Some of our favorite children’s book authors have been very busy in 2016. We are thrilled to share that their latest works are now available on the First Book Marketplace!
Teachers Rock – written and illustrated by Todd Parr
From admiring the way teachers foster creativity in the classroom to how they ensure all children’s needs are met, author & illustrator Todd Parr offers an ode to everything teachers contribute to the world. Bursting with positivity about school and the people who make it special, this book is sure to become a classroom and at-home favorite.
Thunderboy Jr. – written by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Yuyi Morales
What’s in a name? Author Sherman Alexie explores naming rituals and Native American culture in his new picture book, beautifully illustrated by Yuyi Morales. This book is a great read-aloud, celebrating expressions of individuality and the unique relationship between a child and parent.
Trials of Apollo – written by Rick Riordan
Being a teenager is tough – especially for Apollo (maybe because he’s actually four thousand years old). In the latest book from author Rick Riordan, Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, is cast down from Olympus to earth after insulting his father Zeus. Without his powers, he must learn to survive in modern-day New York City until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favor.
Raymie Nightingale – written by Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo’s middle-grade coming-of-age novel follows young Raymie Clarke in her quest to win the 1975 Little Miss Central Florida Tire contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw her into an unlikely friendship with two other contestants — and challenges each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.
Have you read any of these new titles yet? Give us your book review in the comments, and take a look at all the new titles on the First Book Marketplace!
The post New Books by our Favorite Authors appeared first on First Book Blog.
When I received these two books as review copies, there was no question in my mind about what I would do next -- I handed them first to B. and then to M., both huge fans of everything Rick Riordan has written.
I had a lunch date with M. last week, and we chatted about how her reading life has developed this year, and about these two books. Previously, I have watched series books launch a reading life, but I have never seen an avid reader tear through series after series the way M. has in the past few months. Me: How did you become such and avid a Rick Riordan reader?
M: First I watched all the Percy Jackson movies. Then I saw T. reading The Lost Hero (in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan) and she recommended it.
Me: What are some topics and themes in these books that keep you coming back for more?
M: I like the action, the cliffhangers, the things that surprise you. There's a little romance, but not too much.
Me: So, Percy is Greek mythology, and the Kane series is Egyptian mythology, right? What's Demigods and Magicians about and who would you recommend it to?
M: I'd recommend it to people who read all of the Rick Riordan series. It switches between the Kane stories and the Percy Jackson stories and connects them at the end.
Me: Do you learn lots about mythology from reading these books?
M: You learn a little mythology, but mostly they are good stories. There should be Kane movies.
Me: What will you read next?
M: Next up is The Magnus Chase -- it connects to one of the books -- it's Greek mythology for sure, but there are new characters.
Me: Tell me a little about your reading habits. How do you plow through these long books so steadily?
M: I read for a long time whenever I read. On the weekends I read. I read before dinner, and I read after dinner. I watch a little TV with dinner, but I'd rather read than watch TV.
Me: Have you always been a series reader?
M: No, this is new. The closest has been when I read Rump, Jack, and Red.
This amazing reader will eventually come to the end of the Rick Riordan series (maybe...he's incredibly prolific!!) and will need to find other books to fill the gap left in her reading life. She has great resources that will serve her well: her family uses the public library, and she has friends who are readers who will recommend books to her. What would I recommend? The Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke, or The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart.
Hokey dokey. Too much stuff here to cover very well, but try we shall. Hold on to your hats, folks! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
First off, you know how I was talking the other day about constructing the ideal educator website of children’s literature resources? Well, this might have to be one of said resources I’d include. Called Uncover the Past, the site is dedicated to “helping library and education professionals teach history through children’s literature!” The booklists are particularly interesting.
Thanks to Rebecca Redinger for the link.
Next up, one for the “how cute is this?” files. I don’t know why the idea of Mary Blair tableware isn’t commonplace, but so far this is the first place I’ve seen it done properly. Blair, as you may recall, worked as a Disney animator for years before becoming a children’s book illustrator.Take the survey and you might win a set of your very own.
