Bride of Slug Man Blog Tour

Kate Walden Directs: Bride of the Slug Man
by Julie Mata
Disney Hyperion (May 26, 2015)
Audience: Grades 4-7
Fiction * Friendship * Dating
IndieBound * WorldCat
Download the Curriculum Guide

About the book: 
After her huge success with her first feature-length movie, seventh-grader Kate Walden is eager to start on her next film, a sci-fi romance called Bride of Slug Man. When a new kid comes to town from New York City, Kate thinks she might have a new found film buddy-someone to share her interest with. And it doesn't hurt that he's pretty cute. But it turns out that Tristan is making his own movie, and now the classmates Kate thought were eager to join her cast and crew are divided.

With rumors spreading in school and between sets, Kate finds herself juggling more than just call times and rewrites. And judging from the whispers Kate hears about Tristan Kingsley,she suspects that he isn't interested in having a fellow film-buff friend; he just wants to prove himself as the best filmmaker in school by winning the Big Picture Film Festival. Kate vows to enter too, and tries to focus on just making the best movie she can.

But between the cutthroat popularity contest, a bully situation that goes from bad to worse, and several on-set mishaps, Kate is going to need all the movie magic she can get to make sure Bride of Slug Man hits the big-screen.

Check out the book trailer:

Originally, I was going to do a review of Kate Walden Directs: Bride of Slug Man but as I was putting together the post I realized that I was the last stop on the tour.  Do you ever wonder if people go back and check out the other posts that the author and bloggers have worked hard on? So instead of just a review of the book...I thought I would do a little highlighting of the reviews, interviews, and guest posts for the tour.

Check out Julie Mata's guest post on GreenBean Queen Teen.  Mata's Plucky...Not Perfect gave me new insight into her character, Kate Walden. 

Over at Once Upon a Story, Julie's guest post talks about "Production Value" and adding "sizzle" and "Forced Perspective" to a movie and how Kate does this in Bride of Slug Man. This made me start wondering how I could use the post with students to talk about what would be the equivalent of production value, or adding sizzle, or forced perspective in something that we write. Check out Julie's curriculum guide for Bride of Slug Man for some great extension ideas.  

Next, hop on over to Read Now Sleep Later and check out Alethea's interview with Julie. Find out what 1959 black and white movie is her pick for favorite kid-appropriate Bride of Slug Man type movie.

Julie's guest post over at Curling Up With a Good Book focuses on her advice for How to Write What You Know.  Whether you have an exciting life or not, there are ideas for stories in those life experiences. Now I really want to know more about those 10 chickens that she owned at one time.

Don't stop yet, check out the review of Bride of Slug Man over at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia. 

There is another interview with Julie over at Book Hounds of YA. I may have added a couple of new (to me) reads to my TBR pile and there is an absolutely adorable picture of Julie's dog. Yeah, I know you want to click on this link. 

And finally, well maybe not finally since you have my post, but yesterday's guest post at The Brain Lair finds Julie sharing Director's Tips with readers. It even comes with a link to a short film that Julie made called Bus Driver. 

Now for the finally, Bride of Slug Man is just in time for summer reading. Though I am not suggesting any forced recommendations for kids to read during the summer but this book has a cool cover, it's funny, there is romance (well the fun kid kind of romance) and making movies in this book. What kid wouldn't want to pick it up and read it if you just happen to leave it in a spot they just can't miss? And when said kid is finished reading the book, it just might be responsible for sparking further creative endeavors with visions of film-making. 

Seriously, stop by your local independent bookstore or public library and pick up a copy of Bride of Slug Man. Read it yourself and better yet, share it with your favorite middle grader. 

About the Author: 
Julie Mata grew up outside Chicago and currently lives in Wisconsin, where she owns a video production business with her husband. She loves movies and once wrote and directed her own short film. She also loves traveling, gardening, and reading a really good book. Her first book was Kate Walden Directs: Night of the Zombie Chickens. For more information, including a downloadable curriculum guide and a filmmaking tip of the month, visit her website or follow Julie on twitter. 

