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Sign up for the Readathon here

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Penguin Group (USA) has partnered with the online BlogHer community to create a book club. Sassymonkey Reads blogger/BlogHer contributing editor Karen Ballum will host.

According to Book Business Magazine, the book club will average two titles per month. Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks is the first pick. Participants will enjoy special book club features such as live chats, behind-the-scenes looks at the researching and writing process, and writing tips.

The article has this quote from Penguin Group (USA) president Susan Petersen Kennedy: “The BlogHer community is smart, opinionated, and influential—in other words, the perfect match for our authors and books. I’m looking forward to creating a forum in which women can discuss books, speak with authors, and grow as writers.”

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

If you love the Beezus and Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, then I know you're psyched for the new movie Ramona and Beezus (rated G) coming to theaters on July 23. But we've got something even better coming to THE STACKS for our next Live Chat -- Ramona herself! . . . er, well, the actress who plays Ramona. Obviously, Ramona is not a real person; she's a fictional character!

WHO: Joey King, the actress who plays Ramona
WHEN: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 6 - 7 PM E.T. (3 - 4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS (Click here on the 20th for instructions to join the chat.)
TOPIC: Ramona and Beezus movie!

We have fun Live Chats here every month. Sign up for our Live Chat reminders and we will send you an e-mail a couple days before future chats to remind you to join!

And to get the latest STACKS news about all your favorite celebrities, sign up for our monthly Pop-Corn Celebrity Newsletter.

Chat Now! -- Sign-in info below.

WHEN: TODAY 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS (Instructions below.)
TOPIC: Summer Reading!

We have more awesome Live Chats planned for the summer. Sign up for our Live Chat reminders and we will send you an e-mail a couple days before all future chats to remind you to join!

And if you haven't already signed up for the Summer Challenge, you should go check it out. Once you're signed in, you can choose your favorite genre; find new friends, and read for the world record!

Here's how to join the Chat NOW!

1. You'll have to sign in with your STACKS username to participate. Guest users cannot post messsages. If you don't have a STACKS account yet, register here.


2. If you are using a Mac, you will not be able to join the chat through Firefox. Instead, please use a different web browser, such as Safari. If you are using a PC, you should be able to join the chat through any web browser.


3. For your safety (and our sanity), all messages will be reviewed by STACKS Staffers before they're displayed to the public. Depending on message content and chat attendance, not all messages will be approved.


4. Be respectful of other kids, STACKS Staffers, and any public figures/celebrities you're talking about.


5. No personal info! (No full names, school names, contact info, etc.)


6. To respond to a particular person, type "@username" at the beginning of your message. (For example: @Stacks_Admin.) Trust us, things'll go smoother that way.


7. Be sure to doublecheck your message before submitting. We can't post it if we can't understand it because of funky spelling or punctuation.


8. Have fun! (Well, we can't force you — this one's more of a request than a rule . . . )

Join the chat NOW!

Summer! Summer! Summer! Whether your school has already let out, or if you still have three more weeks to go, it's not too early to start planning your summer reading. Summer can be tragically looong and boring if you run out of good books to read. Here at THE STACKS, we want to make sure that doesn't happen. So, the next Live Chat will be about Summer Reading. What books are you excited about reading this summer? What books are you REQUIRED to read this summer? What are your best summer reading recommendations?

WHEN: Tuesday June 8, 2010 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS (Come back here on the 8th and we'll give you instructions for joining.)
TOPIC: Summer Reading!

We have more awesome Live Chats planned for the summer. Sign up for our Live Chat reminders and we will send you an e-mail a couple days before all future chats to remind you to join!

And if you haven't already signed up for the Summer Reading Challenge, you should go check it out. Once you're signed in, you can choose your favorite genre; find new friends, and read for the world record!

Summer is almost here, and for some of you lucky people, school is out already. *sigh* That must be nice. . .

Well, with summer, there always comes a whole bunch of great new summer movies, and this year’s crop is looking really good! Ramona and Beezus, Eclipse, The Last Airbender, and lots more (including Diary of a Wimpy Kid on DVD). Come to our Live Chat to talk about the movies you are most excited about seeing this summer — and maybe find out about some movies you haven't heard of yet!