Mmm. Process. Sweet, delicious process. What’s better than watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover? Watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover after considering LOADS of alternatives. Chad Beckerman shows us how The Haters came to be. I don’t usually do YA, but in this special case I am making an exception. You bet I am.
Oo. Auction. Now normally one wouldn’t have the money for such a thing, but this one’s special. What we’re talking about here is a Refugee Benefit Auction, created by authors Shannon Hale and Mette Ivie Harrison. 100% of the proceeds go to Lifting Hands International, a charity that gets life-saving supplies directly to refugee camps. As for the things you could get, they’re pretty fantastic. My personal favorite? A pole dance (or fan dance, they’re easy) performed by Shannon Hale and Daniel Handler. “Negligible nudity assured”. Oddly, this item has yet to secure an initial bid. Would someone like to lend me $10,000?
The Fictional Book Characters Who Sparked Our Sexual Awakenings. Meh. None of these ranked in my book, but it’s interesting to see the fellers other gals were into. And, happily, it reminded me of one of my favorite Toast pieces of all time: Things I’ve Learned About Heterosexual Female Desire From Decades Of Reading.
I think I’m the last one to link to the Alexander London piece Our Stories Are As Unlimited As Our Selves or Why I Came Out as a Gay Children’s Book Author. A great piece and one that ties in nicely with the GLBTQ chapter of Wild Things. Should we ever update that book, this is going in.
Oo! Eisner Award nominees. Love that stuff, I do. And check it out! Not only is Nathan Hale nominated in the Best Publication for Kids category (for The Underground Abductor, naturally) but he’s also in the Best Writer / Artist category as well. He is the ONLY children’s book creator in that category, by the way. Regardless of whether or not he wins, that is significant.
Travis Jonker. He comes up with so many good ideas. Have you seen his Endangered Series, uh, series? Well, it’s a great idea. Series that once were strong but now are waning are given a close examination. Cam Jansen was the latest to fall under scrutiny. I suspect The Kids of the Polk Street School already hit the dust, but if not then this would be an ideal candidate for a future post.
Wow. Two thumbs up to the ALSC board for voting to cancel the National Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. American Libraries Magazine has the scoop. Thanks to Jules Danielson for the link.
How on this good green earth did I miss Rick Riordan’s letter to kids who are faced with the dire prospect of being shown one of the Percy Jackson movies in school? I’ve seen authors dislike their books’ adaptations before, but nothing quite matches this. Thanks to Monica Edinger for the link.
“With such a huge international variety of books and illustrators on display in Bologna, are there differences in illustration styles among individual countries?” Yep. Moving on. Oh, wait . . . no, let’s dwell on this idea a bit longer. Four German children’s book publishers were asked this question and they gave their responses. The thing is, here in the States we’re seeing some remarkably high quality German children’s book fare on a regular basis and it’s GREAT! I’d love this question to be regularly posed with folks from other countries as well.
The site Brightly has had a couple good articles up lately. I liked 8 Surprising Facts About Your Local Librarian not the least because I knew the librarians quoted. NYC pride!
Daily Image:
I almost never do images of books here for the Daily Image since it’s sort of a case of bringing coals to Newcastle. But then I saw that one of my greatest picture readalouds, one of my core books, a title I’ve loved for years, is getting a sequel. At long long last I have an answer for those kids who have been asking me, “Is there a sequel with the tractor?”
Yes, children. Yes there is. And life is good.
In order for an author to be successful, he or she must have a successful author brand. Your brand is your name. It’s what people connect you with or think about when your name is mentioned. For example, Stephen King = horror, Rick Riordan = young adult myths and legends, JRR Tolkien = epic fantasy, Kelly Armstrong = paranormal romance, and Diana Gabaldon = time travel romance. I could go on, but you get the picture. Each name evokes a genre or a series, and each brand is high concept.
