The Childrens Book Review » Books into Movies

Maria Tatar on the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up

Bianca Schulze — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:54:32 +0000

By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: January 4, 2012

Maria Tatar

Maria Tatar is Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. Her latest book The Annotated Peter Pan is a glorious celebration of the centenary of the first publication of the novel, originally entitled Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie. It features a splendid array of photographs and illustrations, many reproduced for the first time, including The Boy Castaways of Black Lane Island. The book also includes a compilation of responses from famed artists, including Barrie’s contemporaries such as as Virginia Woolf and Mark Twain, to his work. For more on Tatar’s discoveries and Barrie’s creation of Peter Pan, please read on.

Nicki Richesin: I read The Annotated Peter Pan with such gripping wonder. It’s a marvelous book; congratulations to you. The story of Peter Pan has fascinated readers for generations and even proved a vehicle for a variety of adaptations in film, books, plays, and musicals. After your extensive research on this subject, what do you believe J.M. Barrie would think of its enduring appeal? Why do you believe his story has held such fascination for its audience?

Maria Tatar: Peter Pan started out as a bedtime story and turned into a cultural myth. Barrie knew that he was onto something important, but I think even he would have been surprised that the story has endured as long as it has. There is more to Peter Pan than fairy dust and pirates. It’s a story about what it means to grow up—the gains and the losses that we incur when we become adults. Barrie felt the pain of the process more acutely than most of us do, and he also saw himself as something of a “betwixt and between”—no longer a child yet still not fully adult. It was more than just the “inner child.” He was able to go back in ways that few of us can, capturing the sense of adventure and eagerness for experience that is part of childhood desires.

In your “Introduction to J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan,” you write, “We owe it to our children to give them books that do not put a politically correct dot on every “i” and that offer challenges, provocations, and an occasional sting that keeps us alive and thinking about those who lived before us.” You believe this would lead children to learn to search and explore and has been confirmed in your exhaustive study of fairy tales and in your books such as Enchanted Hunters. Could you further explain what you mean by this notion?

MT: I think it was Philip Pullman who told us that “thou shalt not is soon forgotten” and that “once upon a time” lasts forever. Great writers are above all else storytellers—occasionally even magicians—who give us worlds created by words. Children quickly grow wise to the ways of fiction and know that there are no easy messages, morals, and lessons in the books they read. There is no direct path from what is in the book to “truth,” nor is there a hotline to the meaning of life. When they read fiction, children develop a sense of curiosity about the lives of others (where else can you read minds and learn about what other people really think?), and they use their explorations of fictional worlds, along with their real-life experiences and exchanges, to develop a moral compass.

Peter Pan was my favorite story as a child. I read the edition edited by Josette Frank, beautifully illustrated by Marjorie Torrey, and published by Random House in 1957. We also had an edition illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Which version of this story do you prefer and why?

MT: Arthur Rackham’s illustrations for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens are exquisite, and I can’t imagine any rivals to those images. But I also love Mabel Lucie Attwell’s illustrations, although they are for a younger crowd. I have grown to love F.D. Bedford’s illustrations for the first edition of Peter Pan. At first they seemed fussy and cluttered to me, but now they feel like windows into each of the chapters in which they appear. They have an astonishing depth and texture. I’m reminded of how much I disliked, as a child, John Tenniel’s illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now they seem to capture the essence of Carroll’s story, and I can’t imagine reading the book without them.

You draw an interesting comparison between J.M. Barrie’s relationship with Peter Llewelyn Davies (really all five of the boys) and Charles Dodgson’s with Alice Liddell. Both authors were inspired by their young friends to create Neverland and Wonderland, worlds in which civilized society did not exist and to which children might escape. The two authors were revered and yet rumors were spread by those who frowned on adult men befriending children. Why do you believe both authors were enthralled with these particular children and deeply influenced by their little muses?

