Just in time for baseball season, two more Topps League books hit the shelves today! Chad is in his second season as bat boy with the Pine City Porcupines, and (as usual) doing his best to help the players with “magic cards” from his vast collection. In Book 5 he tries to find the right card to help the easily steamed manager from getting ejected, but catcher-comedian Wayne Zane’s suggestion, “Billy Smiles,” just makes things worse. A later attempt at mending the feud between the manager and umpire is even worse, making the famously cool-headed umpire blow his top. In Book 6, Chad tries to help a new player keep a hot streak alive, give an injured player a second chance, and break in an overly eager new bat boy. This has been an insanely fun series to write, and these books are no exception. Hope you enjoy them too!

        

Thanks to supergenius Jodi Chromey for helping me give my website the fresh new look it sorely needed. I really dig the new home page (that’s all Jodi’s handiwork). Updates on my books and events are now under “Latest News” (as they were on previous incarnations of the website), and everything else is where it’s always been. If you’re an email subscriber please click on over to www.kurtisscaletta.com and check it out.

I recently guest blogged over at Geoff Herbach’s “I’m With Stupid” blog over here. Herbach is the author of Stupid Fast, Nothing Special, and the pending Stupid Fast sequel, I’m with Stupid. He’s a Minnesotan I’ve only seen in person once and that was in Chicago — go figure. Find out more about his excellent books over here.

I wrote about books & boys over at The Writer’s Block, the Loft Literary Center’s blog. Please check it out!

Since I have your attention, please see my two classes coming in winter/spring:

Beyond Farts and Firetrucks: Writing Books For and About Boys (online class, begins January 28). Here I am taking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2XBWKjSYtw

Chapter Book Basics (face-to-face, April 13)

This cover is so stunning that I honestly teared up when I first saw it. The artist is Tim Jessell, and you can see more of his work here: http://www.timjessell.com.

I now also have a page for The Winter of the Robots, which you can find under My Books above. I will post more info to that page as it becomes available (e.g., where to buy it, what reviewers said about it, etc.)

What is this book about? It’s about kids who build robots and eat a lot of cheeseburgers. Their robots fight each other, but even though the kids are rivals they have to team up and build a big robot to fight an even bigger monster robot that lurks in an abandoned junkyard. It is set in my own neighborhood.

Time is running out to sign up for my online class:

Beyond Farts and Firetrucks: Writing Books For and About Boys

10/01/12–11/11/12 | Reg $255.00 | Loft Literary Center Members $229.50

In this class, we will consider what strategies we can use to engage the elusive boy reader. We will begin by discussing the strategies that get many boys to pick up a book in the first place, such as humor, action, and high-interest topics. We will then delve deeper into what makes a book memorable and important, a “home run” book that turns a kid onto reading for life. Readings and discussions will primarily cover chapter books and middle grade books, with a few research-based articles on literacy to guide us. In preparation for this class, you may want to read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars.

If you’re interested, please sign up here. Thanks!

I have an upcoming event in support of Minnesotans United for All Families, which you can read more about and register for here. If you live in the Twin Cities, I hope you can join an amazing group of writers to help support all families in Minnesota.

I rarely take a political stance on this website, but really, I would rather this not be political at all. I would prefer my friends and their families not be marginalized, and their rights not be put up to a vote. But they are, so all I can do is hope cooler heads and warmer hearts in Minnesota will prevail. Please consider joining me in opposing the amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota.

Here again is the link to register.

1. If you are a teacher of grades 5 through 8, and would like to share Mamba Point with your class, please drop me a line (use the Contact Me form above). I will get every kid in your class a copy of the book (up to 25 students) and do a free Skype visit (face-to-face visits possible in the Twin Cities). Only one class will receive this package, so please make your case! I am particularly interested in reaching out to teachers who have one or more students from Liberia, or students who have Liberian parents. I would also love to hear from teachers who are including the book in a bigger unit about Africa. And, of course, teachers in Massachusetts and South Carolina, the states with Mamba Point on this year’s reading list, are welcome to throw their hats in the ring. The offer is valid until Sept 2 or until I find a suitable classroom teacher.

2. If you are a book blogger specializing in middle-grade, chapter books, and/or boy-friendly books and would like complimentary copies of the first four Topps League books, please drop me a line (use the Contact Me form above). I would be happy to get you a set. Please include a link to your blog if you want to take me up on this offer, but no bloggers will be unreasonably denied. I do expect a review, if I send you books, but there is no expectation of a positive review: say what you think, and no hard feelings. This offer is valid until October 1. Four sets are available.

Hope to hear from you!

