We are two emerging authors who read a lot of middle-grade books. We are also parents of children who read a lot of books. On top of this, Julie works as an assistant librarian and Pamela volunteered in her kids’ school library until she began homeschooling and became the teacher, librarian and everything else. We are around children’s books, well, a lot.
So when Julie asked Pamela if she was interested in creating a podcast for reviewing those middle-grade books, what else could Pamela say except, “heck yes!”?
And so, Middle-Grade Mavens was born.
If you know a librarian, teacher, parent or even a bookshop that is looking for book recommendations, please pass on our details, leave a recommendation on our Facebook Page or write us a review on Apple Podcasts.
We accept new-release books from publishers that we want to read and because we want to support local authors but please don’t offer to send us a book unless you are an established Australian publishing house publishing great books for children.
About Julie
With a background in paediatric nursing, Julie Anne Grasso spent many years literally wrapping children in cotton wool. Every day she witnessed courage and resilience from the tiny people she cared for, which inspired her to write stories to entertain them. A self-confessed science fiction nerd and cupcake enthusiast, Julie is the author of the Frankie Dupont Mysteries, as well as quirky historical middle-grade fiction, zany time wrangling junior fiction adventures and funny picture books with STEM themes. Julie lives in Melbourne and is hoping to perfect her gluten-free apple/cinnamon/peanut butter cupcake recipe to take the world by storm.
About Pamela
Pamela Ueckerman grew up in England, where she had her first taste of power as a volunteer in the school library at the age of eight. Her short stories, articles and poetry have appeared in various publications including The School Magazine and The Dutch Courier and in 2018, she self-published her funny-and-only-slightly-scary chapter book, Zombies Alive! Pamela also reviews books for the CBCA publication Reading Time and subedits for the homeschool magazine, Otherways. With a background in computer science and dance teaching, Pamela enjoys STEM and magic equally, but most of all she loves the art and craft of storytelling. She lives in Melbourne with her family, too many ballet shoes and even more books.