Middle Grade – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

Welcome to the Skunk and Badger blog tour! This one is a little different from the books I usually feature on this blog but I couldn’t pass up on the illustrations in this book. Look and their faces!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Skunk and Badger

Author: Amy Timberlake

Illustrations: Jon Klassen

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 136

Publication Date: 9/15/20

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Categories: Middle-Grade Fiction, Animals

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Wallace and Gromit meets Winnie-the-Pooh in a fresh take on a classic odd-couple friendship, from Newbery Honor author Amy Timberlake with full-color and black-and-white illustrations throughout by Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen.

No one wants a skunk.

They are unwelcome on front stoops. They should not linger in Important Rock Rooms. Skunks should never, ever be allowed to move in. But Skunk is Badger’s new roommate, and there is nothing Badger can do about it.

When Skunk plows into Badger’s life, everything Badger knows is upended. Tails are flipped. The wrong animal is sprayed. And why-oh-why are there so many chickens?

“Nooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Newbery Honor author Amy Timberlake spins the first tale in a series about two opposites who need to be friends.

New York Times bestselling author/illustrator and Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen completes the book with his signature lushly textured art. This beautifully bound edition contains both full-color plates and numerous black-and-white illustrations.

Skunk and Badger is a book you’ll want to read, reread, and read out loud . . . again and again.

The illustrations are what caught my eye in the first place. I love the facial expressions of Badger and Skunk, the drawings really capture their personalities.
The characters Badger and Skunk are so different that living together comes with some challenges. Badger is set in his ways and Skunk is a flurry of energy. I like how the story shows how people with different personalities can learn to get along if they try.
This is perfect for middle grade readers but as an adult, I enjoyed it a lot too.
The ukulele scene had me! I live in Hawaii, so when Badger started belting out a Hawaiian tune, it made my heart melt and smile.

Skunk and Badger is so full of charm! I love how they eventually resolve their problems. It just goes to show that even with differences we are also alike in a lot of ways.

💕 ~ Yolanda

Author: Amy Timberlake | Illustrator: Jon Klassen

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Storm Keeper’s Island

Author: Catherine Doyle

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 320

Categories: Middle Grade, Adventure, Fantasy, Magic

When Fionn Boyle sets foot on Arranmore Island, it begins to stir beneath his feet …

Once in a generation, Arranmore Island chooses a new Storm Keeper to wield its power and keep its magic safe from enemies. The time has come for Fionn’s grandfather, a secretive and eccentric old man, to step down. Soon, a new Keeper will rise.

But, deep underground, someone has been waiting for Fionn. As the battle to become the island’s next champion rages, a more sinister magic is waking up, intent on rekindling an ancient war.

There is magic in memory.”
The Storm keeper’s island by. catherine doyle

I don’t read any or many middle grade books only because they never interested me much once I was out of middle grade, and that’s been…years. 😂

But I love Catherine Doyle’s Blood for Blood series so much, and I miss reading something from her so after seeing awesome reviews of her middle grade series I finally borrowed it at the library. I was not disappointed!

Fionn Boyle is staying at his grandfather’s house on Arranmore Island and he finds out all is not what it seems with the island or his grandfather. Fionn learns about the island, about magic and being a Storm Keeper, and the legend of Dagda a sorcerer and Morrigan a villain who remade people into Soulstalkers! The world building is creative and so fascinating! Candles that hold memories? 😱

But Fionn is dealing with other things like not having a father and since he was sent to his grandfather, not having a mother for the moment as well. It hurts watching Fionn question his worth and not having anyone he can turn to. I love, love, love watching his relationship with his grandfather grow.

“Bravery is just a matter of forgetting to be afraid, Fionn. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
the storm keeper’s island by. catherine doyle

And yes it’s one of those stories where I kept writing down quotes because they are inspirational not only for Fionn but for me too and anyone else who is reading the series. The journey of finding ourselves at Fionn’s age does take bravery. There are some heart-wrenching parts in this story especially when it comes to Fionn and memories in the candles that he experiences. I won’t lie, it made me a bit emotional.

“Often the journeys we take inside ourselves are more difficult than the stormiest seas.”
the storm keeper’s island by. catherine doyle

Did I say I love Catherine Doyle’s writing? Because I really do and I look forward to reading the sequel and anything else she writes! The Storm Keeper’s Island is an inspirational story about magic, family, and a boy’s journey to overcome his fears.