WHEN: Wednesday May 19, 2010 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS (Come back to this blog post on the 19th for sign-in instructions.)
TOPIC: Summer Movies!

And to get the latest news about all the celebrity, music, TV and movie happenings covered on THE STACKS, subscribe to our monthly Pop-Corn Celebrity Newsletter!

You have been asking us for a Wimpy Kid chat, so since the movie is coming out on March 19, we are planning an AMAZING Wimpy Kid chat with 2 extra special guests. Who are these splendiferous guests coming to Scholastic to chat online with YOU? I'll give you a hint, one is an author and one is a twelve-year-old actor. Can you guess who they are?

WHO: Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series PLUS Zachary Gordon, the kid who plays Greg in the movie
WHEN: Wednesday, March 16, 2010 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS (Click here for instruction on the 16th.)
TOPIC: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie!

That's right. Jeff Kinney and Zack Gordon will be both be joining us for this Live Chat, so you will definitely not want to miss this one!

Sign up for our Live Chat reminders and we will send you an e-mail every month a couple days before the chat to remind you to join!

Fantasy fans, the next Live Chat is for you! We will be chatting about all your favorite fantasy books: Harry Potter, Inkheart, Percy Jackson, and all the others that you are completely, absolutely, positively obsessed with! Join us at the Live Chat and tell us about the fantasy books you just could not live without!

WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS (Click here on the 24th for instructions to join the chat.)
TOPIC: Fantasy Books!

Sign up for our Live Chat reminders and we will send you an e-mail every month a couple days before the chat to remind you to join!

TODAY'S THE DAY! Join the chat at 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)

We know that many of you are amazing writers and plan to be authors when you grow up. The STACKS supports you 100%! So the topic for the next live chat will be writing tips for all you future authors (and current authors!) out there. Come to the chat and share your tips and ask your questions for other kid writers. Where do you get your inspiration? How do you come up with good plot and character ideas? What do you do when the dreaded writer's block hits? Come to the chat and talk about writing with us.

BTW, STACKS staffers have met lots of published authors — it's one of the perks of working at Scholastic — and we will be sharing some writing tips that we've picked up from them.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS 
TOPIC: Writing Tips

NEW!!! Sign up for our Live Chat reminders and we will send you an e-mail every month a couple days before the chat to remind you to join!

We know that many of you are amazing writers and plan to be authors when you grow up. The STACKS supports you 100%! So the topic for the next live chat will be writing tips for all you future authors (and current authors!) out there. Come to the chat and share your tips and ask your questions for other kid writers. Where do you get your inspiration? How do you come up with good plot and character ideas? What do you do when the dreaded writer's block hits? Come to the chat and talk about writing with us.

BTW, STACKS staffers have met lots of published authors — it's one of the perks of working at Scholastic — and we will be sharing some writing tips that we've picked up from them.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 20, 2009 6-7 PM E.T. (3-4 PM P.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS 
TOPIC: Writing Tips

NEW!!! Sign up for our Live Chat reminders and we will send you an e-mail every month a couple days before the chat to remind you to join!

Aah, winter break! A much needed vacation from the pressures of schoolwork, and finally, some free time to read WHATEVER YOU WANT! For our December chat, we want to hear from you what your plans are for winter break. What books are you saving up for an all-day-long reading marathon while wrapped up in blankets by the fire, snow falling outside, and some kind person constantly refilling your mug of hot chocolate? Or maybe you are escaping winter to go on a tropical vacation - lucky you! What books will you bring to read on the beach? Come to the chat and let us know your recommendations for the perfect Winter Break book.

WHEN: Saturday, December 5, 2009 4-5 PM (E.T.)
WHERE: THE STACKS
TOPIC: Winter Break!!!

DARE to chat with us?
Join our LIVE CHAT on the Goosebumps series, other spooky books & more!

WHEN: Tuesday, October 27, 6-7 PM E.T.
TOPIC: Scary books!

Halloween is right around the corner! And to celebrate, our October Live Chat will be about the Goosebumps series and other spooky scary books. Join in the chat to talk with other kids about the books that give YOU goosebumps!

