Marvelous Middle Grade Monday and Marvelous Middle Grade #Cybils

As you all know I love, love MMGM Monday's. Thanks to Shannon Messenger's idea we have an opportunity to blog hop and find some great middle grade reading. And we can join in the fun with our own posts about what we've been reading. Last couple of Mondays I've missed posting and reading as I try to get myself all organized for reading and posting about some of the #Cybils nominations for the realistic Middle Grade category. In the weeks to come, though, there will be posts a comin' and not just on Monday's. In the meantime here are a couple I'd like to share with you, no review attached yet.  One I am reading today, the other I've read.

UNGIFTED by Gordon Korman.

The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It's usually more like Don't try this at home. So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he's finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students.

It wasn't exactly what Donovan had intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything). But after an ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing come-from-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.

THE DOGS OF WINTER by Bobbie Pyron.

A small boy, a cruel city, and the incredible dogs who save him.

Based on a true story!

When Ivan's mother disappears, he's abandoned on the streets of Moscow, with little chance to make it through the harsh winter. But help comes in an unexpected form: Ivan is adopted by a pack of dogs, and the dogs quickly become more than just his street companions: They become his family. Soon Ivan, who used to love reading fairytales, is practically living in one, as he and his pack roam the city and countryside, using their wits to find food and shelter, dodging danger, begging for coins. But Ivan can’t stay hidden from the world of people forever. When help is finally offered to him, will he be able to accept it? Will he even want to?

A heart-pounding tale of survival and a moving look at what makes us human.

Enjoy your MMGM. In fact, I am off to check out more links over on Shannon's site!