MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS
PICTURE BOOKS
THE WIDELY UNKNOWN MYTH OF APPLE AND DOROTHY
Coming September 19, 2023
One Jar of Magic
February 9, 2021
Rose Alice Anders is Little Luck. Lucky to born into the Anders family. Lucky to be just as special, just as magical, as the most revered man in town—her father. It feels like the whole town has been waiting for Rose to turn twelve, when she can join them in their annual capturing of magic on New Year’s Day and become the person she was born to be. But when the special day finally comes, Rose barely captures one tiny jar of magic. Rose’s dad won’t talk to her anymore and her friendships have gotten all twisted and wrong. So when Rose hears whispers about people who aren’t meant for magic at all, she begins to wonder if that’s who she belongs with. Maybe if she’s away from all the magic, away from her dad telling her who she’s meant to be, who she has to be, Rose can begin to piece together what’s truly real in a world full of magic
PRAISE
* an SLJ Best of 2021 Selection
* “The worldbuilding and magic system are enchanting and expertly crafted…absolutely heartbreaking and completely realistic…. The characters are richly developed and emotionally complex; a beautiful, tender sibling relationship stands out, showing mutual understanding and emotional support in ways both large and small. The ending is empowering and plausibly hopeful”
-Kirkus Review, Starred Review
* “Haydu’s story is a stunner. Its magic system is inventive and imaginative, and Rose and her world are drawn with care and compassion. A carefully crafted message of hope and the sometimes-painful beauty in forging an identity all your own.”
-Booklist, Starred Review
* “Rose’s visceral pain and her hard-earned agency will be deeply felt. Readers who enjoy everyday magic, friendship stories, and family drama will be enchanted by this magic jar of a book.”
-School Library Journal, Starred Review
* “Taut underlying tension and a sympathetically flawed protagonist. Haydu deftly, and with startling clarity, portrays the presence and devastating effect of abuse on a family.”
-Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Gently honest and emotionally astute.”
-Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Eventown
February 12, 2019
The world tilted for Elodee this year, and now it’s impossible for her to be the same as she was before. Not when her feelings have such a strong grip on her heart. Not when she and her twin sister Naomi seem to be drifting apart. So when Elodee’s Mom gets a new job in Eventown, moving—even in the middle of the year—seems like it might just fix everything.
And at first, life in Eventown is comforting and exciting all at once. Their kitchen comes with a box of recipes for Elodee to try. Everyone takes the scenic way to school or work—past rows of rosebushes and unexpected waterfalls. On blueberry-picking field trips, every berry is perfectly ripe. Sure, there are a few odd rules and the houses all look exactly alike, but it’s easy enough to explain—until Elodee realizes that there are only three ice cream flavors in Eventown. Ever. And they only sing one song in music class. Even more unsettling, everyone in Elodee’s family seems to be losing their memories from before—both the good ones and the bad. Suddenly, Elodee doesn’t feel quite so “even” in Eventown anymore. And as everything in their perfect new world begins to unravel, Elodee realizes there may be a price to pay for perfection—and pretending.
From the author of the critically acclaimed RULES FOR STEALING STARS and THE SOMEDAY SUITCASE, Corey Ann Haydu, comes a stunning and vulnerable new novel about the lasting impacts of loss, the stories that shape us, and love.
PRAISE
* A Kirkus Best of 2019 Selection
* A Junior Library Guild Selection
* An Amazon Best Books of the Month Selection
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2021
Edgar Award Nominee
2019 Spring Indie Next List
“Engrossing”
-The New York Times
“thought provoking novel”… with a “memorable and brave heroine”
-Publishers Weekly, starred review ★
“At once enchanting, heart-rending, and bittersweet.”
-Kirkus, starred review ★
“An emotionally complex and wonderfully told story.”
-School Library Journal, starred review ★
“A wonderful and inventive story about being a kid in an imperfect world – beautiful, mysterious and deeply satisfying.”
-Rebecca Stead
“Haydu brings a different dimension with real poignancy…[Eventown] will reel in readers looking for family dramas as well as those seeking a little ideological stretching, and it will leave them with plenty to discuss about the price of walling yourself off from pain.”
-Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Readers will feel for the brave, unconventional Elodee, who both affirms her individuality but also feels the loneliness of it… A hope-tinged tale about the long aftermath of tragedy.”
-ALA Booklist
The Someday Suitcase
June, 27 2017
The science of magic
Clover and Danny are the kind of best friends who make each other better: Clover makes lists, and Danny makes fun. Clover is thoughtful and quiet and loves science. Danny is chatty and funny and loves art. They’re so important to each other that Clover believes they’re symbiotic: her favorite science word, which describes two beings who can’t function without the other.
But then Danny comes down with a mysterious illness that won’t go away, and the doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with him. So Clover decides to take matters into her own hands by making lists—lists of Danny’s symptoms, his good days, his bad days, and his moods. As the evidence piles up, only one thing becomes clear: Danny is only better when Clover is around. When they’re separated, he’s in danger.
