A Modern Boy's Reading of The Babysitters Club

Benjamin has torn through the Babysitters Club books this past summer, and has continued to reread some of them this school year. When I tell people he's reading them, they're kind of incredulous. He is a seven-year-old boy, after all. Not the target audience. :) But they're good books and my mom brought me my whole collection when she came to help us move.  I thought my collection had been donated them to the library! So it was a pleasant surprise to see the books again.

I knew I had to keep them in easy reach for Benjamin for a couple of reasons:  Because I loved them at his age, and because if I suggested that he read them I knew he never would. The only way to get him to read them would be to have them in easy reach. They're so colorful and appealing, how could anyone resist? And I think they're books worth reading! I learned a lot about babysitting and childcare from reading them. And Ann M. Martin won the Newbery Honor you know, for her book A Corner of the Universe. She's a good writer. Sidenote: I got to see her speak once. I wrote a little about it here.

My point here is that I have had such a great time watching Benjamin read the books.The things he has said have made me laugh and really taken me back to my babysitters club days. Whether we were learning about the pop culture of the past or discussing the real-life issues the series talks about, we've had a great time.



1. "Stacy has diabeets." Hey, if I had never heard anyone pronounce the word diabetes, I might think that's how you said it.

2. "Logan is an associate member of the Babysitters Club. He doesn't have to go to meetings." Ah, I had forgotten that Logan was an associate member! Haha. Of course I had not forgotten about Logan. No, indeed. One of my first literary crushes.

3. "Dawn is a health food nut." Hahaha. And you are a Pokemon nut, son. I haven't heard anyone use the word nut like that in quite a while. :-D

4. "I want a peanut butter sandwich. Kristy and Mary Ann had peanut butter sandwiches at lunch and Dawn said, 'That's so Connecticut'." Order up! I would be happy to assist you in solidifying your identity as a resident of Connecticut by making  you a PB&J.

5. "What does it mean 'tie up your parents' line?" We had a great little dinner table conversation about how telephones used to work. You could see the light bulb come on over his head. "Oh! So that's why Claudia has a private line!"

6. One day I was doing my makeup in the bathroom. In pops Benjamin. "Bart wants to go steady with Kristy." "Does she want to go steady with him?" I ask, not wanting to give anything away. "We don't know!" he says. "She didn't answer him and then next book is not a Kristy book. So we probably won't know until the next Kristy book! Unless someone mentions it out loud..." Oh, the suspense.

7. "Dawn has two holes in each ear, but Claudia has one in one ear and two in the other..." Oh man. Now I know why I was so obsessed with ear piercings when I was in elementary school! I remember that I couldn't wait to get my ears pierced (my parents made me wait until I was eight) and that pretty soon I was dying for a second piercing (never happened). I had not realized the ear piercing discussions in The Babysitters Club were influencing me all along. If you can get a 7-year-old boy excited about how many holes 12-year-old girls have in their ears, you know that's persuasive writing.

8. "Claudia reads Nancy Drew mysteries but she hides them because her parents don't approve..." Ha! I had forgotten that. Nobody could forget that the Kishi's are a model of disapproving parents, but putting the kibosh on Nancy Drew? That's when you know they're supposed to be ridiculously disapproving.

9. "That's what Claire Pike calls everybody. She's the baby of the Pike family. She's 5 years old and she's in a silly stage." Oh kid. you're in a silly stage, too. :-D

10. "Who are the three stooges?" This of course led to some YouTube education.

11. "What if Watson Brewer came to our lemonade stand . . ." We were having a lemonade stand one Saturday, and received a generous donation. This let us to speculate about what Kristy's rich stepfather would do if he stopped by.

12. "I should have known!!!" This random exclamation near the end of one of the books caught me off guard. Benjamin went on to explain that now that he knew the twist, he could easily see the book's foreshadowing.

13. "It takes me about 7 minutes to read a chapter; and there are about 15 chapters in each book, so it takes me about two hours to read a Babysitters Club Book." Not only does Benjamin love reading, he loves math.

14. "What's The Monster Mash?" This one comes up in Kristy and the Secret of Susan, when autistic-savant Susan plays it on the piano. This led to a discussion about autism, and a monster mash dance party.



