Book2Movie Alert: The Tale of Despereaux

Kate DeCamillo’s Newberry Award winning book, The Tale of Despereaux, hits the big screen today!

I’m hearing that in some ways it’s actually better than the book (I can’t believe it!) and in others it’s not as good (isn't that what I always say). I had so much fun reading the book, I’ll have to check it out for myself.

For more reading fun, be sure to read my previous post and visit The Tale of Despereaux movie website.



Enjoy the holidays. I'll see ya in January!

Book2Movie Alert: Marley & Me

John Grogan wrote Marley & Me about his real-life experience with a wild-and-crazy Labrador Retriever. Now there are a whole slew of Marley & Me books. One for every age group. You should definitely read at least one for fun!

And on Christmas Day there’ll be a movie too. It looks seriously funny.

And cute.

And wild!

And you’ll love it a lot more if you’ve already read the book.

Charles M. Schultz Birthday

Charles Schulz, creator of Snoopy and the beloved Peanuts gang, would have been 86 today.

He was the most widely syndicated cartoonist ever. His work appeared in over 2,300 newspapers and he published more than 1400 books. He won both the Peabody and Emmy. Wow. What a legacy.

Read some fun Peanuts trivia and comic strips.



Thank you, Charles!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard Contest

You can visit J.K. Rowling. At the National Library of Scotland. She’ll even read her brand-new book The Tales of Beedle The Bard to you.

Say what?

It’s true. Five lucky winners (and their chaperones) will do just that!

How, you say.

Well… I’m glad you asked.

It’s simple. Write a 200-word essay explaining how you’ve helped others. See the Official Contest Rules here.

Not familiar with The Tales of Beedle The Bard? Read my previous post. Oooh. Check out the Harry Potter prequel, too!

And, if you win... say hi to J.K. for me!

Just Out… Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book

Now you can have your own Wimpy Kid... ahem... journal! The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book is on shelves now!

Answer questions like:

“What was the best dream you ever had?”
“The worst thing you ever ate?”
“The best secret you ever heard?”
“The most trouble you ever got in for something that wasn’t even your fault to begin with?”

Filled with Greg and Rowley’s art and comics, plus plenty of ruled and blank pages for your own stuff, this book looks seriously cool. You can create your own reading fun!

Check out author/illustrator Jeff Kinney and the Official Diary of a Wimpy Kid Website.

And don’t miss Diary of a Wimpy Kid on funbrain.com.

The 25 Best Picture Books for Children

Examiner.com listed The 25 Best Picture Books ever written.

“Best” according to them means we want to read the book over and over again, it stays in our hearts and minds, the words and pictures work together, and it uses language well.

They show the list countdown-style from number 25 through 1. I’ll cut to the chase… the top five Best Picture Books ever written are…

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Great books indeed! I love every one of them still! Thank goodness, we’re never too old for picture books.

I think it’s interesting that all of these books are at least 45 years old. That says something for their timelessness.

Of course, there are great picture books being written today too. You can see a few of my faves here.

See the full Examiner article here.

I’d love to know… which picture books do you have fun reading? Share them with us in the comments section below!

Inkdeath is Out… Inkdeath is Out!!!

An early release, yay!!!

I haven’t finished it yet (darn it), so I can’t say much. But, so far it’s goooo-ood! I took it to my daughter’s soccer game and drew a crowd! See... reading is fun and creates friendships.

I’ll be back with a full Inkdeath report—soon. Just wanted to let you know… run… do not walk… to the nearest book store!

Read a great Q&A With Cornelia Funke here. There is loads of fun info on her site!

The Inkheart movie, starring Brendan Fraser (you know... George of the Jungle), is due out January 23rd. Check out the preview—do you think it’s true to the book?



What! You haven’t read Inkheart?!?!? Aaaaaaaaaaaah! You know how I feel about this!

Get thee a copy. Quickly.

Seriously!

It’s awesome reading fun!!!

Inkheart… Inkspell… Inkdeath

Inkheart and Inkspell are two of my faves—I love these books by Cornelia Funke. I’m nearly breathless waiting for the October 7th release of the final book Inkdeath.

Trust me.

Start now.

Read Inkheart.

Read Inkspell.

Hold your breath for Inkdeath.

Roald Dahl Day

Tomorrrow is Roald Dahl Day. Check out the site for Fun Activities and Downloads. There’s even more fun stuff here.

Seriously, what’s it take to get your own day? That sounds so cool!

Dubbed the most successful children’s writer in the world, Roald Dahl's stories have been translated into over 34 languages. His most popular books include The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach , Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG. See a complete list here.

Check out his official website. Is that chicken doing what I think it’s doing? Yikes!

This is just the excuse I needed to read tomorrow! Care to join me in some reading fun?

What Book Got You Hooked?

First Book is taking a vote. You’re invited to tell the whole world which book got you hooked on reading! The whole… wide… world, just imagine—they’re waiting to hear from you! Cool.

Barbara Park, Christopher Paolini, Eric Carle, Gary Paulsen, James Patterson, Kate DiCamillo, Lois Lowry, R.L. Stein and a boatload of other authors and famous people (and me too!) already voted and you can read about the books they love (Has anyone else read the book I voted for?).

Plus, you get to vote for one lucky state to win fifty thousand books! How much reading fun is that?!?

You can even vote every single day, but only until September 15th.

So Many Books… So Little Time

Books
~ a poem by Arnold Lobel

Books to the ceiling.
Books to the sky.
My pile of books
Are a mile high.
How I love them!
How I need them!
I'll have a long beard
By the time I read them.

Two and a half million copies of Brisingr are headed to bookstores!

Of magic and dragons...

"Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep."