Credit: Peter Pan, 1912 (bronze) by Sir George James Frampton (1860-1928) Kensington Gardens, London, UK/ The Bridgeman Art Library Nationality / copyright status: English / out of copyright

MT: We live in a culture deeply suspicious of anyone who takes an interest in other people’s children. Both Lewis Carroll and J.M. Barrie had a deep attachment to children, and they understood, in unprecedented ways, that there is beauty, humor, and poetry in the imagination of children. They lived in an era that famously developed a cult of childhood, but it was a cult that valued the beauty of children rather than their playful spirit and imaginative energy. Children were to be seen and not heard. Both Lewis Carroll and J.M. Barrie listened to the voice of the child and produced works that were, in some sense, collaborations. And, perhaps not coincidentally, both photographed children and appreciated the beauty of children at rest and at play. There is not a shred of evidence that there was anything improper in Barrie’s relationship to children, and the five Llewelyn Davies boys he adopted were quite firm about the fact that Barrie was a completely generous, benevolent presence in their lives.

While you were studying Barrie’s letters at Beinecke Library at Yale University, you wrote that you became very emotional. Although your response was in large part due to reading more about the boys’ feelings after the untimely death of their beloved mother and father Arthur and Sylvia Davies, I suspect it was deeper than this and due to finally reading about the boy who wouldn’t grow up and lived a life removed from the world. You discovered that few people truly knew Barrie apart from his adopted sons and housekeeper. What did you think when you read Barrie’s note, “May God blast any one who writes a biography of me” in his notebooks?

MT: Barrie described himself once as a shuttered house. I may have read his letters, notebooks, and diaries, but he remains a mystery to me—in a good sense. There were times when I felt myself to be an intruder in the archives, although there are those who will argue that posthumous papers belong to posterity. Occasionally I came across documents that seemed almost sacred—George’s letters to Barrie, written from the Western Front, just a few days before his death, to cite just one example. There was so much joy in Barrie’s life, and so many triumphs, but there is no getting past the tragic deaths of Arthur and Sylvia Davies, or George’s death in World War I, or Michael’s suicide at Oxford. Barrie was so guarded and private in real life that I felt it doubly important to treat his life with respect.

On your blog Breezes from Wonderland, you track the media and film world’s attempts to reinvent classic and fairy tales in film, music, plays and television. Which recent productions do you believe have been most successful?

MT: I rarely meet a fairy-tale revival or reinvention that I don’t like. I am enthralled by Catherine Breillat’s fairy-tale films, but I also find the new crime series Grimm, as well as the series Once Upon a Time, entertaining. I’m eager to see the three new Snow White films coming out in 2012, and I’m astonished that Hollywood, which has always used fairy-tale narratives as subtexts—is now explicitly reinventing the old tales

A.S. Byatt has written introductions for a few of your books (The Grimm Reader and The Annotated Brothers Grimm) and reviews of your books for The Guardian. How did you first begin working together and do you have future projects planned?

MT: A.S. Byatt has been wonderfully generous in writing the introduction for the Grimm books. Her work is always inspiring, and I am hoping that I will one day have the chance to meet her in person. We correspond from time to time, and I’m hoping to recruit her as a contributor to a handbook on fairy tales that I am editing.

Who do you believe are the most exciting children’s book authors of today and which ones do you think will make the sort of impact that readers will remember and cherish into their adulthood?

MT: I taught the Harry Potter series for the first time this year and was deeply impressed, once again, by the final book in the series—I think I now finally understand horcruxes and hallows, as well as the depth of Rowling’s engagement with the great existential mysteries. The devotion of my students to that series is nothing short of astounding, and the books have an unparalleled bonding power. It took me a while to become an ardent fan, perhaps because the books become more sophisticated and adult-friendly over time. Harry Potter grows up, and so does the generation of children that began reading his story when they were his age. I’m also a fan of Neil Gaiman, Lois Lowry, and Brian Selznick. And The Hunger Games is impossible to put down, even if it’s not a book to “cherish.” Children’s literature seems no longer to be just for children, and, these days, we live in a world of shared electronic media that has knocked down some of the old barriers.

What sort of projects are you currently working on?

MT: I have just finished a Young Adult novel about a boy growing up in Nazi-occupied Greece. It’s my first work of fiction, and it was inspired by a real-life story of an old friend of mine who lived in Athens during the second World War. Then it’s back to fairy tales.

Nicki Richesin is the editor of four anthologies,What I Would Tell Her: 28 Devoted Dads on Bringing Up, Holding On To, and Letting Go of Their Daughters; Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers Reflect on the Mother-Daughter Bond; Crush: 26 Real-Life Tales of First Love; and The May Queen: Women on Life, Work, and Pulling it all Together in your Thirties. Her anthologies have been excerpted and praised in The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, Redbook, Parenting, Cosmopolitan, Bust, Salon, Daily Candy, and Babble.

