The Dyerville Tales Blog Tour & Giveaway


In 2011, M. P. Kozlowsky released his debut novel, Juniper Berry.  I was excited to be able to participate in the blog tour and giveaway for his second book.  Thank you Walden Pond Press for organizing the tour and providing a signed hardcover of The Dyerville Tales for one lucky reader.

by M. P. Kozlowsky
Illustrations by Brian Thompson
Walden Pond Press (April 22, 2014)

Description of Dyerville Tales from the Publisher:
Neil Gaiman’s Coraline meets Anne Ursu’s Breadcrumbs in M. P. Kozlowsky’s The Dyerville Tales, a powerfully imaginative middle-grade novel that blurs the line between fantasy and reality, from the author of Juniper Berry.

 Vince Elgin is an orphan, having lost his mother and father in a fire when he was young. With only a senile grandfather he barely knows to call family, Vince was interned in a group home, dreaming that his father, whose body was never found, might one day return for him. When a letter arrives telling Vince his grandfather has passed away, he is convinced that if his father is still alive, he’ll find him at the funeral. He strikes out for the small town of Dyerville carrying only one thing with him: his grandfather’s journal. The journal tells a fantastical story of witches and giants and magic, one that can’t be true. But as Vince reads on, he finds that his very real adventure may have more in common with his grandfather’s than he ever could have known.

 Its unique voice and ability to combine creepiness with great story and character development make The Dyerville Tales a real standout middle-grade novel.

My thoughts on the book:
In the above description, The Dyerville Tales are compared to Coraline meets Breadcrumbs. However, it feels more like a modern twist on Grimm.  Two Vincents, the grandfather Vincent whose stories are told as tales, and the young Vincent who sets out to his grandfather's funeral and a journey to hopefully see his father again, find themselves on nearly parallel adventures to find hope and family. They are each pursued by a different nemesis and each must find their own way with the help of unlikely friends.

Kozlowsky spins together this complex tale filled very real characters whose lives are intertwined through curses and magic, and an old crone, a giant, a gnome, a talking horse and more.  The language in the story is beautiful and rich and provides a just right tone for this style of storytelling.

As you go on this journey with Vince and Vincent, you grow fond of the two heroes. You want to see them succeed and find yourself turning pages just to see what will happen next and will they find what they are searching for. However, I will caution that because of how the two tales are intertwined it does become a bit complex at times and a bit confusing.  There were a few spaces where I needed to re-read a passage to make sure that I did not over look an important detail that I would need later in the story.  When I arrived at the ending, I was a bit surprised and could not help speculating about whether another book would follow.

Students who enjoy scary tales will find a new favorite in this novel.  I suspect that they will also appreciate a number of the scenes in this book as well as the way Kozlowsky spins his tale.   
Illustration by Brian Thompson

Look for The Dyerville Tales by M. P. Kozlowsky at your local library or indie bookstore.

More about the author: M. P. Kozlowsky is also the author of Juniper Berry. A former schoolteacher, he lives in New York City with his wife and daughter. Visit him online at mpkozlowsky.com

Don't forget to check out all of the stops on the blog tour:

4/28 - Word Spelunking Book Blog 
4/29 - Book Smugglers
4/29 - KidLit Frenzy
4/30 - Mundie Moms
5/1 - Bunbury In the Stacks
5/2 - A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust
5/3 - The Book Rat
5/5 - Mundie Moms
5/6 - Bluestocking Thinking
5/7 - Small Review
5/7 - Paige in Training
5/8 - Novel Novice
5/9 - The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia
5/9 - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
5/9 - Buried in Books
5/10 - The Book Monsters
5/13 - The Flashlight Reader
5/14 - The Hiding Spot

Thanks to Walden Pond Press, one lucky reader (with a US mailing address) has the chance to win a signed hardcover copy of The Dyerville Tale.   Please complete the Rafflecopter below to enter the giveaway: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Slice of Life - It's hard building a reading community, or is it?

Slice of Life is hosted by Two Writing Teachers on Tuesdays.  Join us each week and come to love this awesome writing community.
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Six years ago, I had an epiphany about what my students needed.  At that time, I wasn't sure how I was going to help them get to where they needed to go.  I simply started to take one small step at a time. I am certain that I had moments of frustration. It was probably hard at times. However, I simply kept my goal in mind and tried to have as much fun along the way that I never really thought about it as being hard.

Initially, my goal was to help students improve their ability to read. Since I never really belonged to a community of readers as a child, I wasn't really thinking about developing a reading community at the time.  I knew others who liked to read, and I would tell someone what I was reading if they asked but there wasn't a lot of discussing books together.  I was actually sort of private with my reading.  Yet, somehow, I did realize that I needed to take my love for reading beyond my comfort zone and share it with others, especially if my students were going to become readers. I had this simple kernel of thought that began to grow inside me. If I am excited about books and I share that enthusiasm then maybe they will be excited about books.  And do you know what? It worked.

