Natural History Museum Explorer Dinosaurs! -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Defeat is not the worst of failures.  Not to have tried is the true failure.” 

~ George Edward Woodberry ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Grammar can be vexing for a lot of people. Laura Fineberg Cooper has a terrific post HERE at Writers’ Rumpus with common mistakes and how to avoid them. 

Cliches have a way of creeping into our writing, but the post HERE from Writer’s in the Storm can make quick and fun work of fixing that problem. 

The dreaded synopsis again. There is a very good post HERE about how to do it.

My website isn't quite ready for Prime Time yet, but I expect it might be ready next week. I will keep you posted.  

I don't often talk about picture books here, but once in awhile I run across one

that I simply have to talk about it. This week I read one called We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Author/Illustrator Ryan T. Higgins that knocked my socks off. I have shared it with everyone who came near me in the days since, and everyone has loved it as much as I have. It is the funniest picture book I think I have ever seen, and it is sweet and has a great message. It doesn't get any better. I just ordered every Ryan T. Higgins book my library has. We Don't Eat Our Classmates won't be available until June 19, but you might want to preorder it so you don't miss it.

Last week I offered a gently-read hardback of Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans to one of you. If I thought there was a chance in the world I would have time to read this one again, I would never give it away, but that's not gonna happen. So, lucky Carol Baldwin is going receive my copy. Congratulations, Carol! I will get the book out to you this week. If you don't know Carol, she is a North Carolina writer and you can learn more about her at her cleverly-titled blog, Carol Baldwin's Blog found HERE. For the rest of you, I have a very interesting book to send to one of you, so keep reading. 

I am loving all the non-fiction books for middle-graders that keep popping up, and I have never quite gotten over my childhood love of dinosaurs, so when I ran across the Natural History Museum Explorer Dinosaurs! I was happy to take it for review. It's a different take on this topic and a lot of fun. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review. 

Young paleontologists take note. There is a new dinosaur book that will fascinate dino-loving youngsters, which would include just about all youngsters. Yet how can there be a truly fresh take on this most ancient of subjects? The Natural History Museum brought together a team of three authors and an illustrator to create this incredible new dinosaur book. Modeled almost as if it were field notes from an explorer and done in muted colors on heavy stock, this is different from other dinosaur books. Every page is packed with excellent information written in such a way as to speak to the middle-grade audience as if they were peers of the explorer and even part of the excavation team. The writing is crisp, the research shines, and the illustrations complete and support every chunk of text. Perhaps the pièce de résistance, though, is a timeline at the back that is a single sheet of heavy, glossy stock, the equivalent of nine pages, that covers 240 million years jam-packed with illustrations and small text blocks designed to be removed from the book and mounted on the wall. Youngsters (and others) will eat this book up. Don’t miss  it.

I have a gently-read UK edition hardback for one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower, and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Greg Pattridge's blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.

Wed Rabbit -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

"Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.

You need to start somewhere." 

~ Anne Lamott ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Flashbacks are tricky, but sometimes they are necessary. HERE Randy Ingermanson has a good post on just that topic. 

Anne R. Allen offers fixes for plot holes in your manuscript HERE. My favorite section is called Too Dumb to Live. 

This is a lot of fun. HERE is a post with 25 synonyms you should be using.

My daughter Maggie, who is between acting gigs right at the moment, is spending some time building a website for me. We are hoping to be able to go live in the next week or two, so changes are coming! I'm pretty excited about it and am busy sending her stuff that will make me look good. I think it's time for me to make this move. I hope I can invite you all to check it out very soon.

Last week I offered a gently-read hardback of Saturdays with Hitchcock by Ellen Wittlinger to one of you. This time our winner is Danielle Hammelef, who always shares the link to my blog a lot of places. Thanks for doing that Danielle. I will get your book out to you soon. Congratulations! For the rest of you, I have another book to give away and this one is FUNNY and has some fun fantasy as well.

When I looked over a list for review books from the Manhattan Book Review, I ran across a book called Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans. At first I thought it was a picture book, but when I looked it up, found it to be a middle-grade novel. When I saw the cover (Don't you LOVE it?), I hearkened back to Bunnicula, one of my all-time favorites, so I knew I had to have it, and I snatched it right up. I had no idea what a fun ride I was in for. Here is the review I wrote for the Manhattan Book Review.

Fidge is eleven, and she is tired of having to read The Wimbley Woos book to her four-year-old sister, Minnie, over and over. And that’s not the only thing that’s annoying about Minnie. She has annoying toys, especially Wed Wabbit, and she always gets her way even if it gets in the way of the one thing Fidge wants. Fidge is so angry and retaliates in the smallest way, but the worst thing happens. She has to stay with her scaredy-cat cousin, Graham, and during a storm both of them are transported into the Land of Wimbley Woos. Strange things are happening there, and when they find out Wed Wabbit has taken over as king, things get really interesting. They have to get Wed Wabbit and get him back to Maddie. It’s quite a challenge.

Author Lissa Evans has written the most refreshingly funny and smart book to

Lissa Evans

come out in quite a while. This is a page turner of the first order and has great messages about friendship, courage, loyalty, and much more, but the messages are well hidden in this clever, laugh-out-loud funny story. Get thee to a bookstore and buy this book!

I have a gently-read hardback for one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower, and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Greg Pattridge's blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.

