By: Jennifer Thermes,
on 10/4/2016
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By: Fleur Bradley,
on 10/14/2014
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By: Lauri Fortino,
on 9/25/2014
Happy Book Birthday to Karen Kaufman Orloff and David Catrow’s newest “I Wanna” picture book I Wanna Go Home! Fans of I Wanna Iguana and I Wanna New Room will be thrilled that a third book in the series has finally been “born”. Can you believe it’s been ten years since I Wanna Iguana, the first book!? It was one of my nephew’s favorite picture books. He was six at the time; now he’s sixteen!
I Wanna Iguana was one of the very first book reviews I did on Frog on a Blog back in 2009. Read my review. I loved the book so much that I contacted Karen to do an interview for me and she agreed. Her interview was the very first interview I did on Frog on a Blog! Read the interview.
Personally, I can’t wait to read I Wanna Go Home and see what clever Alex is up to this time around. I wanna bet it will be hilarious. Read the summary and Kirkus review below.
SUMMARY OF “I WANNA GO HOME”, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons: Alex is not happy about being sent to his grandparents’ retirement community while his parents go on a fabulous vacation. What could be worse than tagging along to Grandma’s boring bridge game or enduring the sight of Grandpa’s dentures?
But as the week goes on, Alex’s desperate emails to his parents turn into
stories about ice cream before dinner and stickball with Grandpa. Before
he knows it, Alex has made a surprising discovery: grandparents are way
cooler than he thought!
KIRKUS REVIEW
A child’s skepticism takes a header when a vacation with Grandma and
Grandpa proves more wild than mild.
After getting his iguana (I Wanna Iguana, 2004) and failing to
successfully petition for his own space (I Wanna New Room, 2010), Alex
returns for a third time, and now the situation’s truly dire. His parents
are taking off for Bora Bora, which means he and his siblings are slated
to stay with their grandparents for the duration. Broccoli lasagna and the
absence of both video games and computers are bound to lead to a terrible
time. In his initial desperate letters and emails written to his
vacationing parents, Alex pleads with them to return ASAP. Yet soon, Alex
is singing a different tune, as he discovers square dancing, bingo,
stickball and other wonderful aspects of old-folk living. Turns out that
two weeks just isn’t enough time. The epistolary picture book is hardly a
new genre, but it can prove a difficult one. Orloff handles the format as
well as the subject with grace and aplomb. Alex’s gradual acceptance of
his doting ancestors plays out believably, pairing beautifully with
Catrow’s controlled craziness. The pencils, watercolors and inks find the
funny in almost every single spread.
A clever conceit ably rendered; this is bound to prove popular with loving
grandparents and caustic kids alike. (Picture book. 4-7)
**AND NEW THIS YEAR, FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS — A WEBSITE GEARED JUST FOR THEM, OFFERING IDEAS AND TEACHING MATERIALS FOR USING THE “I WANNA” BOOKS IN THE CLASSROOM***
Visit www.iwannabooks.com. The site offers lesson plans, printable
activities and games for students, testimonials from teachers, teacher
resources, and more.
By: Jennifer Thermes,
on 9/16/2014
By: E.C. Myers,
on 9/15/2014
featuring
Matt London
—
It’s always fun to celebrate an author’s debut novel, and this one’s in the family; Matt London is a dear friend of mine, as well as Jordon Hamessly London’s other half. Matt’s one of the hardest working writers I know, and I’m so excited that people finally will be able to read his novel. Tomorrow, his first book, The 8th Continent, will start finding its way into the hands and hearts of middle grade readers — as well as older readers who love a good adventure story and anyone who hasn’t quite grown up.
Yep, I’m definitely the latter. While I was reading an advance copy of The 8th Continent last weekend, it kept reminding me of favorite stories from my childhood. I used to love adventure books starring smart kids like the Danny Dunn series by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams; the Alvin Fernald books by Clifford B. Hicks; the Three Investigators by Robert Arthur, Jr.; Matthew Looney by Jerome Beatty, Jr.; and of course, the Tom Swift books by Victor Appleton. It also captured the same humor, epicness, and thrills of one of the best cartoons of all time, DuckTales, and the fun and gee-whiz factor of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Spy Kids.