Follow the blog tour: 

Monday, May 18      GreenBeanTeenQueen

Wed. May 20          Once Upon a Story

Thurs, May 21          Read Now, Sleep Later

Fri, May 22             Curling Up with a Good Book

Tues, May 26         The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Wed, May 27         BookHounds YA

Thurs, May 28       The Brain Lair

Fri, May 29            Kid Lit Frenzy

Giveaway:  One lucky winner will receive both books featuring Kate Walden - KATE WALDEN DIRECTS: NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIE CHICKENS and KATE WALDEN DIRECTS: BRIDE OF SLUG MAN. (U.S. addresses; allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.) Winner must be 13 years or older. Please complete the rafflecopter below to enter the giveaway.

Pasadena Loves YA Recap

I had the privilege of attending the Pasadena Loves YA Teen Book Festival this past weekend at the Pasadena Public Library. We had a great group of twenty different YA authors, with five panels covering a diverse group of topics over four hours.

The event kicked off in the Auditorium at noon, where the fantastic Mary McCoy delivered a touching keynote speech on the power of reading and the importance of libraries to teens. 

The first panel was upstairs in the teen central area (complete with a full-size TARDIS, which can be seen in the background of some of the signing pictures); I enjoyed the temporary change in venue, and it also allowed for a quicker turnaround time between panels, since panels alternated between the auditorium and the teen central. The only downside was that if you weren't close enough to the front of the signing line, you would miss the beginning of the next panel, but that only happened to me once (since I didn't have that many books to be signed).

Signing with Lauren Miller (you can see the TARDIS in the background!).

You can find a list of each author and their respective works on the Pasadena Loves YA website, but the five panel topics, in order, were as follows: Second Chances, The First Time - From First Draft to Finish Line, YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Dial "M" for Murder, and Tough Topics.

Each panel was followed by a signing; while some of the signing lines went by efficiently, others (usually signings for bigger-name authors, such as Kody Keplinger and Stephan Chbosky) were out the door.

The day went smoothly and everyone, from the authors to the attendees, seemed to really enjoy the event. Big thanks to Jane Gov at the Pasadena Public Library and Bridge to Books for coordinating the event, as well as everyone else who helped out. I can't wait for the next Pasadena Loves YA book fest, and I hope to see some of you there!

Photo credits go to Katie Ferguson, who generously allowed me to use her photos of the event.

 Carolyn is a teen blogger who shares her favorite YA reads and favorite book related finds with readers on Fridays.

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Summer is coming soon and so is #bookaday. I am always excited to have a little bit more relaxed time to just catch up and read. As I keep finding books that may be of interest, I will continue to post updates. So just in time for your summer TBR lists...here are a few new and older titles.

A recent release I missed:

Sport-O-Rama by Benoit Tardif (Kids Can Press, March 1, 2015) - A word book featuring terms from 23 different sports. 

Recently out in paperback from Candlewick: If you missed these titles last year, they have been released in paperback. 

Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines by Paul Fleischman (Candlewick)

Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber; Illustrated by Brian Lovelock (Candlewick)

River Story by Meredith Hooper; Illustrated by Bee Willey (Candlewick)

A Sneak Peek at a couple of upcoming releases:

Watch Out For Flying Kids: How Two Circuses, Two Countries and Nine Kids Confront Conflict and Build Community by Cynthia Levinson (Peachtree Publishers, August 2015) - I am so excited about this upcoming release from Levinson. 

Description from GoodReads: 
The author of We’ve Got a Job explores the world of youth social circus—a movement that brings kids from different worlds together to perform remarkable acts on a professional level. Levinson follows the participants of two specific circuses that also work together periodically: Circus Harmony, in St. Louis, whose participants are inner-city and suburban kids, and Circus Galilee in Israel, whose participants and Jews and Arabs. As the kids’ relationships evolve over time, the members learn how to overcome assumptions, animosity, and obstacles both physical and personal.

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland's Good Fortune by P.J. Lynch (Candlewick Press, September 22, 2015) - The illustrations in this book are beautiful. Looking forward to reading John Howland's story.

Description from GoodReads: 
At a young age, John Howland learned what it meant to take advantage of an opportunity. Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims’ lives in New England? John Howland’s tale is masterfully told in his own voice, bringing an immediacy and young perspective to the oft-told Pilgrims’ story. P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:

YA Friday Book Review: Skandal

Skandal 
by Lindsay Smith
Macmillan (April 7, 2015)
Audience: Young Adult
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:

"The dramatic sequel to Sekret, this psychic Cold War espionage thriller follows Yulia to Washington, DC, where she fights to discover the truth about her family without losing control of her mind.

My mind is mine alone.