Which one of these made you smile? And what book or book series do you remember fondly from childhood? One person who comments will win a BSC postcard from me and Benjamin. Contest ends 3/31/16. Congratulations to commenter Cami! You have won!

Christmas Book Giveaway!

Hey everybody! How's it going? The 2015 Holiday Recommendations post is still going strong, so feel free to request more recommendations, if you need them. I'm having a lot of fun with these. We have ages 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, and adult covered! Anybody have a 7, 12, or 14 year old in their life?!? Haha. You can totally repeat ages by the way, I'm just going for a straight, or a royal flush or something.

As for today, I have a Christmas book giveaway!

 

This book looks like a great one to put under the tree. Here's the trailer for it:



What do you think? It looks like something I could use to discuss not only Christmas, but also forgiving others, asking for forgiveness, and creativity. I wouldn't be surprised if the book inspired my boys (ages 5 and 7) to make their own unusual nativities.

If you want to win this book, sign up for my newsletter! I'll be honest and say that at this point I pretty much only use the newsletter to let subscribers know about giveaways, and to then be able to get in touch with them easily to give out the prizes. I do reserve the right, however, to send awesome emails that don't have giveaways in them . . . just in case. And of course you're welcome to unsubscribe anytime being on my email list is no longer useful to you.

If you're already signed up, just reply to the email, and I'll put your name in the hat. ;)

Put your email here for a chance to win A Rare Nativity:

You should get a  confirmation email from me via MailChimp. Confirm your subscription and you know you are entered.


This giveaway will end on Sunday, December 13, 2015. Click here to read the Everead Giveaway Policy.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas book giveaway [CLOSED]! And a favorite Christmas book tradition.

Yes, I hung the dough ornament of Yoda
that Levi made at preschool.

It seems like people turn to books more often at Christmastime than at any other time of the year. Am I right? I know my own holiday book collection features more Christmas and Winter titles than all the other holidays combined.

I'll tell you what I like to do with our Christmas books (and I'll shamelessly admit that I stole this tradition from my Everead co-blogger Ashley -- learn from the best!): Every year we wrap the Christmas books up like presents (even though they're mostly the same ones). Then we get to unwrap one each day and read! It's so super fun. Also it has the added advantage of staving off the children's pleas to open "just one present."

I confess, I haven't wrapped them up yet this year, but "yet" is the right word there. I fully intend to wrap up some of our favorites --The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Jan Brett, Barbara McClintock's The Gingerbread Man, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. And I'm definitely going to wrap up The Night Before The Night Before Christmas by Jay Dee and Darren Geers -- since it's our newest. I've successfully kept it hidden from the kids, and I look forward to their surprise.

When the author of The Night Before The Night Before Christmas, Jay Dee, asked if I'd like to do a review and giveaway, my first thought was, "Too busy!" But my second thought came after I saw the cover image by Darren Geers.

When saw the cover, I thought, "This book has potential!" I was right. The interior illustrations are every bit as lovely as the cover -- my fave was probably the exterior of Santa's cabin, which you can peek at in the Amazon preview. I'm reasonably certain that the art was rendered digitally, and it does a great job of capturing texture and detail without feeling busy. The pages are laid out very well -- I didn't even notice how effortless reading this book was until I was looking consciously, for this review. There's great depth in the art, you'll notice. Even just on the cover you see the train in the foreground, Our protagonist Elfie is the star of the show, and behind him, who is that? Ah, St. Nick himself.

Anyway, let me tell you about the story. Elfie is a detail-oriented little guy and has spent quite a long time working on the little train you see before you. Too long, if you ask his elf supervisor. Tension builds as we fear a reprimand from Santa himself, but it turns out that Elfie's insistence on perfection was exactly what Santa was after. This is a special train, to be given to a special baby, Jesus.

I was initially put off by this anachronism -- toy trains were not a big thing when Baby Jesus was born. I'm pretty sure they came later. Very sure. But then I considered the overall message of the book, the respectful way Christ was brought into a secular story, the positive way I expect my children to receive the plot (despite it's incongruity to me, as an adult) and the fact that Christ has said "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto . . . my brethren, ye have done it unto me."   After these deliberations, I decided I could go with it.

