Author Interview: Leslie Connor Talks About the Power of Research & the Beauty of Friendships

By ​​Rebecca Kirshenbaum

Two-time Schneider Award Winner and 2018 National Book Awards Finalist Leslie Connor talks about her new middle grade novel, Anybody Here Seen Frenchie? (Katherine Tegen, 2022), the power of research, and the beauty of symbiotic friendships.

Your newest novel, Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?,

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Sally J. Pla Discusses the Importance of Honest Depictions of Autism & Mental Health

By Rebecca Kirshenbaum

As the parent of children on the autism spectrum and who also struggle with anxiety, I am a big fan of Sally J. Pla‘s books and their representations of neurodiversity. Her most recent middle grade novel Stanley Will Probably Be Fine illustrated by Steve Wolfhard (HarperCollins,

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Guest Post: Barbara Dee on Keeping it Middle Grade: Handling Tough Topics in Fiction

Guest Post: Barbara Dee on Keeping it Middle Grade: Handling Tough Topics in Fiction

Learn more about Barbara Dee.

By Barbara Dee
for Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s Cynsations

About a year ago, on a NerdCamp panel called “Tough Topics in Middle Grade Fiction,” we were talking about how middle grade was evolving, growing up, tackling subjects that used to be considered taboo—for example,

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