Love, love, love this poster I got from Burning Through Pages!  Iconic poster + worthy cause=awesome. More about Burning Through Pages (from their website): “Burning Through Pages is a Denver-based non-profit organization that helps kids join book clubs in their communities (run by our volunteers and other kids), launch new book clubs in their communities, or interact one-on-one with a BTP volunteer.  We want to help kids experience literature on whatever level makes them comfortable, excited and reading, reading, reading!  We actually buy the books for the kids and if they love them, they keep them – and no, we are not joking.”  

Love, love, love this poster I got from Burning Through Pages!  Iconic poster + worthy cause=awesome. More about Burning Through Pages (from their website): “Burning Through Pages is a Denver-based non-profit organization that helps kids join book clubs in their communities (run by our volunteers and other kids), launch new book clubs in their communities, or interact one-on-one with a BTP volunteer.  We want to help kids experience literature on whatever level makes them comfortable, excited and reading, reading, reading!  We actually buy the books for the kids and if they love them, they keep them – and no, we are not joking.”  

Love, love, love this poster I got from Burning Through Pages!  Iconic poster + worthy cause=awesome. More about Burning Through Pages (from their website): “Burning Through Pages is a Denver-based non-profit organization that helps kids join book clubs in their communities (run by our volunteers and other kids), launch new book clubs in their communities, or interact one-on-one with a BTP volunteer.  We want to help kids experience literature on whatever level makes them comfortable, excited and reading, reading, reading!  We actually buy the books for the kids and if they love them, they keep them – and no, we are not joking.”  

If you liked The Hunger Games, try Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Another dystopian YA novel, Divergent is set in Chicago during a time when society has divided itself into five factions:   Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite.  (And yes, these five names are real vocabulary words–one of my kids was wondering–so reading Divergent just might help you on the vocab section of your ACT/SAT tests). Five factions existing in an uneasy peace:  Abnegation (self-denial/selflessness), Amity (friendship/goodwill), Candor (honesty/frankness), Dauntless (brave/fearless), and Erudite (intelligent/knowledgeable). At age sixteen, teens must choose what faction they will join.  They are run through a battery of tests (akin to a Myers-Briggs personality test or Harry Potter’s sorting hat) to determine where their natural abilities lie, but ultimately the decision is left up to the individual.  Most teens choose the faction they grew up in–genetically speaking, a logical choice. Beatrice Prior has been raised in Abnegation.  She admires her parents selflessness, their constant giving and putting others needs ahead of their own.  At the same time, she’s tired of always putting everyone else’s needs before her own, of always wearing functional, plain clothes that don’t draw attention, of always being so very, very good.  She doesn’t always feel unselfish, [...]

 If you liked The Hunger Games, try Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Another dystopian YA novel, Divergent is set in Chicago during a time when society has divided itself into five factions:   Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite.  (And yes, these five names are real vocabulary words–one of my kids was wondering–so reading Divergent just might help you on the vocab section of your ACT/SAT tests). Five factions existing in an uneasy peace:  Abnegation (self-denial/selflessness), Amity (friendship/goodwill), Candor (honesty/frankness), Dauntless (brave/fearless), and Erudite (intelligent/knowledgeable). At age sixteen, teens must choose what faction they will join.  They are run through a battery of tests (akin to a Myers-Briggs personality test or Harry Potter’s sorting hat) to determine where their natural abilities lie, but ultimately the decision is left up to the individual.  Most teens choose the faction they grew up in–genetically speaking, a logical choice. Beatrice Prior has been raised in Abnegation.  She admires her parents selflessness, their constant giving and putting others needs ahead of their own.  At the same time, she’s tired of always putting everyone else’s needs before her own, of always wearing functional, plain clothes that don’t draw attention, of always being so very, very good.  She doesn’t always feel unselfish, [...]