The pacing of the book is on point, and the characters are endearing (with the exception of the two-dimensional demanding supervisor elf), and the text and picture pairing is seamless.

Overall I'd say this will make a charming addition to our collection of Christmas books.

I would love to know what book-related traditions you have around this holiday season, and what your favorite Christmas books are. I've got my eye on The Christmas Quiet Book, yes I do.

Leave a comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway! For an extra entry, tweet about the giveaway and tag me, @everead. Contest closes December 22, 2014. (Give Everead's Giveaway Policy the once-over if you haven't seen it yet.)

p.s. The links in this post are affiliate links, and here is one for Barnes and Noble, too, just in case! The Night Before The Night Before Christmas Merry Christmas!

Congratulations to our winner, Amy!

Giveaway! and thoughts on eyeglasses, by Hilary McKay

One of my favorite authors these days is Hilary McKay. I simply adore the Casson family and all the books that Ms. McKay has written about them. Also, her sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess did not disappoint. That one is titled Wishing for Tomorrow.

So. You can imagine I was thrilled to hear that she has a new series (coming to the US from across the pond) about a girl named Lulu. I put Lulu and the Duck in the Park on hold at my local library, but didn't get over there in time to pick it up! Alas. Thankfully, there is a review at Madigan Reads, if you're interested. Madigan says, "The reading level is just a skoche easier than Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House, but a nice step up from Amelia Bedelia or Jean Van Leeuwen's Amanda Pig series."

Book 2 in the Lulu series
available in print and ebook

Book 3, available Fall 2013.

While arranging to participate in the Lulu Blog tour, I got thinking: what would I like to hear Ms. McKay's thoughts about? And the answer was definitely eyeglasses. Both Ashley and I have worn glasses since childhood, and Ashley's adorable kids are already getting glasses of their own. I just loved in Wishing for Tomorrow and in the Casson Series when some of my favorite characters got glasses. Ms. McKay's descriptions of the event were right on. I said to myself, "this is a woman who knows about getting glasses!" and I wondered what her story was. In Hilary McKay's own words:

Eyeglasses! 

I must say, I was a bit surprised to be given that as a blog post, but then when I thought about it, I realised that I had used eyeglasses twice in books that matter very much to me. 

So, eyeglasses and my little sister. 

When my little sister was eight years old it finally dawned on her friends and relations that the reason she never seemed to know quite where she was, was simple. She was living her life in a lovely blur. 

I seem to remember that my sister liked her lovely blur. She was content with her impressionist painting of a world and was quite happy to keep it that way. She did not take kindly to the idea of glasses, and when she finally got them she saw no advantage at all in all the sudden edges and outlines and corners that appeared. She didn’t like the world in focus.

And then it became night. Dark. And why was she out in the garden? I can’t remember. All I can remember is her outraged indignation when she looked up. 

And saw stars. 

All her life she had known about stars. She had seen pointy shapes drawn on Christmas cards. She had been given gold and silver sticky backed ones for extra good work at school.  But she had never seen stars in the sky. 

The stars in the sky that night nearly blew my little sister  away. She stared and stared, and nearly fell over backwards staring, and as she stared and saw more and more she got crosser and crosser. She yelled at all us star-familiar people  standing around her, ‘Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THEY WERE THERE?’ 

So that, I suppose, is why eyeglasses appear in my books. That night of revelation when several thousand new suns shone down on my sister all at once, and made her so astonished and indignant, and we all laughed... 

But at the same time were not too far from tears.

Mystery solved! I, too remember seeing the stars through my new lenses. I would have been about nine years old. Seeing stars, the real stars, was an awe-inspiring experience.

And speaking of awesome things, I have a giveaway for you! One of you lucky people (in the US or Canada) can win a signed copy of Lulu and the Duck in the Park, which is the first in the Lulu series.

Doesn't it look great? More info on the publisher's website.

To enter, please leave a comment on this post before midnight on April 1, 2013. What is your experience with glasses? Do you have them? Do you wish you did? My little sister wanted glasses so bad that she fibbed like a fisherman to get them and ended up with bifocals. I'm curious to hear your story.

