At the beginning of Any Which Wall, Laurel Snyder’s second middle-grade novel, four bored children while away the summer, wistful for the kind of magic that only happens in books. They’ve been reading Edward Eager, author of the 1954 uber-classic Half Magic, which also begins with bored children yearning for something, anything exciting to happen.

And those children—the kids in Half Magic—have been reading E. Nesbit, the mother of all adventure writers (The Railway Children, Five Children and It, etc.) and the model for Eager himself. Any Which Wall then, is the second degree of separation from Nesbit to Eager to Snyder, and the new book holds up well in such august company.

Magic is actually quite common, as we are told by the chatty, no-nonsense narrator who has not forgotten what it’s like to be a kid. “Common magic” is what can happen to characters lucky enough to be bored, be together, have excellent taste in literature and have parents too busy to interfere. Such as Emma, six years old; her brother Henry, a rising fifth grader; Henry’s best friend Roy; and Roy’s older sister Susan. Susan is charged with looking after the younger ones, but does not do a great job keeping anyone out of trouble. The trouble starts at the end of a path through an Iowa cornfield, where a bizarre, gigantic stone wall launches adventures accidental and on purpose. As in Half Magic, each kid gets a turn, and each kid discovers the power of words. “Be careful what you wish for” has never been such an apt caution: wordplay and syntactical imprecision make for unexpected (and funny) plot twists. Also look for the funky, retro-feel illustrations by LeUyen Phem: magical in their own right.

Perfectly timed for a summer release, Any Which Wall should handily alleviate boredom for young readers, and keep us all wishing for a sequel. Of course, the ultimate accolade would be a book written by someone in the next generation of children’s authors, and which begins with bored characters wistful for the kind of magic in Any Which Wall.

Joanna Brichetto still owns the copy of Half Magic she first read 34 years ago (price: 75 cents).

Mudshark, aka Lyle Williams, is a cool kid, the kind who doesn’t have to say he’s cool for the other kids to know it. It’s not only the way he dresses or the way he moves that makes Mudshark cool, but his uncanny ability to know just about everything that goes on at school.

“The cool thing about Mudshark was that he not only had information, he knew how to use it,” writes author Gary Paulsen, explaining why his classmates frequently turn to Mudshark for help in finding lost objects or explaining school mysteries. Before Paulsen comes to the end of his new classroom comedy, Mudshark, even the principal will seek out this resourceful 12-year-old for help. The principal, Mr. Wagner, wants to know why all the erasers in the school have disappeared. And the students want to know whether the librarian’s pet parrot is psychic. Luckily for them, the Mudshark Detective Agency is on the case.

Paulsen laces his tale with the kind of humor that’s sure to appeal to middle grade readers, including a couple of running gags about a free-range gerbil and problems in the faculty restroom. He also offers enough clues to keep the story’s central mystery moving along with growing suspense.

Mudshark himself is an admirable fellow, who’s not only cool at school, but willing to pitch in at home to care for his triplet sisters. This light, entertaining read should prove especially popular with those on the younger end of the book’s suggested 8-to-12-year-old age range.

“Life would have been much easier if I believed in fairy tales,” remarks Fortunata at the beginning of Fortune’s Folly. Unfortunately, life for Fortunata and her father has been far too hard of late; since his wife’s death, Fortunata’s father, formerly a prize-winning shoemaker, has completely lost his talent and is now only able to make ill-fitting shoes in preposterous designs.

Forced to flee their home city after the enterprising Fortunata outsmarts and infuriates a powerful man, Fortunata and her father fall in with a traveling performance troupe. From the group’s clever fortune-teller, Fortunata learns the art of prognostication, which, she discovers, has infinitely more to do with observation and careful guesswork than with supernatural powers.

Fortunata soon develops her own reputation as a skilled fortune-teller, a skill that will be sorely tested in the city of Doma. There she is enlisted to predict a future path for Prince Leonato, a handsome but unconfident youth. Fortunata concocts a dangerous, romantic, wildly unlikely future for Leonato—only to learn that if these events don’t come true, Fortunata’s beloved father will be put to death. Can Fortunata take destiny into her own hands—and maybe find love (and a little magic) along the way?

In her debut novel, Deva Fagan cleverly slips elements of several beloved fairy tales, from “Cinderella” to “Rapunzel,” into her story, playfully turning these old motifs on their heads. Although the novel’s basic plot (girl meets unattainable boy, the two fall in love, complications ensue, love conquers all) might seem a little like a fairy tale itself, Fortunata’s pragmatic outlook and slyly witty narration make the novel thoroughly modern. This tough, creative, fearless heroine will give readers someone to root for—whether they believe in fairy tales or not.