So how do you develop your author brand (name) into a household word that conjures creepy clowns or teen demigods or hobbits or sexy werewolves or time traveling standing stones and kilts? You need to hit your readers in the heart. Create a positive emotional experience so that they’ll become loyal readers and word of mouth heralds for each book you publish.
This strategy is the basis of social media. You connect with others because of what they say, pictures they post, or the experiences they share. Somehow, an emotional cord is struck, and you want to reach out to people and give them your support or a kind word or thank them for making you laugh your ass off for posting a cute dog or kitten video. Emotion connects us all, makes us human. And depending what you share or post, if people like what they read or see or hear, they begin to trust you. If you’re an author who writes books with animals as main characters, you can bet you’ll grab the interest of animal lovers all over the world.
One way to help figure out your ‘brand’ is to create a tagline for yourself, just as you would for a book. I did a lot of soul searching on this and decided that I wanted to conjure feelings of nostalgia with each book I write—give my books that ‘good old days’ spin. Who doesn’t like happy memories of their childhood? So I came up with: Escape to the past and have a blast. Simple and direct. I want my readers to escape from the mundane and be drawn into a familiar world where they’ll have a pleasurable and exciting experience. At least that’s my hope!
When you find out what makes your audience tick, you’ve hit their sweet spot. You give them more of what they want. They need it. They crave it. Write it for them. Make them feel throughyour words. It’s what authors do. It’s what we crave.
So what about you? When it comes to reading, what hits your heart? What do you crave? Would love to hear your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
Maybe you’re in the same boat as us. We’ve finished all of the Percy Jackson books… and now what do we read? We want more Rick Riordan!
Or, another boat perhaps we are sharing is aging readers. Our Wonder Son is now in high school. Percy Jackson was such an epic event in his younger years that he is continually searching for books that “grab” him just like Percy Jackson did. So what to do after Percy?
First might I suggest The Lost Hero Series which is Percy Jackson-related AND is also written by Rick Riordan.
Still needing a little bit more Percy Jackson ? Here are two great big favorite books from our favorite demi-god Percy Jackson.
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes
Another favorite Rick Riordan series is his Red Pyramid Trilogy. We just loved it!
Now as we wait for the latest new series from Rick Riordan, on Norse Myths this time. Magnus Chase will be out in October.
Until then, here are a few Books Like Percy Jackson for grades 6 and above, covering a wide range of ages and interests. They are ALL series! Happy Reading!
The Lost Years of Merlin Series by T. A. Barron
A young boy with no memory or identity emerges from the sea…and discovers his destiny as the most legendary wizard ever to live. (Grades 6-8)
The Goddess War Series by Kendare Blake
Goddess Wars Series. Athena and Hermes’ search for the cause of their illnesses leads them to Cassandra who may be key to a war started by Hera and other Olympians who have become corrupt anti-gods determined to destroy their rivals.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
A twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl, brings the fairy folk to their knees when he kidnaps one of their own. (Grades 6-8)
(Grades 7-9+)
Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs
Three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful Gorgon maligned in myth, must reunite and embrace their fates. (Grades 9+)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games,” a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. (Grade 7 +)
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Outside the safety of the Glade lies an enormous maze, populated by nightmarish perversions of technology. (Grades 6-10)
The Mortality Doctrine Series by James Dashner
Mortality Doctrine series set in a world of hyperadvanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming beyond your wildest dreams . . . and your worst nightmares. (Grades 7+)
City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau
Books of Ember Series. Lina & Doon must fulfill the prophecy and help everyone in town survive. So what if the townspeople are all trying to kill them? (Grades (8-9+)
Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
If Jack’s sister had just stayed quiet, they wouldn’t have been captured by Vikings. Little sisters can be so annoying! (Grades 6-9+)
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Flinn has lived his entire life inside the gigantic prison known as ‘Incarceron.’ Escape seems impossible…until he meets Claudia, who is trapped in the 17th century by a computer.
