A MUST READ BOOK!!!!

http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-journey-of-story.html#comment-form

Mom and I read this book several years ago.   To this day, it is still one of my favorite books.  This is a MUST READ for everyone.  I just found out that my 5th grade teacher STILL reads this book to her students each year.  A copy of the book was graciously given to her by the authors, thank you so much Jessica and Stephanie.   

Mom and I have decided to host a giveaway after the book is published.  I feel so strongly about this book, we will offer a copy when it becomes available.  

Jessica and Stephanie, if there is anything we can do to get the word out about your wonderful book, we would be more than happy to help.

So readers, stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!!!

My reading update

Hello everyone.
I've been busy memorizing the Periodic chart (love chemistry!!!) but I wish to update everyone with my reading list.   We continue to read a new book every 21 days in my English class.  I have a great teacher, and he lets me pick out the books I like.  I've been spending a lot of time with science books.   My current favorite author is Brian Greene,  

not only did I read this book for English, but we are now covering the info in my science class.   Love it when my classes crisscross.

I also read

Wasn't going to cause any potential problems by reading this for school, but I'm always looking for other viewpoints.  Enjoyed this book even though I may not agree with everything presented.

Next book on my list is:

talk to you soon!

Summer Reading

Hi Everyone.  I haven't been here much over the summer.  Enjoyed my short summer.  

But I did read over the summer.   I read the 7 Harry Potter books, no I haven't read them before, and I read a great book for my summer reading project.

My summer reading book was Michio Kaku's Physics of the Future.  Amazing book!  Loved it!  

We read a new book in English class every 21 days.  My first book for this is

as you can tell, I wasn't kiddding when I said I love science.  I can combine two favorite things by reading science books.  

Well,

KEEP READING!!!!

Foxes, free on Amazon on July 29th

Like FOXES?  Free on Amazon on 7/29/14

follow the link

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M28O45U/

Nick and Tesla are back!

Bright siblings--and amateur inventors--Nick and Tesla Holt are back in this fourth installment of their whiz-bang middle-grade series. This time, the twins are out to save science itself, as they race against the clock to figure out why a robotic assortment of history's greatest scientists and inventors keeps going haywire. Is this sabotage, robo-geddon...or something more sinister? To unravel the mystery, they'll have to keep adding all-new gadgets to their cyborg glove as they stay one step ahead of a hidden adversary. Together with zany scientist Uncle Newt and their friends Silas and DeMarco, Nick and Tesla won't give up until an answer is found...but can they do it before time runs out? In this book, readers will learn how to construct a super-cyborg gadget glove that has four incredible functions: LED signal light, ultra-loud emergency alarm, handy sound recorder, and UV secret message revealer. Science and electronics have never been so much fun!

our thoughts

What a fantastic book. I love the ongoing adventures of Nick and Tesla, along with friends Silas and DeMarco. This adventure has the kids in a museum. They were originally involved in an audio animatronic exhibit but....become involved in something far more interesting.

Book is full of science ideas and instructions to build a gadget glove. (Adult supervision in needed). If your kids love science they will love these stories. This one is the best yet! Sister and brother team ensure that if your child is either a boy or a girl, the child can relate to one the kids in the stories, personally, my favorite is Uncle Newt- he's a hoot!

Each installment in this series is better than the previous stories. Each adventure, more daring. All around fun!

Cheetahs! Fun Facts by Emma Child...free on Amazon

(from Amazon)

Publication Date: June 7, 2014 | Age Level: 6 - 12 | Grade Level: K - 6

- What’s the only kind of big cat in the world that can’t roar? 

- What’s the fastest land animal on Earth? 

- What animal is easily mistaken for a honey badger when it’s a baby, lives only in parts of Asia and Africa, and has between 2,000 and 3,000 spots on its body? 

Give up? The answer to all of those questions is the same: It’s the cheetah! 

Get ready to explore the amazing world of one our all-time favorite members of the cat family. Find out where cheetahs live, how they survive in the wild, and what they like to eat! Go along with a super-speedy cheetah as he hunts for his prey. Take a sneak peek into the quiet, shady spot where a mother cheetah has decided to give birth to her adorable cubs. Learn about rare kinds of cheetahs, the life span of the cheetah, how cheetahs communicate, and the games baby cheetahs enjoy playing! 

CHEETAHS: Fun Facts and Amazing Photos of Animals in Nature can be enjoyed by young readers and even adults, as they read to toddlers, and Kindergarteners. Not only is it an exciting and entertaining book, but it is also designed especially for the beginning readers. In this amazing kids book, you will find that the sentence structure is well designed for young children. It's short paragraphs and easy to read words makes this book an wonderful story for children, parents and even primary school teachers. 

In this fun-filled, information-loaded book written just for kids, the world of the cheetah comes magically to life right before your eyes. Peppered with humor and complete with an eye-popping bunch of fun facts at the end, this is one amazing animal report that you wouldn’t want to miss! 

