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As we've said before, we love to hear what readers think of our books. But we also like to hear what grownups think. That’s why a good review in SLJ or Booklist means so much to us. Every time the reviews come in, we send them to everybody at Stone Arch Books. We all talk about what we think of the reviews, what we can learn from them, how they can better our future books, and whether we agree with the review. It’s rewarding when we see that a reviewer really gets what we’re doing.

This review was in the January School Library Journal.

GALLAGHER, Diana G. Guilty!: The Complicated Life of Claudia Cristina Cortez. ISBN 978-1-59889-838-5; ISBN 978-1-59889-881-1. LC 2007005955.
GALLAGHER, Diana G.. Whatever!: The Complicated Life of Claudia Cristina Cortez. ISBN 978-1-59889-839-2; ISBN 978-1-59889-880-4. LC 2007005954. ea vol: illus. by Brann Garvey. 81p. (Claudia Cristina Cortez Series). photos. glossary. Web sites. CIP. Stone Arch. Jan. 2008. PLB $23.93; pap. $5.95.

Gr 4–7—In Guilty!, seventh-grader Claudia and her friend Monica are accused of stealing from popular clique leader Anna. Learning the principle "innocent until proven guilty," Claudia tracks down the real thief, exposing other wrongdoings and earning a few extra bucks in the process. Whatever! describes the never-ending drama faced by many 13-year-olds. When longtime friend Adam wants to join Claudia and her friends' "Whatever Club," the trio must decide if letting a boy in will alter the way their club is run and, ultimately, affect their friendships. With their TV-sitcom-like tone, these books are lively and engaging. Their short sentences, changing and playful fonts, and cartoons will entice reluctant readers. Each title includes background information about the different characters and their relationship to the protagonist. Fans of Marissa Moss's "Amelia's Notebook" series (S & S) and Carol Weston's The Diary of Melanie Martin (Knopf, 2000) will enjoy Claudia and her dilemmas. Discussion questions and writing prompts are included.—Jennifer Cogan, Bucks County Free Library, Doylestown, PA (School Library Journal, 1/2008)



We loved that the reviewer could tell the Claudia books were meant for reluctant readers, since we designed the Claudia books specifically to appeal to the growing population of reluctant girl readers. We use cool fonts to emphasize key words and phrases. We are careful with sentence structure, in order to make reading easy and fun. The pages are lined with small illustrations to help identify characters and enliven the story. And the Cast of Characters in the beginning of the book helps readers predict the story and recognize characters immediately, thus removing one of the very first obstacles to reading.


We’ll have more Claudia in our Fall ’08 catalog. In fact, we’re having the photo shoot for the new Claudia covers in February!

Jon Scieszka (”it rhymes with Fresca”) was declared the first ambassador for Young People’s Literature, today. The position is the children’s book equivalent of the Library of Congress’s poet laureate program. The new role will entail promoting the importance of reading by reaching out to parents, teachers and children everywhere and, in particular, Scieszka says, “to children who are considered reluctant readers.” Author of many children’s books, including the very successful Time Warp Trio series, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs and Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Scieszka is also the founder of Guys Read, a literacy program and website aimed at encouraging boys to read.

What should we expect from a guy whose Little Red Hen questions the presence of the ISBN number in the volume she appears on, and who allows her, later on, to be eaten by the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk?… Well, lots of gutsy energy to impart momentum and backbone to his important mission.

Bob and Barb Spear, owners of Leavenworth, Kansas independent book store The Book Barn, have created an online catalog of books for gifted and reluctant readers. The new catalog is called GRREAT BOOKS - Gifted Reluctant Readers Exploring Amazing Titles - and features carefully selected books for reluctant readers of all ages, as well as a section featuring books for gifted readers.* Bob and Barb have 28 years of experience as booksellers, and Bob has reviewed over 1200 books at his review site, Heartland Reviews. Bob has a special interest in discovering great books from independent and self-publishers.

Click here for the GRREAT BOOKS catalog

*(Disclaimer: my husband's books The Remin Chronicles are included in the catalog)

Billy Hooten: Owlboy
by Thomas E. Sniegoski
illustrated by by Eric Powell

Billy Hooten: Owlboy is a 2007 Cybils nominee.

Billy Hooten is just an ordinary boy who likes comic books and tries to avoid the school bully. He likes reading about comic book super-heroes, but he never imagines that he'll become one! But when he hears a cry for help coming from the cemetery, Billy doesn't think twice; he rushes to the rescue. What he finds in the Sprylock family crypt, though, is quite unexpected: a small goblin being threatened by a pig-headed monster. Once the monster is out of commission, the goblin, whose name is Archebold, tells Billy that he may be the next Owlboy, hero of Monstros City, which exists underground with an entrance in the crypt. Billy refuses to believe at first, but gradually he is drawn into the world of Monstros City and the role of Owlboy. Being a super-hero is much harder than Billy ever imagined, but it's not without it's rewards, either!

Billy Hooten: Owlboy is one of those books that I would never have picked up if it weren't for the Cybils, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The plot is simple but fun, and there's more character development than I expected for a book with a comic book super-hero theme. Billy is very much an ordinary kid, which makes it easy to identify with him. While he does get some super-powers as Owlboy, he also learns that being a super-hero requires intelligence, self-sufficiency, and sometimes just plan hard work, such as when he works all night to alter the Owlboy costume so that it fits. The illustrations by comic book artist Eric Powell are a good complement to the story. This is a book that should appeal to reluctant readers, especially comic fans.

