Fantastic! A Comment AND a Review Already!!

All right!! Anonymous has written to us about today's post already and sent an interesting review:

YIKES!!!You are right,that Blond has to be from a VERY bad dream!

Hummmm if you like old detective movies I suggest you might like reading, The Falcons Malteser A Diamond brothers Mystery By Anthony Horowitz It is a funny and clever spoof of Bogart-inspired private-eye detective films. Bogart references are everywhere, from the title (the Falcon is a crime lord, who has hidden the secret to his diamond stash in a box of "Malteasers," malted-milk chocolate candies), to the appearance of a world-weary cabaret singer named Lauren Bacardi who performs at the Casablanca Club. 13 year old Nick's older brother, Herbert (aka Tim Diamond), is one of the worst detectives there has ever been. Nick helps him every step of the way because he needs all the help he can get. Mr. Horowitz provides a collection of the usual sorts of eccentric suspects—a dead dwarf, a crazed criminal professor "who invented computer fraud five years before someone invented the computer, and the oddly thin "Fat Man" who poisons London's pigeons just for fun. There are murders aplenty (including one of a department-store Santa). Nick narrates the story. The end of the story left me looking forward to the next installment of Nick's adventures. And about bad dreams with not so pretty blonds in them, may I suggest no more garlic and soy ice cream or whatever wierd stuff late night snacks there are to be had.

Thanks, Anonymous. The Falcon's Maltesers looks really good. The library has copies but we don't have one here at Imagionon. Too bad. BTW, did you see our review of Key Lardo on 7-10-07? Good for younger guys, it has lots of titles based on old detective movies, and are a lot of fun. And I know about Malteasers--they are the the ultimate malted milk ball candy. I thought you could get them only in England or Europe, but I've found them here in Charlotte at a store that imports British foods. YUM YUM!!! Maybe I'll eat some tonight before going to sleep and have better dreams!!!!

Carl
PS--If this is your first review for us, Anonymous, don't forget to come into the library at Imaginon and get your free book.

"It Was Summertime in the City..." A Great Time to Catch a Hot Mystery!

It was summertime in the city, one of those July days In Charlotte when it gets so hot you could broil a burger right on the pavement. That day started like any other for the Bill and Carl Detective Agency. We'd been tracking down books that no one else could find. I was beat after spending hours helping anklebiters find The Cat In the Hat or assisting pretty young things look up another princess book. Yeah, it takes a tough guy to do a tough job like that, but even a tough guy gets tired and I had to take an overdue siesta. No sooner had I put my feet up, then the phone rang.














"Hello--who is it? A blonde? Send her in!" I'm always glad to rescue a blonde in distress.

Well, no sooner had I clapped eyes on her that I knew she was like no dame I'd ever seen before. (or would ever want to see again!!)

"Oh, Mr. Carl, my client wants you to take this case!

"Your client? Who is he, the Fat Man? "

"No, the Tall Bearded Dude. Besides, you've got no room to talk!"

"Never heard of The Tall Bearded Dude. What's he want with me?"

"He wants you to take this case."

"Huh??????? "

"Take this briefcase, you big dummy! He said you'll know what to do when you look inside."

So I took the case. When I looked back, she was gone! Had she been only a dream? A really, really BAD dream??

But this briefcase was real enough, so I looked inside.

There it was--The Postcard, the latest book from Tony Abbott.

So that's who the Tall Bearded Dude was. I'd met him before at the Novello Festival last year. Saw him in the lineup. Even got some straight answers in an interview on 12-13-07. I knew him from The Secrets of Droon books. I'd read his stuff before. To be specific, I'd read Kringle and written about it on 12-20-07 . Pretty good. So I pulled up a chair and began to see what this keyboard-pounder had sent me.

