Add this book to your collection:  School of Fear

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Video courtesy of LittleBrownBooks: “What are YOU afraid of?”

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Add this book to your collection: The Name of the Star (Shades of London)

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©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Add this book to your collection: It’s the First Day of School…Forever!

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©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Add this book to your collection: Theodore Boone: The Abduction

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©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

By Tina Vasquez, for The Children’s Book Review
Published: February 9, 2011

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

By A.S. King

Reading level: Ages 14 and up

Hardcover: 323 pages

Publisher: Knopf (October 2010)

Source: Publisher

Award(s): Printz Honor Book, 2011

Vera Dietz is a quick-witted, intelligent, responsible, kind—essentially, she’s every parent’s dream, except for the fact that she’s linked to the murder of her best friend Charlie and is subsisting on a steady diet of vodka and fast food. Also, she may be going crazy or Charlie may be haunting her, begging her to clear his name. Either way, Vera’s senior year is shaping up to be a doozy.

Growing up, Vera spent every day with Charlie; he was her closest confidante and they truly needed each other. Vera was being raised by her dad, who was obsessed with responsibility, which is why she was forced to get a job as a “pizza delivery technician.” Vera’s dad may need her more than she needs him. After her mother abandoned them, Vera picked up the pieces. Charlie was living in his own house of horrors, the brutal, often physically violent fights between his parents were common knowledge, but rarely spoken of.

Through all of this Charlie and Vera forged a deep bond that was a lot like friendship and a lot like falling in love, but as they got older Charlie withdrew from Vera, becoming secretive and spending a great deal of his time with “detentionheads” he and Vera used to make fun of. Their relationship began to fall apart just as they needed each other most, but it wasn’t because of a lack of love. As we learn in Please Ignore Vera Dietz, sometimes love isn’t enough to keep two people together or to keep one from making bad choices.

A.S. King’s writing is punchy and doesn’t talk down to young readers. Each character is well-rounded, providing just enough insight into their inner workings, without giving too much away too soon. Everyone seems slightly damaged in a way that is realistic, meaning young readers will most likely see themselves, their friends, or their family members reflected in each of the characters.

Whether high school is a distant memory or it’s on the agenda for tomorrow, readers both young and old will find themselves getting sucked into King’s latest. It may be part murder mystery, part high school drama, but it’s also one good read.

Add this book to your collection: Please Ignore Vera Dietz

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©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

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.

Sponsored by Scholastic.

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©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Reviews by Children: This category gives children and young adults the opportunity to express their opinion of a book—after all, they are the intended audience!

By Elena (Age 11), for The Children’s Book Review
Published: June 30, 2010

I So Don’t Do Spooky

by Barrie Summy

Reading level: Ages 9-13

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (December 8, 2009)

Source: Publisher

This book is part of the “I So Don’t Do…” series about a middle school girl named Sherry who has the ability to interact with ghosts, including her mother, a former police officer, with whom Sherry solves mysteries.  These books are like funny, modern Nancy Drew mysteries with a ghost-twist.

I really liked I So Don’t Do Spooky because it is about how Sherry and her mother (ghost mother) solve the mystery about who is threatening Sherry’s new stepmother.  Sherry’s stepmother is a strict but very nice teacher at Sherry’s middle school (her nickname is “The Ruler”!).   Like the rest of the series, this book is a mixture of realistic fiction, science fiction, mystery and humor. I would recommend this book and the rest of the series! In particular, I would recommend these books for girls ages 9-13.

Add this book to your collection: I So Don’t Do Spooky

Note: Elena composed this with some assistance from her fabulous mom, but it is in her own words.

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: June 10, 2010

Douglas E. Richards, author of The Prometheus Project series (Ages 9-13), is giving away 3 sets of autographed books in celebration of the release of the third book in the series—Stranded (Book 3) releases in July. Each winner will receive a copy of the first two books, The Prometheus Project: Trapped and The Prometheus Project: Captured

The Prometheus Project is a science-fiction mystery series that has a lot to offer: mystery, adventure, action, suspense, team work, determination, problem solving, scientific facts, aliens and their well imagined city, and a little dose of humor. You can read what we had to say about the first two books back in early ‘o9: The Prometheus Project by Douglas E. Richards, as well as read an interview between Luisa LaFleur and Douglas E. Richards: Interview.

How to enter (maximum entries, 3):

• Leave a comment in the comments field below. If you are one of the lucky winners, you will be contacted via e-mail.

• 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.

• Don’t forget: A valid e-mail address is a must.

• 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 States who can accept their prizes by mail.)

• The contest will run June 9, 2010 – July 7, 2010, with the winners being drawn July 1, 2010.  Administrator’s computer is the official time keeping device for the Giveaway. Winners will be picked at random using a random sequence generator (your comments are numbered in the order they are received and the numbers are like raffle tickets drawn from a hat). Winners have 72hrs to claim their prize. Unclaimed prizes will be awarded to an alternate winner.

• Comment away!

