Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop hosted on I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Cindy @ Books Complete Me for co-hosting this hop!

This Giveaway Hop is huge.  There are over 250 blogs signed up to host a giveaway so check out the other blogs to enter all the giveaways.

Giveaway # 1: YA Pack

A signed Advanced Reader's Copy of SHINE by Lauren Myracle
Description from GoodReads:
When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. 

Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

A signed Advanced Reader's Copy of PURPLE DAZE by Sherry Shahan
Description from GoodReads:

Purple Daze is a young adult novel set in suburban Los Angeles in 1965. Six high school students share their experiences and feelings in interconnected free verse and traditional poems about war, feminism, riots, love, racism, rock 'n' roll, high school, and friendship.

Although there have been verse novels published recently, none explore the changing and volatile 1960's in America— a time when young people drove a cultural and political revolution. With themes like the costs and casualties of war, the consequences of sex, and the complex relationships between teens, their peers, and their parents, this story is still as relevant today as it was 45 years ago.

Giveaway #2: MG Pack

An Advanced Reader's Copy of THE EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens
Description from GoodReads:
Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.

Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.

Until now.

Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem.  And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.

The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world.

An Advanced Reader's Copy of WE ARE NOT EATEN BY YAKS by C. Alexander London
Description from GoodReads:
Eleven-year-old twins Oliver and Celia Navel live on the 4-1/2th floor of the Explorers Club with their father, Dr. Navel. Their mother, Dr. Navel, has been missing for years. So when an explorer shows up with a clue as to where his wife could be, Dr. Navel drags Oliver and Celia to Tibet to find her. Once there, the twins fall out of airplanes, encounter Yetis, travel through waterfalls, and end up in the Demon Fortress of the Warrior King where they—just possibly—might find their mother and save their father from the Poison Witches. Thing is, they would much rather be watching television. And if their trip doesn't work out as planned, the twins could end up as slaves to Sir Edmund Thitheltorpe III, an evil explorer with breath that smells like boiled carrots, who has it in for the whole Navel family.

Rules for the Contest:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section, you must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.
2.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. PDT on March 17, 2011 to 11:59 p.m. PDT on March 20th.
3.  You must be a follower of this blog to enter.
4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.
5.  You must indicate which giveaway that you would like to be entered into.  You may enter both.
6.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
8.  International participants are welcome to enter the contest.






Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hot Off The Press! New Picture Books (4)

This is a feature that I do weekly called Hot Off The Press!  based on my visits to Vroman's Bookstore and checking out their wall of new picture books.  This week's post is a couple of days late but there were so many good ones that I didn't want to wait. Here are the 5 new releases that stood out from the pile last week:

All The Way To America: The Story Of A Big Italian Family And A Little Shovel
Author/Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2011)
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years

This was my favorite of the pile.  Yaccarino conveys a sense of connection between generation after generation with the use of a little shovel that is passed from one generation to the next. The story begins with Yaccarino's great grandfather as he leaves Italy and travels to the United States.  Each generation shares more in common than just a small shovel.  Children and parents sharing this story can also tell their own family histories as they share in the Yaccarino family history.


Check out the Book Trailer:

A Mango In The Hand: A Story Told Through Proverbs
Author: Antonio Sacre
Illustrator: Sebastia Serra
Publisher: Abrahms Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2011)
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years

Another top pick for the week included Sacre's A Mango In The Hand.  I enjoyed the multi-cultural/multi-lingual book as well as the lesson learned by Francisco as he prepares for his special day. Serra's beautiful illustrations bring the text to life.  I was pleased that rather than one or two Spanish words interjected into the text there were whole sentences which were then explained/translated in the context of the paragraph.  I am looking forward to sharing this one with my students.

Pirates Don't Take Baths
Author/Illustrator: John Segal
Publisher: Penguin (March 3, 2011)
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years

Some books just make you smile or laugh and Pirates Don't Take Baths is one of them for me.  A little pig sets out to avoid taking a bath by telling his mom that he is a pirate or an astronaut or a knight. However, each time he discovers something new which eventually leads to a fun ending.  I see this as being an enjoyable evening read aloud as part of the night-time routine.

