The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw Blog Tour: Character Introduction & Giveaway

May 16, 2014 Alyson Beecher

Thank you Walden Pond Press and Christopher Healy for allowing to once again be a part of The Hero's Guide Blog Tour. I am frequently placing this book series in the hands of teachers and students, and hand-selling it at my local indie bookstore. So, of course, when I was asked to participate I had to say "yes".

The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw

by Christopher Healy

Audience: 9 to 13 year olds

Fiction * Fantasy * Adventure

Walden Pond Press

April 29, 2014

IndieBound * WorldCat * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

About the book:
Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You think you know those guys pretty well by now, don’t you? Well, think again. The Princes Charming, along with Ella, Snow, Rapunzel, and Princess Lila are caught and arrested for the murder of Briar Rose. The heroes are simultaneously shocked and sad to hear of this news. But a series of suspicious events leads them to believe that not only is Briar still alive, but some unseen evil is working its way into the throne rooms of all thirteen kingdoms. It’s up to the League to break out of prison, find Briar, and uncover the nefarious plot before the entire country is destroyed.

This year I am introducing:

7. Erik the Mauve

Occupation: Bounty Hunter
Affiliation: Gang Greenfang
Kingdom of Origin: Jangleheim
Current Residence: A mongoose farm on the shores of Lake Stoutness
Father: Erik the Beast-Master (stage name)
Known Partners: Greenfang, Periwinkle Pete, Orangebeard, Corin Silversword, Norin Black-Ax
Longtime Rival: Dorcus the Red, the bounty hunter who took the name-color Erik was hoping to use
Likes: Bullwhips; trivia night at the Skewered Seahorse; giant mongeese
Dislikes: Fleas; bugbears; people who say “mongooses”
Signature Move: The Growl-and-Pounce Giant Mongoose
Attack Quote: “Oh, I ain’t gonna hurt you. The mongeese, though? Well, I can’t speak for them.”
Little Known Fact: Erik’s father was once a mongoose trainer for the Flimsham Brothers Circus. He was fired after an unfortunate incident that resulted in the final performance of Flimsham’s resident snake charmer.

Check out the book trailer:

About the author:
Christopher Healy is the author of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, which the New York Times selected as one of its best books of the year, calling it “charming—a quest that recalls at moments the Musketeers and at others the Marxes”; as well as its sequel, The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle, which Publishers Weekly hailed as “uproariously funny” in a starred review. He is also a reviewer of children’s media. Chris lives with his wife and two children in New Jersey. You can find him online at www.christopherhealy.com

Check out the Hero's Guide to Being a Blog Tour

5/1 - The Book Rat

5/5 – Icey Books

5/6 - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

5/7 - The Book Monsters

5/8 - The Book Rat

5/9 - A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

5/12 - Word Spelunking Book Blog

5/15 - Buried in Books

5/16 - KidLit Frenzy

5/19 - Mundie Kids

5/20 - The Flashlight Reader

5/21 - Bunbury In the Stacks

5/22 - The Hiding Spot

5/23 - Novel Novice

5/24 - Paigeintraining

5/26 - Mundie Kids

5/26 - This Kid Reviews Books

5/27 - This Kid Reviews Books

5/28 - Small Review

5/29 - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

5/30 - The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

~~Giveaway~~

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw (The League of Princes #3). Thank you Walden Pond Press for sponsoring the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mouseheart Review & Giveaway

May 15, 2014 Alyson Beecher

MOUSEHEART

by Lisa Fiedler; Illustrated by Vivienne To

Audience: Ages 8 to 12 years
Fiction * Adventure * Animal Fantasy

Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster

May 20, 2014

IndieBound * WorldCat * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE BOOK
Hopper is just an ordinary pet-shop mouse—until he escapes. Soon he finds himself below the bustling streets of Brooklyn, deep within the untamed tangles of transit tunnels, and in Atlantia, a glorious utopian rat civilization.

But all is not as it seems. Hopper misses Pinkie and Pup, the siblings he lost in the escape attempt. Atlantia is constantly threatened by roving rebels who wish to bring the city to its knees. And there are cats everywhere, cats who would normally eat a rodent in a second, but leave the rats unharmed . . . and no one can seem to answer why.

Soon Hopper is caught in the crosshairs of an epic battle, one that spans generations and species. As the clashes rage, Hopper learns terrible, extraordinary secrets. Deadly secrets about Atlantia. Painful secrets about his friends.

And one powerful secret about himself.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK:
When I first heard about Mouseheart, there was a comparison to the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques. Surprisingly, for someone who does not typically like animal stories, I loved the Redwall Series. It was fantasy at it's finest and a great cast of animals, with epic stories and battles and journeys. As a result, I was curious to read this book.