A couple of reviews of Jinxed! have come out that I want to share… here’s a bit from Booklist…

Scaletta offers much play-by-play commentary, a revealing behind-the-scenes view of the players, and plenty of opportunities for Chad to save the day using information found in his large baseball card collection. Similar to the many titles by the late Matt Christopher, this makes a good choice for those not quite ready for Dan Gutman’s Baseball Card Adventures. To be appended with stats, a glossary, and trading cards.— Kay Weisman

Here’s a nice quote from Tulsa Book Examiner…

This book is adorable. It would be a great read for fathers and sons, or even fathers and daughters, if she’s into baseball. With fun illustrations and some great life lessons for kids, this is a book series that the whole can get behind.

By the way, in just ten days I’ll be returning to Dorset, Minnesota for the festival of authors and illustrators at Sister Wolf books… here’s more information!

The folks at Guinness World Records have certified that the kids at Chaska Middle School East own the world record for relay reading. Thanks, Chaska MSE, for choosing my book, for including me in the reading, and for all your hard work and awesomeness.

I’ve recently done a triple serving of posts for other people’s blogs, and here they are….

1. Writing a stand-alone book with series potential for The Writer’s Dig at Writer’sDigest.com

2. Differences between writing middle-grade books and chapter books for Operation Awesome.

3. Saving the best (I think) for last, an homage to one of my favorite writers and a confession at Nerdy Book Club.

(Actually, I’m not sure I ever linked to this one, either… so make that a fourple serving!)

Twenty-two years ago I was an Intern at Writer’s Digest Books and got my first national writing credit for a profile of a small press in the Novelist & Short Story Writer’s Market. I indexed a book for mystery writers, combed through the slush pile for Story magazine, and did other interesting things. And now… I’m on their website. What comes around goes around. Anyway, it’s cool to be featured by the company that gave me my start in publishing.

Since the folks in Cincinnati are driving a lot of traffic here, I wanted to explain why I might have been so honored.

One: I have fun extras for each of my books, particularly for Mudville and Mamba Point. Since I became a dad between books two and three, the subsequent books have suffered. But there is some fun stuff there for teachers using Mudville or Mamba Point in their classrooms and/or kids who enjoyed those books.

Two: I have some hard-learned lessons as a writer on my blog. See Five Ways to Write a Story, Writing and Publishing, and Writing in the Wedges.

Three: I have rarely sank my own money into publicity, but while I use a packaged theme for my website, I did pay an illustrator for unique graphics, and I love them. I think it’s a good way to go for authors who want a unique design but work on a small budget.

Four: I am regularly on Twitter and Facebook and I mix self-promotion with a healthy dose of being myself and interacting with others on both.

Five: I know who my audience is. I scrapped my book reviews blog once I got published, and my “trying to get published” blog, and focused ever since on teachers, librarians, and book club facilitators as my primary audience; friends and fellow writers as my secondary audience. Having facilitated book clubs, I knew the kinds of things facilitators look for when boosting discussion of

I did not win the Minnesota Book Award in the category for Literature for Young People, which was taken by the deserving Brian Farrey. But I did manage to snare the Readers’ Choice Award, thanks to friends and fans like you who voted. It was a fun night and a pleasure to be a part of! Here are me and Brian with our beautiful granite & glass trophies.

I did not win the Minnesota Book Award in the category for Literature for Young People, which was taken by the deserving Brian Farrey. But I did manage to snare the Readers’ Choice Award, thanks to friends and fans like you who voted. It was a fun night and a pleasure to be a part of! Here are me and Brian with our beautiful granite & glass trophies.

Today is April 1, the official release date for the batboy series. As I’ve said, the series concerns the misadventures of a ten-year-old chiropterahumanoid who disguises himself as a normal boy to avoid tabloid newspaper reporters and government agents. Of course he gives himself away sometimes, when he forgets himself and eats his own weight in mosquitoes on camping trips or sleeps hanging from a friend’s bunk bed during a sleepover.

:record scratch: OK, there was a little April foolin’ going on here. And really, that would be awesome, too.

But the new series is about a completely different kind of bat boy. Chad works for a minor league baseball team called the Pine City Porcupines and uses his massive baseball card collection to help the players on the team overcome superstitions and jinxes. The books are full of great pictures by the talented Eric Wight, author of Frankie Pickle. The books are published by Abrams and Topps and the paperbacks feature collectible cards. The whole thing is really cool and fun to be a part of.

Find out more here and here.

(The first illustration is by my buddy Christopher Lincoln.)

Today is April 1, the official release date for the batboy series. As I’ve said, the series concerns the misadventures of a ten-year-old chiropterahumanoid who disguises himself as a normal boy to avoid tabloid newspaper reporters and government agents. Of course he gives himself away sometimes, when he forgets himself and eats his own weight in mosquitoes on camping trips or sleeps hanging from a friend’s bunk bed during a sleepover.

:record scratch: OK, there was a little April foolin’ going on here. And really, that would be awesome, too.