The winner of the book will be announced right here! For more details, check out Everead's full giveaway policy.

The **NEW** Winner is KATE! Congratulations! Send your contact info to everead@gmail.com within the next two days to claim your prize.

For more from Hilary McKay, and more chances to win the book, visit the next stop on her blog tour, http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com tomorrow.
______
Everead reviews of Hilary McKay books:
Saffy's Angel
Indigo's Star
Permanent Rose
Caddy Ever After
Caddy's World
Wishing for Tomorrow

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm---Giveaway Closed

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Grimm brothers' collection of classic fairy tales. To celebrate, Philip Pullman, most famously the author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, has recently written a retelling of fifty of his favorites from the original collection. Penguin Books sent me a copy to review, and I have to say I was surprised---and ultimately happily so.

Pullman maintains the Grimms' original style and much of the original language. This is not an embellishment or re-imagining of the original tales, which is what I had anticipated. Instead, Pullman has examined multiple translations and versions of the original stories, added a bit of detail, minutely shifted storylines here and there, and created this lovely new version that maintains a classic feeling. At the end of each of the fifty stories, he describes the sources he used and the revisions he made and his reasons for doing so. I love these extra analyses; they add so much to the stories that I'd never considered or known before.

So. I was a little disappointed they weren't reinvented. But that was my own fault for misunderstanding what Pullman had done and why. Now that I know, I enjoy picking up the book and reading a tale or two while feeding my little baby five or six times daily. This is a great collection, especially nice for those who don't have time to sit for hours to finish a novel.

Now for the giveaway---if you would like your very own copy of Philip Pullman's Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, leave your name and e-mail address to enter a drawing for a copy. Also, fill in the blank on this little phrase for me: Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without _______. The answer that comes to my mind, for instance, is The Carpenters. Love that Christmas album. I listen to it many times every December. What's a tradition or place you go or thing you must see/eat/listen to at Christmastime to really feel in the spirit? I love hearing about others' traditions.

To summarize this rather long-winded post:
1. Philip Pullman's collection of 50 fairy tales is great.
2. If you want to enter to win a copy, leave a comment with a) your name, b) your e-mail, c) Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without _______.
3. Giveaway is open now (December 29, 2012) through Friday, January 5, 2013.

And here's a book trailer, in case you're interested.


Want to purchase this book? Here are some affiliate links to it:
   

Palace of Stone winner! Plus some questions answered

Ok guys, I couldn't choose my favorite question, so it was a random drawing. Congratulations, Shelly! And I can answer the questions Shelly asked:
Did she recognize you? Yep! We're pretty much best friends by now. (Either that or you tend to get a handle on your stalkers' faces.)
Did you call the phone to find it? No! I don't think we would have even noticed it was missing until after we had left -- it was a seriously lucky save.

Shelly wins!

Other questions I can answer:
Kayla asked about the Austenland movie. So did I, in the signing line. She said it is DONE. Done! She has seen it! (And that it is quirky. She loved it, but it's not super mainstream, being directed by Jerusha Hess and all. To which I say, of course! I was expecting that.) She has no idea, zero, nada, zilch about distribution. She said it's much more expensive to distribute a movie than it is to make it (to which I said, "same as a book, then") and it may go to festivals or something but she really has no idea. So, Kayla, I think you and me need to find out the hidden location of the footage, and then go there, with popcorn and muddy buddies and such and just refuse to leave until they let us see it. Unless you have ninja skillz, in which case we could steal it, watch it, and return it without anyone being worse off! I mean c'mon, I'd still totally pay to see it in a theater.

Jennifer Coolidge, R, plays Miss Charming. She tweeted this picture.
I found it on Connie Onnie's blog. 

Alex asked: I own Princess Academy but haven't read it yet. So my question is this: How eager should I be to read the first one in order to read the second? To which I said: If I were you I would NOT read the second until I had read the first. Unlike her Bayern series, with this one the story is a direct sequel and there would be major spoilers that, if you were me, you would regret being spoiled about.

The newest cover of the newest edition of Princess Academy.
Notice that it is not "The" Princess Academy. 