All right, enough goofiness. I just finished The Postcard and liked it a whole lot. Tony Abbott has knocked one another way, way out of the park. Thirteen-year-old Jason, living in Boston, has just learned that his grandmother has died. She had been very old and had a stroke. So Jason has to drop everything and go with his dad down to St. Petersburg, Florida to go to the funeral and sell the old house. Sounds like a lot of fun, right? Just what Jason wants to do with his summer. On top of all that, this funeral has made his dad seem more irritable, angry, and upset than normal. There's a lot of strange, mystrious, and unknown things about his grandmother's background. When they get there, all sort of strange things happen. Jason's dad explodes over an innocent line in the obituary, bizarre people that no one knows show up at the funeral, and an unknown person calls Jason on the phone and asks, "How smart are you?" All this seems to be tied in to his grandmother's unknown past. Then, while cleaning out the old house, a old, old postcard drops out of a desk. That postcard and a story in a cheap mystery magazine from the 1940's start yielding answers to the mysteries of his grandmother. But some really mysterious, and possibly dangerous, people seem to be looking for the same answers. Can Jason find out the answers in time? He'll find out that there was a lot more to his grandmother than he could ever have imagined!! You'll really get sucked into this story--you'll even get caught up in the magazine story that runs through this book. This is another of those books that make you want to spend every free moment reading it. Mystery, comedy, suspense--it's here in The Postcard. (This book is best for grades 5 and up)

Now I have to confess that I'm a fan of these old black and white mystery movies of the 1940's. They had real tough-guy stars as the detectives, great people like Humphey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. So I was glad that Mr. Abbott had a mystery tied in to that time. I'm an especailly big fan of stories with mysteries from a long time ago that change the lives of characters living now, just like Jason getting caught up in mysteries from fifty years before. You can imagine, then, that I was going to be upset if this book wasn't good. Well, I was not disappointed! It was everything I hoped a book like this would be. I think Humphrey Bogart said it best:

Yep, this book is the stuff dreams are made of. Go read it, guys!

Carl

More Summer Fun!!!!!

Well, Well, I hope you all are having a fun and pleasant summer while I, the-Sith-who-scares his-own-bad-self, Darth Bill works extra hard helping out the many denizens of the universe in need. It is a thankless job, but here are some pretty good photos of my good works this summer:




Giving the Sandpeople girlfriend advice. Women, dealing with these creatures despite the species, can be most challenging.

Explaining to Ewoks why they can't ride really cool coasters like on the left because they are not tall enough for the ride requirements.

Trying to explain to Lord Vader that pastels are not the new black!!!!!!!!!

Some exciting news here at the library on the comic book front. We are now receiving in the Spangler Room at ImaginOn the following monthly comic titles:

1) The Batman Strikes
2) Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
3) Scooby-Doo!!!
4) DC's Super Friends
5) Tiny Titans

They're located with the magazines toward the back of the Spangler Room. So come by and read the latest issues of these titles and older issues you may have missed.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - What if you when you read aloud, the possibility of characters from a book leaving the pages of said book into our world existed? Do you think it would be pretty cool? Would you risk it? You may want to read this book first before you answer that question. The story begins with Mo and his daughter Meggie, 12 years old, are visited by an old friend of Mo's Dustfinger late one night. Calling Meggie's father Silvertongue, it seems Dustfinger has come to warn him that an old acquaintance of his named Capricorn has located him and will be coming after him and a book that he is very protective named "Inkheart." It seems that Mo has a secret that his daughter does not know about. The ability to read characters from the pages of books, but little control in determining who comes out and no ability, that he knows, of putting them back. Thus starts a great adventure in which fictional characters are brought to life from such works as the book in this story, Peter Pan, Tales from the Arabian Nights and others. This book has great villains such as Capricorn, a man who rules through terror, his evil henchmen and a creature Capricorn wants read into existence whose mere touch or breath brings death known as The Shadow. This book has a great story and many great characters, many more than I have mentioned, and I highly recommend giving it a go over. Two thumbs up!!!!!!


The Batman Strikes #46 by Russell Lissau & Christopher Jones - This is one of the new comics we are now getting in the Spangler Room and one of my favorites to read. This issue's villain is big, green, scaly and just has awful manners when it comes to dealing with Batman, Robin and Batgirl. It's Killer Croc and he's robbing the town of roses, stuffed teddy bears, pretty trinkets, er........ Does this sound a bit odd to you? Well it's up to our costumed crusaders to figure it out and stop his vile, if a bit odd, crime spree!!!! Good Stuff!!!!





Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #41 by Marc Sumerak & Ryan Stegman - Peter Parker, like all kids in high school, dreams of the day he can get his driver's license and sit behind the wheel of his very own cool ride. Peter, in this issue, is getting his big chance to show his driving prowess to his Driver's Ed teacher, Mr. Cornblum. Peter is ready and things are looking up--um, that is until Man-Bull shows up on his driving route. Will Peter pass Driver's Education? Will Spider-Man defeat Man-Bull? Will there be mayhem and comedy? Only one way to find out. Give this issue a read. You won't be disappointed that you did.




Well, that's all I have for now, hipcats!!!!! Until next time take it light,

Darth Bill

Poisonous Centipedes Can Be Fun (and funny!)

I saw this book with this great title recently--Harry the Poisonous Centipede: A Story to Make You Squirm by Lynne Reid Banks. Now, how could you pass up a title like that? Especially since our theme this summer is Catch the Reading Bug. So I checked it out and guess what--it was a fun read! A quick, fun, and funny book. Harry, of course, is a poisonous centipede, which you might think icky unless you're another poisonous centipede. Life can be adventurous for a venomous insect with 42 legs--there are always tunnels to crawl through and yummy, crunchy things like beetles or spiders to hunt and eat. Belinda, Harry's mom, could even go outside and bring home a tasty toad every once in a while. But life could also be dangerous--there are hairy biters, belly crawlers, and flying swoopers to watch out for. And if the centipedes don't stay moist, they could Dry Out! The most dangerous things, however, are the giganitic Hoo-mins!! Belinda warns Harry to stay away from them--and especially the Up-pipe that leads into a Hoo-min house. But when water rushes down into their tunnels, Harry and his friend George must take the Up-pipe to escape. There they find themselves trapped in a house with a real, live, enormous Hoo-min!! Can they ever escape? I really enjoyed this one. And when the two centipedes find themselves crawling across a sleeping Hoo-min and find the only way they can keep from Drying Out--well, you'll laugh and say "Yuck!" at the same time. What more can you ask for in a book?

The second one is even better. In Harry the Poisonous Centipede Goes to Sea, Harry and George find themselves trapped inside a crate of bananas and taken far across the no-end puddle to a city of Hoo-Mins! How can they ever get back home??? This one's funny and exciting at the same time. And both books have terrific illustrations by Tony Ross. If you want something quick and fun, you can't beat these two!!

Don't let the hairy biters get your last three segments!

Carl

Let's Keep This Discussion Going!

Hey, everyone, I hope you had a good Fourth. We certainly did--went to an awesome cookout and saw great fireworks downtown. Did any of you do anything cool?

We've got a new comment from our good friend Hacksaw Jim Duggan from the Guys Read blog. He's got a question for Cassiemoonlight, who worte to us on 7-1. Here's Jim:

Hey guys,

I saw the comment made by Cassie, and I've got a question for her..Why would you not want Percy to hook up with Annabeth??I finished the "Battle of the Labrynth" and I personally think it's the best in the series so far. Obviously, Percy can't go out with Calypso because he'll never find her island again. As for Rachel, I think that she likes Percy, but I think if he had a choice, Percy would rather go out with Annabeth. So, please answer my question Cassie, because I would like to know...

Hacksaw Jim Duggan from Guys Read

Good question, Jim! Who would Percy end up with? Annabeth? Rachel? Or even Calypso? What would you like to happen? I'll throw this question out to everybody, including Cassie. Who should Percy end up with?

Inquiring readers want to know,

Carl

Happy Fourth!

Greetings, guys, and Happy Fourth of July. OK, the Fourth is actually tomorrow, but we're closed then, so I'll do it today. Are any of you going to see some good fireworks? Where will you go? Where are the best fireworks in your area?

We're celebrating our independence this weekend, not only from England but from all forms of tyranny and oppression. Sure, our country's not perfect, but we have a lot of freedoms that many places in world don't. One of them is the right to read. Dictators don't like it when their people can read and are free to read. It undermines their ability to oppress. Frederick Douglas certainly knew it. He told a story about how his master's wife started teaching him to read. The master made her stop because reading would make "unfit" to be a slave. He'd learn new things and become "unsatisfied" with his life. And it was true. Frederick Douglas continued to learn anyway, eventually found his freedom, and became a nationally-famous speaker against slavery. READING IS IMPORTANT, GUYS! Don't ever forget it.