I know I’ve just horribly dated myself, but what I’m getting at is I loved The 8th Continent, but 10-year-old me would have been obsessed with it. Oh, for a time machine…
The 8th Continent has broad appeal in the age of its readers and their interests, but if your kids love science, technology, and biology, you have to give them this book. There are lots of teachable moments throughout, from little quizzes forced upon the main characters — 10-year-old Evie and her 11-year-old brother, Rick — to discussions you can have with young readers about ecology, zoology, and even morality and family dynamics.
There’s also plenty of action and excitement with some tense chapters that will keep you turning the pages, and Matt sure knows how to turn a phrase. His liberal use of goofy similes always made me smile, and I often laughed out loud. One of my favorite sentences: “And then he saw it, a vacant white socket behind the wires, looking at him like a surprised ghost.” So adults will enjoy reading this adventure with their kids, too, and it could also be an introduction to other stories they’ll like: Matt has filled the book with sly nods to books like The Wind in the Willows and Charlotte’s Web, and when kids pick up on them, they’ll probably be grinning as much as I was.
But wait, what’s it about? Here’s the synopsis:
Evie and Rick Lane are determined to transform the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a real life pile of floating garbage — into an eighth continent, using a special formula developed by their father. This new continent will be a place where their family can live free from the intervention of Winterpole, a global rule-maker run by bumbling bureaucrats. But eleven-year-old pink-and-plastic-obsessed Vesuvia Piffle, the secret mastermind behind the villainous Condo Corp, also has her sights set on this new land, and she wants to use it to build a kind of Miami-on-steroids. Now, it’s a race against time and across the world as the kids gather the items they need to create their continent. Because whoever controls the eighth continent controls our future. And the future can’t be both “green” and pink.
In honor of Matt’s release day, I’m giving away one hardcover copy of The 8th Continent (open internationally). To enter, just leave a comment saying what you would do with your own new continent and then fill out the Rafflecopter form below. And be sure to wish Matt a happy release day!
Congrats again, Matt! I’m really glad I won’t have too long to wait for the next book. 
I think this is a charming and clever series that will stick with kids for a long time and one day be remembered as a childhood favorite by a geeky 36-year-old reader like me.
—
E.C. Myers was assembled in the U.S. from Korean and German parts and raised by a single mother and the public library in Yonkers, New York. He is the author of the Andre Norton Award–winning young adult novel Fair Coin and Quantum Coin, as well as numerous short stories. His new novel, The Silence of Six, a thriller about teenage hackers and government conspiracies, will be out on November 5, 2014 from Adaptive Books. You can find traces of him all over the internet, but especially at http://ecmyers.net and on Twitter: @ecmyers.
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By: Lorie Ann Grover,
on 1/15/2013
Joy of joy! Co-founder of readergirlz, Justina Chen, is launching her latest novel today! Get ready for the beautiful, raw, realistic Return to Me. You will be moved. Just listen to the thoughts of other readergirlz:
"So basically, they are real people. And that makes reading about them to be completely engrossing."
Kelly Hager
"Return to Me is inspirational, it's raw emotions, and it's powerful! It's more than just reading a book. It's living in the story, being Rebecca!"
Jovan Tucker
"Justina has done such a great job at story telling you will be enthralled with this book and will not be able to put it down."
Tee
"I can't even recount how many times I cried while reading this book. It was pretty amazing."
Kristilyn
Here's the description from Amazon:
Nothing is going as planned for Rebecca Muir. She's weeks away from starting college--at a school chosen specifically to put a few thousand miles of freedom between Reb and her parents. But her dad's last-minute job opportunity has her entire family moving all those miles with her! And then there's the matter of her unexpected, amazing boyfriend, Jackson, who is staying behind on the exact opposite coast.
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By: Christina Farley,
on 9/4/2012
Sounds like a fun book and series. Great review, Lauri!
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Thanks, Robin. The “I Wanna” books are super fun–definitely worth a look!
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