Children’s Book World

BFFs in Life and Literature Authors Lisa Graff, Lisa Greenwald, and Caroline Hickey met in graduate school and have been friends for over twenty years. Join us as they share how their friendship has impacted their careers and influenced their writing. They’ll discuss the unique challenges of middle school friendships and how the main characters of their latest novels discover the magic of a truly good friend. Their talk will include a literature besties trivia game!

On Sunday, April 28th at 1:00pm you’re invited to CBW for a fun conversation among three friends who also happen to be fantastic middle grade authors! Lisa Graff (Rewind), Lisa Greenwald (Ellie’s Deli), and Caroline Hickey (Ginny Off the Map) write books we love to read.
Lisa, Lisa, and Caroline met in graduate school and have been friends for over twenty years. When they visit CBW they will talk about how their friendship has impacted their careers and influenced their writing. They’ll discuss the unique challenges of middle school friendships as portrayed in their writing and how the main characters of their latest novels discover the magic of a truly good friend. Their talk will include a literature besties trivia game!

Come on April 28th if you enjoy reading middle grade novels, if you want to know more about what it’s like to write them, or if you just want to celebrate friendship in books and in real life!

About Rewind
by Lisa Graff

“Back to the Future” meets “When You Reach Me” in this powerful novel by National Book Award nominee Lisa Graff.

As far as twelve-year-old McKinley O’Dair is concerned, the best thing about living in Gap Bend, Pennsylvania, is the Time Hop—the giant party the town throws every June to celebrate a single year in history. That one day is enough to make the few things that aren’t so fantastic about McKinley’s life—like her crabby homeroom teacher or her super-scheduled father—worth suffering through. And when McKinley learns that this year’s theme is 1993, she can’t wait to enter the Time Hop fashion show with a killer ’90s outfit she’s designed and sewn all on her own. But when the Time Hop rolls around, nothing goes as planned. In fact, it’s the biggest disaster of McKinley’s life.

Before she knows what’s hit her, McKinley somehow finds herself in the real 1993—and it’s not all kitschy parachute pants and Jurassic Park. All McKinley wants is to return to the present, but before she can, she’s going to have to make a big change—but which change is the right one?

This humorous and heartfelt novel about destiny and self-discovery shines a poignant light on the way life could play out—if a person is given a chance to rewind.

About Ellie’s Deli
by Lisa Greenwald

From Lisa Greenwald, the beloved author of the TBH and Friendship List series, comes a new series about a girl trying to save her family’s deli. Ellie’s family owns the town deli. Its official name is Lukshen Deli, but everybody calls it Ellie’s Deli. When a restaurant group threatens to move in and take over, tenacious Ellie and her BFFs must prove that matzo ball soup and sour pickles are here to stay, in this adorable new middle grade fiction series with recipes and illustrations throughout.

WINNER OF THE 2023 EARPHONES AWARD (AUDIOBOOK)

When Ellie accidentally overhears that her family deli is most likely going to close, she does the only thing she can think of. She makes a wish on matzo ball soup.

Eleven-year-old Ellie is feisty, determined, and a little bit anxious. She considers Lukshen Deli part of the family—after all, it’s been around for four generations, ever since her great-grandmother opened it. Along with her BFF, Ava; her sisters, Anna and Mabel; her lunch buddies, Aanya, Brynn, Nina, and Sally; and her grandparents, Bubbie and Zeyda, Ellie is determined to prove that old fashioned Jewish delis can get with the times—but if her plan doesn’t work, the deli will be sold for good.

Ellie’s Deli: Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup contains over 30 charming black-and-white illustrations and 14 recipes for quintessential Jewish American deli food, like challah, chicken soup, blintz souffle, and ruggelach. It’s a delightful story about sticking up for what you believe in, business ownership, friendship, and family.

About Ginny Off the Map
by Caroline Hickey

There are two things Ginny Pierce loves most in the world: geography facts and her father. But when her dad is deployed overseas and Ginny’s family must move to yet another town, not even her facts can keep her afloat. The geography camp she’s been anxiously awaiting gets canceled, and her new neighbors prefer her basketball-star sister. Worst of all, her dad is in a war zone and impossible to get ahold of. Ginny decides that running her own camp for the kids on her street will solve all her problems. But can she convince them (and herself) that there’s more to her than just facts? 

With a fierce heart and steadfast determination, Ginny tackles the challenges and rewards of staying true to herself during a season of growth. This thoughtful novel explores the strength that develops through adversity; Ginny must learn to trust her inner compass as she navigates the world around her.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection