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This week, Oxford University Press (OUP) and The Reader announced an exciting new partnership, working together to build a core classics library and to get great literature into the hands of people who need it most, with the Oxford World’s Classics series becoming The Reader’s "house brand" for use in their pioneering Shared Reading initiatives.

The post What do the classics do for you? appeared first on OUPblog.

1. Thank You!  I want to thank everyone who grabbed a copy of After Loving You during its release week last week. It was such a great release day, and I love you all for it. If you haven't gotten a copy yet, but would like to, you can grab the book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Kobo.
2. After Loving You Blog Tour  This week is the blog tour for After Loving You, hosted by Inkslinger PR. Love them.
3. Editing  October is a packed month with edits, but I'm loving every second of it. My eyes...not so much.
4. Walking And Editing  I'm so in love with editing while walking on my treadmill. Why didn't I discover this sooner? I walk three times a day (for a half hour at a time), which keeps me focused and energized to work.
5. Motley Education Release Day!  Happy release day to S.A. Larsen! Motley Education releases today! Seriously, guys, go grab this book. It's a fantastic middle grade read. I fell in love with it on page one. It's that good, and you can't support an author sweeter than Sheri. Grab your copy here. 

   Forget having a lively after school social life, Ebony Charmed is fighting to keep the entire afterlife alive. Ebony’s less-than-average spirit tracking abilities are ruining more than sixth grade at Motley Junior High: School for the Psychically and Celestially Gifted. Her parents argue so much her dad's moved out. And, even though he’s scared of his own shadow and insists on bringing his slimy, legless lizard everywhere they go, Ebony wouldn’t survive without her best friend, Fleishman. When Ebony’s Deadly Creatures & Relics’ project goes missing she learns her missing project is one of the keys to saving the spirit world. Now Ebony and Fleishman must battle beasts from Norse mythology to retrieve her project before spirits are lost, the Well of Urd dries up, and Ebony loses all hope of reuniting her family. But someone lies in wait, and he has other plans…including creating a new world of spirits without them in it.

I couldn't be happier to post today. My daughter, Ayla, received her paperback proof of her first book, The Secret Sister, yesterday and it's gorgeous! I'm so proud of all the hard work she put into this book. She spent her summer writing and reading as much as she could, and she really learned a lot—including how to overcome writer's block.

Together, we decided that she's going to keep her amateur status and make the ebook free. Print copies will be made for family and friends, but she won't make any money from them. This experience is about learning to write well, sharing her love of stories, and being proud of the accomplishment of writing a book. And that's a HUGE accomplishment. Did I mention she's only nine?

1. Drafting  I had no intentions of drafting a new book right now, but you know how it is when you get an idea. This book will be very different for me. Different POV and genre. Eek!
2. Last Week of Summer Vacation  :( No! My baby is starting fourth grade next Monday. Say it isn't so! She got the teacher she wanted but is sad that her best friends are not in her class. I'm preparing now to hold it together next Monday morning until I'm driving away from her school after drop-off. Send tissues please.
3. After Loving You Cover Reveal   Friday is my cover reveal. Woo-hoo! Not that I'm excited or anything. ;)
4. My Mom's Birthday!  Thursday is my mom's birthday. She reads these posts, so feel free to wish her a great day. Love you, Mom!
5. Reading  With my daughter home, I read a lot of middle grade books over the summer. I do have some adult suspense books waiting for me though, and I'm looking forward to diving into those soon.

What is the cost of peace?

Guilt-ridden over her role in the cataclysmic Order War, Taylor Ghatzi 


decided to retire from galactic politics and dedicate her life to the 


Emergency Service---until a deadly terror attack strikes her home world, 

and she may be the only one able to unravel the mystery behind it. 
Meanwhile, Cherran DeGuavra, the son of the most important statesman in 
the past century, gave up on trying to reunite the galaxy frayed by his late 
father's greatest mistake, but now must call upon all of his diplomatic 
powers to prevent it from tearing itself even further apart. 
With the galaxy's powers on a war footing and their own government
obstructing them, Taylor and Cherran may need to start a fight to prevent one. 

Grab it on Amazon.

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Adam Quinn is a Chicago-based author of science fiction and space opera. When he’s not writing about the technology of the future, he’s studying engineering so that one day he can help create it.

  

FREE Gift! Free 180 Multicultural Book Ideas ebook to inspired fun Summer Reading!

School is out and our youngsters are settling into a new summer routine of sleeping in and hopefully doing some exploring and discovering. With the hectic days of summer just beginning, oftentimes one of the first habit to go by the wayside is the habit of daily reading.
Reading is always an important part of our children’s lives no matter what time of year it is so I decided to wrap my knowledge of fun kidlit books and activities up with my experience as one of the co-founders of the very successful Multicultural Children’s Book Day and create a unique resource for parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. Reading is important, but so is helping our young readers learn about other cultures, religions and traditions through the pages of these books. Here are some great booklists and resources that I have created over the years at Jump Into a Book that will not only give parents and readers great ideas on diverse kids’ books, but fun activities related to books that will bring stories to life!

Sign up below for quick and free access to 180 Multicultural Book Ideas: World Travel through Kidlit Summer Reading!

The post The Mountains of Tibet by Mordicai Gerstein Book Review appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

      

      

•        The Watsons go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
•        Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
•        I Am Rosa Parks by Brad Meltzer
•        Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
•        Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
•        The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
•        Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O’Roark Dowell
•        One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
•        A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson
•        Joelito’s Big Decision

**some of these links are affiliate links

FREE Gift! Free 180 Multicultural Book Ideas ebook to inspired fun Summer Reading!

School is out and our youngsters are settling into a new summer routine of sleeping in and hopefully doing some exploring and discovering. With the hectic days of summer just beginning, oftentimes one of the first habit to go by the wayside is the habit of daily reading.
Reading is always an important part of our children’s lives no matter what time of year it is so I decided to wrap my knowledge of fun kidlit books and activities up with my experience as one of the co-founders of the very successful Multicultural Children’s Book Day and create a unique resource for parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. Reading is important, but so is helping our young readers learn about other cultures, religions and traditions through the pages of these books. Here are some great booklists and resources that I have created over the years at Jump Into a Book that will not only give parents and readers great ideas on diverse kids’ books, but fun activities related to books that will bring stories to life!

Sign up below for quick and free access to 180 Multicultural Book Ideas: World Travel through Kidlit Summer Reading!

The post She Stood for Freedom: The Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Did you escape to the beach for a little summer vacation? We did and brought home a few souvenirs from our walks on the beach. Now that our prize shells are sitting on a shelf collecting dust, it’s time to put them to use with a fun craft idea.

Shell Animals! This is a perfect activity for a rainy day or before a trip to the zoo. You can get as creative and detailed as you want while learning about different traits of the animal that you want to create.

We kept the supplies simple – of course, shells are the number one ingredient, although we would suggest some larger ones for young children, ours are a little smaller than we would have liked. To decorate your shells you will need, some construction paper, scissors, markers, paint or both. You can also add googly eyes and pipe cleaners for more detail. We made a peacock, a tiger, and our bear came in the perfect color straight from the ocean!

Share your favorite shell creatures with us; tag @arbordalekids on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Tumblr! We will send a matching book to our top favorites!

Is summer flying by or WHAT?! Goodness, before we know it we will be reading about “first day of school” booklists!

I’ve been having so much fun with my Notable Women series these last few weeks. I kicked things off American Revolution hero Sybil Ludington, then moved on to favorite author Pam Muñoz Ryan. This week I want to focus on the wonderful works of author Linda Sue Park.

Linda Sue Park is the author of the Newbery Medal book A Single Shard, many other novels, several picture books, and most recently a book of poetry: Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems). She lives in Rochester, New York, with her family, and is now a devoted fan of the New York Mets. For more infromation visit www.lspark.com

Here are a few of my favorite Linda Sue Park books for kids:

A Long Walk To Water

The New York Times bestseller A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.

A Single Shard

In this Newbery Medal-winning book set in 12th century Korea, Tree-ear, a 13-year-old orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’ village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated — until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min’s irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself — even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work in the hope of a royal commission . . . even if it means arriving at the royal court with nothing to show but a single celadon shard.

When My Name was Keoko

Sun-hee and her older brother, Tae-yul, live in Korea with their parents. Because Korea is under Japanese occupation, the children study Japanese and speak it at school. Their own language, their flag, the folktales Uncle tells them—even their names—are all part of the Korean culture that is now forbidden. When World War II comes to Korea, Sun-hee is surprised that the Japanese expect their Korean subjects to fight on their side. But the greatest shock of all comes when Tae-yul enlists in the Japanese army in an attempt to protect Uncle, who is suspected of aiding the Korean resistance. Sun-hee stays behind, entrusted with the life-and-death secrets of a family at war.

The Kite Fighters

In a riveting narrative set in fifteenth-century Korea, two brothers discover a shared passion for kites. Kee-sup can craft a kite unequaled in strength and beauty, but his younger brother, Young-sup, can fly a kite as if he controlled the wind itself. Their combined skills attract the notice of Korea’s young king, who chooses Young-sup to fly the royal kite in the New Year kite-flying competition–an honor that is also an awesome responsibility. Although tradition decrees, and the boys’ father insists, that the older brother represent the family, both brothers know that this time the family’s honor is best left in Young-sup’s hands. This touching and suspenseful story, filled with the authentic detail and flavor of traditional Korean kite fighting, brings a remarkable setting vividly to life. AUTHOR’S NOTE.

Project Mulberry

Julia Song and her friend Patrick want to team up to win a blue ribbon at the state fair, but they can’t agree on the perfect project. Then Julia’s mother suggests they raise silkworms as she did years ago in Korea. The optimistic twosome quickly realizes that raising silkworms is a lot tougher than they thought. And Julia never suspected that she’d be discussing the fate of her and Patrick’s project with Ms. Park, the author of this book!

**some of these links are affiliate links

Something To Do

In honor of the amazing Linda Sue Park book Project Mulberry, here are some fun ways to bring this book to life.
As we stood under our mulberry tree remembering this great story, we decided right then and there that we had to grow our own silkworms. I must admit to you that we are at the beginning of this process and are waiting for our little silkworm eggs to arrive. We promise to keep you updated on our progress.

Would you like to join us in growing silk worms? Just leave a comment below and let us know if you will share this experience with us.

Here’s where you can order the silkworms:

The Carolina Company has a silkworm farm kit.

They also offer silkworm eggs and food.

A few weeks ago I saw the most interesting TED talk about what they are now using silk for. It’s amazing and is being used in ways one could not even imagine. It is taking science and technology to a new level. This is a great video for kids probably age 8 and older.

Happy Reading!

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Looking for more ways to not only get your youngsters reading, but get them OUTSIDE as well? Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together.

Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” More details HERE.

The post Notable Women: Author Linda Sue Park appeared first on Jump Into A Book.