(Grades 7-9+)
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Ranger’s Apprentice Series. 15-year-old Will joins the magic wielding rangers to battle against an evil warlord. (Grades 6-8)
The Paladin Prophecy series by Mark Frost
A boy who has spent his entire life trying to avoid attention finds himself in the middle of a struggle between titanic forces when he is recruited by an exclusive prep school and followed by sinister agents. (Grades 7+)
Reckless by Cornelia Funke
Welcome to the Mirrorworld, where the darkest parts of your favorite fairytales are a chilling reality! (Grades 7-10)
Tunnels By Roderick Gordon
The Colony” has existed unchanged for a century, but it’s no benign time capsule of a bygone era— it is ruled by a cult like overclass, the Styx. And before long—before he can find his father—Will is their prisoner…. (Grades 6-9)
Runemark by Joanne Harris
In Maddy Smith’s world, order rules. Chaos, old gods, faeries, magic–all of these were supposedly vanquished centuries ago. But Maddy knows that a small bit of magic has survived. (Grades 7+)
Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz
The Gatekeepers Series. When Matt gets into trouble one time too many, he is sent to live in a far-away village. Is he the only one who can see the evil below the surface? (Grades 8+)
Talon by Julie Kagawa
Dragons exist and Ember is one of them. Trained to infiltrate the humans, she just wants to have fun in her final summer of freedom before joining the Talon, but destiny has another thing in store for her. (Grades 9+)
Scepter of the Ancients by Derek Landy
Skulduggery Pleasant Series. When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle’s estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones. (Grades 6-8)
The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis
Seven Wonders Series. Seven pieces of power from Atlantis that disappeared long ago. Cass, Jack, Marco and Aly depend on them to save their lives. (Grades 6-9)
The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Adelina survived the blood fever, an illness that killed many, but left others with strange supernatural powers. Cast out by her family, she joins a secret society called the Young Elites and discovers her own dangerous abilities. (Grades 8+)
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
When the apothecary is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the sacred
Pharmacopoeia in order to find him and save the world. (Grades 6-8)
A World without Heroes by Brandon Mull
Beyonders Series. Jason and Rachel are pulled into the mysterious, troubled realm of Lyrian. All they want to do is get back to their own world, but they may have to stop evil wizard emperor Surroth first. (Grades 6-8)
Mark of the Thief by Jennifer Nielsen
When slave-boy Nic is forced to enter a cavern containing lost treasures, he discovers an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods — magic some Romans would kill for. (Grades 6-9)
Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica Series. Three guys become owners of the Imaginarium Geographica and open mystical worlds. (Grades 8+)
Divergent by Veronica Roth
One choice can transform you. Beatrice Prior’s society is divided into five factions—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice must choose between staying with her Abnegation family and transferring factions. Her choice will shock her community and herself. But the newly christened Tris also has a secret, one she’s determined to keep hidden, because in this world, what makes you different makes you dangerous. (Grade 9+)
Magyk by Angie Sage
Lost as a child, Septimus Heap must reunite with his true family & learn the magyk arts.
(Grades 6-8)
The Alchemist by Michael Scott
The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel Series. Two teens are caught up in a battle between ancient alchemists looking for the secret of immortality. (Grades 6-9)
The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
‘The Grimm Fairytales were just stories,’ or so Elizabeth thinks, until she discovers that some of the more famous and magical objects are very, very real! (Grades 6-9)
I.Q. by Roland Smith
Q and Angela have rock star parents who may know more about the dangerous world of spies and terrorists than they let on… (Grades 6-8)
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened… where they train you to be a criminal mastermind. (Grades 6-9)
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
The Bartimaeus Trilogy. When young magician Nathaniel summons the ancient, powerful, and mischevious djinni Bartimaeus, he gets more than he bargained for! (Grades 6-9)
The Shadow Thief by Anne Ursu
Cronus Chronicles Trilogy. Charlotte sneaks into battle with a Greek demigod, then gets grounded for it. Still she continues on to fight the malevolent forces of the under-world. Charlotte’s life is tough! (Grades 7-9)
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
World War I is waged between the ‘Darwinists,’ with their fantastic genetically-altered creatures, and the ‘Clankers,’ who pilot giant robots. Aleksander and Deryn are caught in the middle! (Grades 7+)
See any good titles here? Any favorites? Any on your “must read” list? Please share in the comments below!