Movie Trailer: Hugo Cabret

Bianca Schulze — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:09:50 +0000

The movie version of one of my favorite books of all-time, releases on November 23, 2011. Please read the book before seeing the movie—it’s outstanding!

Add this book to your collection: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

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Giveaway: Hop Movie Books

Bianca Schulze — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:49:52 +0000

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: March 28, 2011

Universal Pictures upcoming film HOP will be in theaters April 1st—just in time for Easter.

Universal Pictures’ synopsis: “Blending state of the art animation with live action, Hop is a comedy about E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. On the eve of taking over the family business, E.B. leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer. He encounters Fred (James Marsden), an out-of-work slacker with his own lofty goals, who accidentally hits E.B. with his car. Feigning injury, E.B. manipulates Fred into providing him shelter, and Fred finds himself with the world’s worst houseguest.

The film is helmed by Tim Hill, director of the blockbuster Alvin and the Chipmunks and produced by Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me).”

To get you excited, one (1) winner will receive a prize pack including all 5 of the movie tie-in book titles:

HOP: Hoppy Bunnies
HOP: The Chapter Book
HOP: Meet the Easter Bunny
HOP: Counting Chicks
HOP: Chicks versus Bunnies

Giveaway begins March 28, 2011, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends April 15, 2011, at 11:59 P.M. PST.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/hopthemovie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hop
Website: http://iwantcandy.com

About the movie tie-in books from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

HOP: The Chapter Book
Paperback
$4.99 ($5.99 CAN) • 64 Pages
Who will fill the Easter Bunny’s shoes? E.B. Jr.’s got big plans to be a big music star, and Fred, who never had plans to be anything, finds himself with more responsibility than he is used to in this chapter book.

HOP: Chicks vs. Bunnies
Board book
$4.99 ($5.99 CAN) • 24 Pages
The Easter Bunny gets all the glory, but what about all the chicks who do all the work making Easter baskets? This is a bright, colorful and humorous look at Easter’s cute and rivaling icons includes punch-out Easter egg stands featuring characters from the movie!

HOP: Meet the Easter Bunny
Paperback
$3.99 ($4.99 CAN) • 32 Pages
Easter Island is home to the Easter Bunny’s magical workshop—where do you think Santa got all his good ideas? Chocolate bunny carving, jellybean polishing, and adorable chicks and bunnies are just a few of the fantastic sights to see on this lively tour of Easter in the making.

HOP: Hoppy Bunnies
Board Book with Finger Puppets
$7.99 ($8.99 CAN) • 12 Pages
This adorable and interactive Easter board book features hoppy bunny finger-puppets for read aloud Easter fun.

HOP: Counting Chicks
Board Book
$4.99 ($5.99 CAN) • 12 Pages
Easter chicks Carlos and Phil teach numbers as they put together an Easter basket just for you!

How to enter:

Leave a comment in the comments field below

An extra entry will be given for each time you twitter about the giveaway and/or blog about it. You will need to paste the link in a separate comment to make this entry valid. Click here to follow us on Twitter.

Maximum entries: Three (3)

Giveaway Rules:

Shipping Guidelines: This book giveaway is open to participants with a United States address.

Giveaway begins March 28, 2011, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends April 15, 2011, at 11:59 P.M. PST, when all entries must be received. No purchase necessary. See official rules for details. View our privacy policy.

Sponsored by Universal Pictures and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Disney’s Alice In Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD

Bianca Schulze — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:26:07 +0000

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: February 10, 2011

Alice In Wonderland (Two-Disc 60th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Language: English

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Rated: G (General Audience)

Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: February 1, 2011

Run Time: 75 minutes

Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

There are many reasons why Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite Disney movies for children, not only does it nurture the imagination, the absurdity and the senselessness speak directly to a child’s humor. And, unlike many other movies for children, no deep emotions or feelings are over explored (besides curiosity)—a few chuckles from an adult in the right places can get a sensitive child through the brief-but-dramatic ending when the Queen of Hearts is yelling, “Off with her head.” If you’re not offended by the hookah-smoking, cranky caterpillar (r u?), Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is a great interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s famous pieces of literature Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, it captures the essence of dreams and the brilliance of a child’s imagination.