Stacey asked if she could win, and thus read her first Shannon Hale book. The answer to that is that she could have won, but sadly didn't. I'm so sad I didn't have a dozen copies -- one for each of you! Alas. If  I were going to read a Shannon Hale book for the first ever time, I would read The Goose Girl. That is the one I read first, and I was pretty much hooked for life. If you can't find that one at your library, I'm sure they'll have Princess Academy, because it got a Newbery Honor.

Her first book is the first Shannon Hale book you should read!

Anna would ask Shannon "who her favorite author is and/or who she is inspired by" -- just so happens that I've heard her answer this question lots of times, and noticed that without fail she always mentions Robin McKinley. This time around, she also mentioned Lloyd Alexander.

This is a book by Robin McKinley.
More books that Shannon Hale recommends, here!

Ok that's it for me tonight. Longest winner announcement ever! I have more KidLitCon recap stuff for you though. Coming soon.

KidLitCon 2012 - Day 0 + PALACE OF STONE GIVEAWAY

My KidLitCon adventure began a day before the actual conference, so I'm calling this installment of the report "Day 0."

On this lovely Thursday, I met up with my friends Rachel and Marie just after 1 p.m. We drove the three hours to Chicago in style - with Rachel at the wheel and lots of yummy snacks. Ladies' road trips are the best, and the talk always makes the time fly.

Our first stop in Chicago was IKEA. (I know, this has nothing to do with KidLitCon or even books but just wait! I am about to impress you with my amazingness!) At IKEA I helped Rachel and Marie get their furnitures all picked out and such, and I finally got a new set of measuring cups for myself. I've been missing the 1/4 cup for a long time, since I melted it that one day. (Wait for it ...)

Rachel, on a spinny cow stool.

Marie, on a pink plastic chair.

We were about to check out when -- oh no! -- Rachel had lost the claim slip for the bed she was buying. The checkout lady called up to the furniture lady and while they tried to get it sorted, I slipped back into the warehouse part to look for the missing paper. Three aisles and two false alarms later, I found it! (Permission to be amazed: granted.) And where did I find it? Underneath Rachel's cell phone. That's right, her phone was almost lost forever in IKEA Chicago. (And now I am taking a bow, to all your applause.)

Quickly, we loaded our purchases into Rachel's Expedition and zoomed off to Anderson's Bookshop (and here's where the books come in). We snuck in just a minute or two late for Shannon Hale's appearance.

Shannon gave as charming and vivacious a presentation as I have ever seen her give. She was, in fact, jumping up and down at one point. Very lively. She took questions from the audience and talked about how going back to writing Miri's voice (for Palace of Stone) was easy for her -- typically, she said, she starts with a story and then finds the character in the drafts. This time, of course, she knew Miri well and had to find the story.

Shannon told us that she is working on a series of Easy Readers, to be called The Princess in Black. The series was inspired by her then-four-year-old daughter who was wearing a skirt and naming the colors. "Pink is a girl color, purple is a girl color, but black isn't a girl color," she said. Shannon protested. Her daughter countered, "Princesses don't wear black." So the books will be about a pretty pink-clad princess who, by night, dresses in black and rides out to do battle with monsters. She is also working on a science fiction book set in the present day -- as yet untitled.


After questions, Shannon Hale signed books. And this is where things start to get lucky for you, Evereaders. I couldn't wait until the end of September to read a Shannon Hale book that came out in August. And I couldn't get a spot in the signing line without ordering a book from Anderson's. So . . . I have an extra, signed copy for one of you!

A signed copy of this excellent book, delivered to your mailbox?
Learn how to win, below!

Just leave a comment on this post (perhaps you will tell me a question you would have asked Shannon Hale?) to be entered in the contest. Whoever asks my most favorite question will win. Or, if I can't decide, it will be a random drawing. Either way, I will announce the winner next Wednesday, October 10.

{This contest is now closed, but you're still welcome to comment!}

Good luck! I hope you win!

The three of us at Wendy's after the signing.
Why did I take no photos of Shannon Hale?
It is a mystery even to myself.

p.s. Oh yeah! After the bookstore we went to dinner and then to our hotel. I was very relieved that it wasn't shady -- since I booked it online two nights before. For some odd reason I got the biggest thrill walking into the hotel room. I yelled, "We're here!" Somehow being in the hotel made New York and KidLitCon the next day seem so much more real. Day 1 report, coming soon!