Whereas, Redwall is completely set in some medieval time period, Mouseheart begins in a pet shop in of all places Brooklyn, New York. Soon though, readers follow Hopper as he escapes with his siblings and ends up in a medieval setting under Brooklyn. Atlantia of course has rats and mice and felines. There are those that are friends and those to be leery of, and Hopper has to decide who is friend and who is foe.

Adventure stories are also journey stories and for our very unlikley hero, Hopper, he must find the strength and courage to overcome his fears, and discover who he really is. As a warning, Mouseheart is the first book in a series and does leave readers with some unanswered questions, and a desire to read the second book.

The artwork in the Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) was not complete, so, it will be interesting to see the final artwork. I know from speaking with my ARC Group (several students who gather to read ARCs and book talk to other students), though the cover art is stunning, it did scare away some of my more timid readers. It is true that there is some suspense and definitely some worrisome parts, but I have certainly read scarier books geared for the Middle Grade audience. Consequently, it may be helpful to read bits and portions from the book, in order to draw in readers who love fantasy adventure but may be concerned that the book is too scary for them.

The bottom-line: Students who love animal fantasy and adventure stories will thoroughly enjoy Mouseheart.

Professional Reviews: Kirkus | Publisher's Weekly

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lisa Fiedler is the author of several novels for children and young adults. She divides her time between Connecticut and the Rhode Island seashore, where she lives happily with her very patient husband, her brilliant and beloved daughter, and their two incredibly spoiled golden retrievers.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR: Vivienne To has illustrated several books, including The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins and the Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective series by Octavia Spencer. As a child, she had two pet mice escape. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia, with her partner and her ginger cat. Visit her at VivienneTo.com.

Check out the official website here.

About the Giveaway:

One lucky reader has a chance of winning a special prize pack, which includes a copy of MOUSEHEART, THE SEARCH FOR WONDLA, and BELLY UP.

Prizing & samples courtesy of Simon & Schuster. You must be 13 years old or older and have a US mailing address to enter the Giveaway. To submit and official entry, please enter the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Sea Turtle Scientist

May 14, 2014 Alyson Beecher

Sea Turtle Scientist

by Stephen R. Swinburne

HMH Books for Young Readers (January 7, 2014)

IndieBound

Description from GoodReads

Dr. Kimberly Stetwart, also known as the Turtle Lady of St. Kitts, is already waiting at midnight when an 800-pound leatherback sea turtle crawls out of the Caribbean surf and onto the sandy beach. The mother turtle has a vital job to do: dig a nest in which she will lay eggs that will hatch into part of the next generation of leatherbacks. With only one in a thousand of the eggs for this critically endangered species resulting in an adult sea turtle, the odds are stacked against her and her offspring. Join the renowned author and photographer Steve Swinburne on a journey through history to learn how sea turtles came to be endangered, and what scientists like Kimberly are doing to save them. For the complete selection of books in this critically acclaimed, award-winning series, visit

www.sciencemeetsadventure.com

About

Scientists in the Field: Where Science Adventure Meets

The

Scientists in the Field

series shows people immersed in the unpredictable and dynamic natural world, making science more accessible, relevant, and exciting to young readers. Far from the research laboratory, these books show firsthand adventures in the great outdoors—adventures with a purpose. From climbing into a snake den with thousands of slithering snakes to tracking wolves, swimming with hammerhead sharks, and collecting bugs, readers experience the thrill of discovering the unknown.

The

Scientists in the Field

series has been deemed consistently excellent, imaginative, engaging, and informative. The series provides a broad range of curricular opportunities that will both teach and entertain children.

Follow them on:

Twitter

Facebook

Discussion Guide for Sea Turtle Scientist

My thoughts on this book

Lately, I seem to be partial to all things Scientist in the Field and National Geographic. I have been trying out some activities with first and second graders using a variety of nonfiction titles.

Sea Turtle Scientist

, Stephen R. Swinburne focuses on the work of Dr. Kimberly Stewart. As I read about her work, I found myself not wanting to put the book down but instead to stay up late reading. Additionally, I was struck by how hard it is to really observe and do research on sea turtles given their lifestyle and way of moving 1,000's of miles through the sea.

For many of the first graders that I have been working with,

Sea Turtle Scientist

would be a challenge even as a read aloud. However, the photographs tell their own stories and I found that by reading the text beforehand, I could summarize the text and use the photographs in a way that the students benefitted from the book.

We talked about Dr. Stewart and the type of education she would need to be a sea turtle scientist and also, how fun it would be to work on a beach and wear flip flops. It was a bit hard for students to understand why she would need to check the nests and also examine all of the egg shells. I would love to bring in some flippers, sand and ping pong balls to help the students really begin to experience how difficult it is for the mother sea turtle to come from the sea to lay her eggs.