September 20th brings Christopher Paolini’s much-awaited third book in the best-selling Inheritance Cycle series to eager readers everywhere (yes… there will be midnight parties!).

You can read or listen to an excerpt of Eragon, the first book in this high fantasy series, here.

You can read or listen to an excerpt of Eldest, the second book, here.

You can read an excerpt from the third chapter of Brisingr here.

You can become a Fricaya Member and enter to win exclusive Inheritance prizes here.

You can sign up for the Alagaësia Newsletter and receive exclusive updates from Christopher regarding all things Inheritance here.

You can check out Eragon’s favorite books and music, read Christopher Paolini’s answers to fan questions, play an interactive fiction game, learn from the Eragon pronunciation guide, see which character you are most like, download a screensaver, and put your knowledge to the test here.

You can play the new, interactive online game Vroengard Academy here.

This should keep you busy for a while. Here’s to having reading fun!

Harry Potter Returns… Sort Of

Good news for Harry Potter fans!

You probably remember that Dumbledore gave Hermione a book in Deathly Hallows. A book of five wizarding tales. Tales which contained clues critical to the destruction of You-Know-Who.

Well… drum roll please…

The Tales of Beedle the Bard will now be available to the rest of the world on December 4th!!!

The book will include all five wizarding fairy tales (only one - The Tale of the Three Brothers - is told in Deathly Hallows), AND introduction and illustrations by J.K. Rowling (who knew she can draw too!), AND commentary and previously unrecorded historical backstory by none other than Albus himself.

Pretty sure J.K. has another hit on her hands.

You can see pictures of the original book created here, pre-order here, and read Amazon’s exclusive interview with J.K. here.

J.K. always makes reading fun!

Time Paradox

I have a confession to make. Big. Huge. Like… really large.

I haven’t read Artemis Fowl.

Not one. Ever. I mean never.

*Sigh*

I want to. Really, I do. I just haven’t gotten there yet.

But I thought you should know (assuming you’re over the age of 12)… the teenage criminal mastermind strikes again. Book six, The Time Paradox, is on shelves now.

I hear that Artemis really is reading fun. I hope letting you know about his latest book redeems me. Just a little bit.

Check out Eoin Colfer’s site (it’s pronounced Owen). The Artemis Fowl site. And the Artemis Fowl graphic novel.

Whew. I feel better. ;0)

Beyond the Deepwoods

At about one o’clock this morning I finished my latest read, the first book in The Edge Chronicles series: Beyond the Deepwoods.

Twig, a thirteen-year-old boy, was abandoned at birth and raised by woodtrolls. His mom is afraid the sky pirates will kidnap him so she sends Twig to live with an uncle. Twig doesn’t make it though. He does what woodtrolls never do—he strays from the path.

So begins this non-stop adventure! Bizarre creatures—hammelhorns, flat-heads, shrykes, nightwaifs, wig wigs, and more bring danger and intrigue at a breakneck pace. The beloved banderbear. The ever-watchful Caterbird. The evil Gloamglozer. Twig meets them all on his journey through the deepwoods.

Rocks float and trees eat people; British co-authors, Paul Stewart and Chris Riddel have co-created a completely new world—the line drawings bring amazing detail, further drawing the reader in.

This book is recommended for nine to twelve-year-olds, but I would say that those ahem, somewhat older will appreciate it too. I’ve already ordered Stormchaser, the second book!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the young lady at Barnes and Noble who made the recommendation!

Check out the Edge of Chronicles website, too. It’s awesome! Beyond the Deepwoods is definitely reading fun!

Win James Patterson’s Newest Book

James Patterson’s newest book, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, isn’t due in stores until July 21st, but you can win a copy for FREE now!

“James Patterson's exciting new series is full of high wish-fulfillment fantasy, humor, and of course, all of the suspense that Patterson fans have come to expect--only this time, it's literally out of this world.” Read an excerpt here.

Enter the JamesPatterson.com Sweepstakes by signing up for the JP newsletter. You get entered in the contest and get the scoop on exclusive contests and content. Stuff like advance chapters of upcoming books, contests and special offers, the latest movie news, and James Patterson appearances.

Sweet.

Barnes and Noble Gives Books Away—For FREE

Summer Reading with Andrew Clements is on!

This is the deal for first through sixth graders...

Read eight books of their choosing
Print out the Summer Reading Journal
Tell about their favorite part of the books they listed
Do four fun activities (they really do look fun)
Get it all signed by a parent
Take it to a Barnes and Noble by September 2nd

The free book list isn’t on the site, but I was in the store the other day and there were some AWESOME choices. A nice selection of classics, award-winners, and new releases. Check out the rules here.

Don’t miss out on this one! I’m bummed; I’m too old to participate ;0(

Oh! When you turn in your Summer Reading Journal and get your FREE book, you are automatically entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of an Andrew Clements book. There’s an exclusive interview with him under the rules section and a store locater on the right. It just keeps getting better!

Seriously. I’m sooo jealous.

Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

Have you heard of The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards? They’ve recognized excellence in children’s and young adult literature since 1967.

Dude, that’s a long time.

This is a really prestigious award, but it sure does have a funky name!

It turns out that like 300 hundred years ago kids didn’t have books (aaaaaaaaaah!!!); the monks taught them with a wooden paddle that had an alphabet and a verse glued to the surface. It got the name hornbook because a piece of transparent horn protected the verse.

Eeew.

Anyways, here are the 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners:









Nonfiction: The Wall by Peter Sis

Fiction and Poetry: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney

Picture Book: At Night by Jonathan Bean

Special Citation: The Arrival by Shaun Tan by Shaun Tan

Be sure to check out the cool author websites and the past winners, too.