 If you liked The Hunger Games, try Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Another dystopian YA novel, Divergent is set in Chicago during a time when society has divided itself into five factions:   Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite.  (And yes, these five names are real vocabulary words–one of my kids was wondering–so reading Divergent just might help you on the vocab section of your ACT/SAT tests). Five factions existing in an uneasy peace:  Abnegation (self-denial/selflessness), Amity (friendship/goodwill), Candor (honesty/frankness), Dauntless (brave/fearless), and Erudite (intelligent/knowledgeable). At age sixteen, teens must choose what faction they will join.  They are run through a battery of tests (akin to a Myers-Briggs personality test or Harry Potter’s sorting hat) to determine where their natural abilities lie, but ultimately the decision is left up to the individual.  Most teens choose the faction they grew up in–genetically speaking, a logical choice. Beatrice Prior has been raised in Abnegation.  She admires her parents selflessness, their constant giving and putting others needs ahead of their own.  At the same time, she’s tired of always putting everyone else’s needs before her own, of always wearing functional, plain clothes that don’t draw attention, of always being so very, very good.  She doesn’t always feel unselfish, […]

I’d already heard a lot of buzz in my Missouri SCBWI group before I read The Gollywhopper Games (HarperCollins 2008).  After all, author Jody Feldman is a regular at Missouri SCBWI events. Well, the buzz was justified.  The Gollywhopper Games was one middle-grade book that my 3rd grader couldn’t put down.  She started reading one morning before school and by bedtime she’d read seventy-nine pages (and that’s with school and piano lessons thrown in too)! In her acknowledgments, author Jody Feldman says the book was inspired by a ten-year-old boy who came to her school library looking for a book like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and couldn’t find it.  It’s a good comparison.  Instead of street-urchin Charlie, we have Gil Goodson whose dad has been wrongfully accused of stealing.  Instead of a golden ticket, we have a sweepstakes ticket to enter the Gollywhopper Games.  And instead of Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory, we have the amazing headquarters of the Golly Toy and Game Factory. In honor of their fiftieth year in business, Golly Toy is hosting The Gollywhopper Games  and Gil is determined to win.  What kid wouldn’t want to win a full college scholarship, a copy of every [...]

I’d already heard a lot of buzz in my Missouri SCBWI group before I read The Gollywhopper Games (HarperCollins 2008).  After all, author Jody Feldman is a regular at Missouri SCBWI events. Well, the buzz was justified.  The Gollywhopper Games was one middle-grade book that my 3rd grader couldn’t put down.  She started reading one morning before school and by bedtime she’d read seventy-nine pages (and that’s with school and piano lessons thrown in too)! In her acknowledgments, author Jody Feldman says the book was inspired by a ten-year-old boy who came to her school library looking for a book like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and couldn’t find it.  It’s a good comparison.  Instead of street-urchin Charlie, we have Gil Goodson whose dad has been wrongfully accused of stealing.  Instead of a golden ticket, we have a sweepstakes ticket to enter the Gollywhopper Games.  And instead of Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory, we have the amazing headquarters of the Golly Toy and Game Factory. In honor of their fiftieth year in business, Golly Toy is hosting The Gollywhopper Games  and Gil is determined to win.  What kid wouldn’t want to win a full college scholarship, a copy of every [...]

I love THE HOP because the story has so many layers beyond the fantasy. Your comparison between Tad and Frodo is on the mark.

Prolific author for both children and adults, Ridley Pearson has written another edge-of-your-seat, action/adventure book in his Kingdom Keepers series. Book V of the series, The Shell Game, takes the five Kingdom Keepers–Finn, Maybeck, Charlene, Willa, and Philby–on a Disney cruise infiltrated by Disney villains.  Disney World is under seige and it’s up to the Kingdom Keepers to save the day. I’m not quite finished reading the book, but true to form, Ridley Pearson takes you on a roller coaster ride of a story full of suspense and action.  If you like the Alex Rider series, then Kingdom Keepers is for you! And if you need another plug for Ridley Pearson, I’ve heard him speak several times at book signings and author events, and he always impresses with his “never give up, you can do it” advice to writers.  Sometimes authors at book signings are too tired and grumpy to even smile (even children’s authors), but not Ridley.  He and Dave Barry even took the time to sign my son’s cast.  Fantastic.

