing songs

Middle School Bites: Night of the Vam-Wolf-Zom,P A+ highly recommended

Reluctant reader boys need a skeleton key. It’s that mythical thing that could unlock anything, but in this case, we just need to get them to enjoy reading. Thus, it’s a bit ironic that Middle School is the closest thing that we’ve seen in recent memory for those elementary-aged reluctant readers. Night of the Vam-Wolf-Zom is the fourth book in the Middle School Bites series and it has every element that grades four through six require in their reading.

Middle School Bites is an mglit series that kids want to read. Night of the Vam-Worl-Zom is a breathless, reflection-less romp that will delight ages eight and up.

Stop, collaborate and read this book

Dead Flip, retro teen scary vibes with a friendship backbeat

The 80s were chaotic, riddled with bad fashion that people thought was cool, produced some fabulous music, and is entertaining legions of teens nowadays. For the record ‘nowadays’ is possibly the oldest sounding word in the English language and is usually followed up with ‘back in my day’. Dead Flip is mglit that is all but served up with a heaping serving of Raisin Bran, featuring the iconic dancing raisins from 1989. It’s a fun book that today’s tweens and lower teens will enjoy because of the accurate 80s and 90’s shoutouts, as well as, the age-appropriate scares and drama.

Dead Flip is tween-aimed, mglit about a haunted pinball machine that has enough creeps mixed in with the retro teen ways of the 80s and 90s.

10 years and up who want spooky vibes will dig this

Coming Up Short is catch-all realistic fiction for the mglit set

One reason why mglit realistic fiction is challenging for some middle school readers is that life is not always 100% happy. There are sad, chaotic, confusing, and disappointing moments that everyone lives through. On the surface, those feelings don’t exactly roll out the reading red carpet to those 12-year-olds who are juggling their own personal issues, locker combinations, family issues, school work or sports. However, dig just a bit past the surface and those readers will discover that their issues, despite how unique and utterly end-of-world they might seem, actually have commonalities with realistic fiction characters. Coming Up Short easily falls into that category. It’s mglit that seems unique, end-of-world, and happens in a place where it could never really happen, but again, dig just a bit past the surface.

Coming Up Short is mglit that middle school readers will reach for, combining sports, family, competition, stress and poor decisions.

Mglit realistic fiction that stretches past the usual suspects