Life in Washington, D.C., is not the safe haven Yulia hoped for when she risked everything to flee communist Russia. Her father is reckless and aloof, and Valentin is distant and haunted by his past. Her mother is being targeted by the CIA and the US government is suspicious of Yulia's allegiance. And when super-psychics start turning up in the US capitol, it seems that even Rostov is still a threat. Ultimately, Yulia must keep control of her own mind to save the people she loves and avoid an international Skandal."

Carolyn's thoughts on the book:

I adored Lindsay Smith's first novel, Sekret, and Skandal is a fantastic sequel. A sharp contrast to the harsh setting of the KGB compound in Moscow, Skandal takes place in the groovy environment of 1960s Washington DC, but a change in scenery doesn't mean any less intrigue or secrets. Yulia is caught between countries, neither of which has her best interests at heart, but if she has any hope of rescuing her mother and her brother, she's forced to play both sides. While America is vastly different from Russia, her situation is strikingly similar: forced to work for a government agency she doesn't quite trust or agree with, alongside colleagues loath to trust her. Finally reunited with her father and free to love her boyfriend, Valentin, Yulia is with two of the people who love her most and yet feels isolated in this strange new country.  The choice of loyalty is really a choice between those Yulia loves most: her father or her mother, her boyfriend or her brother. But when members of the psychic team she's working with are attacked, Yulia realizes that there's a lot more at stake than the lives of those she loves. Fraught relations with North Vietnam bring the East-West conflict to a head between the Russian and American psychic teams, though everything is blanketed in lies and subterfuge. Cold War tensions culminate in the 1964 Pathway for Peace, where the KGB and the CIA vie for control over the politicians who will decide whether or not to plunge the world into war. Ultimately, Yulia's choices will forever impact her future, her family, and the entirety of both the US and the USSR.  

Carolyn is a teen blogger who shares her favorite YA reads and favorite book related finds with readers on Fridays.

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Professional Books for Teachers and Librarians

Recently, I was re-reading Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst (Heinemann, 2012) and started thinking about how I read nonfiction professional books. I usually start with the table of contents to see how the book is organized and to make note of chapters that might be a special interest. After reading through the introduction, I may or may not start with the first chapter. Frequently, I flip around in the book, eventually reading through the whole book. Additionally, I keep a highlighter, pencil, and small sticky notes close by so I can tag my "ah-ha moments" and the things that I want to share with others or come back and ponder a bit more. This is certainly not how I read a novel. 

Since I have been pondering ways to improve reading comprehension for English Language Learners, I have been going through a number of books that I have looked at before but felt the urge to return to and spend some additional time thinking about it and how to share it with teachers.  Notice & Note has been one of those books. What books have your found absolutely critical in influencing your thinking on reading comprehension?

Here are a couple of books that I have spent a lot of time with this year:
These are the books that currently are knocking about in a book bag, or my car, or my night stand.  Some I have read in parts and others I still have to read and others I have read and referenced over and over again. 

In Defense of Read Aloud: Sustaining Best Practice by Steven Layne (Stenhouse Publishers, January 2015) - Part love song to read alouds and part research to support the importance of read alouds, this is one of my favorites of 2015. 

Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, K-2 by Melissa Stewart & Nancy Chesley (Stenhouse Publishers, August 2014) - Those of you who follow my blog know that I have been exploring the lessons in this book with actual teachers, librarians, and students. I have had so much fun with this year with this book. I look forward to pulling it out next year. 

Books I look forward to reading this summer:

Making Number Talks Matter: Developing Mathematical Practices and Deepening Understanding by Cathy Humphreys and Ruth Parker (Stenhouse Publishers, April 2015) - Though I usually stay in the literacy section of professional reading, I still like to explore other areas.  When it involves language and critical thinking, I am even more interested. 

59 Reasons to Write: Mini-Lessons, Prompts, and Inspiration for Teachers by Kate Messner (Stenhouse Publishers, January 2015) - This is from Kate Messner. Do I even need to say more? Kate has such a teacher's heart and she is so passionate about what she does and what she writes that any book she puts out is worth picking up. 

Coming in the Fall 2015:

Reading Nonfiction: Notices & Note Signpost and Questions by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst (Heinemann, October 2015) - I am interested in seeing what Beers and Probst have to say about reading nonfiction. 

What professional books for educators or librarians are you currently reading or have on your summer "to-read" list?

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews: