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6 Favorite Diverse Books for Middle Grade & 3 Book Giveaway! // #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2024

 

Read Your World Celebrates Multicultural Children’s Book Day is thrilled to present our #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2024 series in conjunction with The Children’s Book Council.

Please welcome Flora Ahn and her list of 8 Favorite Diverse Books for Middle Grade. We are giving away 3 copies of her newest book. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.

 

8 Favorite Diverse Books for Middle Grade

Pug Pals: Two’s a Crowd by Flora Ahn, illustrated by Flora Ahn

A playful chapter book with illustrations based on the story of my two pugs, Sunny and Rosy. Sunny has to deal with her new kid sister, Rosy and has some adventures along the way. This was my first published book and holds a special place in my heart. [picture book, ages 5 and up]

Pug Pals: Yay for Vaycay by Flora Ahn

A follow-up to Pug Pals: Two’s a Crowd. This time Sunny and Rosy are visiting their grandparents where they make a new friend and have to solve a mystery. The illustrations carry a lot of the story and humor in the Pug Pals books so they make for good early middle grade books. [picture book, ages 5 and up]

A Spoonful of Time by Flora Ahn, illustrated by Jenny Park

Maya, a 13-year-old Korean-American girl, travels back in time whenever she cooks with her grandmother. This has a little bit of magic and a lot of heart as Maya discovers some family secrets and learns more about herself. The book includes recipes for the food Maya makes and sweet illustrations by Jenny Park. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl’s Moving Castle is classic Diana Wynne Jones with loveable characters, an interesting plot, and fantastic writing. Sophie is transformed by a spell that turns her into an old lady. She then sets out to find Wizard Howl who dwells in a constantly moving castle with his apprentice and a fire demon. I first read this when I was in law school and couldn’t do anything else the whole day but read this cover to cover. Truly enchanting! [middle grade, ages 9 and up]

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins is widely known for her Hunger Games books, but my favorite of hers is Gregor the Overlander. It’s the first book in the five-book series, the Underland Chronicles. Gregor and his two-year-old sister, Boots, fall through a vent in their apartment building and enter a strange world called Underland. There’s a prophecy and quest, but it’s done in such a unique way. Characters include giant rats, bats, and even cockroaches. Only this series could make me care so much about giant cockroaches. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

A classic with a book within a book setting. A lonely boy named Bastian hides away in an attic where he reads a book about a strange world called Fantastica that is in danger of being consumed by nothingness. I favor the edition with the red and green colored fonts that differentiate when you’re reading about Bastian and when you’re reading about Fantastica, rather than the regular and italicized fonts. And don’t watch the movie before the book because it will just taint your view of what Falkor the Dragon should look like. [middle grade, ages 9 and up]

The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

This is the first book in a trilogy about Eva Nine, a 12-year-old human girl, who was born in an underground sanctuary and raised by a robot called Muthr. But when her home is destroyed, she is thrust into a strange world that can be both exciting and dangerous as she searches for other humans. I sped through the story but paused to linger on the beautiful illustrations. [middle grade, ages 9 and up]

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

Small Spaces is probably the spookiest children’s book I’ve ever read. Eleven-year-old Ollie stumbles across an intriguing book with a story that intersects with a school trip to a local farm. But when the school bus breaks down and night approaches, things take a scary turn. This is a really fun and well-written book, but only for those who can handle a bit of light horror. [middle grade, ages 9 and up]

A SPOONFUL OF TIME 3 Book Giveaway

We are giving away 3 copies of her newest book to three winners. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and A.F.O. addresses.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Flora Ahn is an attorney by day and an author and illustrator by night. Her work includes a children’s chapter book series, Pug Pals (Scholastic), and an Audible Original, The Golden Orchard. Raised in California by her Korean immigrant parents, Ahn lives in Virginia with her three pugs and practices law in DC. To learn more, check out her website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X. 

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