Category: Middle Grade - LAS MUSAS BOOKS

Celebrating the release of Lupe Wong Won’t Dance!

9/9/2020

If you love to cheer for budding activists and to laugh at on-the-nail humor, read Lupe Wong Won’t Dance! I blew through this book in two days, carried by funny lines like “with the stealth of a rhinoceros” and suspense about how Lupe’s efforts to change her world would turn out.

If you’re looking for Lupe, try the principal’s office. She spends a lot of time in there, but not for the reason you’re thinking. Sassy, athletic Lupe jumps at any chance to bring justice to her corner of the world. Whether it’s the unfair dress code or the narrow choices offered on forms for reporting one’s race, she’s your girl! So it’s natural for Lupe to go right to the person in charge when she gets an idea to improve a terrible school tradition.

The offensive tradition? Teaching every 7th grader to square dance. Sounds innocent enough you say? Au contraire. While promenading and do-si-do-ing is fun to the grown-ups around her (in fact, Lupe’s mom remembers the moves and busts them out at the most embarrassing times), Lupe disagrees. Number one, square dancing isn’t cool. Number two, it’s not as athletic as climbing ropes or playing a sport. And what about the weird songs and lyrics? Lupe Wong is about to investigate!

Cover Reveal and Excerpt: Shaking Up the House by Yamile Mendez

6/12/2020

Las Musas is thrilled to announce the cover reveal of Yamile Mendez's Shaking Up the House!

But first, a little about Shaking Up the House...

Ingrid and Winnie Lopez have lived there for eight years, but a new family is moving in, and the Lopez girls are determined to combine Ingrid’s comedic timing and Winnie’s quick thinking to give the new First Kids a proper White House welcome.

Skylar and Zora know a lot of things about the White House—Zora loves history, and Skylar’s thrilled to begin her new A-list lifestyle. What the sisters don’t know is that incoming presidents’ families are often pranked by the folks they’re replacing, and Ingrid and Winnie take that tradition very seriously.
When what is meant to be a friendly goof sets off an epic prank war, though, it’s only a matter of time before things spiral out of control. Can the four girls call a truce before an innocent trick sparks an international incident? Or will their battle go down in American history?

Book cover illustrator: Kat Fajardo Designer: Christopher Kwon

From acclaimed author Yamile Saied Mendez comes a laugh-a-minute friendship story full of hijinks, misunderstandings, and loads of glitter.

Coming January 5, 2021! Pre-order now!

And now, read an excerpt...

REVIEW: THE DREAM WEAVER by Reina Luz Alegre

5/4/2020

In THE DREAM WEAVER by Reina Luz Alegre, Zoey lives in the land of in-between. She’s spent nearly her whole life moving from city to city, following the whimsical dreams of her father, not staying anywhere quite long enough to call it home. She speaks mostly English, though her grandfather, Poppy, would love for her to improve her Spanish. And she’s just moved to a new town, where she knows almost no one well enough to call friend.

Though in-between places, languages and friends, Zoey is a grounded and compassionate character who knows that where she belongs—where she has always belonged—is with her family. But now her brother, José, is going to college in just a couple of months. And then her father announces he is starting yet another new dream-job in New York City.

Without her.

Book Birthday Interview: Kim Baker, author of The Water Bears

4/22/2020

Las Musas wishes Kim Baker the happiest of book birthdays for her release of the middle-grade novel, The Water Bears.

About The Water Bears

Newt Gomez has a thing with bears.

Last year, he survived a bear attack. Now he finds an unusual bear statue that just might grant wishes. Newt’s best friend, Ethan, notices a wishbone on the statue and decides to make a wish. When it comes true, Newt thinks it’s a coincidence. Even as more people wish on the bear and their wishes come true, Newt is not convinced. But Newt has a wish too: while he loves his home on eccentric Murphy Island, he wants to go to middle school on the mainland where his extended family lives. There, he’s not the only Latinx kid, he won’t have to drive the former taco truck— a gift from his parents— and he won’t have to perform in the vaudeville festival. Most importantly, on the mainland, he can escape memories of the attack. Newt is almost ready to make a wish when everything changes.

Tackling themes of survival and self-acceptance, Newt’s story illuminates the magic in our world, where reality is often uncertain but always full of salvageable wonders.

Book Birthday Interview: Loriel Ryon

4/9/2020

We couldn’t be more thrilled to share Raquel Vasquez Gilliland’s interview with Loriel Ryon, author of INTO THE TALL, TALL GRASS.
But first, here’s a description of this magical, middle grade novel:

A girl journeys across her family’s land to save her grandmother’s life.

Yolanda Rodríguez-O’Connell has a secret. All the members of her family have a magical gift—all, that is, except for Yolanda. Still, it’s something she can never talk about, or the townsfolk will call her family brujas—witches. When her grandmother, Wela, falls into an unexplained sleep, Yolanda is scared. Her father is off fighting in a faraway war, her mother died long ago, and Yolanda has isolated herself from her best friend and twin sister. If she loses her grandmother, who will she have left?

When a strange grass emerges in the desert behind their house, Wela miraculously wakes, begging Yolanda to take her to the lone pecan tree left on their land. Determined not to lose her, Yolanda sets out on this journey with her sister, her ex-best friend, and a boy who has a crush on her. But what is the mysterious box that her grandmother needs to find? And how will going to the pecan tree make everything all right?