For more about the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine, visit the Goosebumps site and learn more about lots of other Halloween Goosebumps events!

And if you're in New York City on October 24, stop by the Scholastic Store in SoHo at 3pm for a demo of the Goosebumps HorrorLand Wii game, and more Halloween fun!

— STACKS Staffers

I had such a blast last Wednesday at my very first Stacks Live Chat! A whole bunch of you guys were there talking about The 39 Clues and it was so fun! (The transcript will be ready soon, AND we are sending Patrick Carman some of your extra questions that he didn't have time to answer. We'll keep you posted on that!)

If you weren't there, we missed you!! But you should definitely come join the next one in September, ok?

WHEN: Tuesday, September 15 6-7 PM E.T.
WHERE: The STACKS (Click here on 9/15 for instructions on how to join the chat.)
TOPIC: Top 3 Books from the Kids' Choice Poll

Here's how it will work. First, vote in our Kids' Choice Poll:

Then come to the chat on September 15th. You'll get to talk online with lots of other Splotters about the 3 books with the most votes.

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

If you love The 39 Clues, then don't miss the live chat with Patrick Carman, author of Book 5: The Black Circle!

WHEN: Today, 6-7 PM E.T.
WHERE: The STACKS (Click here at 6 PM for instructions on how to join the chat.)

Get ready for the chat by reading Mr. Carman's The 39 Clues Agent File (PDF). This top secret document will brief you on the important details you need to know about the author of Book 5, like what family branch he is in, and what he likes to do when he is not writing or conducting surveillance on the Cahills.

Check it out and we'll see you later at the chat!

— STACKS Staffers

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for another wild ride because The 39 Clues Book 5 is finally here! Everything about this book has been top secret, from Amy and Dan's next destination (I'm not telling. You have to read the book!) to the book cover itself. THAT at least I can show you. In fact, here is the author Patrick Carman himself posing with his copy.

And speaking of Patrick Carman, don't miss the live chat with him on Wednesday August 26 from 6-7 PM E.T. He will be right here at the STACKS talking about The 39 Clues. Who knows what Clue leads will be revealed!

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Breaking News about The 39 Clues — the next live chat will be with Patrick Carman, author of Book 5: The Black Circle!

WHEN: Wednesday, August 26, 6-7 PM E.T.
TOPIC: The 39 Clues!

The worldwide hunt continues. And to celebrate August’s release of Book 5, we’ll have the author of that book, Patrick Carman, as a special guest! Join in the chat to get the latest intelligence on Amy and Dan's quest to unlock the most powerful secret the world has ever known. Who knows what Clue leads will be revealed!

And if you're new to the race for The 39 Clues. . . it’s never too late to join the hunt! Visit The 39 Clues Web site to find out all about the books, the games, and even some great prizes* you could win.
STACKS Staffers

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. For complete details and official rules go to www.the39clues.com/info/prizes

Our STACKS chat last month was all about being green, in honor of Earth Day. We talked about recycling, conserving energy, being less wasteful, and most importantly, spreading the word about saving our one and only planet! Check out the full transcript to see what other eco-warrior kids had to say.

Some of my personal fave parts of the conversation were:

1) A bunch of you reported that your schools were celebrating Earth Day by turning off all electricity for an hour — or even the whole day! I suggested doing the same thing to my boss at Scholastic, but since I work on a website, that didn't exactly fly . . .

2) Special guest Moderator_Elise brought up the question of how to tell whether something is recyclable. I always thought that any piece of plastic with a 1 or a 2 on the bottom was fine for recycling, but thanks to you guys, I learned that it depends on where you live. So after the chat, I was inspired to do a little research about NYC in particular, and it turns out I've been trying to recycle a lot of stuff that isn't allowed. Whoops, guess I got a little overzealous. Sorry to the people at the processing plant who had to go through all my plastic!

3) Everyone agreed that it's important to be green everyday, not just on April 11th. As thumbelina08 put it: "We don't have to be green just on Earth Day, we need to be green all the time. Earth Day  is just a reminder like a giant post-it note." I couldn't have said it better myself.

