Candlewick Press' Spring 2020 Middle Grade Sampler features the covers (where already available), copyright pages, synopses, short author & illustrator biographies, and sample chapters for nine forthcoming books. A few of them have fantasy elements and most are historical fiction. The excerpts have different colored margins, so it's easy to tell where one section begins and ends. In these excerpts, at least, all of the books seem interesting (I have advance reading copies of only two of them).

War is Over by David Almond, illustrated by David Litchfield. It's set during World War I, in what I think is England, we get the first 23 pages of the book. It's 1918. John's father is fighting in France and his mother works at a munitions factory. Mr. McTavish, the head teacher at John's school, tells the students that they are also engaged in a war against the filthy Germans. (He slaps Joseph Waggott's check and thumps Oliver Tomes' chest because they're not clean enough to suit him when the children tour the munitions factory. After the way he treats Dorothy Simpson's questions, it's no wonder that even two children whose fathers are killed and one whose mother gets maimed at the factory don't ask questions. Yeah, this was the Bad Old Days when teachers were allowed to abuse children without fear that their parents would do their best to get them fired.) We get to see the war that was supposed to end all wars from John's view alone in what we get. It's as depressing as it is interesting,

Gold Rush Girl by Avi. It's 1849, the big California Gold Rush has started, and Victoria 'Tory' and Jacob Baisdell's father is one of the twits who heads for San Francisco to make his fortunte. He's a miner, forty-niner, but Tory is no Clementine. Tory is 14 and Jacob is 10. Their mother hasn't joined them yet, so their father expects Tory to look after Jacob while he's off to Sacramento to hunt for gold. Neither sibling likes the idea. I like Tory and her practical outlook. (She no longer thinks of what Aunt Lavinia would say.) According to the summary, Jacob is due to be kidnapped. Oops.

The Summer We Found the Baby by Amy Hest. It's another historical novel, this one set in World War II. Two young sisters find a baby on the library steps and a boy who knows them thinks the older sister is a kidnapper. The book is stated to be heart-warming and told from three points of view.

Rise of ZomBert by Kara LaReau is also told from three points of view. One is from 9-year-old Mellie Gore, the one to find the nearly-dead escaped cat Y-91 from the YummCo Food Factory lab.She names the gray, yellow-eyed cat "Bert". It's her best friend, Danny Hurley, who dubbs him "ZomBert" for the cat's habit of decapitating toys and smaller animals. The second view is from Bert himself. He was a feral cat before he was captured. Thanks to YummCo, he's missing fur and part of an ear, not to mention being so thin his ribs are showing. Mellie's kindness is appreciated, but ZomBert has a mission to accomplish. So do YummCo lab assistants Greg (clueless) and Kali (conniving), who give us the third viewpoint. They've been ordered to get that cat back. This the first book in the ZomBert Chronicles, so don't expect a resolution. I have an advanced reading copy of this book and I want more of ZomBert!

Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen by Anne Nesbet is set in 1914, but it's about a 12-year-old actress in the era of silent films. The young star of the serial 'The Dangers of Darleen' (her uncles are her director and cameraman), is the daughter of the late circus tightrope dancer, Loveliest Luna Lightfoot. No, a performance gone deadly wrong didn't kill Luna, illness did. According to the synopsis, Darleen and an heiress are going to be kidnapped and have to escape. Sounds as if it should be fun.

Nevertell by Katherine Orton is not a book I expect to be fun at all. Our excerpts are chapters 5 and 6. They're bleak. From them we know that it's set past World War II, in one of the Stalinist forced-labor camps in Siberia, Russia. According to the synopsis, Lina is 12 years old. She was born in the camp. Lina and her best friend are going to escape, but it's not just recapture they have to fear. No, Lina has captured the interest of a witch who has shadow wolves to command. Could be thrilling.

Trowbridge Road by Marcella Pixley is our sampler cover source. It's one of those books that don't number their chapters for easy online discussion. Sure, page numbers are fine for the first edition, but reprints may have different page numbers. Pages 1 through 27 are the excerpt. The year is 1983. The season is summer. June Bug Jordan has to do her own cooking to eat because her mother has gone off the deep end after AIDS killed her father. Her mother won't even leave the house, let alone cook. (Uncle Toby brings groceries on Saturdays. Too bad he's not taking June Bug's mother to a doctor. June Bug is going to make friends with Ziggy Karlo, who has mother issues of his own. At least Ziggy and his white ferret, Matthew, have his Nana Jean to stay with while his mother is getting well. Before they meet, June Bug gets to watch Ziggy being cared for by his grandmother. My heart ached for her. (Poor Ziggy was called a slur because he has long hair and wears a purple unicorn T-shirt.)

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat is a fantasy inspired by Thailand. Our hero is Pong, who was born in and escapes from Namwom Prison, Chattana. He is pursued by the prison warden's daughter, Nok. I am outraged that Pong has a prison tattoo. Shades of concentration camps! Pong's journey involves learning that the world outside of prison isn't good, either. The rich have magic light and the poor have darkness. Nok has some of her own learning to do. Seems that she's been taught lies. If you're reminded of Les Misérables, you should be, according to the synopsis. Sure hope these kids can change Chattana for the better.

Our sampler ends with the first chapter of Gargantis, Thomas Taylor's sequel to his very enjoyable Malamander It's another spooky mystery at Eerie-on-Sea. Is the storm being caused by Gargantis? Is Gargantis looking for something stolen from it? Herbert Lemon and Violet Parma are on the case again. I received an advance reading copy of this book for review and I enjoyed it very much. ( )