One of the bonus features, “Reflections On Alice“, offers insight to Alice’s journey from Lewis Carroll’s clever mind to animated movie character. The movie and this featurette combined, offers an additional learning segment for those that are exploring Carroll’s books; opening up opportunities for character discussions, comprehension, and exploring the differences between paper and screen. Perhaps watching the movie first could lure a reluctant reader into the world of classic literature?

Alice in Wonderland is like a little bottle of nostalgia begging to be enjoyed with each new generation.

Add this DVD to your collection: Alice In Wonderland (Two-Disc 60th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Have you watched this movie? Rate it:
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Read the books: “Alice” Favorites

Star Wars Gifts: Books for Kids

Bianca Schulze — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:25:56 +0000

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: December 13, 2010

We all know that when a person, big or small, loves Star Wars, they really LOVE Star Wars. And as crazy as it is, even children that have never even seen the films can be obsessed with Star Wars.

Before you take a look at this year’s list of Star Wars picks, Yoda has a few words of wisdom that he would like to share with you as you ponder the idea of giving books to your young jedi:

“Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is. Give the gift of reading, you will! Do or do not… there is no try.”

Star Wars: Millennium Falcon- A 3-D Owner’s Guide
by Ryder Windham

Reading level: Ages 8-12

Board book: 24 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; Brdbk edition (September 1, 2010)

Source of book: Publisher

Publisher’s synopsis: This novelty format dissects the most famous ship in the galaxy section-by-section, revealing the ship’s secrets and special modifications.

Includes technical notes from Han Solo as well as a detailed overview of each of the ship’s main functions.

Add this book to your collection: Star Wars: Millennium Falcon- A 3-D Owner’s Guide

Obsessed with Star Wars

by Benjamin Harper

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 1, 2008)

Source of book: Personal collection

Publisher’s synopsis: Even the most die-hard Star Wars fans will find themselves challenged by this entertaining new approach to the details of the saga. This fourth volume in the popular addictive Obsessed With series again includes an innovative scoring module right in the book so a player can select questions by number or at random and keep score. With 2 500 original questions covering little known facts entertaining quotes and tough trivia from all six episodes Obsessed With Star Wars will have readers dominating the galaxy in no time.

Add this book to your collection: Obsessed with Star Wars

Star Wars: A Scanimation Book

by Rufus Butler Seder

Reading level: Ages 6 and up

Hardcover: 13 pages

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (May 12, 2010)

Source of book: Personal collection

Publisher’s synopsis: Imagine: the first Star Wars book that actually moves, bringing to life the most memorable scenes from the epic: Obi-Wan battles Darth Maul The Millennium Falcon zooms away from an exploding Death Star Luke rides a galloping Tauntaun, Yoda twirls his green lightsaber, Boba Fett blasts up, up and away! And of course the most memorable scene of all—red and blue lightsabers flashing, Luke and Darth Vader fight the ultimate battle between good and evil.

It’s a marriage made in a galaxy far, far away: phenomenal Scanimation meets Star Wars, the enduring epic that’s sold $42 billion in ticket sales and earned the title #1 Boys Action Toy License of all time. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, Star Wars: A Scanimation Book presents 12 of the most memorable scenes, in a landscape, i.e., movie format. It’s an homage from an artist obsessed with the earliest forms of capturing visual motion to an artist obsessed with the most advanced. But that’s not what young fans will care about—this is having pure movie magic in the palm of your hand, to replay again and again.

Add this book to your collection: Star Wars: A Scanimation Book

Star Wars ABC

by Scholastic

Reading level: Ages 5 and up

Board book: 26 pages

Publisher: Cartwheel Books (July 1, 2010)

Source of book: Publisher

Publisher’s synopsis: Star Wars: ABC is an alphabetical adventure through the imaginative and intergalactic world of Star Wars featuring the names and images of the most popular characters, droids, spaceships, and creatures in this galaxy far, far away.

With artistic alliterative text that describes each image and emphasizes each letter, Star Wars: ABC is a completely new way to learn about the legendary story of Star Wars.