Prolific author for both children and adults, Ridley Pearson has written another edge-of-your-seat, action/adventure book in his Kingdom Keepers series. Book V of the series, The Shell Game, takes the five Kingdom Keepers–Finn, Maybeck, Charlene, Willa, and Philby–on a Disney cruise infiltrated by Disney villains.  Disney World is under seige and it’s up to the Kingdom Keepers to save the day. I’m not quite finished reading the book, but true to form, Ridley Pearson takes you on a roller coaster ride of a story full of suspense and action.  If you like the Alex Rider series, then Kingdom Keepers is for you! And if you need another plug for Ridley Pearson, I’ve heard him speak several times at book signings and author events, and he always impresses with his “never give up, you can do it” advice to writers.  Sometimes authors at book signings are too tired and grumpy to even smile (even children’s authors), but not Ridley.  He and Dave Barry even took the time to sign my son’s cast.  Fantastic.

Thanks for the recommendation of The Obsidian Pebble. I’ll check it out!

Oh, this looks great! We’ll definitely have to check this out, my son is a huge Harry Potter fan and really likes adventure and fantasy books. He just finished “The Obsidian Pebble” by RA Jones (http://www.rajonesauthor.com/) and loved it.

Oh to be E.B. White with his amazing first sentence . . .

Take Charlotte’s Web, Carl Hiassen’s Hoot, and toss in a dash of The Frog Prince, and what do you get?  The charming middle grade novel The Hop (Disney Hyperion 2012) by Sharelle Byars Moranville. The story begins with young Tad the toad:  The loamy tunnel had fallen around Tad during the long night of winter and padded him like a brown blanket.  But now the earth was stirring.  And even three feet down, the young hopper felt it.  Maybe it was the footsteps of people in the garden, or the deep, seepy drip of warm rain.  Maybe it was the chorus of spring peepers. But Tad’s winter slumber has been troubled by strange dreams, dreams that foretell the potential doom of his home, Toadville-by-Tumbledown.  He learns he must kiss the Queen of the Hop in order to save his home and his people.  But how can he find this Queen.  Tad reminds me a bit of Frodo–humble, fearful of the big wide world, and destined to go on a perilous quest. Enter Taylor, a girl who’s life has been turned upside down by her grandma’s chemotherapy and by the sale of the pond and acreage next to her grandma’s house.  Gone are her regular afternoons at grandma’s [...]

Take Charlotte’s Web, Carl Hiassen’s Hoot, and toss in a dash of The Frog Prince, and what do you get?  The charming middle grade novel The Hop (Disney Hyperion 2012) by Sharelle Byars Moranville. The story begins with young Tad the toad:  “The loamy tunnel had fallen around Tad during the long night of winter and padded him like a brown blanket.  But now the earth was stirring.  And even three feet down, the young hopper felt it.  Maybe it was the footsteps of people in the garden, or the deep, seepy drip of warm rain.  Maybe it was the chorus of spring peepers.” But Tad’s winter slumber has been troubled by strange dreams, dreams that foretell the potential doom of his home, Toadville-by-Tumbledown.  He learns he must kiss the Queen of the Hop in order to save his home and his people.  But how can he find this Queen?  (Tad reminds me a bit of Frodo–humble, fearful of the big wide world, and destined to go on a perilous quest.) Enter Taylor, a girl who’s life has been turned upside down by her grandma’s chemotherapy and by the sale of the pond and acreage next to her grandma’s house.  Gone are her regular afternoons at grandma’s [...]

