Trading Places
Ages 8 to 12. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2006. 0-374-31789-4
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year
Nominated for three state readers’ choice awards (Maryland, South Dakota, and Georgia)
"A crisp drama that aptly shows how things rarely turn out perfectly in life, but they often work out well enough. Mills level-headedly speaks for and to 'tweens about the ways we adjust to fit into an ever-changing world." -- Kirkus
"Fifth-grade twins Todd and Amy know their roles: Todd is the clever and organized one who takes life in stride, while Amy is the disorganized and sensitive poet. Roles don't seem to mean much at home, though, since the twins' father is now hanging unshaven around the house all day after losing his engineer position, while their mother has taken a job at the local crafts store to make ends meet. Roles at school start to deteriorate as well, when the class has to make products to sell: Todd, who always works alone, can't think of anything in the face of the illness of the elderly and beloved family dog; Amy gets squeezed out of her friendship triumvirate and ends up involuntarily partnered with the class crybaby, Violet. What could be a fairly standard exploration of family and friendship strain is lifted into a subtle exploration of an unusual theme by Mills' insight and nuance, presented with her usual unobtrusively thoughtful writing. . . Readers will appreciate the easygoing read and may want to consider the possibilities of stepping beyond the boundaries of their own usual roles." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
How I Came to Write This Book:
I've always been fascinated by the way that parents -- even, or especially, the best-intentioned parents -- label their children as a way of establishing the child's own special identity within the family: "This is my shy one" or "This is my outgoing one"; "He's my little musician"; "She's my little diplomat." I caught myself doing it once when my boys were younger: I was explaining that Christopher was my shy one and Gregory was my outgoing one, when I looked down to see my "shy one" off digging happily in the sandbox with a playmate, and my "outgoing one" clinging to my leg! And I started to wonder about what happens when children outgrow the identities their parents create for them -- or even trade identities with each other.
I decided to set my story against the backdrop of the fun elementary school "Mini-Society" curriculum that both my boys had enjoyed experiencing, where kids learn about economics by creating products and services to sell to their classmates. I had such a good time coming up with both successful and doomed entrepreneurial schemes for Todd and Amy and their friends, some modeled on what I was lucky enough to observe in my boys' own classrooms.
illustrated by W. R. Alley. Ages 5 to 8. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005. 0-374-32352-6
"When Ziggy's class goes out for track-and-field day at school, Ziggy knows that he is supposed to do his best. Unfortunately, he knows that his best is 'worse than everyone else's best' and that he will probably end up with an envelope full of 'gray' (silver) ribbons instead of the blue, red, and gold ones that indicate various levels of winning. He's right, but Ziggy, the class artist, really shines at drawing brightly colored pictures, and the other kids happily barter their blue ribbons for his work. . . Mills offers a simple but heartening story for kids who don't excel on the playing field but have other talents. From the roll of a pencil off a desk to the body language of schoolchildren who really want to be called on and those who really don't, Alley's paintings capture the school milieu with keenly observed details and a wry humor. A great choice to read aloud on field day, this upbeat picture book has broad appeal." -- Booklist
How I Came to Write This Book:
Track and field day is glorious outdoor fun for many kids, but for those who don't do well in sports, it can be a day of public humiliation. In fact, one child I know begged his mother to let him stay home from school on field day, because he couldn't bear to face coming in last in every event. So I thought it would be satisfying to give one of these non-athletic kids a chance to succeed on field day in some other way. When I first wrote Ziggy, I had Ziggy getting black ribbons, instead of gray (silver) ones, but my writing group friends said that no school would ever give out black ribbons to the last-place kids -- but my boys' school actually did! However, I've heard that field day there has now been changed so that it is pure fun with a rainbow of ribbons for everyone.
Perfectly Chelsea
Illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers. Ages 7 to 10. Farrar Straus Giroux 2004. 0-374-31244-3.
A Junior Library Guild selection.
"[Mills addresses] some large issues of faith while naturally weaving them among a fourth-grader's other concerns. . . As read-aloud or a read-alone, this will resonate with many kids' experience."
~Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
7 x 9 = Trouble!
illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Ages 7-10. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2002. 0-374-36749-9.
A Junior Library Guild selection.
Bulletin from the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon list
an ALA (American Library Association) Notable Book
Colorado Authors League Award
Children's Literature Choice List 2003
winner of the KC3 (Kansas City) Reading Award.
winner of the Virgina Young Readers Award
"Mills has an unerring gift for identifying childhood challenges and joys."
~Horn Book
Standing Up to Mr. O.
Ages 10 to 14, Farrar Straus Giroux, 1998, 0-374-34721-2. Hyperion paperback 0-7868-1404-7.
NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year.
"Readers will stand by Maggie, whether they agree - or agree to disagree - with her cause."
~Horn Book.