So, those were the most memorable moments of the chat for me. Again, you can read the whole transcript here. And you can continue the conversation on our Save the Planet message board, moderated by none other than Moderator_Elise! Or for more info on what you can do, there are tons of books to check out. Here's three suggestions to start you off: The Down to Earth Guide to Global Warming by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon, Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life by Molly Band and Penny Chisholm, and You Can Save the Planet: 50 Ways to Make a Difference by Jacquie Wines.

AND don't forget to join us for our next chat, on May 26th at 6:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. PT). Our topic will be: Year-End Reading Round-up (your fave books from this school year and what you want to read this summer). See you then!

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

It's finally mid-May, and you know what that means! Well, yeah, it means a nice holiday for Memorial Day coming up. But think bigger . . . That's right, it's almost summer! AND it's time for our next STACKS chat:

WHEN: Tuesday, May 26, 6-7 p.m. (ET) / 3-4 p.m. (PT)
TOPIC: Year-End Reading-Wrap Up — what did you read this school year and what will you read this summer?

Can you believe there have been about 160 school days since Labor Day? That's a whole lot of "independent reading time" — 80 hours if you did 30 minutes every day! But you can't fool us — we know you love books as much as we do. (Uh, have you even seen how much you guys post on our book boards?) So join us for a live chat to talk with other kids about your favorite books from this school year and what you plan to read this summer.

And in the meantime, count down the days to that glorious season of swimsuits, sleepaway camps, and sunblock in our Summer Challenge competition. Join a team, score points by reading, and help Scholastic donate to kids in  need. Plus if you're on the winning team, you get to brag like nobody's business. So check it out — just don't have so much fun that you forget about our chat!

See you on May 26th!

— Your Friendly STACKS Staffers :-)

TODAY'S THE DAY!

Greetings, Splotter Earthlings! The next STACKS live chat is all about BEING GREEN, so mark your soon-to-be-recycled-biodegradable-calendars!

WHEN: Saturday, April 11, 4-5 p.m. ET
TOPIC: Being green!
SPECIAL GUEST: Elise, Save the Planet message board moderator

Earth Day is on April 22nd, and we're super psyched to hear from you guys about how to save energy, save animals, and save our planet! (Oh. Humans too.)

Here's your chance to talk to STACKS kids all over the world about how you can contribute to stopping global warming, preserving animal habitats, and making our one and only Earth the best place to live.

Can't wait for the live chat? Get the conversation started on the Save the Planet message board. AND if you're already on the board, get excited — because Elise (the Save the Planet board moderator) will be joining our chat as a very special guest. Yay for Elise!

— STACKS Staffers

PS: Many of you are logging in from all over the world, and it's awesome that you do! If you're not sure what time our 4-5 p.m is for you, check out this handy dandy time zone convertor (should open in a new window or tab). If you're still not sure, leave your STATE or COUNTRY (no cities!) in the comments and we'll try to help you out.

UPDATE: 4/11 — JOIN US AT 4 P.M. (ET) TODAY!

In the meantime, here's some info before you join the chat:

1. You'll have to sign in with your STACKS username to participate. Guest users cannot post messsages. If you don't have a STACKS account yet, register here.


2. If you are using a Mac, you will not be able to join the chat through Firefox. Instead, please use a different web browser, such as Safari. If you are using a PC, you should be able to join the chat through any web browser.


3. For your safety (and our sanity), all messages will be reviewed by STACKS Staffers before they're displayed to the public. Depending on message content and chat attendance, not all messages will be approved.


4. Be respectful of other kids, STACKS Staffers, and any public figures/celebrities you're talking about.


5. No personal info! (No full names, school names, contact info, etc.)


6. To respond to a particular person, type "@username" at the beginning of your message. (For example: @Stacks_Admin.) Trust us, things'll go smoother that way.


7. Be sure to doublecheck your message before submitting. We can't post it if we can't understand it because of funky spelling or punctuation.


8. Have fun! (Well, we can't force you — this one's more of a request than a rule . . . ) 

   See you at 4 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (PT) !