Nurse, Solider, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War HeroAuthor: Marissa Moss

Illustrator: John Hendrix
Publisher: Abrahms Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2011)
Audience: Ages 7 to 10 years

With this being National Women's History Month, I couldn't leave this story of Sarah Edmonds off the list.  This non-fiction picture book tells how Sarah Edmonds at 19 decides to dress as a man and joins a Michigan Army Regiment to fight the Confederacy during the Civil War.  Not only was she a solider, but also served as a nurse and when her unit needed someone to go undercover, she didn't shy away from the task.  An inspirational story and a nice addition to any picture book collection of prominent or influential women.

Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted To Take A Nap
Author/Illustrator: J.C. Phillips
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 3, 2011)
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years

A companion novel to Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted To Be Noticed.  In this installment, the story picks up with our Ninja hero who at first doesn't want to take a nap but then changes his mind after being tired out from attempts to hide from all of his admirers. With a little help from some a wise elder, our little ninja develops the perfect plan to shake his followers and sneak in a nap.

Author Visit: James Burks

On Friday, March 11th, we had a very special visitor at our school.  Illustrator turned author, James Burks stopped by to chat and have some fun.

First Up: Lunch with Read-a-thon Winners -
The prize for the top four readers in our first annual Read-a-Thon was to have lunch with James.  We started off with a Gator Pizza (pepperoni) and a Gabby Pizza (Veggies) and a cheese pizza just in case.  Around the table, students asked James lots of questions about how he came up with the idea for Gabby and Gator.  And of course, why does Gator like to eat dogs.

James gave us all kinds of secrets at lunch.  I had to sit on my hands so as not to grab my camera and take pictures of things I can't post yet.  The students were so excited.  They got to see a book trailer James made that won't be out until September, and a sneak peak at his new graphic novel to be released in 2012, and he even flipped through his journal.  He then showed the girls how to draw Gabby & Gator.  There is some surprising talent in this group.

Next Up: Special Edition Literacy Café:

After lunch, we invited a group of students to participate in a modified Literacy Café.  We rotated groups of students through 3 activities.

One activity was centered around No Name Calling and how to respond when you are bullied (one of the themes in Gabby & Gator is around bullying and standing up to a bully).  Children created their own comic strips talking about how to respond to a bully.  They also made Gator bookmarks saying "My name is _______. Not _______." They filled in the last blank with a name that they had been called in the past.  (In the book, Gabby says to the bully "My name is Gabby. Not Freak.").

In the book, Gabby is very pro recycling and loves playing the Tuba.  Gator enjoys dancing with her.  Our Café participants made musical instruments out of recycled materials.  Gabby would be proud.

Of course, the students loved learning about how James' creates his characters and were mesmerized by watching James draw.

No author visit would be complete without an opportunity to get a book signed by the author/illustrator.  James was kind enough to sign books for students and draw in each book.

If you want to know more about James Burks and his art and books, check out his website here.  You can find James on twitter: @jamesburksart and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/james.burks

I leave you with a fun little video from our event:

Book Review - Once In A Full Moon

Author: Ellen Schreiber
Publisher: Kate Tegen Books (December 28, 2010)
Audience: Young Adult
Source: For Review (Dark Days Supernatural Tour)

The story:

Celeste Parker has a pretty good life. She lives with both her parents in a four bedroom house in Eastside, the good part of town. She has two best friends with whom she is super-close and is dating the most popular boy in school, Nash. Sure, she’s not really in love with Nash, but it’s a nice, normal life.

Celeste’s nice, normal life, however, changes dramatically after a visit to the local psychic who warns Celeste, “Beware of the woods.. of the sounds of howling. There could be outsiders who will turn... underneath the glow of the full moon.” Celeste doesn’t really believe in the prediction until she gets caught in the woods during a freak snow storm and ends up surrounded by wolves. Things look pretty bleak for Celeste until Brandon, the sexy new boy in school from the wrong side of town, jumps in to save the day. The confrontation leaves Brandon with a gash on his hand and Celeste’s full attention.