Max Elliot Anderson specializes in adventure stories for boys 8 and up. His Tweener Press Adventure Series is compared by readers and reviewers to Tom Sawyer, The Hardy Boys, Huck Finn, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, Scooby-Doo and adventure author Jack London. Each book has an extensive teacher’s manual with chapter tests, word searches, vocabulary, and more.

Anderson talks about his books, and what it takes to write for reluctant readers, with Book Bites for Kids host, Suzanne Lieurance, during this interview at blogtalkradio.com.

Legend of the White Wolf is just one of Anderson’s adventure stories for reluctant readers

Listen to the Book Bites for Kids interview here:

Visit Anderson’s website and blog for more information about his books and stories and reluctant readers.

The new school year has kicked in now so I was glad to spot A Year of Reading’s recommendation of Monday with a Mad Genius by Mary Pope Osborne as a good read-aloud to bring some excitement and magic to those first few days back at school. I was interested, too, to read Mary Lee’s method for getting her class back into reading after the long summer vacation:

Lots of my students haven’t read all summer long, and I am modeling what they need to do to rebuild their fluency and stamina: start with lots of quick, easy reads to build confidence and refresh skills.

My younger son can’t keep his nose out of a book (sometimes I even get exasperated): but my older boy, who is about to turn 9, is starting to need some chivvying and he hasn’t read as much this summer as I would have hoped. One way I’ve found to encourage him is to sit down and read the first chapter to him… except then we all get into it and it turns into a bedtime book!

I’m about to try out the technique with Susanne Gervay’s superb book I Am Jack. You can read the first chapter on Susanne’s website. She has also provided some good ideas and materials to download. Reading the book together at home and discussing it provide a valuable springboard for bringing up the subject of bullying. By writing the story, Susanne has put into practice one of the messages that underpins the book: the pen is mightier than the sword. It presents a well-rounded perspective from all angles, whether that of the victim, the bully, friends, onlookers, teachers, schools or parents… And it’s also a cracking good story that I think he’ll enjoy. Maybe we’ll read it together all the way through then he’ll feel inspired to pick up the sequel, SuperJack…

Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon
by Rick Yancey

Alfred Kropp thought that things would improve after he saved the world. But his life has only gotten worse: the only people he cared about are dead, he's stuck in a foster home, the kids at school torment him, and most people think he's either crazy or a criminal. But things are about to change. Two powerful artifacts have been stolen from the vaults of the secret organization OIPEP, artifacts that will allow the bearer to command the forces of the fallen angels of heaven. Alfred is once again drawn into the conflict, finding his life in peril at every turn. But it would be a lot easier to save the world if someone would tell him what's going on!

Get this book into the hands of your reluctant readers! Who can resist a story with both fast cars and demons from hell - and one with a teen driving a fast car at 250 MPH while being pursued by the demons from hell is even better!

Alfred Kropp is a fast paced, exciting book, but it also has a healthy dose of humor. I also like that Alfred doesn't have any special abilities. He's just an ordinary teen, who happens to be descended from Lancelot, but who is mostly just trying to do the best that he can in the situations in which he finds himself. He's a likable character, with courage and values but also a healthy dose of skepticism, which is understandable given the way people in his life have of using him.

This isn't a book for sensitive readers; there are a couple of gruesome and intense scenes, which is to be expected in a book about demons - they don't play fair, after all. But anyone else who likes an exciting fantasy set in the modern world will enjoy this book.

My only complaint about this book is that the cover is ugly! (I thought the same about the first book, as well.) I like the UK cover better.

Also read our reviews of the first Alfred Kropp book

Whew! It was a busy weekend. Saturday evening, we learned that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/) in Pasadena was having their annual open house this weekend. So somewhat spur of the moment, we decided to go. It was pretty interesting although we didn't really get to spend a whole lot of time there as we were planning on going to an art show in the afternoon. Looking through our photos, I'm realizing we don't have any pictures of the rovers! So, the best I can do is the command center and a clean room:












I know the pictures aren't great. Command center was really dark and we were shooting through super thick glass to capture the clean rooms, but it's the best we could do in the circumstances.

The clean rooms were probably the most interesting part to us since it's very much behind-the-scenes sort of thing that you normally wouldn't have a chance to see. Chris (my husband) was in heaven shooting pictures of all the heavy industry on the campus. He works in video-games so having reference photos of all kinds of interesting places is really useful to him. It's always entertaining having to explain to people why he is shooting pictures of fire hydrants and dirty brick walls!

We left JPL around noon and headed down to Beverly Hills for the "Affaire in the Gardens Art Show." I'm intrigued by art shows where the artist actually sells physical art since this is something I've never really done before. I'm so tempted to try this sometime, but then I wince when I think about the over-head involved in such an endeavor. Not only would I have to produce prints and merchandise, but I'd also have to fork out some cash for the display boards and tent. And then if I didn't sell enough... well, that would be disheartening to say the least. I guess it must be profitable for some artists, but certainly not all artists, right? One thing that I do notice when I attend art shows is that there really aren't any children's artists present. Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? My work would certainly be unique in an environment sans other children's artists, but that still doesn't mean it would sell. Just something to consider for the future I suppose....

I'll put in a plug for my two favorite displays:

Gabe Leonard - beautiful paintings (http://www.gabeleonard.com)
Vicki Banks - very cool and clever animal sculptures - lots of ravens. She doesn't appear to have a website... Read the rest of this post