Interview: Claribel Ortega

4/8/2020

Las Musas is thrilled to share Karla Valenti's interview with Claribel Orgeta about her upcoming novel Ghost Squad (Scholastic, 4/7/20), which Kirkus called a “warmly-spooky middle grade debut.”

Before we dig in, here’s a teaser of this phantasmagoric adventure: For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.

Introducing Las Musas Webinar Series

3/14/2020

Like many in our community we've watched the last few weeks in a whirlwind of anxiety, worry, and confusion.

As members of our communities we applaud the decisions to cancel events, festivals, and more for the safety of those around us. As authors it made us wonder, how can we connect with our readers during this time of "social distancing"?

In response, Las Musas has launched an exciting webinar series to connect our authors with readers, writers, and educators around the globe.

Every month, we will offer a series of free webinars including:

Book Journeys...
Want to know what it takes to become a published author? Las Musas take you on a unique behind-the-scenes book journey! They will describe in detail how they took their books from idea to publication. They will also answer all your questions about the process of becoming an author.

Book Club & Author Q & As...
A book club where the authors answer all your questions! ALL YOUR QUESTIONS... OK, within reason.

Writing Craft and Publishing Insights...
Need help figuring out what is the best method to plot? How to write a query letter? Get a literary agent to represent you? Las Musas share everything they have learned along their journey to publication, from surviving your first draft to signing that first book deal!

ANNNND our first event is NEXT WEEK!!

(Click Read More to find out when!)

Cover Reveal: ON THESE MAGIC SHORES by Yamile Saied Méndez

12/2/2019

We are so excited to reveal the cover of Yamile's upcoming book: ON THESE MAGIC SHORES!

But first... a little bit about the book:

Twelve-year-old Minerva Soledad Miranda is determined to reach her goals, despite shouldering more responsibility than the other kids at school--like caring for her two sisters while her mom works two jobs. But one night, Minerva's mom doesn't come home, and Minerva has to figure out what to do. Was Mamá snapped up by ICE? Will the girls be sent to foster homes or holding centers for migrant kids? Minerva and her sisters can't let anyone know Mamá has disappeared. They'll just pretend everything is normal until she comes back.

Minerva's plan falls apart the first afternoon, when her baby sister throws a tantrum during Minerva's audition for Peter Pan. But as the days pass and Minerva grows ever more worried about her mother, something magical seems to be watching out for them: leaving them cupcakes, helping her find money, even steering them to friends and distant family who can help. Eventually, Minerva must make the hardest choice of her life. And when she does, she'll be prepared to face life's challenges--with friendship, hope, and a little bit of fairy magic.

ON THESE MAGIC SHORES is coming from Lee and Low/Tu Books on April 21, 2020.

Illustrator: Sarah Coleman Designer: Sheila Smallwood

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Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine American author who loves meteor showers, summer, astrology, and pizza.

She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. She's an alumna of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s also a founding member of Las Musas, a marketing collective of women and non-binary Latinx children’s authors.

www.yamilesmendez.com

Cover Reveal: MUSE SQUAD by Chantel Acevedo

10/9/2019

We have been blessed with beautiful Musa covers this month and this one is no exception. So happy to share the cover for Chantel Acevedo's MUSE SQUAD: THE CASSANDRA CURSE coming in 7.7.2020!

Art by Jonathan Stroh (http://jonathanstroh.com/) and art direction by Joel Tippie (Balzer + Bray).

More about MUSE SQUAD...

Callie Martinez-Silva didn’t mean to turn her best friend into a pop star. But when a simple
pep talk leads to miraculous results, Callie learns she’s the newest muse of epic poetry, one of
the nine muses of Greek mythology, tasked with protecting humanity’s fate in secret.

Whisked away to muse headquarters, she joins three recruits her age, who call themselves the
Muse Squad. Together, the junior muses use their magic to inspire and empower—not an easy
feat when you’re eleven and still figuring out the goddess within.

When their first assignment turns out to be Callie’s exceptionally nerdy classmate Maya
Rivero, the squad comes to Miami to stay with Callie and her Cuban family. There, they discover
that Maya doesn’t just need inspiration, she needs saving from vicious Sirens out to unleash a
curse that will corrupt her destiny.

As chaos erupts, will the Muse Squad be able to master their newfound powers in time to
thwart the Cassandra Curse . . . or will it undo them all?

MUSE SQUAD is forthcoming from Balzer + Bray in 7.7.2020!

Cover Reveal: WHAT IF A FISH by Anika Fajardo

10/1/2019

We are so excited to host the cover reveal for Anika Fajardo's WHAT IF A FISH! Check out the gorgeous cover below (designed by Paola Escobar) and read a little more about Anika's middle grade debut!

Cover Artist: Paola Escobar

About WHAT IF A FISH...

Half-Colombian Eddie Aguado has never really felt Colombian. Especially after Papa died. And since Mama keeps her memories of Papa locked up where Eddie can’t get to them, he only has Papa’s third-place fishing tournament medal to remember him by. He’ll have to figure out how to be more Colombian on his own.

As if by magic, the perfect opportunity arises. Eddie – who’s never left Minnesota – is invited to spend the summer in Colombia with his older half-brother. But as his adventure unfolds, he feels more and more like a fish out of water. Figuring out how to be a true Colombiano might be more difficult than he thought.

Whimsical and unflinchingly honest, What if a Fish is a generational story of family and identity where hats turn into leeches, ghosts blow kisses from lemon trees, and the things you find at the end of your fishing line might not be a fish at all.

What if a Fish is coming Summer 2020!

ADD TO GOODREADS

whatifafish.com