Scroll up, GRAB A COPY TODAY and curl up with a good story and your child today! Don't miss out on an opportunity to fortify your child's mind as well as their hearts.

FREE FROM JUNE 10-12

CHEETAHS: Fun Facts and Amazing Photos of Animals in Nature is on Amazon's free promotion from June 10, 2014 to June 12, 2014.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KUHD3M0/

Fun Fun Book

The Alliday Poem Book of Silly Celebrations features themes from the amusingly mundane to the severely bizarre. Flip to any date, and in addition to the varied and clever poetry, you might find fun facts, though-provoking quotes, or captivating bios on major historical figures born that day. Readers will become more familiar with heroes from Feng-Shan Ho to Florence Nightingale. Teens, tweens, daydreamers, lovers of learning, and the young-at-heart will appreciate this book. Among the poetic forms included are rondeau, terza rima, limerick, tetractys, cinquain, pantoum, enclosed rhyme, haiku, double dactyl, and epigram. Alliday is a useful tool for learning about the intricacies of poetry, but more than that, it’s flat-out family-friendly fun! Every day is a chance to celebrate. Let Alliday be your guide!

my thoughts (Donna/Mom)

What a fun book!  You will never get tired of reading the entertaining bits and pieces from this book. There are many quotes that are indeed 'thought provoking' but for the most part, this book is just plain fun to read.  Do you know that June 1st is Dinosaur Day?  Neither did I.  June 1st is also National Go Barefoot Day, flip a coin day and National Hazelnut cake day.  (June 1st has no special significance, just picked this day because my kid loves dinosaurs). There are plenty of cute short poems for each day.  You are certain to get a chuckle while reading this book.  I looked up my birthday to find The Universal Postal Union was established in 1874.  Not only are fun things included, but you will learn interesting facts (my birthday is also  Fire Prevention Day).

5 stars

THE OUTISDERS

We are reading THE OUTSIDERS in my reading class.  Awesome book.  Yesterday we all dressed up as 'greasers' or 'socs'.

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

original titleThe Outsiders

ISBN 014038572X (ISBN13: 9780140385724)

edition languageEnglish

characters: Ponyboy Curtis, Sodapop Curtis, Darrel "Darry" Curtis, Dallas "Dally" Winston, Johnny Cade

literary awardsBooks I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards for Secondary (1991)

Update reading material

HI everyone...just want to give a quick update about my current reading material.

In my reading class at school, we are reading a fantastic book about King Arthur...it is full of wizards, and lots of other fun stuff!  Love this story.

We just finished reading a book called THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE.  It was ok.  I'm amazed at how few baths the people took during the middle ages.   Lots of interesting stuff to learn from books...so KEEP READING!!!

New Fantasy by Dan O'Brien

You’re never too old to have one more adventure 

Brought to life by Steve Ferchaud’s vibrant drawings, this story for all ages by Dan O’Brien lets us know that it is never too late to have one more adventure. 

An Excerpt:

Robert Pendleton opened one eye as the light of a passing car flashed over the window, shattering the darkness into prisms. He rolled onto his back on the beat-up couch and yawned as he reached his hands up and rubbed his eyes unceremoniously. 

He looked out over the darkness at the digital clock. The red digits spelled out a quarter ‘til midnight––nearly fourteen hours of sleep. He smiled and grabbed one of the cushions of the couch, burying his head in it. Just enough sleep, he reminded himself. Robert felt that anything less than twelve hours of sleep was very nearly too little. 

He grasped blindly for the TV remote. 

Groaning as he lifted his head, he looked at the empty table––his eyes drawn by another flash of a passing car. He couldn’t see clearly, but he knew that the remote had been there before he had fallen asleep nearly half a day ago. 

“Could have sworn….” he mumbled as he pushed himself up and brushed his hand around the top of the table, finding nothing. “Where did….”

Another groan escaped his lips as he lifted his body to a sitting position and threw aside the cluster of pillows that he had gathered around himself. He reached out for the lamp, but instead knocked it to the floor with a resounding thud. 

Robert muttered as he stood up from the couch, and then sank to his knees to search around in the darkness for the fallen lamp. Reaching around on the shadowed floor, shards of the broken lamp scattered like pieces of light. 

He turned his head, peering beneath the large space underneath the couch and saw the reflection of the buttons on the remote. The off-gray piece of machinery was underneath the couch––only darkness lingered beyond it. He reached out as he spoke again. 

“How did it get all the way down there?” 

Robert flexed his hand and strained as he twisted his back to reach farther; yet, the remote remained just out of reach. He pulled his arm away with a huff and craned his neck to the side, staring underneath into the darkness below the couch. 

His eyes widened as he saw the impossible: there was something beyond the remote. He shook his head and closed his eyes, whispering to himself that he didn’t see what he thought he had.

“I saw a little man,” he whispered to himself as he opened his eyes once more and nearly gasped as he did so. 

The figure was closer now and he could make out the outline clearly. A tiny man rested just beyond the remote. 

“What in the name of…?”