Add this book to your collection: Star Wars ABC

The Sounds of Star Wars

by J.W. Rinzler (Author), Ben Burtt (Foreword)

Hardcover: 304 pages

Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 2010)

Source of book: Personal collection

Publisher’s synopsis: Any Star Wars fan can mimic Darth Vader’s voice or Chewbacca’s roar with ease. But how many of them would be able to identify the lion’s roar used in the sound of the Millenium Falcon’s engine? In this aurally astonishing and visually engaging book, New York Times best-selling author J. W. Rinzler reveals the illuminating history of the sounds that make the Star Wars universe so believable, as recounted by their creator, legendary sound designer Ben Burtt. An attached sound module with an exterior speaker and headphone jack lets readers listen to more than 250 unique sound effects, and more than 300 photographs illustrate the epic’s many memorable scenes. From the first films to the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, The Sounds of Star Wars is Star Wars as you’ve never heard it before.

Add this book to your collection: The Sounds of Star Wars

Yoda: Bring You Wisdom, I Will

by Yoda

Hardcover: 48 pages

Publisher: Chronicle Books; Toy/Bklt edition (September 8, 2010)

Source of book: Personal collection

Publisher’s synopsis: The ultimate Jedi Master from Star Wars is also the perfect totem for wisdom in all of life’s pursuits. Having explored the galaxy and studied the Force for hundreds of years, Yoda has passed on his knowledge of the Jedi arts to generations of the galaxy’s greatest heroes. Now you can have your own Yoda sensei in your life! This one-of-a-kind, hand-painted Yoda statue comes with a customizable galactic display stand, a booklet of Yoda’s most inspirational musings alongside full-color illustrations, and a sheet of removable stickers of select quotes. Perfect for the office, mantle, bedside table, or anywhere else the Force might come in handy.

Add this book to your collection: Yoda: Bring You Wisdom, I Will

For more kids’ Star Wars books, visit: Star Wars Books for Kids

Top image courtesy of Barron Fujimoto.

Disney’s Tangled Movie & Books: Rapunzel, Let Down Your Hair

Bianca Schulze — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 02:05:04 +0000

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: November 26, 2010

Disney’s latest movie to take on a well-known princess is Tangled. It tells the tale of Rapunzel. For those of us that have sensitive children or are not sure if our children are ready for a PG rated film, reading through the Tangled read-aloud storybook may be a good choice. This picture book version gives a solid look at what you can expect to see in the film.

With over 64 pages of gorgeous full‐color illustrations, this hardcover Read‐Aloud Storybook retells the complete story of the swashbuckling, computer-animated comedy Disney Tangled.

Add this book to your collection: Disney’s Tangled: Read-Aloud Storybook by Christine Peymani

You may also like …

TANGLED: Little Golden Book
by RH Disney; illustrated by Disney Storybook Artists

This Little Golden Book retelling of the new film Tangled will thrill Disney fans with its beautiful full‐ color illustrations!

Golden Books/Disney | 9780736426848 | 24 pages | $3.99 | $4.99 Can. | Ages 25 | September 14, 2010

TANGLED: The Junior Novelization
by RH Disney

Expect adventure, heart, humor, and hair . . . lots of hair, when Disney Tangled comes to theaters Holiday 2010! The Junior Novelization retells the complete story of the swashbuckling, computer‐animated comedy.

Random House/Disney | 9780736426794 | 128 pages | $4.99 | $5.99 Can. | Ages 812 | September 14, 2010

Watch the trailer …

Source of books: Random House

I Am Number Four Teaser Trailer

Bianca Schulze — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 20:56:12 +0000

A little book and movie trailer action …

Add this book to your collection: I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies) by Pittacus Lore

Giveaway: Guardians of Ga’Hoole by Kathryn Lasky

Bianca Schulze — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:42:46 +0000

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: September 8, 2010

Anticipating the fall movie release of Legend of the Guardians (in theaters September 24, 2010), an animated movie based on Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’hoole, one winner will be able to support their nocturnal reading habit with a combination travel pillow/ reading light and a copy of Guardians of Ga’hoole: The Capture by Kathryn Lasky!

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 240 pages

Book overview: When Soren, a young owlet, mysteriously falls from his nest one evening, he’s plucked up and taken to the sinister St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Once there, he must use his wits and bravery to escape his captors. If Soren can learn to fly, he might just be able to take refuge with a group of brave owls he’d thought only to be a legend—the Guardians of Ga’Hoole! Find out more about this series: http://www.scholastic.com/gahoole.

Kathryn Lasky

About the author: Kathryn Lasky is the Newbery Honor author of over one hundred fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. She lives with her husband in Cambridge, Massachusetts. You can visit her online at www.kathrynlasky.com.