Of course along the way, I met other kindred spirits who also loved to read and who were further along the journey than I was. By being open to allowing my feet to follow the path wherever it would take me I met some amazing individuals who then connected me to other amazing people, and one of the things we all had in common was our love of books.

And then there are those days when I encounter teachers who say they want to build a reading community, but do not realize that what they are doing may be hindering their ability to do what they say they want.  Rather than looking at the journey, they are only looking at how hard the path is.  Instead of thinking that if this is something that you love then you will want to make time for it, they simply get caught up in all of the other tasks clamoring for their attention.

When I look back on my journey, I know that I could have as easily wandered down another path rather than the one I ended up on. What if I had not found a few books that re-kindled my love for reading? What if I had not met some of the inspiring teachers on twitter and Facebook that I have since met? What if I had never written an email to an author whose book touched me deeply and in turn received a response back from that author? I probably would be doing something completely different.

Building a reading community in a single classroom certainly is a challenge.  Now what does it take to build it school-wide? The challenge grows exponentially when expanding it to multiple campuses within a district. Can it be done? I believe it can.  The work is slower and sometimes it really does feel like it is harder. And then I receive an email from a teacher or staff telling me of how they see their school developing into a reading community and I have to rejoice a lot.

Next year, I am setting my sites on a couple of middle schools. This will be a whole new world for me.  Though my focus continues to be on elementary school literacy, I am excited to explore a few things with older students.  And to take a page from the past...I think I will go one step at a time.
 

It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to Young Adult - 4/28/14


It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.  Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers have adapted it to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

I continue to say that my April mantra is "May is coming."  This month has been so busy and there have been so many book events that my book buying is out of control but I have not been able to keep up.

I carved out some time on Sunday to at least get to a stack of picture books that has been growing in my house.

Here is what jumped out of the stack...


Emily's Blue Period by Cathleen Daly, Illustrated by Lisa Brown (Roaring Brook Press, June 17, 2014) - Since this one doesn't come out until June, I will encourage you to place it on your "to-read" list. It is a story of a little girl, who makes a connection with Picasso and his art. This connection also inspires her as she tries to figure out what is home when she spends part of the week with both her mother and father in different homes. 


The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat (Little, Brown Books for Young Children, April 8, 2014) - I love Dan Santat's artwork.  The vivid illustrations support a story of friendship between a little girl and a very special friend.


Abuelo by Arthur Dorros; Illustrated by Raúl Colón (Harper Collins, April 22, 2014) - Colón's illustrations are beautiful in this book.  A story of a boy and the memories he is building with his grandfather, which sustain him when he moves to the city.  Just a sweet story and nice use of Spanish words and phrases.


The Grudge Keeper by Mara Rockliff; Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler (Peachtree Publishers, April 1, 2014) - This seems to be the week of illustrators I like.  Wheeler illustrated Miss Maple's Seeds last year.  Though she did not write The Grudge Keeper, her characteristic illustrations fill this fable-like tale of a town's transformation from holding grudges to releasing them.


Jumping Jack by Germano Zullo; Illustrated Albertine (Chronicle Books, May 13, 2014) - Both Zullo and Albertine are from Switzerland. Chronicle has published several of their joint projects. I have come to really like Albertine's artistic style and this book is no exception.


Lately Lily: The Adventures of a Travelling Girl by Micah Player (Chronicle Books, March 25, 2014)- I first came across Micah Player's art in Chloe, Instead. I knew he was doing another book and excited to finally see it.  A fun story for children who will be taking a trip in the summer.

So, what are you reading?

Celebrate This Week - April 26, 2014


This year, I am trying to increase my awareness of the many good things that happen, which are frequently overlooked by me.  To help me, I am joining Ruth Ayres' Celebrate This Week.

Here's what I am thankful for this week...

Some weeks it is a bit more of a challenge to find things to celebrate. This was one of those weeks. On Friday, I posted on facebook...
I am so happy to have made it to Friday. *collapses on couch*
There were a few times in the week that I wondered if I would make it to the end of the week with my sanity intact.

However, I did make it through the week and there were some highlights for me. 

1.  The classroom teachers and students that I am working with are part of the highlight of the week for me. No matter what else is happening I know that when I enter the classroom to work with a teacher and students that I have been transported into a wonderful place.  Watching kids learn and be excited about something and try really hard to do well is the best thing in the world.


2.  I had lunch with James Mattson and Barbara Brauner this week to plan a Special Edition of a Literacy Café for their visit to one of the elementary schools that I work with.  I will report back how it went next week.  In addition to some great brainstorming, I had such a lovely time chatting with them about their writing partnership and books and well more books.


