Image: A smiling orange jack-o-lantern wears a black pointed hat against a black background.
Jessica Scott

Mid-Year Round-Up

Believe it or not, kids, we’re halfway through 2020. I know I’m not alone in feeling like this year has both flown by and crawled along at an agonizingly slow pace. I’m still trying to make 2020 a better year for this blog, though, and part of that improvement is introducing regular round-up posts. I think it will help me stay organized and accountable, and I can always use that in my life. Plus, people seem to really like round-ups! I always want you to enjoy my content, so if you have any other features you’d like to see (or if you want to remind me to follow up on features I’ve already promised *cough*Creepy Cover Connoisseur*cough*), please leave a comment or send me an email!

Since this is my first round-up and I’m covering half a year, this may be a bit long. I’m going to list all my reviews for the year by category. I’m not brave enough yet to go into detail about my NetGalley or Edelweiss+ stats, but those will probably make an appearance in future round-ups. I’m planning a TBR post for the books I’m looking forward to reading in July and August, so be on the lookout for that in the days ahead. Now, let’s get started!

Board Books

Image: A baby with brown skin and black hair sits with their arms raised in a yellow carrier against the chest of a person with brown skin and black facial hair. Text: "Antiracist Baby. Ibram X. Kendi. Illustrations by Ashley Lukashevsky."
Image: A black cat sits in a smiling jack-o-lantern, looking up and smiling happily. Behind the kitten is a pumpkin patch and a night sky with bats, stars, and a crescent moon. Text: "Spooky Little Kitten."

I haven’t reviewed that many board books so far this year! I’d like to fix that, because I love a good board book, and the two listed below are both fantastic.

Picture Books

Image: A young girl with brown skin and dark brown hair sings with her eyes closed as a figure in the background flies away. Text: "Precious and the Boo Hag. Patricia C. McKissack and Onawumi Jean Moss. Illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker."
Image: A pregnant mother kisses the forehead of a young boy, who sits on his father's shoulders. All three family members have brown skin and black hair. A white and yellow cat looks on. Text: "When Aidan Became a Brother. By Kyle Lukoff. Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita."
Image: A colorful, busy underwater scene of sea creatures in various hiding places. Text: "Look for Ladybug in Ocean City. Katherine Manolessou. With hundreds of things to spot!"
Image: A young boy with brown skin and black locs faces the camera with a smile. He wears a jacket and tie with paint splatters on the lapel. Two spray cans sit next to him. Text: "Little People, BIG DREAMS. Jean-Michel Basquiat. Written by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara. Illustrated by Luciano Lozano."
Image: A smiling white ghost floats in front of a group of objects including a basket of fruit, a potted plant, a candle, a record player, and a violin. Pink and orange filigree borders the image. Text: "Gustavo, the Shy Ghost. Flavia Z. Drago."
Image: A smiling monarch butterfly looks at the viewer. She flies against a blue-green sky filled with white clouds and other butterflies. Text: Señorita Mariposa. Ben Gundersheimer (Mister G). Illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero.
Image: A red cat wears a blue and white gingham cape and stands smiling with his hands on his hips in a heroic pose in front of a white background. The surrounding background is red like the cat's fur. Text: Doodle Cat Wears a Cape. Kat Patrick & Lauren Farrell.
A brightly colored butterfly opens its wings against an off-white background. Text: How to Be a Butterfly. Laura Knowles. Catell Ronca.
Image: A boy with brown skin and brown hair wears red footie pajamas and carries a stuffed monkey. He yawns and walks in a line with brightly colored lions, koalas, deer, and other animals. Text: Bedtime for Sweet Creatures. Words by Nikki Grimes. Pictures by Elizabeth Zunon.
A young boy with light brown skin and curly dark brown hair wears a blue suit, yellow suspenders, and orange pants. His hands are on his hips and he smirks confidently yet kindly. The background is yellow with colorful stars and dots. Text: Dazzling Travis: A Story About Being Confident & Original. By Hannah Carmona Dias. Illustrated by Brenda Figueroa.
Image: A drawing of a young David Bowie, a boy with pale skin, one blue eye and one brown eye, orange hair, and a red and blue lightning bolt drawn over his blue eye. He wears a suit and tie and holds a microphone in one hand and a toy alien in the other. Text: Little People, BIG DREAMS. David Bowie. Written by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara. Illustrated by Ana Albero.
Image: A young girl with black hair rides in a red and white origami crane on top of pale blue water. Behind her are branches with tufts of leaves in varying shades of green. Text: Patience, Miyuki. Roxane Marie Galliez. Seng Soun Ratanavanh.
Image: A large brown elephant and a small black elephant gaze at each other in front of a beige background. Text: Mom Loves Little Jumbo. Yasushi Muraki. Hello, I am Jumbo.
Image: A young boy stands in a doorway yelling in alarm. The background is black and the doorway is lit in yellow; shadows extend in front of the boy. Text: Chapter Two Is Missing! Josh Lieb. Drawn by Kevin Cornell.
Image: A gnarled brown tree sits in front of a full yellow moon. Houses sit on either side of the tree. Silhouetted trick-or-treaters point at the tree in wonder.
Image: Book cover with a black background and bright orange spine. A young girl with puffy orange hair looks around in fright as unusual plants, bugs, and snakes surround her. Text: Evie and the Truth about Witches by John Martz.
Image: A large monster with grey skin holds a candle while a smaller woman with white skin and auburn hair sits next to him writing. Text: "Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein. Written by Linda Bailey. Illustrated by Júlia Sardà."
Image: A large monster with grey skin holds a candle while a smaller woman with white skin and auburn hair sits next to him writing. Text: “Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein. Written by Linda Bailey. Illustrated by Júlia Sardà.”

