I am lucky enough to be part of a wonderful group of people who are as excited about middle grade books as me. When I was first invited to join the blog From the Mixed-Up Files… of Middle Grade Authors I already knew I would say yes when I heard the name! That’s because it’s a play on the name of one of my favorite books from childhood—From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. In it a girl named Claudia and her brother Jamie run away from their home and hide out in a famous museum in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art—and even solve a mystery. When I used to read this book I would dream of visiting the museum myself–and maybe even living in New York City one day. This is a dream that came true! Although I don’t live in New York anymore, I did live there for 18 years and visited the Met many times. I still love New York, but now I live in London—another exciting city of museums and adventure.    

I love the MUF blog because it is a wealth of resources, giveaways, STEM segments, articles, interviews and all things celebrating books for 8-12-year-olds. I love writing for the MUF blog because I get to interview fabulous middle grade authors and sometimes write blog posts about ideas and issues relating to children’s books and publishing that I’ve been thinking about. Check it out!

• Interview with Lauren Tarshis, author of the super popular I SURVIVED series, now with a new 9/11 graphic novel
• Family Book Club: Middle Grade Books That Can Be Enjoyed by All
• Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour — Interview with Honor Book Award-winner Tziporah Cohen
• Re-Read-19: A Short Meditation on Re-Reading in the time of Coronavirus
• When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Still Relevant
• Nostalgia and Those Childhood Favorites: Which books are we just sentimental about, and which books stand the test of time?
• Cogheart Adventures: Interview with Author Peter Bunzl