Enough talk--let's put this into practice. Here are a couple of really good books for the Fourth or any time:

DK Eyewitness Books--American Revolution The cover says, "Discover how a few brave patriots battled a great empire." It's true. The American Revolution was an amazing story--a nation of farmers and shopkeepers, a country that was just a strip of land between the mountains and the sea, took on and beat the greatest military power in the world. Of course, we had some help with people like LaFayette and countries like France, but, still, we came awfully close to losing and it's amazing that we won. This book, like all the DK Eyewitness books, gives you lots of good pictures, interesting facts, and makes a good introduction to this fascinating story.

The Journey of the One and Only Declaration of Independence by Judith St. George
What a story!! Can you believe we still have the original Declaration? A piece of parchment over 200 years old? It's amazing to think of that--especially when I often can't find the piece of paper I printed 30 minutes ago! The original document of the Declaration of Independence is on display in Washington D. C. but it went through a lot to get there--it had to sneaked away from the British (twice!!), shrank in the hot and humid Washington summers, endured years of chimney and cigar smoke, and was both neglected and fought over many times before finding a place in its permanent display. This book told me a very exciting story that I never knew about. Judith St. George (who wrote the award-winning book So You Want to Be President?) for making history come alive and interesting and fun to read. And Will Hillenbrand's great illustrations really add to the story.

Enjoy the weekend. Liberty forever!

Carl and Bill

A Lively Discussion!

I love it! We've got a good discussion and new reviews on here! This is great! The first thing I do when I get to work is checkand see if you all have written anything. You've made my day!

Our first comment is from a new friend, Cassiemoonlight:

percy jackson is fantastic. but i dont want percy to go with annabeth. i want him to go with rachel or calypso

Thanks, Cassie. Hmmm, I wonder why you don't want him to go with Annabeth. Are you Aphrodite in disguise? She's been trying to mess them up. I've got my own ideas about who Percy will end up with--but I'm not teliing!!!(not yet at least) BTW, Cassie, girls are always welcome to write in to us. In fact, whenever you do, we give you the greatest honor we can bestow and make you an Honorary Guy. No need to thank us--I know how grateful you must be!

Our friend Hacksaw Jim Duggan from the Guys Read blog has also written to us. He has something to say about Percy and Annabeth too:

Hey Carl & Bill

Thanks for putting me up on your blog. I just wanted to say that I've started the fourth book, and right now I'm on page 73. I'm already enjoying the book alot, especially the way Riordan does action scene after action scene. I can't believe Percy screwed up and couldn't go on his date with Annabeth!! That made me so mad!

Hacksaw Jim Duggan from Guys Read

Thank you, Jim. We always post the comments that you and your fellow readers send us. (click on your name on "Labels" at the bottom of this post to see some of your other comments) You're right--no one does action scenes like Mr. Riordan. But you've got a very different idea from Cassiemoonlight; you want Percy and Annabeth to end up together. Or it seems that way to me. Why else would you be mad that they didn't go out on their date? I tell you what, for two kids who "aren't dating" (according to Percy), they sure spend a lot of time together! As I said, I've got very definite ideas (or guesses) as to what will happen--but you'll have to wait!!

Our final comment comes from none other than our old friend Lord Vader:

Hi everyone,

I'm past the halfway mark of my reading club log. I finished Garfield: Older and Wider. It was great and really funny. A few had my mom and me really laughing. There is a "made you look" comic that I can't wait to try on someone. Garfield is by Jim Davis and this was the 41st book. The other book I finished was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. I liked the book because it was a little different than the movie. I liked the basilisk (I think snakes are cool). I also liked the play on Tom Riddle's name.

Mikie (a.k.a Lord Vader)

Good to hear from you again, Lord Mikie--I mean, Vader. When He talks about his reading club log, he means the Catch theReading Bug program. If you take part in it, you can get prizes for reading! I hope a lot of you have signed up. If you live outside of Mecklenburg county, there's probably something similar at your local library.

Thanks for the great discussion! Keep those comments coming!

Carl