“Not here in the name of nobody, laddie. I be a friend though,” crooned the miniscule figure as he interrupted Robert and stepped forward, placing a hand on the darkened and slick surface of the remote. 

A tam-o’-shanter crested his bright red hair, the shaggy mane blending perfectly into his equally crimson, neatly trimmed, beard. 

A billow of whitish smoke drifted from the long-stemmed pipe that he held clenched between his lips. 

Robert fell back and knocked aside the adjacent table. Rubbing his eyes, he spoke a single word: “Leprechaun.”

About the Author:

Dan O’Brien, founder and editor-in-chief of The Northern California Perspective, has written over 20 books––including the bestselling Bitten, which was featured on Conversations Book Club’s Top 100 novels of 2012. Before starting Amalgam, he was the senior editor and marketing director for an international magazine. In addition, he has spent over a decade in the publishing industry as a freelance editor. You can learn more about his literary and publishing consulting business by visiting his website at: www.amalgamconsulting.com. Contact him today to order copies of the book or have them stocked at your local bookstore. He can he reached by email at amalgamconsulting@gmail.com. 

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Please don't tell my parents I'm a SUPER VILLAIN

Genre: young-adult, science-fiction, fantasy  

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Publication: February 15th, 2014

Cover Artist: Ricky Gunawan

Penelope Akk wants to be a superhero. She's got superhero parents. She's got the ultimate mad science power, filling her life with crazy gadgets even she doesn't understand. She has two super powered best friends. In middle school, the line between good and evil looks clear.

In real life, nothing is that clear. All it takes is one hero's sidekick picking a fight, and Penny and her friends are labeled supervillains. In the process, Penny learns a hard lesson about villainy: She's good at it.

Criminal masterminds, heroes in power armor, bottles of dragon blood, alien war drones, shape shifters and ghosts, no matter what the super powered world throws at her, Penny and her friends come out on top. They have to. If she can keep winning, maybe she can clear her name before her mom and dad find out.(less)

Paperback

Expected publication: February 15th 2014 by Curiosity Quills Press

ISBN139781620074633

edition languageEnglish

Enter here for a chance to win a copy

about the author

Richard Roberts has fit into only one category in his entire life, and that is ‘writer’, but as a writer he’d throw himself out of his own books for being a cliche.

He’s had the classic wandering employment history – degree in entomology, worked in health care, been an administrator and labored for years in the front lines of fast food. He’s had the appropriate really weird jobs, like breeding tarantulas and translating English to English for Japanese television. He wears all black, all the time, is manic-depressive, and has a creepy laugh.

He’s also followed the classic writer’s path, the pink slips, the anthology submissions, the desperate scrounging to learn how an ever-changing system works. He’s been writing from childhood, and had the appropriate horrible relationships that damaged his self-confidence for years. Then out of nowhere Curiosity Quills Press demanded he give them his books, and here he is.

As for what he writes, Richard loves children and the gothic aesthetic. Most everything he writes will involve one or the other, and occasionally both. His fantasy is heavily influenced by folk tales, fairy tales, and mythology, and he likes to make the old new again. In particular, he loves to pull his readers into strange characters with strange lives, and his heroes are rarely heroic.

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Doctor Heidegger has invited four old friends to his study. He needs their help with an experiment. His friends presume the experiment will be nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps they will inspect a cobweb under a microscope or witness the slow death of a mouse. But when Dr. Heidegger's guests gather around a small black table that holds a cut-glass vase, strange things begin to happen that will change their lives, or so it seems.

Enlivened and enriched by Marc Johnson-Pencook's amazing pen and ink illustrations, this adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic story will introduce middle readers to one of America's greatest authors.

my thoughts

(Lucas)

I can't say I've ever wanted to read Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Sure, I visited the House of Seven Gables with mom, but to read his stuff?  Yuck.  Well, this book will change your mind.  It certainly changed mine.

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment is a riot.  A classic example of what the placebo effect can do to a person, or a group of people.  The illustrations are great- Made me laugh while reading.

This isn't some boring old book.  It's been updated by Jerome Tiller to make it more interesting for kids.  

You can check out his website at

http://artwriteproductions.com/adapted.html

Jerome Tiller lives in Fridley, Minnesota.  He is co-owner of ArtWrite Productions, a publishing company bent on making education and reading more pleasurable for youth.  Adapted Classics, an imprint of ArtWrite Productions, uses fine-art illustrations to introduce classic stories to young readers. 

Marc Johnson-Pencook is an illustrator, animator, and muralist.  He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  His illustrations appear in books, periodicals, gallery shows and private collections, and his murals adorn many walls and ceilings in public places and private spaces in the Twin Cities and beyond.  He also teaches illustration at the Atelier Studio Program of Fine Art in Minneapolis and the Art Academy in St. Paul.  In addition, Marc composes and performs rock music- he currently plays percussion for "The Dig-Its"- a retro-rock group based in Minneapolis.  Marc can be contacted at

http://illustratormarc.blogspot.com