Legend of the Guardians movie trailer …

How to enter:

Leave a comment in the comments field below.

An extra entry will be given for each time you twitter about the giveaway and/or blog about it. You will need to paste the link in a separate comment to make this entry valid. Click here to follow us on Twitter. (Maximum entries: 3)

Giveaway Rules:

Shipping Guidelines: This book giveaway is open to participants with a United States mailing address only (international readers can enter if they have a friend in the United States who can accept their prizes by mail.)

Giveaway begins September 8, 2010, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends September 30, 2010, at 11:59 P.M. PST, when all entries must be received. No purchase necessary. See official rules for details.

The 39 Clues Blog Tour: Access Granted, Peter Lerangis

Bianca Schulze — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:30:42 +0000

By Peter Lerangis, for The Children’s Book Review
Published: August 18, 2010

Welcome to the 7th stop of The 39 Clues blog tour. We are thrilled to host Peter Lerangis! Be sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to win books 1-7 of this exciting and groundbreaking series.

The teacher looked distressed as she greeted me. “I can’t believe what happened to my class,” she said.

I braced myself. Behind her, hundreds of excited kids were filing in to the gym. They sat in sections based on the colors of their shirts: red, blue, green, gold, representing the four branches of the Cahill family. Most were dressed as 39 Clues characters. Jonah Wizard (with his bling) and Nellie Gomez (with her punk attire) were very popular — but also a set of twins dressed as fish (Saladin’s red snapper), a girl in a three-piece suit (Jonah’s dad), and a guy dressed as Nellie.

They seemed happy and engaged. So what had gone wrong?

I knew the school had chosen The 39 Clues as the theme for that year’s curriculum. Makes sense — the series is a worldwide search (geography) for Clues left by the most influential people of all time (history, science), involving twisty plots and strong emotional character connections (language arts) among colorful locales (visual art) and requiring the decoding of cryptic clues (mathematics, logic).

Hmm. Was the teacher disturbed by the intensity? It was kind of extreme …

That morning, the school had warned us to call ahead. As we got close, we were told to drive around the block and hide. When we finally got the OK to approach, our jaws hit the floor. The students were pouring out of the building, screaming, crowding against a line of traffic cones that stretched along the school. Another lane of cones had been set up for us to drive through. When I left the car and began high-fiving the kids, cones shmones — they mobbed me. On a video of the incident, you can hear a teacher saying, “Somebody get him before they kill him.” I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t Justin Bieber.

So maybe this teacher was worried — the way teachers in my elementary school had worried about our Beatles obsession. I felt a vague urge to apologize. “So, um … what did happen to your class?” I asked.

“Well, we just finished Book Two, and they have become obsessed … ” She met my eyes with a bewildered look. “ … with Mozart!”

I was speechless — not surprised, because if anyone could make an oddball eighteenth-century composer and his sister exciting, it’s Gordon Korman — but speechless.

“And I panicked,” she continued. “I didn’t know a thing about Mozart!” She finally smiled, and when she glanced at her kids again, it was with great pride. “So I had to get CDs and other materials. We’ve been listening to his music, studying Vienna — and we’re learning so much! Now, with The Sword Thief, they’re starting to get hooked on Japanese culture. I can’t wait!”

I couldn’t either.

Touring to promote The Sword Thief was one eye-opening experience after another. Part of the fun was that I was in the process of writing Book 7, The Viper’s Nest. I learned which characters the kids connected to best, which aspects of the hunt excited them the most. They became my guides. Until then I had been worried about writing a story involving historical figures relatively unknown to American kids (Shaka Zulu and Winston Churchill), in a locale fraught with a tortured historical legacy (South Africa).

But looking at this teacher, and at the throng of kids so excited about a book — not a movie or a song or a game or the latest app, but a book — I took courage. If they could bond with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, well, anything was possible!

About the author: Peter Lerangis is the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller The 39 Clues Book Three: The Sword Thief, as well as many other popular books for children, including Spy X, Antarctica, and the Watchers series. He lives with his family in New York City.

Check out Stop 8 at Robyn’s Online World on August 23!

Book Giveaway

Enter for your chance to win books 1-7 of The 39 Clues. PLUS Book 7 will be autographed by Peter Lerangis!!