So far this year, I’ve reviewed more picture books than any other kind of book. It was a close race, though: 17 picture books vs. 15 middle grade books. Since my heart truly belongs to middle grade, those numbers really surprised me! Y’all know how much I love to gush about illustrations, though, so I guess it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. And there were definitely some amazing illustrations in the books listed below.

Chapter Books

Image: The background is sparkly shades of periwinkle blue. A young girl holds a bowling ball and looks at the white unicorn behind her, who wears a striped purple shirt and holds a bowling ball at the end of her horn. Text: Unicorn Bowling: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure. Dana Simpson.

I would love to be able to review more chapter books, but it’s hard for me to find many. If you have any recommendations—or if you’re an author with a book you’d like me to review—please let me know!

Middle Grade

Image: Three young people run across a red desert; in the background, a silver falcon spreads its wings over a dark castle. Text: "Curse of the Night Witch. Emblem Island. Alex Aster."
Image: A young girl with brown skin and brown hair looks over her shoulder and smiles at the viewer. She holds a birdcage with a small purple dragon in it. Text: "The Dragon Thief. A sequel to Dragons in a Bag. Zetta Elliott."
Image: A Korean-American girl with long black hair wears a school uniform and stands in front of an open locker with a basketball on the floor next to her. Text: "Pippa Park Raises Her Game. Erin Yun."
Image: A girl with long brown hair and a blue dress stands with her hands on her hips as a grizzly bear roars next to her and a large figure made of wood stares down at her. Text: "The Oddmire, Book Two: The Unready Queen. William Ritter."
Scary-Stories-for-Young-Foxes-cover
Image: Two boys with identical clothes, pale skin, and light brown hair face a shadowy hooded figure in a pile of brambles. Text: "The Oddmire, Book One: Changeling. William Ritter."
Image: A red teddy bear with horns, fangs, claws, and glowing yellow eyes shambles into a door frame. Text: "Night of the Living Ted. Barry Hutchison. Illustrated by Lee Cosgrove."
Image: A woman with pale skin and frizzy grey hair sits on a green fainting couch next to a skinny boy with pale skin, brown hair, and glasses. Behind them stand three people with pale skin and light blonde hair; they all look away snobbishly. The shadow of a reaching zombie is visible on the wall to their right. Text: "Zombie Problems - Book 1. A Small Zombie Problem. K. G. Campbell."
Image: Four girls stand, frightened, in a dark forest. Behind them looms a shadowy purple figure with glowing white eyes and wearing a horned crown. Text: "Babysitting Nightmares: The Shadow Hand. Kat Shepherd."
Image: A group of boys ride their bicycles away from the viewer, down a winding road alongside a river with lanterns floating in it. The boy in the foreground looks over his shoulder at the viewer. Text: This Was Our Pact. Ryan Andrews.
Image: A small house sits in the woods at night. A full moon shines above, forming the eye of a howling wolf with large fangs. The wolf's fur fades into the clouds above the house. Text: "Tales from the Fringes of Fear. Jeff Szpirglas. Illustrated by Steven P. Hughes."
Image: A young girl with light brown skin and black hair sits in a colorful forest with drawings scattered around her. There are eyes behind her, watching as she draws with pencil and paper.
