Tag Archives: middle school

Class Acts

Posted on February 1, 2021 by rosinskynatalie

What a class act the new Biden-Harris administration is! President Biden and his team have brought purpose and hope these past weeks–including efforts that suggest how a return to U.S. classrooms will someday be safe for all. With that hope, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Class Act, Jerry Craft, middle school, racism | Leave a comment

Get Sets for the Holidays!

Posted on December 1, 2019 by rosinskynatalie

Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa—whichever winter holidays you celebrate, sets of graphic books make great, generous gifts for young readers. Tweens in particular can take delight this holiday season not only in some sets already packaged by publishers but also … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, memoir, war | Tagged "Choose Kind" movement, "Never Again", 365 Days: Mr. Browne's Precepts, Andrew Donkin, Aphrodite, Athena, Augie & Me: Three Wonder Tales, Baby Mouse, Byron Eggenschwiler, child separation, Christmas, Drama, Eoin Colfer, France, genocide, George O'Connor, Ghosts, Giovanni Rigano, graphic novel sets, Greek gods, Greek myths, Guts, Hades, Hanukkah, Hera, Hey KIddo: How I Lost My Mother Found My Father and Dealt with Family Addiction, holiday gifts, Holocaust, Illegal, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Jennifer L. Holm, Jerry Kraft, Jews, Kevin Czap, Kwanzaa, Kyo Maclear, Matthew Holm, middle school, Nazis, New Kid, Olympians series, Operatic, polio-survivor, Poseidon, R.P. Palacio, Raina Telgemeier, religion, Rick Riordan, sisters, Smile, Sunny Rolls the Dice, Sunny Side Up, Tales from the Locker, today's refugees, tweens, White Bird: A Wonder Story, winter holidays, Winter Solstice, Wonder, World War II, Zeus | Leave a comment

It Takes Guts!

Posted on October 1, 2019 by rosinskynatalie

It takes guts to face one’s fears! But this effort is worthwhile . . . even if the results may take time. This realization is the focus of author/ illustrator Raina Telgemeier’s new graphic memoir Guts (2019, color by Braden … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, memoir | Tagged anxiety, Baby Sitters Club graphic adaptation, Braden Lamb, diarrhea, fears, fifth grade, fourth grade, grounding techniques, Guts, middle school, nausea, puberty, puking, sensitive stomach, Share Your Smile: Raina's Guide to Telling Your story, sisters, Smile, stress, Telgemeier "how-to" book, Telgemeier graphic novels, therapy, vomiting, worries | Leave a comment

Life’s Soundtracks

Posted on August 1, 2019 by rosinskynatalie

Which song could be the soundtrack of your life today? This question is posed to the 8th grade characters in Operatic (2019), a wonderful new graphic novel combining music history and biography with smart insights into the complex tween and … Continue reading →

Posted in biographies, graphic novels | Tagged 8th grade, Blinded by the Light, British, Bruce Springsteen, bullying, Byron Eggenschwiler, Canada, friendship, genderfluid, Greetings from Bury Park, homophobia, Kyo Maclear, Maria Callas, Master Class, memoir, middle school, movie, music, music history, opera, Operatic, Pakistani, rock music, Sarfraz Manzoor, soundtrack, teenager, teens, U.S. | Leave a comment

Tweens Spring Forward

Posted on March 1, 2019 by rosinskynatalie

Transitions. Whether it is tweens careening towards adolescence or winter blossoming into spring, the change is predictable–even if the pace is not! This is why fickle March seems an apt moment to catch up with two award-winning graphic novels about … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels | Tagged All's Faire in Middle School, award winner, bullying, challenges, elmentary school graphic novels, family relationships, friendship, growing up, humor, Latinx characters, middle school, Newberry Honor book, Renaissance Faire, roller derby, Roller Girl, self-awareness, sports, team relationships, The Great Art Caper, The Great Pet Escape, tween girls, tweens, Victoria Jamieson | Leave a comment

Crushes Now and Then

Posted on February 1, 2019 by rosinskynatalie

Heartthrob or heartache? Sudden attraction or slow connection? With Valentine’s Day approaching, and its card exchanges popular even in some pre-schools, the recent publication of Svetlana Chmakova’s Crush (2018) was aptly timed. This continuation of the author/illustrator’s award-winning Berrybrook Middle … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, story collection | Tagged 1960s, Awkward, Beach Boys, Beatles, Berrybrook Middle School series, Brave, bullying, Crush, crushes, friends, I Am Young, M. Dean, middle school, music, Pet Sounds, Svetlana Chmakova, teenagers, tweens, Valentine's Day, young love | Leave a comment

At Play

Posted on July 31, 2018 by rosinskynatalie

With school supplies already on store shelves and in newspaper ads, autumn is looming! It is a good time to remember how valuable unstructured play and long summer days can be for our young people before they head back to … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels | Tagged 7th grade, 8th grade, African American, All Summer Long, Asian, Barbara Perez Marquez, cardboard boxes, Chad Sell, Cloud Jacobs, costumes, David Demeo, Dominican folklore, fairy tale characters, fantasy play, forming a band, friendship, gay families, gender identity, gender roles, Hope Larson, imaginative play, Jay Fuller, Katie Schenkel, Kostas Ntanos, Kris Moore, Manuel Betancourt, Michael Cole, middle school, mixed race families, Molly Muldoon, neighborhood, neighborhood play, psychological growth, role playing, social growth, The Cardboard Kingdom, thirteen year-olds, tweens, unstructured play, Vid Alliger | Leave a comment

Being Brave and Bold

Posted on April 1, 2018 by rosinskynatalie

Awkward middle schoolers gaining confidence and becoming brave— two great graphic novels about this transition are my focus today, inspired by current events. How do young people learn to be brave and bold? I have been thinking about this since … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, manga | Tagged art club, Awkward, Be Heard! A Comic for Student Rights, Brave, bullying, civil rights movement, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Crush, Dr. Martin Luther King, Great Graphic Novels for Teens, I Am Alfonso Jones, manga, March Book One, March Book Three, March Book Two, March for Our Lives, middle school, Night School, Parkland Florida shooting, Representative John Lewis, science club, Svetlana Chmakova, The Silence of Our Friends, Yolanda Renee King | Leave a comment

Mighty Small? Not at All

Posted on June 1, 2015 by rosinskynatalie

Springing into summer, we Minnesotans see bugs everywhere. Mosquitoes, those tiny terrors, have yet to be out in full force, but ants trail along sidewalks and beetles bustle in gardens. Out past my suburban home, farmers are readying their crops … Continue reading →

Posted in comics, graphic novels | Tagged "Field Guide to Superpowers", Ant Man, Ant Man movie, ants, beetles, Blue Beetle, Blue Beetle comic books, Blue Beetle: Volume One: Metamorphosis, bugs, Clan Apis, Drawing Flies blog, entomology, evolution, honey bees, Jaime Reyes, Jay Hosler, Last of the Sandwalkers, middle school, science education, Sir Charles Darwin, Spider Man, teenager, The Sandwalk Adventures, Wasp Woman | Leave a comment