Sorry I'm late to my own blog tour! I'm still away trying to help my mom recover from an illness. Enjoy the blog tour and good luck
Hosted by readnowsleeplater.com
Join us for interviews, guest posts, reviews, and giveaways!
Tour Schedule
Wed 2/19 - The Book Monsters - review & giveaway
Thu 2/20 - I Am a Reader - interview & international giveaway
Fri 2/21 - Unleashing Readers - guest post & giveaway
Tue 2/25 - Kid Lit Frenzy - guest post & giveaway
Wed 2/26 - Sharpreads - review & giveaway
Fri 2/28 - The Windy Pages - review, interview & giveaway
Tue 3/4 - Read Now Sleep Later - review & international giveaway
Wed 3/5 - The Brain Lair - review & giveawayThu 3/6 - Bookalicious - review & international giveaway
About the Book:Luke Riley is lost. His mother's recent death has set Luke and his family adrift. Even though his father, twin brothers, and their three Bloodhounds are search and rescue volunteers, they have been unable to rescue themselves and become a family again. The summer after sixth grade looms in Luke's mind as a long, lonely three months where the only thing he can look forward to is watching The Weather Channel. Luke is fascinated with the weather, but since his mother's death in a storm, he is also terrified. Even the promised 13th birthday present of a Bloodhound puppy fails to lift Luke's spirits. He would rather have a different breed-a petite Papillon-but his father insists he get a Bloodhound.
When Luke decides to get the Bloodhound from Willajean, a dog breeder who owns Storm Watcher Kennel, he works out a deal to help at her kennel in exchange for the expensive dog. Thrilled to have a summer with a purpose, Luke befriends Willajean's daughter, Megan, and together they plan how Luke can get a Papillon puppy instead of a Bloodhound. But nothing seems to work as they struggle with stubborn fathers, summer storms, unhelpful siblings, and hidden guilt. Can one little white dog really save both families?
Alethea's review:I've been a huge fan of Maria V. Snyder's since her first trilogy, The Study Series, ended a few years ago. I get really excited whenever a new tale of hers hits the bookshelves. So when she mentioned that her first middle grade book was about to be released, I couldn't wait to read it. I usually find Maria's characters and world-building so captivating, and
Storm Watcher is no exception to this rule. Luke may be just a boy, rather than a weapon-wielding magician or healer like most of Maria's other protagonists, and the world she describes is the same one we live in, but the ordinariness of these elements actually add to the book more than they detract from it.
At first I couldn't really relate to Luke. I'm the eldest, he's the youngest. I'm totally a cat person. I love storms and am generally oblivious to their danger; even though he's interested in them, their unpredictable aspects scare him half to death. And I (knock on wood!) haven't lost my mother, although we came really close to it last week. But there's a lot that Luke and I have in common too. He's thoughtful and a loner. He hangs on to guilt and is a big worrier. Making plans makes us feel a little more in control of our situations, so when we want something, we plot and scheme until we get it. Once Luke takes stock of the problems and challenges he's facing, he doesn't automatically have all the answers. He struggles and makes mistakes. Snyder shapes him in such a real way that the reader can't help but empathize and root for Luke. She also applies her signature style--putting her protagonists through hardship and peril. Poor Luke--but what doesn't kill him makes him stronger.
I would recommend it to those who enjoy family dynamics, survival stories, underdog tales, and learning things while they read. Maria majored in meteorology, and the weather facts you might pick up on while you read are actually true! And even as a die-hard cat person, I really appreciated the details about the different dog breeds.
Storm Watcher is a short, emotional tale that really stuck with me, and I hope other readers will enjoy it as well.
About the Author:Maria V. Snyder writes adult and young adult fantasy novels and short stories. Formerly an environmental meteorologist, she earned a Masters degree in writing from Seton Hill University; she is currently a teacher and mentor for the MFA program. Storm Watcher is her first middle grade novel. You can contact her at maria [at] mariavsnyder.com.
Available now:
You can enter to win a copy of
Storm Watcher here! 10 copies will be sent out to the lucky few (up to 4 will be sent to non-US winners).
Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Claudia Mills and FSG for inviting me to kick off the Zero Tolerance blog tour!
Go for the Cringe
by Claudia Mills
Like many authors, I fashion my books as a patchwork stitched from varied scraps of memories, although there may not be a single scene, character, or even line of dialogue taken intact from real life. Still, the emotional core of a book tends to start with some remembered childhood experience. Usually that core originates in some memory that continues even decades later to make me cringe.
