Given the number of bestseller and award lists James Ponti’s books have been featured on, it might seem like he’s earned the chance to take a break. Instead, the creator of several enormously popular middle grade series—City Spies, Framed!, and Dead City—has added even more to his to-do list. Along with releasing book 5 of the City Spies series with Mission Manhattan (Aladdin) [...]

Torrey Maldonado’s fast-paced novels infuse young readers with a deep sense of recognition, generated both by Maldonado’s firsthand experiences as someone born and raised in Brooklyn’s Red Hook projects, and his nearly thirty years teaching in New York City public schools. His popular titles, including Hands (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023), What Lane? (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020), [...]

Mexikid (Dial, 2023)—Pedro Martín’s middle grade graphic memoir—features hilarity, family superhero stories, relatable sibling interactions, and an inspired exploration of cultural identity. The story, at times both laugh-out-loud funny and poignant, details the epic road trip that Martín’s childhood family took from California to Mexico and back. The book has also garnered a [...]