Norah Piehl is a writer and editor who lives near Boston.

Ivy June Mosely and Catherine Combs are both from Kentucky, but their lifestyles are worlds apart. The two seventh-grade students have agreed to take part in an exchange program; the girls will visit each other for two weeks at a time and record their impressions in their journals.

In the skillful hands of veteran author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of the Newbery Award-winning Shiloh and an astonishing 135 other books, Faith, Hope, and Ivy June unfolds with poetic restraint and unexpected discoveries. As the story opens, we meet Ivy June as she prepares to leave her home in mountainous and old-timey Thunder Creek for a stay with Catherine and her family in a posh suburb of Lexington. She moved in with her grandparents, Mammaw and Papaw, after her own home became too crowded. There’s no running water in most Thunder Creek homes and life tends to be led hand-to-mouth. The town relies on its coal mines, and Ivy June worries for the safety of her beloved Papaw as he returns home each night exhausted and covered in coal dust.

Miles away in Lexington, Catherine awaits Ivy June’s arrival. Catherine’s family takes great pains to welcome Ivy June and to hide their own apprehensions and prejudices. After a tour of Catherine’s lovely, spacious home—the air-conditioning and multiple bathrooms make a big impression—the girls begin to form a friendship, though fragile at times, based on their commonalities and an intentional downplaying of their differences. Their view of each other’s standard of living becomes especially dramatic when Catherine comes to Thunder Creek, trekking over the hills and bathing outside in a tin tub.

As they engage in their shared journey, the girls can’t help but be forever changed by it. But how will these changes affect their lives going forward? Each has expectations and fears, each has to contend with their family’s preconceived notions about life on the other side, and each has to come to terms with the idea that certain stereotypes will inevitably affect their experience. In the end, it’s a shared devotion to their respective families that will enable a bond to form, particularly in the face of loss and a newfound appreciation for the gifts of their own daily lives. 

Ellen Trachtenberg is the author of The Best Children’s Literature: A Parent’s Guide.

Twelve-year-old June Olivia Cantrell—aka Junebug—is like many other tweens. She’s a dreamer, slightly insecure and she often feels invisible, especially next to her older drama queen sister, Stella. She’s not a leading lady . . . yet, but hey, one can always dream.

Junebug’s life has always revolved around the Blue Moon—the playhouse founded by her father. It’s a serious playhouse where, these days, tragedies rule the stage. But even though Junebug knows the show must go on, this summer is a little different than most. She’s finding herself, to quote the Chekhov play The Seagull up next at the Blue Moon, “in mourning for my life.”

Here’s how Junebug sees it—her parents are still happily married; she’s got the lead role in the Blue Moon’s latest production and she doesn’t have to worry about anyone getting in her space.

But here’s how it is—her parents are separated (with dad fawning over the new actress); she’s just a prop girl (albeit proudly taking her star turn as the unseen “thunder” in The Tempest) and now she’s got a young know-it-all kid—an understudy of sorts—following her around, learning the ropes.

Alas, alack—Junebug is not content to be simply a behind-the-scenes player, so she takes charge and speaks out, wondering “how you’re supposed to know when the acting stops and the real person begins.” Soon, an unexpected denouement has surprising results for Junebug, who comes a bit closer to matching her dreams with reality.

With chapters that open with Junebug’s dreamy visions, countered by her tragic-comic reality, the well-paced novel traces her summer of discontent. Age-appropriate dialogue and a likeable ensemble cast are set against a backdrop of the theater—creating a perfect stage for this tale of finding one’s way amid an unscripted life. Even reluctant readers will keep turning pages to see if all’s well that ends well.

Sharon Verbeten is a freelance writer and former children’s librarian who made her acting debut as a rock in a grade school play.
 

Mary Bayliss Pettigrew and her older brother Leo are “cut from the same cloth—six of one and half a dozen of the other.” They are growing up during the Great Depression in rural Alabama, but the 11- and 16-year-old are up to their usual shenanigans, playing tricks on neighbors and sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.

Everything changes after Bayliss’s 12th birthday. In a tragic accident, Leo is killed. Bayliss miraculously survives, although her reality is grim. She wakes up in the hospital to find life without Leo, guilt and the nagging feeling that she has been spared for a special purpose from God. It’s a heavy burden for any 12-year-old girl, and Bayliss deals with the weight in an unusual way: she decides to become a nun. What ensues is alternately heartbreaking and funny, since we know that Bayliss is better suited for wearing overalls than a habit (the better for “traipsing through the jungles of Africa,” which is what she really longs to do).

Sandra Forrester, who is also the author of the Beatrice Bailey Magical Adventure series, is adept at portraying life after a tragedy—when supper must be made, the clothes washed, sadness confronted. It is a strange and confusing time, and Forrester characterizes each member of the healing Pettigrew family with depth and realistic imperfection. There is Bayliss’ dad, who is kind but fearful; her sister Kathleen, who possesses quiet strength; grandmother Tommie Dora, who is firm but filled with goodness. Each personality becomes richer and more likeable as the novel progresses.

Just when we think that the Pettigrews have faced enough hardship, there is a twist. The family takes in two orphan girls: precious five-year-old Isabel and steely eight-year-old Gwen. Bayliss reacts to this development with anger—she may be on the road to piety, but she refuses to replace her brother. Then, something cracks. Readers young and old will sympathize as Bayliss struggles with doubt and redemption.

Though it portrays pain, Forrester’s novel is enlivened by Bayliss’ snappy narration and the amusing, colloquial retorts by her family members. The Pettigrews will be an inspiration to any person who has dealt with loss.

Eliza Borné writes from Nashville.
 

Eleven-year-old Matisse Jones thinks his family is a bunch of “goofy loons.” Take his father, for example. He creates huge portable smokers and barbecue pits complete with shock absorbers and wide-load flags, and he wheels them through town to pool parties, soccer games and funerals, sometimes losing control of his pigs on wheels. To Matisse, his father is “just one big advertisement for someone whose brains are all gone.” Matisse’s mother is art-obsessed, his sister purple-obsessed, and his two-year-old brother is a two-year-old brother, enough said.

However, everyone thinks Matisse is a genius. He has the gift of copying masterpieces exactly, and with the new show coming to the local art museum, where his mother is in charge of security, Matisse will have lots of inspiration for his copies. Coincidentally, this show will be a major exhibition of Matisse’s namesake: Henri Matisse. But when Matisse copies "Portrait of Pierre" and swaps his painting with the original on the wall of the museum, things turn out less amusing than Matisse expected. The museum installs a new high-tech security system, and Matisse has no opportunity to get the original back on the wall without giving away his criminal deeds.

So, he is stuck with the original. Coming from an artistic family, he knows the value of art, the importance of preserving it, and the big trouble he is in. "Portrait of Pierre" has close calls with a feather duster, humidity, water balloons and a militant security guard Matisse calls Guardzilla, as Matisse tries to protect the painting and extricate himself from his dire situation.

Matisse’s series of improbable events becomes a journey of self-discovery, in which he finds important truths about his family, himself and where his true gifts lie. Through this humorous tale, readers will learn about a portion of the art world, and they may just decide to research the work of the great Henri Matisse and his son Pierre, an influential art dealer in New York City. Though Pierre died in 1989, Bragg resurrects him for this novel so she can weave in all of the high-tech security devices that so effectively thwart Matisse Jones’ machinations. Matisse on the Loose is an amusing romp in the world of art.

Dean Schneider teaches middle school English in Nashville.
 

Ten-year-old Allie, who is growing up during the Great Depression, is quite content living in a two-family home in New Haven, Connecticut. Her parents want more space, however, and one day her father announces major news: they are moving to a rented one-family home in Stamford. While this may seem like a positive development, Allie has reservations about leaving her best friend, Ruthie, and worries that she will have no friends and that she may not be accepted in her new school.

Swept off her feet by the magical name of her new street, Strawberry Hill, Allie’s fears nearly vanish. She begins to acclimate to her new home, neighborhood and school, though she views Stamford as vastly different from New Haven. Faced with new challenges, Allie must sort out the true meaning of friendship. She grows to appreciate her family and comes to learn a few perplexing, though valuable, lessons on her journey toward self-discovery.

Teacher and author Mary Ann Hoberman has been writing books for children for more than 50 years, though Strawberry Hill marks her first foray into fiction. Currently serving as the Children’s Poet Laureate, Hoberman wrote the rhyming text in the picture book A House is A House for Me, which was a 1984 National Book Award winner. Distinct picture book offerings, such as One of Each and Seven Silly Eaters, as well as memorable poetry collections, such as The Llama Who Had no Pajama, have enlightened and entertained countless readers. Hoberman’s latest offering, Strawberry Hill, is a delightful and endearing autobiographical coming-of-age narrative.

Hoberman’s sweet look at the loss of innocence combined with the small steps we take toward maturity has a charm all its own. Join Allie on her trek to make Strawberry Hill feel like home.

Freelance writer Andrea Tarr is a librarian at Corona Public Library in California.