Albany Children's Book Festival 2013

I met many talented authors and illustrators at the Albany Children's Book Festival. These are my favorites.

This is Barbara Dee. She has published many mid-grade novels.

Her most recent and very intriguing novel is called Trauma Queen. I'd read this book based in the title alone!

This is Elizabeth Zunon. She is a talented illustrator that has worked on Patricia MacLachlan picture books. Wow!

This is a recent book illustrated by Ms. Zunon. It's called A President From Hawai'i and it's fantastic. I highly recommend this book to readers ages 7-10.

Albany Children's Book Festival 2013

I will be attending the 5th annual Albany Children's Book Festival on April 27, 2013. See the link below.

http://www.albanychildrensbookfestival.com/#!

Come see me there if you can!

Q&A with Quinn Cole

Quinn Cole, the author of Alphabet Puke, answered some questions for me. See below...

How did the name, Alphabet Puke come about?

The working title for the book was G is for Germs and when it was completed I wanted something more memorable. I thought G is for Germs was dull and didn’t portray the monsters’ silliness and their medical adventures. I texted my daughter with a couple of title alternates and asked for ideas. She sent back Alphabet Puke. She said it made her think of alphabet soup with a twist. The publisher loved it and we added the Monsters’ Medicine A-Z subtitle for added description. It was an instant hit with children.

 

What are your hopes for Alphabet Puke?

I imagined creating a story that lessened the stress of illness and medical treatment for children. At first, I pictured robots as the main characters. I love robots. Then I realized that monsters would serve the story better. Monsters are often seen as big and scary by children. I wondered what would scare a monster.

Would they be scared of shots or getting a nosebleed? What would a monster do if he got laryngitis and lost his voice? Did monsters get hiccups or diabetes?

 

Is there some reason why you went with an A-Z format for the book?

When I first started listing the various medical problems children have, I soon realized that I would either have to write a lot about one topic, say allergies, or write a little about a variety of topics. I tried to imagine what one of my four children might want to read if ill with a cold or during a hospital stay. Short and distinct rhyming text, as well as, a format that lent itself to being picked up and put down many times seemed like it would probably hold the attention of a sick child much better than an in-depth story. I know when I’m ill I want something fun and light. I chose the A-Z format to allow for the greatest number of medical descriptions in the text and allow for more illustration opportunities.

Alphabet Puke was created to entertain children during scary or confusing health problems and treatments. 

 

Thank you, Ms. Cole for sharing with us about your picture book!

Alphabet Puke--Monsters' Medicine A-Z by Quinn Cole

I usually recommend books for older readers, but I'm recommending a picture book this month. This is a link to the book trailer. It's a treat and it says it all...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn041rgB4rw
 

A quote from the press release: "Even those who quake at the mention of 'medicine' will eagerly follow these friends' adventures as they discover how hiccups happen, fevers flare, warts grow, and more! Alphabet Puke is Monsters Inc meets Dougie Houser, M.D."

 

This book is unique, fun, and for sale Monday! I recommend it to all kids, both young and old.

List of Recommended Books:
 

Picture books

Alphabet Puke—Monsters’ Medicine A-Z by Quinn Cole

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka

Time Warp Trio #2: The Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka

 

3^rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

 

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

 

7^th grade and up –

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

The Time Warp Trio #2: The Not-So-Jolly Roger

This month I read The Time Warp Trio #2: The Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka. It was published in 1991. I loved this book as much as the first one.

Joe, Fred, and Sam find themselves on a deserted island after Fred inserts the words “buried treasure” into Sam’s All Purpose Time Warper chant. They encounter non-other-than Blackbeard himself, who is a murderer and hilariously unstable. They have several near death experiences with Blackbeard, but convince him that they are valuable. After being taken aboard Blackbeard’s ship, they inadvertently save the day by turning a canon around. It blasts its cannonball into a ship in the Royal Navy, giving it the deathblow. Blackbeard is grateful and takes the boys to get a buried treasure of their own. Luckily, the treasure is the book they need to return home to their own time because Blackbeard, being terribly unstable, has decided they must die, again. They time-warp home just in time.

The Time Warp Trio is a series of books. I must read #3! I HIGHLY recommend this book to 2th or 3^rd graders. 

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka

Time Warp Trio #2: The Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka

3^rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

 

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

7^th grade and up –

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

The Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table

This month I read The Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka. It was published in 1991. This book is over 20 years old, but it’s one of the funniest books I’ve read.

The story is simple. There are three boys: Joe, Fred, and Sam. They are normal boys who love baseball, magic, and junk food. It’s Joe’s birthday, and he receives a present from his uncle, Joe the Magnificent. It’s a magic book. With a puff of green smoke, the book transports the boys to Camelot. They defeat an evil knight (hilariously), save the castle from a giant and a dragon, and become knights. They enjoy their time in Camelot, but they miss cheeseburgers and TV. Merlin gets annoyed with the boys after their homemade baseball breaks a few potions in his tower. He sends them home with the same book that transported them there in the first place. No time has passed at Joe’s birthday party. His mom was mid-sentence when they left, and she finishes her sentence when they return.

 

The Time Warp Trio is a series of books. I have to read a few more because this first one is that good. I HIGHLY recommend this book to 2nd or 3^rd graders.

 

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly, by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Time Warp Trio #1: Knights of the Kitchen Table

3^rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare.

7^th grade and up –

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright

Holes

This month I read Holes by Louis Sachar. It was published in 1998 and won the Newbery Medal in 1999. It’s an amazing book!

Holes is a complicated and fantastic story. Every detail somehow comes full circle, including the main character’s name, Stanley Yelnats. Notice that Yelnats is Stanley backwards!

The story begins over 100 years ago when Stanley’s great-great-grandfather inadvertently brought a curse down on his family. The curse causes bad things to happen to the members of the Yelnats family for generations. Stanley is wrongfully accused of stealing a famous baseball player’s stinky sneakers and is sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake. The camp does not have a lake, and it is not green. It is a desert that used to be a lake. The boys at the center are forced to dig holes, but they don’t know why. Stanley grows in character and strength at Camp Green Lake through misery and suffering. In the end, Stanley undoes his family’s curse and makes them rich through a series of fantastic events.

Holes is an awesome story. I recommend this book to 7th graders. The story includes some rough "characters" and a few cuss words that are not appropriate for younger children.

List of Recommended Books by Grade:

2^nd grade –

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Miss Holly Is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

3^rd grade –

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

4^th grade –

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Golly Whopper Games by Jody Feldman

5^th grade –

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Benjamin Pratt & The Keeper of the School by Andrew Clements

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

6^th grade –

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

7^th grade and up –

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Seventeen Second Miracle, by Jason F. Wright