Saturdays with Hitchcock -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat,

determination and hard work.”

~ Colin Powell ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

First I want to mention Jess Carroll to you. Jess has the most awesome service for those who write picture books, especially rhyming ones. Her critiques are AMAZING! And she will soon be starting an on-line rhyme academy. You can check out her services and other things HERE and friend her on Facebook to stay apprised of her upcoming classes. 

BookFox has an interesting post HERE on chapter lengths. It’s not something I have thought a lot about, but I think I should. 

Just for fun — an article HERE about the strange and wonderful things found between the pages of books. 

I am an over-explainer. I know it. I have to cut, cut, cut to get my over-explaining out. Janice Hardy has a great post HERE on just that topic. 

When last we met, I offered a paperback copy of the wonderfully funny book, Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage. This week's winner is cschwanke2013, who, I surmise, works at the Charlotte Mecklinberg Library in North Carolina. Congratulations to you, cschwanke2013. I will get your book out to you soon. Thanks for reading and commenting. For the rest of you, I have another fun giveaway this week, so read on!

I am a bit of a movie junkie and, as a kid, spent every possible Saturday at the movies. So when I saw a book called Saturdays with Hitchcock by Ellen Wittlinger on the list for the Manhattan Book Review, I had to grab it. This is not her first rodeo. Check out all the books listed on her website! Here is the review I wrote for them. 

Small town life is simple, especially if you are a twelve-year-old girl, right? Maybe not so much if your ne’er-do-well but favorite uncle is injured on the film set and comes home to visit just as your mother loses her job, your grandmother seems to be losing her memory, a new boy joins you and your best friend in activities and it is clear he has a crush on you, your best friend forever confides to you that he is gay and that he like-likes the new guy, and your grandmother’s old boy-friend shows up and it’s clear he is still smitten with her after all these years. Yeah, maybe not so simple. Maisie, aka Hitchcock, loves movies and wants to make them. It would be nice if it were just her and her best friend, Cyrus, as it has been forever, but life changes, and Maisie’s life is quite a balancing act.

Author Ellen Wittlinger has written a truly important middle-grade novel that

Ellen Wittlinger

addresses a lot of difficult issues today’s kids are likely to face. Her writing is strong, her dialogue pitch-perfect, and the story is compelling. Not to be missed.

I have a gently-read hardback for one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower, and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Greg Pattridge's blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.

Three Times Lucky -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

"You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You

get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other

people is we notice when we're doing it." 

~ Neil Gaiman ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

The Writer Magazine has a good article HERE on using visualization and immersion in making your fiction come alive. 

 Dialogue can always be better. The essay HERE from Poets and Writers Magazine can help you polish yours up. 

We all need to write author bios now and again. The post HERE from Anne R. Allen can help you do just that. 

I am going to try to get this written while I watch the Oscars, so if there are a few typos, be forgiving. Multiprocessing is not my long and strong suit.

Last week I offered a gently-read hardback of Lily's Mountain by Hannah Moderow to one of you. Our winner is Joyce Moyer Hostetter, a prolific and wonderful writer from North Carolina. Congratulations, Joyce! If you don't know Joyce, what rock have you been living under? Oh, I mean, how unfortunate for you. You can find out more about her by reading her blog HERE. If you haven't read any of her books, you are in for a treat. Blue, Aim, Comfort, Drive, & Healing Water are all worth your time. Joyce, I will get your book out to you soon. For the rest of you, I have a fun one to give away this week, so stay tuned.

I have stacks of books all over my house that I mean to get to some day. We all do. I am fairly well caught up on my review books so grabbed a novel I have been meaning to get to for a looooong time. So glad I finally got to it. It is Newbery Honor winner Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage. First of all, I am obsessed with the cover. It has been sitting on top of one stack calling our to me, "Hey, I'm a fun book! Get to me soon!" And fun it is. What a romp.

Mo is a girl who started life abandoned to the water in a  hurricane and rescued by a crusty amnesiac, the Colonel, who lost his former life and memory in the same storm. But he finds Mo, naming her for Moses for obvious reasons. They both are embraced by the small town they land in, Tupelo Landing, NC, and are made a family with the lovely and imaginative Miss Lana. The town is populated by a wide variety of quirky characters -- Mo's best friend, Dale; his brother and the love of Mo's life, Lavender; Mo's sworn enemy, Anna Celeste a.k.a. Attila Celeste; and many more. They all contribute to a fun, twisted, amazing mystery story that includes murders, robbery, kidnapping, evil villains, and more, and keep the pages turning at a rapid rate.

Author Sheila Turnage may well be the queen of metaphors. I am in awe of her

Sheila Turnage

marvelous, mirthful metaphors. Here are a couple of my favorites. "He looked at her the way a cat looks at a bird, his eyes glinting." You know he's up to no good, don't you? Here's another. "The people streamed toward the glistening white church in busy, crooked lines, like ants heading for a sugar cube." What a picture! Love it. If you want to see how it's done, read this book. The writing overall is crisp and smart and the storytelling is formidable. I just love this book. I can't recommend it more highly. If you haven't read it yet, please get to it soon. It's just sooooo good. And I was very excited to find out there are two more books in the series! Hope I can get to those soon.

I know I will probably not have time to read this again, although I would like to, so I am offering my gently-read paperback to one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower, and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Greg Pattridge's blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.