SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

February 23, 2015 by Robin Willis

Middle Grade Monday – Shannon Hale

February 23, 2015 by Robin Willis   2 comments

Y’all, I cannot even. This is the state of my excitement right now.

You see, Shannon Hale is in my state, for the first time ever. And tonight she’s coming to my local bookstore. She’ll be promoting the third Princess Academy book, Princess Academy: the Forgotten Sisters, which isn’t even out until next week. I am so excited!

Shannon Hale is one of the first authors I ever met. It was at ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, probably about 10 years ago? I can only remember because she’d had her first baby and he was about 6 months old, and now he’s 11 (I think.) I had stopped by her booth on the vendor floor in the hopes that her line wouldn’t be too long. After all, Goose Girl was one of the best books I’d read in years, and I was sure that there would be a crowd. Lucky for me, there was no one there and I got to talk to her for about 45 minutes and meet her baby and husband when they stopped by. She was so lovely and approachable. It was one of the best times I have had meeting an author.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Cut to tonight – I’m sure it’s going to be crowded, but I am just as excited to see her! I’m planning on getting a copy of the new Princess Academy Book and taking all of my others to be signed.

To be honest, there are a lot of reasons to love Shannon Hale. First and foremost, of course, her books are amazing! I fell in love with Goose Girl when I read it and I book talk it (and the rest of the Bayern Books every year.) I love to watch the looks on the face of the less enlightened young men change from skepticism to interest, to excitement as I explain the story and talk about murder plots, epics sword fights, etc. She writes brilliant stories about complex female protagonists with agency. And they are wonderful.

The second reason to love Shannon Hale is her internet presence. Even though she has a myriad of responsibilities both as an author and a parent, she spends time advocating for those things in which she strongly believes, including reading for pleasure and the false dichotomy of ‘boy books’ and ‘girl books,’ to just name two. Also, if you follow closely, you’ll get to see the occasional tweet in her Twitter stream that cracks a window into the minds of her 4 year old twin girls, which is fascinating. For instance this, from this morning:

Thirdly, and finally for now, Shannon Hale’s books fall into what I like to think of as the ‘middle school sweet spot.’ There is nothing in them that might cause concern, even for an elementary student, but they are written in such a way as to have major mass appeal to all levels of readers in my population. Everyone from the youngest of my sixth graders to the oldest (and most jaded) of my eighth graders can find an engaging read with an appealing protagonist withing the covers of her books. And for that, I am truly grateful.

So, I’m off to see her tonight! You can expect a review of her newest forthwith!

 

***Post event update: Shannon is just as wonderful as I remembered. Probably more. Also, best presentation since Cassie Clare (strongly recommended.)

Filed under: Middle Grade Monday

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Shannon Hale

About Robin Willis

After working in middle school libraries for over 20 years, Robin Willis now works in a public library system in Maryland.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

September 2015

Middle School Monday - The Shrunken Head (Curiosity House #1)

by Robin Willis

September 2015

Middle Grade Monday - Changes

by Robin Willis

September 2015

Middle Grade Monday - Confessions of an Imaginary Friend by Michelle Cuevas

by Robin Willis

August 2015

Middle Grade Monday: There’s always next year: Things I’ve learned coordinating middle school volunteers (a guest post)

by Robin Willis

August 2015

Middle Grade Monday Book Review - School for Sidekicks by Kelly McCullough

by Robin Willis

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Read Aloud Hall of Fame #8: LET ME FINISH! by Minh Lê and Isabel Roxas

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: My Parents Won’t Stop Talking! by Emma Hunsinger and Tillie Walden

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Casagrandes | This Week’s Comics

by Lori Henderson

Heavy Medal

Continuing the Mock Newbery Process: Time for July Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

An Ode to Summer, a guest post by Ellen Hagan

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Shark Week, Vanilla Ice Cream, and the Honda CRV: Bob Shea and Brian Won Team Up for ADURABLE

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

More and More Manga: An Updated Primer on Japanese Comic Books and Graphic Novels

9 LGBTQIA+ Manga for Teens

17 Middle Grade Titles for Latinx Heritage Month (and All Year-Round)

13 Films About Social Justice, Climate Change, and More | DVD Reviews

17 Recommended DVDs for Elementary, Middle School, and High School Classrooms

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gabi says

    February 24, 2015 at 1:45 am

    I fell in love with Shannon Hale about ten years ago, as well, but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet her. I would age up The Goose Girl even further – I think it is capable of being read by high school students and not feel like the dreaded “kid’s book.” Which is really an amazing thing for a novel to be able to straddle that age divide so gracefully.

    • Robin Willis says

      February 24, 2015 at 5:02 am

      I totally agree!

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2022


COPYRIGHT © 2022