I drew the actual incident that triggered Zero Tolerance from the local news, when a nearby middle school took action to expel an honor student who brought the wrong lunch to school, an incident that received extensive media coverage. I saved no newspaper clippings; I don’t have that kind of careful filing system for book ideas. But I held onto the story nonetheless. Years later, when I sat down to write Zero Tolerance, that incident stored in my writer’s brain helped unearth an adolescent memory stored in my writer’s heart.
Here is the memory at the heart of Sierra’s story.
Many years ago, as a student at North Plainfield High School in central New Jersey, one spring I took issue with the school’s practice of locking all the school doors after the closing bell (both from inside and out) even though extracurricular activities were going on at that time. What if there were a fire? How could students exit the school? It seemed to my adolescent self such a metaphor for school-as-prison. So I complained to my friends. I complained to a few teachers. And then one of my friends took it upon herself to send a letter to the local paper protesting the locked doors—and signed the name of our much-disliked P.E. teacher.
When the letter appeared in print, I was horrified. A budding writer, I knew how important it is that we can own the words that appear over our signature; I knew what a wrong thing my friend had done. Worse, I knew I would be taken to be the author of the fraudulent letter. I knew I would be blamed, or even punished, when I myself had done nothing wrong. I still remember the terrible helplessness I felt as I waited to see how the teacher would respond, for any attempts I made to clear my name would be taken only as further evidence of guilt.
What ended up happening was... nothing. Life is so often less interesting than fiction. The school year drew to a close, and I tried to suppress that painful memory as best I could. But it resurfaced as I grappled with how to tell Sierra’s story. Readers of the book will know that Sierra ends up sending a fraudulent letter to the newspaper signed by the much-disliked school secretary. And while she is clearly at fault for doing so, she spends most of the book being punished for something she clearly deserved no blame for doing.
Many other snippets from my real life found their way into the book. A sixth grade best friend who excelled at analyzing every utterance or gesture of the boys we liked. A teachers’ assistant at my sons’ elementary school who was inappropriately bossy toward the students. A friend of mine who is an ardent though unrecognized playwright. A comforting cat.
But the heart of the book is the dark memory of a letter that never should have been written. The heart of the book is a memory that still lies heavy on my heart. So my advice for other writers, and for myself as a writer, is and will continue to be: don’t be afraid to go into those dark places. Sometimes you can write the book you need to write only if you let yourself go for the cringe.
Larry+Harwood+(2).jpg "Claudia Mills (c) Larry Harwood")
CLAUDIA MILLS is the author of many chapter and middle-grade books, including
7 x 9=Trouble!;
How Oliver Olson Changed the World; and, most recently,
Kelsey Green, Reading Queen.
She also teaches philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
To learn more, visit her website:
claudiamillsauthor.comEnter to win a copy of the book using the Rafflecopter widget below!
Follow Claudia on her her blog tour! Check back for new posts between now and Sept 17.
- Wed, Sept 4 - Read Now, Sleep Later AND SLJ Teen giveaway
- Thurs, Sept 5 - proseandkahn
- Fri, Sept 6 - The Book Monsters
- Mon, Sept 9 - Once Upon a Story
- Tues, Sept 10 - Pass the Chiclets
- Wed, Sept 11 - The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
- Thurs, Sept 12 - Mother Daughter Book Club
- Fri, Sept 13 - The Children's Book Review
- Sun, Sept 15 - Nerdy Book Club
- Mon, Sept 16 - Geo Librarian
- Tues, Sept 17 - A Life Bound by Books
a Rafflecopter giveaway
In case anyone is wondering, the question you need to answer in the Rafflecopter (for the Commenting points) is
"Sierra ends up bringing something to school that she shouldn't have. More often than not, we forget to bring something to school we should have! What's the thing you kept forgetting to bring? For me, it was clean gym clothes :("
The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street
ISBN 10/13: 0761381244 | 9780761381242
Category: Picture book
Keywords: Cats, neighbors, friends, compassion
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Source: Finished copy for review
Things are always the same on Ben Yehuda Street--cats, cats, cats everywhere--and boy do they love Mr. Modiano's store, the Tel Aviv Fish Palace! His neighbor, Mrs. Spiegel, loves to knit and spend time with her cat Ketzie. Ketzie shares fish from Mr. Modiano's shop with her friend Gatito. But old Mr. Modiano hates the cats as much as they love his shop. "Lo, lo, lo," he says, always declining Mrs. Spiegel's invitations to tea. All he wants to do is shoo the cats away (who never listen, by the way!) until one day, Ketzie goes missing. Uh oh!
