Thought for the Day:
“The writer can do nothing for men more necessary, satisfying, than simply to reveal to them the infinite possibilities of their own souls.”
~ Walt Whitman ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Steven Pressfield has some great stuff on his blog. HERE, HERE, and HERE you will find a three-part series on making your hero suffer. I think he may have added a couple more posts to this series after I put this in my file, so you might want to check at his blog. Enjoy!
Writer’s Digest has a good post HERE with 10 Habits of Highly Effective Writers by Robert Blake Whitehall.
Tara Lazar has a terrific post on Writing for Kids (while raising them) that will help explain the language in those pesky rejections. Check it out HERE.
Last week I offered my copy of My Secret Guide to Paris by Lisa Schroeder to one of you. This week's winner is Violet Tiger. Congratulations, Violet! I wish I could tell you something about her, but she is a wee bit secretive. That said, she has a book review blog that is worth checking out. It's called Reading Violet and you can check it out by clicking HERE. She is featuring a book by one of my favorite writers this week. Violet, I will get the book out to you this week.
About a year ago, I reviewed a book called Nanny X by Madelyn Rosenberg. If you missed that review you can see it HERE. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed this first book of a series for the younger middle-grade readers. When I had a chance to read the second in the series, Nanny X Returns, for the Manhattan Book Review, I asked for it right away. I wasn't disappointed. Here is the review I wrote.
Alison and Jake walk home from school with Nanny X and they discover their grandmother broke her leg. The kids’s parents leave town, and before you know it, Nanny X has a new case from NAP — Nanny Action Patrol. Someone has threatened the president. If he doesn’t place a large fish sculpture on the White House lawn, national treasures will be damaged or disappear. Nanny X takes the kids fishing where they meet their friend Stinky and his nanny, Boris, also a member of NAP. When they catch a robot fish, they know they are onto the villain they have dubbed The Angler. The chase ensues through Washington D.C. and there is plenty of excitement and danger.
“Jake pulled out his stink-bomb pacifier. He
squeezed the nub and threw it.
Hard-boiled-egg smoke poured out.”
Madelyn Rosenberg has created a fun series for the middle-grade set. This
second book doesn’t have quite the excitement of the first book since the kids have already discovered all the mysteries of Nanny X, but it is still a fun mystery for the group to figure out. Excellent writing and terrific characters carry the day. Being set in Washington D.C. has the added benefit of mixing in a little American history for readers to learn.
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| Madelyn Rosenberg |
I have a gently-read hardback copy of this book 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 Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.