But the new series is about a completely different kind of bat boy. Chad works for a minor league baseball team called the Pine City Porcupines and uses his massive baseball card collection to help the players on the team overcome superstitions and jinxes. The books are full of great pictures by the talented Eric Wight, author of Frankie Pickle. The books are published by Abrams and Topps and the paperbacks feature collectible cards. The whole thing is really cool and fun to be a part of.

Find out more here and here.

(The first illustration is by my buddy Christopher Lincoln.)

Here’s a follow-up story on the event last month in Chaska, Minnesota.

Here’s a follow-up story on the event last month in Chaska, Minnesota.

I am flattered that The Tanglewood Terror is one of four finalists for the 2012 Minnesota Book Awards, in the category of Young People’s Literature, where the Friends of the St. Paul Library include both YA and middle-grade books. Also nominated are Brian Farrey’s Stonewall honor book, With or Without You, Pete Hautman’s The Big Crush, and Jacqueline West’s The Book of Elsewhere: Spellbound. Other really deserving books included Anne Ursu’s Breadcrumbs, Kelly Barnhill’s The Mostly True Story of Jack, Steve Brezenoff’s Brooklyn, Burning, and Sheila O’Connor’s Sparrow Road. I live in a literary state that’s simply steeped in talent so I don’t envy the committee’s job of picking only a few from such a great lineup. I doubt any state our size can match it.

Here’s some exciting news I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks… this week, a middle school in Chaska, Minnesota, will attempt to set a Guinness Book record for the longest reading relay. The school will read Mudville for four consecutive hours, relaying sentence by sentence, with around 800 total participants. I will be there to read the first sentence.

Here’s more about the record attempt from Chaska’s local paper.

I am flattered that Chaska picked Mudville of the many books available and gives me a chance at this unique honor. I will, of course, report back with photos after the event. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go practice my line.

My father says the defining moment of his life came when he was twelve years old.

One record that was set today was “best school visit ever by me,” when I helped Chaska Middle School East attempt to break the Guinness Book World Record for relay reading — I read the first sentence, talked to kids, and basically watched in dumb amaze at the huge project coordinated by teachers, librarians, parents and volunteers at the school. Over 700 people read from Mudville and shattered the previous record of 415. I’ll have photos soon, but here’s a clip from the local news about the event.

http://www.kare11.com/news/article/962308/14/Reading-for-the-record-books-in-Chaska

I’m teaching a youth class for 9-11 year olds at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis this summer. The class is filling up, so if you know a kid who is interested, please sign ‘em up soon!

As a teacher I tend to draw from books other than my own, and this one is no exception.

Your Life is Hilarious: A Writing Class for “Wimpy” Kids*

Jeff Kinney, author and illustrator of the best-selling Wimpy Kid books, shows us how ordinary mishaps at home and school can be hilarious. In this weeklong class, we’ll look at scenes from the Wimpy Kid books (and others) for examples on how to find the funny in the familiar. Writers will practice creating their own comic scenes and leave with enough material for a funny story.

*Non-wimpy kids also welcome.

Sign up here.

My fellow Americans….

All right, campaign speeches aren’t my thing, but please vote for me in the Minnesota Book Awards Reader’s Choice poll over Facebook way. You can vote once a day until the end of March. And you can tell your friends. And they can tell their friends. I don’t even think they have to be Minnesotans or read books. I’m not saying “stuff the ballot box,” I’m just saying, you know, that there’s no proper screening. No ID, no registration. Just click on in and vote. Easy peasy. Even if I don’t win, maybe I can take a close enough second to demand a recount.

My fellow Americans….

All right, campaign speeches aren’t my thing, but please vote for me in the Minnesota Book Awards Reader’s Choice poll over Facebook way. You can vote once a day until the end of March. And you can tell your friends. And they can tell their friends. I don’t even think they have to be Minnesotans or read books. I’m not saying “stuff the ballot box,” I’m just saying, you know, that there’s no proper screening. No ID, no registration. Just click on in and vote. Easy peasy. Even if I don’t win, maybe I can take a close enough second to demand a recount.

I’m teaching a youth class for 9-11 year olds at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis this summer. The class is filling up, so if you know a kid who is interested, please sign ‘em up soon!

As a teacher I tend to draw from books other than my own, and this one is no exception.

Your Life is Hilarious: A Writing Class for “Wimpy” Kids*

Jeff Kinney, author and illustrator of the best-selling Wimpy Kid books, shows us how ordinary mishaps at home and school can be hilarious. In this weeklong class, we’ll look at scenes from the Wimpy Kid books (and others) for examples on how to find the funny in the familiar. Writers will practice creating their own comic scenes and leave with enough material for a funny story.

*Non-wimpy kids also welcome.

Sign up here.