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The post If You Like Percy Jackson, Read This appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
Title: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Published: May 2005 by Miramax, May 2006 by Miramax
Length: 377 pages
Source: bought and library
Other info: Many other series such as The Heroes of Olympus and the Kane Chronicles have stemmed off. There was a film adaptation of The Lightning Thief.
Summary : Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
Review: Percy Jackson is a mostly normal child. Yes, he has trouble concentrating and keeps getting thrown out of schools but mostly, he's ok. Until, on this school trip, it looks like he'll get thrown out because his maths teacher wants to kill him. And he vaporises her with a sword. More things happen, and Percy ends up at Camp Half Blood, with satyrs, demigods, and a centaur of a Latin teacher. And a quest. Because Zeus is angry. And things get better from there.
I love this series from the bottom of my heart. I read it first when I was eight or nine, maybe? I don't know, but I wanted a book and I asked my dad for recommendations in Waterstones and he picked this off the shelves and I fell in love with it when I read the chapter titles. Add the fact that I already had a love of Greek mythology and you can see how this is going to work out.
I reread this because my reading aim for 2015 is to work my way through all of Rick Riordan's demigod series and this is the first one.
The world of this is wonderful. The Gods are alive and kicking and operating out of the USA, doing what they've always done in a more modern way. This "what they've always done" includes having children with mortals, thus necessitating Camp Half Blood, a safe place to train and live without fear of monsters.
The characters are well fleshed out and great to read about. The new takes on mythology are genius, especially when you notice the clever ways little things are updated'. You just fall in love with all the characters- Percy for his determination to keep trying, Grover for his determination to keep trying, Annabeth for her cleverness and levelheadedness, Chiron for his general badassery of being both a centaur and a Latin teacher...the list goes on.
They adventure in such a way that we meet a variety of creatures from Greek myth. I must say, when I first read it, I felt so proud of myself for being to guess ahead as to who this threat was, and I also enjoyed learning about new aspects of mythology too.
The writing describes well, but has a huge dose of humour. Case in point: chapter titles. But I loved the sheer amount of fun that this book was, comparatively speaking to everything else I was reading.
The plot keeps running in new direction throughout the whole novel. The twists at the end where we learn how the thing got in, I did not see coming the first time I read it. It was foreshadowed so perfectly and the way it all came round made me happy.
Overall: Strength 5 tea to a strong opening to a brilliant series.
Percy Jackson series author
I wish every art design company released their drafts of book covers. I found the Jesse Andrews cover evolution endlessly fascinating!
Also, I’ve been working on a document for the social studies teachers in my school: historical fiction curricular tie-ins for each unit of study. Uncover the Past will help make the rest of the process go a little bit easier. Thanks for the link!
Thanks for the shout out, Betsy!
That’s the auction item I want, too. Our Friends have been very generous in funding events. I’m thinking the community would respond well to a Pole Dance/Fan Dance by Shannon Hale and Daniel Handler. Right?
Right now I’m having a hard time trying to think of anyone who wouldn’t want a Pole Dance/Fan Dance by that magnificent dancing team of Hale & Handler.
Duck on a Bike, the very best read-aloud. A sequel, hurray!
I may have screamed with joy at my desk when I saw an announcement for Duck on a Tractor! I LOVE Duck on a Bike and can’t wait.