What book brings back happy childhood memories for you?

First, the winners of our E-book Giveaway:

Strawberry Girl goes to Ruel!

The Paper Bag Princess goes to Annaliese!

Congrats, you two! Since this is an e-book giveaway, I don't need your physical address, just the email address you want the file sent to, and what format you'd like to recieve it in (Kindle, Nook, iPad, kobo, or Sony reader). Send that info my way by July 7 to claim your prize.

Now, what were your favorite books from childhood? Evereaders responded:

• Father Fox's Pennyrhymes by Clyde Watson
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner
• Little Bear books by Elsie Holmelund Minarik
• Fanny's Dream by Caralyn Buehner
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
• The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson
• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch 

  

 

A digital copy of Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater is still up for grabs! Lots of info about this charming book can be found on its wikipedia page. Comment and let me know if you'd like to win. 

What childhood favorites are missing from our list?

Alysa

E-book Giveaway: Childhood Favorites

Hello there! Which of these three lovely e-books would you like to win? All three of these are childhood favorites of mine.

Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

I remember reading Strawberry Girl with my mother in early elementary school, and loving it! The funny thing is, I don't remember anything about the book. I just remember that I loved it. I'd enter to win this one just so I could refresh my memory (and so I could read it aloud to my kids when they got to elementary school)!

Apparently, it is the story of Birdie and her family on the Florida frontier. They are trying to start a strawberry farm despite droughts, cold snaps and dastardly neighbors. It won the Newbery medal.

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

I read this one a couple of years ago, as an adult. I couldn't remember if I'd read it as a child or not, so I decided to give it a try. It was utterly charming. It's the sweet story of unassuming Mr. Popper and how he accidentally ends up with a set of performing penguins that make life grand.

Not long after I read Mr. Popper's Penguins, I heard a movie version was coming out starring Jim Carey. After seeing the trailer, I decided I'd pass on seeing it. So, if you saw the movie (or it's trailer) and were underwhelmed, you might try the book.

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

The Paper Bag Princess is one of my very favorite picture books. I loved it as a kid and I love it now. It was one of the first picture books I bought when I moved away from home.  It is the story of Elizabeth, a lovely princess who cleverly rescues her handsome prince, Ronald. The story ends with an intriguing twist, and is beautifully illustrated.

This happy little giveaway will have three winners. It is sponsored by Open Road Media, as part of their summer reading campaign, "Avoid the Summer Slide!" Check out their video -- it made me smile.

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To enter the contest:
Giveaway Closed! Leave a comment telling me which of the above-featured e-books you'd like to win, and what book brings back happy childhood memories for you. I'm looking forward to your answers! Winners will be announced on July 5th, 2012.

Alysa

Winner! The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent

Man, just typing the title of the book is tricky! It's a tongue twister for sure. Without further ado, congratulate Kate! She is the lucky winner!

Sidenote: I loved Kate's comment. She said

at one point, i really believed that if i ate a watermelon seed, a watermelon plant would grow in my stomach. i was really careful about seeding my watermelon!

This is the part where I would usually say "Kate, email me your address so that I can ship the book to you." But Kate and I are friends in real life! And, happily, Kate just moved in across the street from me. So this is one package that will be hand delivered.

Giveaway [CLOSED] : The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent (signed!)

The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent by Laura Ripes, illustrated by Aaron Zenz

So, this is exciting!

Today I have a giveaway for you! A little while back the kids (and dad Aaron Zenz) at Bookie Woogie interviewed Laura Ripes and talked about her book The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent, which Aaron Zenz illustrated. It's a very fun interview. At the end of it, they had a giveaway (spoiler: I WON!) of two copies of the book -- one to keep and one to share. I thought that was so clever.

So now YOU can win! But first let me tell you a little about the book.

As you may have guessed from the title, The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent is a tongue-twister book with loads of S's. It follows Sammy Sanders as he searches for some way to show that all this suspicious evidence he has collected comes from a spaghetti-slurping sewer serpent.