I have to tell you first about how biased I am in reviewing this book. One, I am a cat lover and a knitter like Mrs. Spiegel. I have my own little gray cat (though she has more stripes than Ketzie). Two, I am friends with Ann. I designed
her website and I think she is such a fun storyteller! Three, I love fish, of which there is quite a lot in this book. If I were to hold a storytime event for this I would probably serve kippered herring, lox (smoked salmon), and maybe seared garlic tuna,
mmmmm! Though all but the most discerning little kids would probably prefer this kind of fish instead:
... not real fish
I loved the story and think it would make a great read-aloud for grandparents and grandkids together. I predict lots of meowing and "Lo, lo, lo"ing! Lots of little clues in the illustrations reveal details about everyday life in Israel, so there's a lot to point out and explain, whether one is familiar with the culture or not. The reader might wonder at Mr. Modiano's mode of transportation, what he's wearing on his head (it took me a couple of reads to figure out it wasn't a beret!), and maybe what Mrs. Spiegel is baking. Most importantly, what could have happened to Ketzie?
Themes like friendship, compassion, and generosity make this a gentle bedtime read. But while I like Carabelli's simple and sweet cat illustrations and painterly backgrounds, there's a certain level of detail I felt was missing. Maybe it's the knitter in me, always trying to spot drawings of yarn and knitted objects, but aside from a couple of balls of yarn, I couldn't really believe Mrs. Spiegel was much of a knitter, and that was a bit disappointing. The colors are also very muted and almost muddy for the most part. But I do like the little fish all over Mr. Modiano's shirt!
Ann is giving away a copy of The Cats of Ben Yehuda and her picture book from last year, The Wooden Sword! To enter, just comment below and answer:
What is your favorite folktale?
This giveaway is open internationally!
We hope you'll join us for the rest of the blog tour as well.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hi everyone! If you love picture books as much as I do, you'll want to tune in for the blog tour that I am hosting for Ann Redisch Stampler to celebrate the release of her latest, The Cats on Ben Yehuda!
A few kidlit bloggers and I will be featuring her books over the next couple of weeks. Aside from her newest title, we will also be featuring The Wooden Sword: A Jewish Folktale from Afghanistan, which debuted last year.
Here's the schedule! Find out what these picture book lovers have to say about Ann's picture books.
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|  | | Maria V. Snyder |
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We are so thrilled to welcome
Maria V. Snyder back for another interview! If you missed last year's, check out the
Touch of Power blog tour post.
While you're listening, check out the Rafflecopter widgets below. You could win...
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Due out December 18 in the US/Canada, Jan 4 elsewhere
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Thanks to Maria, there will be 5 International winners on the tour, one of whom will be picked from our Rafflecopter. There are also 5 US only giveaways, so make sure you visit all the tour stops linked above for more exclusive content and chances to win!
 | | A Scentsy starter pack (winner's choice) |
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 | | Up to $35 worth |
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I don't have a photo of the Harlequin Teen Prize Pack that is the grand prize for the blog tour, but it sounds uh-may-zing. It's a pile of Harlequin Teen and Mira titles! Squee! (US/Canada only - 2nd Rafflecopter widget)Giveaway Rules:- The Scent of Magic book prize is open Internationally. Maria will send the prize directly to the winner. The Grand Prize pack from Harlequin Teen is open to US/Canada only. The Scentsy Starter pack (up to $35 worth of items from Scentsy) is open to US only. (So on the first widget, anyone can enter, the second one is for US/Canada only).
- We are not responsible for items lost in the mail.
- One set of entries per household, please.
- If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
- Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
- Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
- If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here.
- PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find.
Thanks, and good luck!
Today I'm visiting the Sci Fi Guy on my Exiled Queen blogtour. Wander over there to see how to make fantasy accessible to non-fantasy readers.
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Larry+Harwood+(2).jpg "Claudia Mills (c) Larry Harwood")
Yup, gym clothes and a clean towel, Yuck!
My lunch bag and the empty containers.
Haha... gym clothes, yes and homework!
sometimes lunch
Usually papers that my parents had to sign. -_-
girly things....
I played in the band, and was awful at remembering to bring my flute to school