Clover knows they need to find a cure—together. Will science be able to save Danny, or is this the one time when magic can overcome the unthinkable?
Corey Ann Haydu, the author of the critically acclaimed Rules for Stealing Stars, has written another dazzling, heart-tugging novel about the power of love.
PRAISE
“A touch of magic, the promise of snow, and so much love I can barely keep it together to write this sentence. I know Clover and Danny will stick with me for a long, long time.”
-Kate Milford, New York Times bestselling author of The Greenglass House
“Beautiful, true, and magical. This book touched my heart.”
-Lauren Myracle, author the Wishing Day series
REVIEWS
* A Summer 2017 Indies Next Selection
* “In this moving, exquisitely written story, Corey Ann Haydu explores the thin line between science and magic within an intense bond of friendship.”
-Shelf Awareness, Starred Review ★
* “There’s magic here… in Haydu’s quietly superb prose… Haydu doesn’t romanticize illness, but she provides comfort through art, science, magic, love, and a purple suitcase. A sharp, clear-cut piece that knows life is beautiful and sickness isn’t.”
-Kirkus, Starred Review ★
* “Haydu’s second middle grade novel is poignant and powerful. Clover’s efforts to save Danny become more and more draining,robbing her of many regular childhood joys in a way that is painfully honest about the real experiences shared by friends and family of the terminally ill. The boy-girl friendship between Clover and Danny will call to mind classics like Bridge to Terabithia. While a story with this subject could stray into saccharine territory, Haydu never lets it, consistently grounding us in Clover’s perspective, and her hope, resilience, and belief in both science and magic ring true. A heartbreaking story about the healing power of friendship amid human fragility.”
-Booklist, Starred Review ★
RULES FOR STEALING STARS
Silly is used to feeling left out. Her three older sisters think she’s too little for most things—especially when it comes to dealing with their mother’s unpredictable moods and outbursts. But for Silly, that’s normal. She hardly remembers a time when Mom wasn’t drinking.
This summer, Silly is more alone than ever, and it feels like everyone around her is keeping secrets. Mom is sick all the time, Dad acts like everything’s fine when clearly it isn’t, and Silly’s sisters keep whispering and sneaking away to their rooms together, returning with signs that something mysterious is afoot, and giggling about jokes that Silly doesn’t understand.
When Silly is brought into her sisters’ world, the truth is more exciting than she ever imagined. The sisters have discovered a magical place that gives them what they truly need: an escape from the complications of their home life. But there are dark truths there, too. Silly hopes the magic will be the secret to saving their family, but she’s soon forced to wonder if it just might tear them apart.
PRAISE
“Tender, wise, and heartbreakingly lovely, this story is as brilliant as a stolen star, and every bit as magical. Prepare to be enchanted.”
-Katherine Applegate, Newbery-award winning author of The One and Only Ivan
“Silly and her sisters are flesh-and-bone characters; they gripped me by my very heart and pulled me into their tense and mysterious family story. With beguiling moments of magical realism and engaging turns of phrase, Corey Ann Haydu has crafted a glowing middle grade debut.”
-Leslie Connor, Award-wining author of Waiting for Normal and Crunch
“A gorgeous, profound, deeply felt book that lovingly explores intricate sibling relationships, the crushing weight of family secrets, and the delicate magic of hope. RULES FOR STEALING STARS is sublime.”
-Anne Ursu, author of Breadcrumbs and The Real Boy
REVIEWS
* A Junior Library Guild Selection
* One of Bank Street Children’s Book Committee’s Best Children’s Book of the Year
* “This lyrical story of love and loss–realistic but interwoven with light fantasy–beautifully captures the unbreakable bond between 11-year-old Silly and her family….The way the sisters fight and love in equal measure, as well as their basic need for one another, rings poignantly true in this touching and heartwarming story, which contains a ‘tiny bit of magic, right here in the real world.’”
-Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
* “tenderly and subtly drawn…the fairy-tale overlay on a serious story of family dysfunction allows a vein of horror to interweave with the threads of love and magic that connect the sisters; readers will thus find their own level of understanding in this deeply affecting tale.”
-Bulletin of the Center for Children Books, STARRED REVIEW
“Haydu masterfully portrays the stress of living with an alcoholic parent…..A well-crafted blend of realism and fantasy. Give to fans of Holly Goldberg Sloan’s Counting By 7s and Sarah Weeks’s So B It.”
-School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“The siblings’ relationships are complex and believable, and their pain at their fractured family life is raw and real. Haydu makes skilled use of her story’s fantastical overlay to create a haunting narrative about the ways family members can fail—but also support—each other.”
-Publisher’s Weekly
“There are many lessons here: that magic exists in both the mysterious and the mundane, that the same magic can heal or hurt, and that it is precisely when trouble and grief make us want to isolate ourselves that we most need to seek the comfort and the strength of those who care about us. The plot is… compelling and the sisters are distinctive and interesting characters.”
-Kirkus