I love that Sammy grows over the course of the short narrative -- at the beginning of the book, he's got something to prove, literally. By the end, he is a little more relaxed and realizes that knowing the truth for himself is satisfying, whether or not he can prove it.

I love the text -- plenty of S's without overdoing it (though I have to wonder where S's were cut -- in her Bookie Woogie interview Ms. Ripes says they were "reined in a lot.") And I like that it is a complete story delivered in short snippets. (read: Not too much text per picture for my 3- and 1-year-olds.)

The illustrations are charming and simple, realistic with a little bit of exaggeration -- very fitting for the story. Mr. Zenz works in colored pencil and with every project he does, he saves the pencil tips that break over the course of it. I'll have to ask him how many tips this project produced. :)

To enter to win a hardcover copy of The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent, signed by the author and illustrator, leave a comment on this post. If you'd like, you can talk about a time when you were gullible, like Ms. Ripes says she was in childhood, or when you "got" someone who was gullible.

The winner will be announced in one week, on Tuesday June 5.
Check out Everead's Giveaway Policy.

Good luck, and I hope that you win! It's a cute one.

p.s. Looking for a good book to give to a baby? Everead's top 5 picks.

UPDATE: Aaron Zenz says, "I busted 141 pencil tips in the making of The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent. :)"

Vote for Everead -- send Alysa to NYC!

The Independent Book Blogger Awards are being decided over on Goodreads. Grand prize? A trip to Book Expo America in New York City this fall. 

Golly it would be so awesome to go to BEA.  I'm not getting my hopes up too high, but just thinking about all the authors to meet, book industry professionals to connect with and all the free books (hello!) has me drooling. I've been imagining myself at BEA for a couple of years but, alas, the stars have not aligned for me yet. 

Which is where you come in. Vote for Everead (in the Children's and YA category) between now and April 23!

The rules: The polls allow one vote per person in each of the four categories, and voters must be Goodreads members so that we can accurately tally the results. When polls close, the top 15 blogs in each category will become finalists.

Winners will be selected from among the finalists by a panel of industry judges. Each of the four category winners will receive a pass to BookExpo America (June 5-7, 2012) with airfare and hotel accommodation in New York City.

I got to choose 5 posts from between Feb. 2011 and Feb. 2012 to represent Everead. You can go to my entry page to see which blog posts I chose. :D

And, hey, now's as good a time as any to say this: Thank you for reading Everead. It means a lot to me, silly as that may seem. But I'm happy I can share reading with you, and hope that you get something good from this blog!

--Alysa

Princess Academy Winner

Congratulations to Laura Beth!

You've won a signed paperback of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I shall look for your acceptance speech in the comments, and send you a confirmation email once your prize has shipped.

For the rest of you, I'd like to know what book you're interested in winning from Everead's next contests. Leave a comment naming a genre you like, an author you prefer, or a title you'd love to get your hands on.

Princess Academy Giveaway CLOSED

Shannon Hale has written a sequel to her Newbery Honor winning Princess Academy. Be still my heart! I just can't get enough of Shannon Hale!

Will the Princess Academy sequel have cover art by Alison Jay?

On Sunday last, the official title of Princess Academy 2 was announced on Shannon's website:

PALACE OF STONE

Ooh, I like it! Its so atmospheric! Linder stone is so important in Princess Academy, and Palace of Stone sounds ominous and mysterious at the same time that it suggests the palace in the lowlands being made from the mountains.

In honor of the title announcement, Everead is giving away a signed* paperback copy of Princess Academy! The contest closes on Feb 16, 2012. Palace of Stone is due out in Fall 2012, so we will all have plenty of time to read or re-read Princess Academy. To enter the contest, fill out the form linked below. *Hint: you might want to subscribe to the blog or to our new Everead newsletter. (Links in the sidebar!)

CONTEST HAS CLOSED, 
but you can see all our posts about Shannon Hale here!

What do you think of the title? On a scale of 1-10, how excited are you for this book? Having trouble with the entry form? This is my first time using one, so email me or leave a comment below with any comments.

The winner gets this book!