Maile Meloy’s (pronounced MY-lee like Miley Cyrus) middle-grade novel The Apothecary is a bit like Harry Potter meets the pharmacy meets the Cold War.  Instead of wizards and spells you have apothecaries and magical elixirs, and instead of evil Voldemort you have governments bent on nuclear domination. The year is 1952.  The place is London.  Janie Scott has been forced to move from Los Angeles with her screenwriter parents who have been blacklisted.  Soon she meets and makes friend with the daring and adventurous Benjamin Burrows, a classmate who is practicing his espionage skills in the hopes of one-day being a spy for Great Britain.  Heaven knows, he’d never like to be like his dull apothecary father who runs a boring pharmacy that has been in the family for generations. But boring old dad isn’t just a pharmacist–he’s a chemist, a scientist with an ancient book called the Pharmacopoeia that is full of directions for elixirs, potions, and chemical reactions.   Benjamin’s father is also involved in a plot to save the world from the devastating effects of the atom bomb.  Soon Janie and Benjamin are running from Russian spies, double-agents, and truancy officers as they race to save Benjamin’s father and prevent nuclear disaster.  The Apothecary is [...]

Maile Meloy’s (pronounced MY-lee like Miley Cyrus) middle-grade novel The Apothecary is a bit like Harry Potter meets the pharmacy meets the Cold War.  Instead of wizards and spells you have apothecaries and magical elixirs, and instead of evil Voldemort you have governments bent on nuclear domination. The year is 1952.  The place is London.  Janie Scott has been forced to move from Los Angeles with her screenwriter parents who have been blacklisted.  Soon she meets and makes friend with the daring and adventurous Benjamin Burrows, a classmate who is practicing his espionage skills in the hopes of one-day being a spy for Great Britain.  Heaven knows, he’d never like to be like his dull apothecary father who runs a boring pharmacy that has been in the family for generations. But boring old dad isn’t just a pharmacist–he’s a chemist, a scientist with an ancient book called the Pharmacopoeia that is full of directions for elixirs, potions, and chemical reactions.   Benjamin’s father is also involved in a plot to save the world from the devastating effects of the atom bomb.  Soon Janie and Benjamin are running from Russian spies, double-agents, and truancy officers as they race to save Benjamin’s father and prevent nuclear disaster.  The Apothecary is [...]

Wendy Martin, fellow Missouri member of SCBWI, as well as many other authors and illustrators have banded together to make November Picture Book month.  Here’s why: The New York Times declared, “Picture Books No Longer A Staple for Children” in an article published in October 2010. The controversial article incited a barrage of responses from the [...]

Wendy Martin, fellow Missouri member of SCBWI, as well as many other authors and illustrators have banded together to make November Picture Book month.  Here’s why: The New York Times declared, “Picture Books No Longer A Staple for Children” in an article published in October 2010. The controversial article incited a barrage of responses from the children’s book industry, many in defense of the venerable picture book. In addition, the digital age has ushered in an unprecedented amount of ebooks and, with devices like the iPad, the color Nook, and the Kindle Fire, picture books are being converted to the digital format. Thus, Picture Book Month was born. Founder Dianne de Las Casas decided it was time to celebrate picture books in their printed format so she created an initiative to designate November as “Picture Book Month.” Katie Davis, Elizabeth Dulemba, Tara Lazar, and Wendy Martin came on board to champion the cause and spread the word. A logo was designed by Joyce Wan. A website (www.picturebookmonth.com) was created to feature essays from “Picture Book Champions,” thought leaders in the children’s literature community. Each day in November, a new essay will be posted from such notable contributors as Suzanne Bloom, Denise [...]

I heard Linda Sue Park speak at the Kansas City, KS SCBWI conference a few weeks ago.  A Long Walk to Water is a great example of how great children’s literature changes lives.  Beyond a moving story (about which I knew almost nothing–and I consider myself well-versed in current events), Linda Sue Park’s novel does [...]

I heard Linda Sue Park speak at the Kansas City, KS SCBWI conference a few weeks ago.  A Long Walk to Water is a great example of how great children’s literature changes lives.  Beyond a moving story (about which I knew almost nothing–and I consider myself well-versed in current events), Linda Sue Park’s novel does an incredible job weaving together two separate story strands.  Here’s her book trailer: