SummaryThis month's WNDMG post offers summer recommendations that help young readers think outside the box. We're highlighting several unique graphic novels, as well as offering bonus listing for your young creatives to try their hand at writing, drawing, or photography! Thinking Outside the Box: WNDMG Summer 2026 Recommendations Summer is the perfect time to unwind and relax. This is true for parents, children, teachers, and students alike! So while we rest our minds, it’s best to try thinking outside the box and finding time to discover some unconventional and lighthearted reads. What am I referring to, you ask? Graphic novels! This summertime post is dedicated to graphic novels, illustrated chapter books, anthologies, online magazines, and all things unexpected. The push for more illustrated middle grade reads and graphic novels is an excellent way to get our kids reading and falling in love with the stories they discover. Check out this list of upcoming (or recently released) stories!  Descriptions are pulled

Let’s welcome Crystal Allen to the Middle Grade Mixed-Up Files! She’s written five books for middle-graders, including The Magnificent Mya Tibbs series. Join us as she dishes on writing, her career and other fun stuff. Read on!   You were born in a military hospital in Germany. How long did you live in Germany before moving to the States? Yes! My father was in the Army and was stationed for training at an Army base in Kitzingen, Germany. I was only there long enough to be born and ready to travel back to the States. What are you working on now? I’m working on a paranormal MG story. What was the inspiration for this story? It’s based on a true story that happened to me while doing a residency at the James Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio. It’s been difficult creating this story for a middle-grade audience, but I won’t give up! 😊 What is your writing process like? I

SummaryWNDMG Author Interview with Meg Eden Kuyatt on her novel-in-verse book Perfect Enough WNDMG Author Interview with Meg Eden Kuyatt We’ve got an author here today! And I had the esteemed pleasure of sitting down with MG Novel-in-Verse author Meg Eden Kuyatt. So, without further ado… KATE: Our Mixed-Up-Files readers would love the inside scoop on your latest novel-in-verse, Perfect Enough. With the school year behind her, Selah is looking forward to a drama-free summer. (Spoiler alert – it won’t be as carefree as she’d like). Can you share with readers a bit about what Selah gets up to in summer? MEG: Selah wants to prove to her mom–and herself–that she’ll be fine at summer camp, that she can do the same as any neurotypical kid if she has her tools. She wants to connect with her new dragon-loving friends. She wants to write, publish in the summer camp journal, and become a “real writer” (spoiler: she’s already a writer).

WNDMG Author Interview: Seema Yasmin on her series Muslim Mavericks

SummaryPeople make sense of the world around them based on their own lived experiences, but if I have learned anything from my kids, it’s that the younger generation has just as much to offer us as we have to offer them. That fact is the focus of this WNDMG post - honoring diversity by highlighting the perspective of youth. This month’s interview is with the co-founders of ProjectGenZWrites: Ruby Seidner and Boston Rohan. When we embark upon our journey as storytellers, we become part of the writing community at large. Each of us seeks to build relationships with not only our audiences, but also long to engage with other creatives across multiple mediums. As middle-grade authors, it is so important for us to stay connected with our readers and understand life through their eyes. People make sense of the world around them based on their own lived experiences, but if I have learned anything from my kids, it’s that the

Author Charlotte Watson Sherman discusses her middle-grade book, This Opening Sky and shares her writing journey.

Author Charlotte Watson Sherman discusses her middle-grade book, This Opening Sky and shares her writing journey.

SummaryThis month's We Need Diverse MG post features not one, but two international authors whose books are landing in US and Canadian booksellers this November! Welcome Raidah Shah Idil and Yxavel Ma...

SummaryThis month's We Need Diverse MG post features not one, but two international authors whose books are landing in US and Canadian booksellers this November! Welcome Raidah Shah Idil and Yxavel Ma...

SummaryThis month's We Need Diverse MG post features not one, but two international authors whose books are landing in US and Canadian booksellers this November! Welcome Raidah Shah Idil and Yxavel Ma...

SummaryThis month's We Need Diverse MG post features not one, but two international authors whose books are landing in US and Canadian booksellers this November! Welcome Raidah Shah Idil and Yxavel Magna Dino to our fabulous #WNDMG Interview! November’s typically filled with so much to do! Some households just finished celebrating Dia de Los Muertos, while others are saluting the veterans in their lives. Others are already planning Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or any other -Givings Day dinners! Yet those in the bookish community simply wait for all the incredible new releases that embrace the family spirit. And what better way to celebrate family this month than with a double dose of WNDMG book releases! We recognize that publishing is an incredibly difficult pursuit and that journey can be even harder for international authors. Yet, despite all odds, I have had the pleasure of sharing the virtual stage with not one, but two amazing MG authors who both have US/CANADA releases this

SummaryInterview with middle-grade authors Jasmine Paulino and Diana Lopez. Hey, hey, this month we’re celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15, 2025). We wanted to high...

SummaryInterview with middle-grade authors Jasmine Paulino and Diana Lopez. Hey, hey, this month we’re celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15, 2025). We wanted to highlight two amazing authors that, if you aren’t already familiar with them, put them on your to-be-read list (now!). Check out the interview with Jasmine Paulino, debut author of The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez, and Los Monstrous author Diana Lopez as we talk books, inspiration, and so much more. Hi Jasminne! Thank you so much for hanging out with us here at the Mixed-Up Files. Congratulations on your debut novel! Let’s get into it! Your debut novel, The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez is in verse. How did you know you wanted to tell this story in verse? Do you write a lot of poetry?  I’m a poet first. I write poems when I journal. That said, my story ideas usually start out as poems. Alex’s character development lived in a poetry space. This wasn’t

Representation in middle grade books is essential. All children should see themselves in the stories they read, and WNDMG is the perfect opportunity to share new and exciting books on the horizon. Thi...

Representation in middle grade books is essential. All children should see themselves in the stories they read, and WNDMG is the perfect opportunity to share new and exciting books on the horizon. Thi...

Representation in middle grade books is essential. All children should see themselves in the stories they read, and WNDMG is the perfect opportunity to share new and exciting books on the horizon. Thi...

Author Interview with Reem Faruqi on her book Zarina Divided for We Need Diverse Miggle Grade Blog