I would highly recommend this book for grades three and up, but it could make a great read aloud for an attentive group of first and second graders. Below, I have included a few Sea Turtle Videos that you may want to use to front-load information for students or to supplement the books you are reading with them. I have also included some of my favorite Sea Turtle books for Kindergarten to Second grade.

All About Sea Turtles Video by Sea World

Turtle Hatching:

Other Sea Turtle Books for Younger Readers

Sea Turtles (National Geographic Readers)

by Laura Marsh (National Geographic, 2011) - As with all of the super readers by National Geographic, this book does a great job of introducing younger students to sea turtles.

One Tiny Turtle: Read and Wonder

by Nicola Davies; Illustrated by Jane Chapman (Candlewick Press, 2005) - I love this story and also the combination of narrative text with fact.

Scholastic Adventures With Books: One Tiny Turtle Classroom Activity Guide

I'll Follow the Moon

by Stephanie Lisa Tara; Illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi (Stephanie Lisa Tara Children's Books, 2012) - This fictional story in verse helps readers connect on a different level to the journey of baby sea turtles must begin when hatching from their nest.

On Kiki's Reef

by Carol Malnor, Illustrated by Trina L. Hunner (Dawn Publications, March 1, 2014) - A 2014 release, On Kiki's Reef provides a narrative look at the journey of a sea turtle and the reference to the life cycle of sea turtles.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:

Slice of Life - A Scattered Stream of Consciousness

May 13, 2014 Alyson Beecher

Slice of Life is hosted by

Two Writing Teachers

on Tuesdays. Join us each week and come to love this awesome writing community.

____________________________________

In March, I did a #slice14 challenge post that was just

random thoughts

. Someone suggested that I pick one thing and write about it. Now that suggestion might have worked on that day. My brain did not feel scattered. Unfortunately, today, I am scattered. Here's a glimpse at my evening...

I read a picture book that arrived in my mail today, and log it into GoodReads.

I check twitter. I post to twitter. I get caught up in a conversation on twitter.

I do the same on Facebook. It seems that everyone I know is celebrating their NCTE '14 proposal news. I am not complaining. I am celebrating too, since I will be presenting with two wonderful teacher/librarians,

Cynthia Alaniz

and

Lisa Morris-Wilkey

One of my best friends lives next door. While I stop in to drop off some books for her youngest daughter, I soon find my friend demanding the follow up to

Cinder

by Marissa Meyers. I warned her it ended on a cliff-hanger of sorts. As I am sitting around, I tell the middle child that I was invited to a screening of

The Fault in Our Stars

. She received a copy of the book for her 13th birthday and read and loved it. Before she can be too annoyed that I am going to the screening, she switches over to telling me about

This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl

. Somehow we get onto talking about

Unwind

and trying to convince her mom to read it. When I head home, she follows me back so she can search my bookshelves for more books by Green. I think I have created a

nerdfighter

. As typical for my evening, I am missing my copy of

Scarlet

, but we did find

Cress

and several John Green books. I send Jax back with the stack and a promise to look at my bookshelves at work for

Scarlet

Once I am settled again at my laptop, I go back to several rounds of checking email, responding to emails, checking twitter, checking facebook. I should be writing this post, or working on a project for tomorrow. I am restless and can't settle down. I head down rabbit holes as I look for a link or see an alert pop up on my screen.

Somehow, I manage to write something down. Though I won't call it my best writing, I will say it is coherent, which is better than I could hope for at the moment. And before I find another rabbit hole to follow, I am going to end this crazy ramble.

How many days until summer break?

It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA - 5/12/14

May 12, 2014 Alyson Beecher

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 have been steadily getting back into the swing of things with books. It feels good! This week, I have a really variety of books that I read. I did try to squeeze in more picture books but some of them did not jump out at me and for that reason I am not including them in this post.

Here is what jumped out of the stack...

Happy Birthday, Babymouse (Babymouse #18)

by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm (Random House, April 22, 2014) - I love Babymouse and I love when a new book comes out. Babymouse has some competition for her birthday party. Fun story, and love the ending.

Rules of Summer

by Shaun Tan (Holder's Children Division, June 1, 2014) - Tan's books are always a bit trippy but I do love them so much.

The Most Magnificient Thing

by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press, April 1, 2014) - I really loved this book, and it had a great message

about creativity, friendship, and also perseverance.

The Meaning of Maggie

by Megan Jean Sovern (Chronicle Books, May 6, 2014) - Where was this book when I was a child? I would have loved a book about a character whose parent had multiple sclerosis. Written with humor, and a lot of heart.