The encounter in the woods changes both Brandon and Celeste forever. Is there any truth to the Werewolf of Logan’s Run legend? And, more importantly, can two people from such different backgrounds find enough common ground to fall in love?

The verdict:

Ellen Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses series is a big hit at my library with the tween set, and I know this one will be just as popular. Celeste is drastically different than Raven, but Once in a Full Moon has all the things that has made Vampire Kisses so popular: cute boys, romance, and things that go bump in the night.

What I like most about Once in a Full Moon is that there is a chapter entitled “Love and the Library.” (Hey, I’m a librarian. We eat stuff like that up.) What I like second most is the realistic portrayal of high school social structures and peer pressure. I think when most teens hear “peer pressure” they think drugs and sex, but this book shows how the opinions of friends often has a bearing on other actions.

As a librarian, I love having Schreiber’s books on my shelves. They’re my go-to recommendation for supernatural loving kids making the transition from middle grade novels to young adult. They have all the romance and horror these kids are looking for without the shock and blush factor of some other YA titles. Bottom line, Once in a Full Moon is a must have for any school or public library that caters to the late elementary to high school crowd.

Thanks to Miss Tammy for the guest review.  Tammy Blackwell is the Young Adult Services Coordinator for a public library system in Kentucky. When she's not reading, writing, or cataloging books, she's sleeping.  She is the author of the YA Novel Destiny Binds.

Early Readers? Transitional Books? Early Chapter Books? - Books for 1st to 3rd Graders (2)

Since a goal of mine is to read more books directed towards young readers grades 1st to 3rd, I will be doing occasional posts on what I am reading.  Here is the second installment in this feature and the focus is on early chapter books that appeal to boy readers.

Note: The challenge is to find books that appeal to an audience that is very diverse in their reading abilities.  In a first grade, a teacher may have children that are barely reading common sight words to others who are reading sizeable chapter books.  Parents and teachers will always need to match the right book to the right reader, but here are some of the books that I have been reading lately that might engage a child in this transitional period.

 Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald

I may just like Stink better than his older sister Judy Moody (though she is a lot of fun too).  McDonald must have liked Stink too since he is featured in several books.  In this first book, Stink is afraid that he is shrinking and that he will always be the shortest kid in his class.  Stink also admires James Madison and would like to see Madison honored as well as Washington on President's Day.  The Stink books have just the right balance of humor, lessons to learn, and silly behaviors to engage readers and to not be annoying.  

Frankie Pickle And The Closet of Doom by Eric Wight

In Frankie Pickle, I would almost describe it as graphic novel meets chapter book.  This is a great transitional book for 1st to 3rd graders who aren't quite ready to give up illustrations but want to feel like they are reading something more.  This book would even work with a struggling reader in upper elementary.  Frankie is a bit of a dreamer with an active imagination and he is often finding himself to be a bit like Indiana Jones.  In the first installment, Frankie learns that a messy room may not be as fun as imagined.

Roscoe Riley Rules #1 Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate

In some ways, the Roscoe Riley series is geared for the younger end of the 1st to 3rd grade age span, but there is plenty of humor for those in 3rd grade too.  Roscoe tries to be helpful during a school play but of course there are always surprises.  Great characters, lots of laughs, and a lesson or two to learn.  As a principal, I have a special fondness for Roscoe and the Roscoes in my life.  

Zac Power #1: Poison Island by H. I. Larry

Most boys will ask about action/adventure books and Zac Power is full of action. Zac and his family often find themselves in the middle of some place trying to save the day and stop a villan.  Though Zac loves this, he can't necessarily share about his secret life to his friends.  The book definitely had a Spy Kids/Incredibles feel to it.  At times, I felt that the transitions were a bit choppy, but I definitely could see boys enjoying this book and liking all of the technology devices and different adventures Zac gets himself into. 





What early chapter books do you enjoy?  Do you have any ones that boys are particularly interested in reading?  Tell me about them in the comments.