Disclaimer: Books will be shipped directly from Douglas E. Richards, delivery of the giveaway item lies solely on the sponsor. Names, e-mail address and physical addresses of all winners will be shared with the sponsor for the purpose of fulfillment of the giveaway.

Click covers to enlarge for easier reading …

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Add this book to your collection: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

By Wendelin Van Draanen, for The Children’s Book Review
Published: June 4, 2010

The Children’s Book Review presents a guest post by Wendelin Van Draanen, author of the Sammy Keyes series. Her first book was published in 1997, and since then her titles have been nominated for State Award Master Lists all over the country. The Sammy Keyes Mysteries have been nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Children’s Mystery. Additionally, she has won the Christopher medal for Shredderman: Secret Identity, and the California Young Reader Medal for Flipped. Her books have been translated into many foreign languages, and have been optioned for film and television projects.

Thanks for inviting me to talk about Sammy Keyes. Writing this series has been quite a journey, but it would be complete prevarication to say that I knew where I was going with Sammy when I started the series. She’s like a visitor who was invited in for the night and wound up moving in. And although Sammy’s adventures always have an underlying life-lessons theme—something I’d like my readers to think about and factor into the decisions they make in their own lives—what’s interesting to me is how much I’ve learned from spending time with Sammy.

I’m not talking about research. I have learned a tremendous amount from the research involved in writing the Sammy Keyes series, but what I’m referring to here is learning about how to be a better person.  I think it’s natural to fall into physical patterns and habits, especially after you become part of the workforce. You get up at a certain time, you go to work, come home…you fall into a routine.

I think it’s the same with one’s pattern of thinking. We get used to thinking a certain way, and don’t wander outside those thinking habits unless something comes along and makes us. Reading is good for this, and so is writing…if you let it. The adage is “write what you know”, but I’ve written over 25 novels now, and believe me, I wasn’t carrying around all the necessary knowledge when I began. I picked things up along the way, through a combination of research and reflection.

The reflection has come from walking in Sammy’s shoes. Seeing things through her eyes. And I think a good example of this is when I was in the midst of Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy.

At the time my husband and I were living in a run-down 400 square foot rental in a kind of bad part of town. We were saving our money, trying to be patient about getting into our own place, and were living in this house with our two small sons. Not a great situation, by any means. Gang graffiti would get sprayed on our fence, completely drug crazed people would hide in the shadows of our porch, and the couple across the street were regularly on the verge of killing each other.  We also lived near the Salvation Army building, so homeless people were always in the neighborhood.

My defense against this environment was to lock the house, draw the shades, and long for the day when we could move out of there.  Then one Saturday when my husband was at work and I was home alone with my kids, a homeless woman knocked on my door.

Now, in Sammy’s world, Sammy had just discovered that a girl she had secretly followed was homeless, living by herself in a refrigerator box down near the riverbed. And in the midst of trying to figure out how to help her, Sammy suddenly recognizes that her own situation—living illegally with her grandmother in a small seniors-only apartment—is not the curse she thought it was. At least she has a roof over her head. And a couch to sleep on. And a grandmother who loves her.

So that’s where I was in the story when this homeless woman appeared at my door with a sack of wet clothes wanting to know if she could borrow my dryer.

This wasn’t fiction. This was real life. And my knee-jerk reaction was, Sorry, no. I mean, I didn’t know what was in her sack of clothes. What if it had…lice? And my two little boys were right there, holding my legs. Really, I just wanted to close the door.

But through my mind ran the thought… Sammy wouldn’t close the door. Sammy would help her. How can you write one thing and live another?

And then the woman said, “They’re clean. I promise. There’s just not enough sunshine left to dry them.”

So I took her clothes and while she sat on my porch bench, I got them drying.  Then I went outside and sat and talked with her. Turns out she had two children, too, who had been taken from her because she couldn’t care for them. She didn’t know where they were. She told me she slept nights in bushes near the mall, and was grateful, so, so grateful that I’d agreed to dry her clothes.

An hour later, she left my porch with what I’d given her— dry clothes and an extra jacket.

What she gave me was a new perspective on my life.

I have lots of other stories about how Sammy has affected me, but I’m sure I’ve taken up my allotment of space. Thanks for sharing your blog, and for letting me share this story.  I hope your readers will follow me to tomorrow’s tour stop. I’ll be at Write For a Reader (http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com) where I’ll be discussing how the “quirk” winds up in my characters.  Happy reading everyone!

Wendelin Van Draanen: Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash Blog Tour

May 31^st:            Where the Books Are – http://wherethebestbooksare.blogspot.com

June 1^st:             Steph Su Reads – http://stephsureads.blogspot.com

June 2^nd:            Through A Glass, Darkly – www.throughaglass.net

June 3^rd:            Mrs. Magoo Reads – www.mrsmagooreads.com

June 4^th:            The Children’s Book Review – www.thechildrensbookreview.com

June 5^th:             Write for a Reader – http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com

June 6^th:            Mundie Moms – http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/

June 7^th:            Library Lounge Lizard – http://www.libraryloungelizard.com/

June 8^th:            Wendelin’s Jog Blog – http://etrtr.blogspot.com/

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.