*ETA: I forgot! It's a signed copy!

Guest Review: Dolphin Tale: A Tale of True Friendship

Today I have a lovely review for you from 8-year-old Joy. She was the winner of our Winter's Tale contest in 2009, and apparently the story stuck with her! She found another book about Winter (the rescued dolphin given a prosthetic tail). Take it away, Joy!


Dolphin Tale: A Tale of True Friendship by Emma Ryan


Guess what! I have the new book based off the movie Dolphin Tale. It is called Dolphin Tale: A Tale of True Friendship and its got extra details. It says who saved Winter and how she got out of the net. A boy saved her with his pocket knife. I really liked reading it. I put my nose right in it because I was so excited! This book will be part of my collection of stuff that I got from your website. I can't wait to get Dolphin Tale: The Junior Novel. (now you push shift and the right pinky, so it will do dot, dot. then you do this one up here, and it makes like a sideways smiley face).  :)

...Well, whaddaya know, it was!

So I wrote a little story for the aforementioned contest.

The Princess and the Robot

If you like it, register for the site (which is simple, and not spammy) and "heart" it so that I have a chance to win. There are nearly 200 entries, so it is a little daunting, but I only have to get in the top 15 to be considered for the grand prize.

Personally, I think I did a fantastic job. Ashley helped me with the editing.

"Bellissima always gets her way. But when a suitor comes calling during the robotics fair, it could throw a wrench in her plans."

Remember, if I win the awesome prize (books by Shannon Hale and an Amazon Gift Card) I will give the books away here on the blog! :D

Whew! & So this looks fun.

Hey, weren't those guest posts awesome?  Whew, they took more work to put together than I originally thought they would, but of course the hardest work was done by their authors. And it was totally worth it! Many thanks to those who left comments on them. We were featured on the homepage of the Center for Children's books, did you see?

In other news, doesn't this contest look fun? Basically write a less than 1500 word story about a prince or princess and you could win awesome Shannon Hale prizes. Y'all know how I feel about Shannon Hale prizes. So I'm going to enter! And, since I already own the two Shannon Hale titles that are part of the prize, if I win then I will do a giveaway here! I've already got a start on my story...

Alysa

A couple of links

I quite enjoyed reading what Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 had to say about possible award winners this year.  I haven't the foggiest about who will win this year, but going through her picks I just kept adding titles to my TBR (To Be Read) list.

I also quite enjoyed entering this Crossed giveaway, hosted by the author. Cuz I know I want to read it! (everead review of book 1: Matched)

You might like to know

...about this awesome contest!  I heard about it in this really great interview of the author, Deborah Underwood, on Shelf Elf (a.k.a. the blog of fantastic Kerry Millar who organizes the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction panel). I simply ADORE Renata Liwska's illustrations.  I was introduced to them in Little Panda (thanks to Bookie Woogie).  Anyway, I have read neither The Quiet Book nor The Loud Book (slacker! I know! They're on my hold list at the library now). But they look very fun.  Good luck winning! (But, you know, not too good of luck, because I want to win.)

Also, how about some contests of our own soon, eh?  I have some books here you might like.

Dear Teacher + a giveaway!

The first day of school is fast approaching, and Michael wants to be there, honestly, but what's a kid to do when he has been hired by the Secret Service to find a lost explorer, who gives him a treasure map that leads him from Egypt to the Amazon, where he gets attacked by a pirate king he must outwit if he's ever going to make it back in time for that start-of-the-school-year math test?

Dear Teacher is a series of letters from the unfortunate Michael that explain all the reasons why he just won't be able to make it back to school ("P.S. It's probably best not to mention this to Mom if you see her in the supermarket again."). It was originally published in England---hence the Dear Miss cover you see here.

I found this to be a cute and entertaining children's book---one that, even though there are more than one or two sentences on a page, my two-year-old was actually able to sit through. The illustrations are colorful and engaging, and the envelope-style of the book is fun. The publishers are generously offering a copy to one of our readers who comments on this post. So comment away!

Here are the details:

*One comment per person.
*No entries after noon, Central time, Wednesday, July 7.
*Winner randomly drawn and announced by July 8.

****Giveaway Closed****