Elizabeth Ward recommends new Middle Grade Fiction for the Washington Post. Titles condsidered include:
- The White Elephant, by Sid Fleischman ("Fleischman, a Newbery medalist, excels in this funny, heart-warming tale of old Siam, every sentence as sharp as an elephant prod.")
- The Mailbox, by Audrey Shafer ("Audrey Shafer builds a story finely balanced between mystery...and meditation -- on loneliness, love and what a boy really needs to make a life")
- Grandfather's Dance, by Patricia MacLachlan ("a highly satisfying end it is")
- Frozen Billy, by Anne Fine ("a zinger of a plot")
- The Cricket Winter, by Felice Holman (a "1967 favorite, reissued with engaging new pencil drawings by Robyn Thomas")