Image: Six teenage girls hold wands and face the viewer in silhouette with an orange-pink sunset sky behind them. Text: "The Witches of Willow Cove. Josh Roberts."
Image: A girl with light skin and black hair carries a robotic cat on her shoulder. Behind her are a boy with light skin and light hair with a robotic boar and a boy with brown skin and black hair with a golden robotic eagle.
Image: Against a blue background, a red mummy wrapped in light grey fabric shrieks as three sparking electrical wires protrude from his head.

Ah, my true love. There have been some really fun (and really creepy!) middle grade titles featured so far on the blog, and I’ve got plenty more in store for you.

Young Adult

Image: A girl with long dark hair and a school uniform kneels and punches the ground. A red and orange ball of fire glows behind her as rocks fly up from her fists. Text: "A demon invasion is no excuse for bad grades. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. A novel by F. C. Yee."
Image: A teen girl with dark brown skin and black hair wears pajamas and slippers and holds a large feather. Behind her is a purple, futuristic cityscape in square grids.
Image: Black and red illustration of a cornfield at night, with the rows of corn forming the shape of a malicious clown's face.
Image: Illustration. Two girls with light skin face the viewer. The background is a monochromatic collage of faces of people of all ages, races, and body types. Text: "Camp Spirit. Axelle Lenoir."
Image: A teal background with black and grey illustrations of human and inhuman figures surrounding text that reads: "Guillermo del Toro. Cornelia Funke. Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun."

I’ve also got a LOT of awesome YA titles coming your way. It’s the curse of being a book blogger: so many books, so little time. This list will grow quite a bit before the end of 2020, believe me!

???

Image: A black cat silhouetted against a red background. Text:

As my friend Jenna at Falling Letters pointed out, this title isn’t technically a kids’ book. Still, I think it’s a terrific book for kids to read (and just a terrific book in general), so I’ve placed it in the very scientific ??? category.

That’s my year so far! I haven’t reviewed as many books as I thought I had, which honestly makes me sad. I’ve been going through some personal struggles the past year or two, which has caused some gaps in my blogging schedule. I’m sorry that I haven’t posted as regularly as I’d like, but I do want to be a steady presence—hopefully one that you like!

I want this blog to be a fun, thoughtful place where we can celebrate and discuss spooky kids’ books. I don’t feel like I’ve lived up to my vision of this blog yet, but I really want to get there, so I’m going to work harder to make this a place that you all enjoy visiting. Thank you so much for reading, and here’s to a brighter future!

One comment

  1. Haha, I appreciate the inclusion of the ??? category. I have been trying to have a ‘steady presence’ for 6+ years of blogging and it’s never happened 😛 Other things come up. Try not to think about it too much (easier said than done, I know!!). I enjoy seeing your posts in my feed whenever, whether more or less often. 🙂 I hope you have lots more great reads in the second half of the year. Here’s hoping it’s all up from here!

    Liked by 1 person

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