3.  This week I was also invited to a special dinner by my local Simon & Schuster Rep for Morgan Matson who has a new book called Since You've Been Gone. Morgan is charming and everyone had fun chatting with her.  She was a former bookseller at Vroman's before life took her in the direction of becoming a writer. 


At the end, Kelly Stidham (Simon & Schuster) did some impromptu book talking from the back of her car. And then I received a special bag of goodies (see below).


4.  Today, I will be helping out at the Pasadena Teen Book Fest, which will be held at the Pasadena Public Library.  I am very much looking forward to all the fun we will have.  I will also be moderating a Middle Grade Panel at the end of the day. 


5.  Finally, I am thankful for friends.  I don't have pictures of everyone I want to include and I likely couldn't remember to list everyone who did something special for me this week or just let me vent when I needed to or helped me out with something but I am rich in friendships. And for that I am most thankful!

Book Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Simon & Schuster (April 15, 2014)
Young Adult
IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Amazon
Source: ARC for Review

Description from GoodReads:
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.
 
Thuy's thoughts on this book:
I just finished this book and I have to say wow, I really liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Though I've heard lots of great things about Jenny Han (I have her Summer series one shelf waiting to be read and have met her and find her think she’s funny and adorable), contemporary YA novels aren't usually my thing and I wasn't sure how I would feel about this. However, the pretty pink cover drew me in and I decided to give it a chance, and I’m so glad I did. Fantastically written and well developed characters and relationships make this a standout book for me.

It was hard for me to connect with Lara Jean when I first started reading. Her voice is a lot younger and more naive than what I expected of a 16-year-old in a contemporary YA novel. However, as the story progressed and I got into Lara Jean’s head, I found myself really liking her and relating to her in a lot of ways. Lara Jean reminds me a lot of myself at her age. She is quiet and, while not unpopular, is not a part of the cool crowd. She isn't afraid to be herself but she still cares about what people think of her. She's a little naive and is afraid to move outside of her comfort zone. In a landscape littered with cunning teen assassins and snarky mean girls, Lara Jean’s sincerity and earnestness is a refreshing change.

Another thing I loved in the book were the relationships. While I don’t have sisters, the sibling relationship between the Song sisters rang true. No one knows how love you and to hurt you as much as a sibling does. I loved how strong the family ties were and how they supported each other. There is no absentee parenting in this book. I was also happy that there was no insta-love. I am usually pretty wary of love triangles, but it worked here because all of the characters were well developed and I can see why Lara Jean would be drawn to both boys for different reasons.

The book had some good secondary characters as well, the standout for me being Kitty, Lara Jean’s little sister. She reminds me a little bit of Louise Belcher from Bob’s Burgers and I have a feeling that she will be ruling the world one day. It was also nice to see a little diversity in the book with a bi-racial main character.

My only small gripe about this book is that I wish the ending was a longer. It felt a little rushed and wished I’d had a little more resolution. I’ve heard that the finished copy of the book (I read an ARC) has a longer ending though and I am interested in re-reading the ending to see if it provides a little more closure. And good news is that there will be another book! Things were left open ended for Lara Jean and I am glad to hear that there will be another book in this charming series.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a sweet, quirky coming of age story that will appeal to fans of contemporary YA fiction and romance. Now that I’ve read Jenny Han I can see why her books are so popular and I plan on reading more of her books soon.

Special thanks to Aly to lending me a copy of her ARC. :)

Side note: Lara Jean bakes cookies on several occasions in the book. One noticeable time is when she upsets Kitty and bakes her a batch of snickerdoodles as an apology. SimonTeen cleverly included a recipe card with the ARC for snickerdoodles, and I made a batch to celebrate the book’s release.

Below are a couple of pics of the results. Yum!


Lara Jean's Snickerdoodles
*from allrecipes.com 

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Stir in the eggs. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. In a small bowl, stir together the 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the cinnamon. Roll dough into walnut sized balls, then roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar. Place them onto an unprepared cookie sheet, two inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be slightly brown. Remove from sheets to cool on wire racks.

Here's how they turned out:



For more information about Jenny Han: website | blog | tumblr | twitter | facebook 
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Thuy can be found blogging at Nite Lite Book Reviews.  Her name Thuy - sounds like twee. Not thigh, thooey, or tweed. She is a lifelong reader, who usually reads Young Adult Fiction (Sci Fi/Fantasy in particular), Paranormal Romance, Romance, Literary Fiction, Comics/Graphic Novels, Mysteries, Cookbooks and Crafts/Knitting books. She loves dogs, zombies, knitting, movies and, of course, reading.