Reading level: Ages 8-12

Series overview: The 39 Clues is a groundbreaking, multi-media adventure series for children ages 8-12 that spans 10 adrenaline-charged books, hundreds of collectible cards, and an online game that allows readers to play a part in the story and compete for prizes.

The series centers around the Cahills—the most powerful family the world has ever known. But the source of the family’s power has been lost. Grace Cahill, the last matriarch of the Cahills, changed her will minutes before she died, leaving her descendants an impossible decision: receive a million dollars or a clue. The first Cahill to assemble all 39 clues hidden around the world will discover what makes the family so powerful—a reward beyond measure. It’s Cahill versus Cahill in a race to the finish, with readers hot on the heels of the main characters, fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her eleven-year-old brother, Dan. The series highlights famous historical figures kicking off with Benjamin Franklin in The Maze of Bones, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in One False Note, Toyotomi Hideyoshi in The Sword Thief, Howard Carter in Beyond the Grave, Anastasia Romanov in The Black Circle, and Amelia Earhart in In Too Deep.

The series launched on September 9, 2008, with Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. On December 2, 2008, Book 2: One False Note by Gordon Korman was released and also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Since then, the series, including Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis, Book 4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson, Book 5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman, and Book 6: In Too Deep by Jude Watson, have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

The complete list of authors and publication dates for all 10 books in The 39 Clues series is as follows:

Book 1: The Maze of Bones (September 9, 2008) by Rick Riordan
Book 2:One False Note (December 2, 2008) by Gordon Korman
Book 3: The Sword Thief (March 3, 2009) by Peter Lerangis
Book 4: Beyond the Grave (June 2, 2009) by Jude Watson
Book 5: The Black Circle (August 11, 2009) by Patrick Carman
Book 6: In Too Deep (November 3, 2009) by Jude Watson
Book 7: The Viper’s Nest (February 2, 2010) by Peter Lerangis
Book 8: The Emperor’s Code (April 6, 2010) by Gordon Korman
Book 9: Storm Warning (May 25, 2010) by Linda Sue Park
Book 10: Into the Gauntlet (August 31, 2010) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Movie rights for The 39 Clues have been acquired by DreamWorks Studios with Steven Spielberg eyeing to direct. Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Media, will produce. The script is being penned by Jeff Nathanson whose credits include “Catch Me If You Can” and “Rush Hour 2.”

39 Clues Online Game: Create an account, discover which branch of the Cahill family YOU belong to, and start exploring the website to see if you can be the first to find the Clues. Get the latest intelligence on the authors, upcoming books, answers to your questions, and more. Plus, talk strategy and share secrets with other Cahills on the 39 Clues message boards.

The 39 Clues Madrigal Maze app, launched in September 2009, is a Top 100 Paid Kids Game in the App Store

The 39 Clues has been licensed in 22 languages to date.

How to enter:

Leave a comment in the comments field below.

An extra entry will be given for each time you twitter about the giveaway and/or blog about it. You will need to paste the link in a separate comment to make this entry valid. Click here to follow us on Twitter. (Maximum entries: 3)

Giveaway Rules:

Shipping Guidelines: This book giveaway is open to participants with a United States mailing address only (international readers can enter if they have a friend in the United States who can accept their prizes by mail.)

Giveaway begins August 18, 2010, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends September 15, 2010, at 11:59 P.M. PST, when all entries must be received. No purchase necessary. See official rules for details.

Sleepy Kittens: Despicable Me

Bianca Schulze — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:48:27 +0000

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: July 1, 2010

Sleepy Kittens (Despicable Me)

by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (Authors), Eric Guillon (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Board book: 10 pages

Publisher: LB Kids; Brdbk edition (May 19, 2010)

Source: Publisher

What to expect: Kittens, Rhyme, Lullaby

Sleepy Kittens is a board book based on a book featured in the 3-D animated film Despicable Me. The story is about three little kittens who cannot fall asleep. Mama Cat appeases their restlessness with a calmness and ease that lulls the kittens off to sleep. It’s short and utterly sweet. It has a wonderful rhythm and rhymes effortlessly. The illustrations are playful but not over stimulating; and the three attached kitten finger puppets compliment both the pictures and story and add their own tactile appeal. This book is not to be confused with the average novelty book produced to tie in with a hit movie. What can I say? This book is lovely!

Add this book to your collection: Sleepy Kittens (Despicable Me)

Enter to win: Despicable Me Prize Pack