Told Ya!

I knew it! The great Sith lord, Darth Bill, couldn't resist taunting all the Jedi out there. Well, as I also said, all hope is not lost. We have until September 10. Plenty of time! But don't dawdle or he will taunt you a second time. I don't know what dress he might have to wear, but what would you think about one like this:

Isn't it cute?

I'll be gone on my own beach trip over the Labor Day holiday (to a much better one than the Sith beach) but go ahead and write to us. I'll check the blog Tuesday morning.

Enjoy the holiday!

Carl

The Return of Darth Corder

Hello all (even you cowardly Jedi who tremble at the merest of my postings), as you can see some of my Sith buddies and myself spent some time chilling on the beach during my recent vacation. It was pretty relaxing until Jango had that incident with the shark (Ouch! Believe me, you don't want to know more; what a moron). Now that I have returned, I find it laughable that only 2 Jedi have posted in response to my challenge. I mean, I know that books with too few pictures and lots of words are beyond the skill level of a Jedi to understand, but, come now, certainly there are a couple of Baby Board books that you could attempt to review for the blog (Hahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!). Well, you are quickly running out of time and it is looking as though I, the mighty Darth Bill, will not be having his picture in a dress and all the Jedi in the known galaxy will forever be put to shame (Haahhahahahhahahahhhahaha!!!!!). Tell you what, you pathetic Jedi, I will extend my challenge until September 10. After that I will just laugh and chuckle to myself about the once mighty Jedi Order.

Well enough of my Jedi ridiculing, I want to talk about some more really cool books I have read:

1) The Time Warp Trio: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka - This is the first book in Mr. Scieszka's hilarious Time Warp Trio series. The three main character are Joe (a budding magician), Fred (a cool sports type guy), and Sam (a nerdy but cool egg head). The fun starts when Joe gets this weird looking magic book as a present from his uncle. This is no ordinary magic book, as the guys find this out quickly. One minute they are looking at the book and talking about knights and the next they find themselves in the time of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. This sounds pretty cool, ya think huh? Wrong!!!!!!! The first thing they run into when they arrive is the dreaded Black Knight, who, for some unknown reason, is bent on killing them. Next they meet Merlin, who does not like them at all. To prove themselves to Merlin and Arthur they must take on Bleob, a totally gross giant, who smells worse than anything you can imagine, issues nauseating burps, snots slime that falls onto everyone, and does other things I don't even want to mention. Did I also mention the dragon they have to deal with? All the books in this series are extremely funny and guaranteed to generate more than a few laughs, so check this one out and the others in the series.

Later and Peace,

Bill

Looking For Something Short But Good?

Bill runs some cool programs, doesn't he? Keep in touch with us or visit the Imaginon website at http://www.imaginon.org/ to find out about more great programs.

I'm going to talk about a coupe of short but really good books. The first is Being Teddy Roosevelt by Claudia Mills. Remember how I talked about biographies the other day? Well, this book shows how reading biographies can really impact your life. Riley O'Rourke has a lot of obstacles in his life--his dad left five years ago, his mom doesn't make much money, and he can't take the music lessons he wants so desperately because they can't afford to rent an instrument. But then his teacher assigns the class the project of reading biographies and Riley gets Theodore Roosevelt. What does Riley know about that man, except that he was president? As Riley does his reading, the things he learns about Theodore Roosevelt begin to change his life. What are those things? You'll have to read this book to find out!

The other book is Stone Fox by John Gardiner. What would you do if your grandfather were too sick to take of the family farm and you owed $500 in back taxes. How would you get that much money? That's the problem facing 10-year Willy out in Wyoming. His only chance is to win the dogsled competition held every winter. Yet how could a ten year-old boy hope to beat veteran racers, especially the great Indian named Stone Fox, who has never lost? You've got to read this exciting and unforgettable story to see what happens.

Well, noble Jedi, we're down to the wire. I hate to think what sort of taunting Darth Bill will give us! Yet don't give up hope--all is not lost!

Comics Camp

Comics Camp!!!!!!!!













Above are some pictures of the Comics Camp we had here at ImaginOn on July 19 and 26. The middle picture is of my good friends and extremly talented writers/artists Eraklis Petmezas (Herc - Right) and John DaCosta (Left). They worked with young people who were interested in creating their own comics and graphic novels. After talking about comics and graphic novels, they encouraged everyone to come up with something unique to them and create their own mini-comic to take home with them (see left most and right most pictures). We will be doing more workshops in the future so everyone keep on the lookout.

The Totally Cool and Happening Bone Book Club

Bone Book Club
Originally uploaded by darth9maul

This is a picture of the loud and proud Bone Graphic Novel Book Club Posse. We covered the Bone Graphic Novels 1 through 5. I had a great time and I hope the rest of the crew did also. Mr. Smith the writer and artist of the Bone Graphic Novels will be here at Imagion for our Novello Festival in October. He will be here at ImaginOn on October 20, 2007 for Novello's Word Play Saturday. He will be meeting and talking with fans from 9:30 - 10:30 and signing books at 11:30. Be there or be square!!!!!

Another Jedi Responds! Only 3 more!

Faster than the Millenium Falcon, another Jedi reader has responded to Darth Bill!

I read this book called Inkheart, written by Cornelia Funke. In the story, a certain person’s voice has the ability to send people into the setting and story of a book, and at the same time bring characters from that book to life. I was amazed throughout the entire book. This story is now one of my top 5 all-time favorites!
ENJOY!
Obi-Wan Jesse

Take that, Darth Bill! Well done, Obi-Wan Jesse. Come in and get your free book. And where are you, Obi-Wan Andrew? We need to hear from a noble Jedi like you!

Yoda Says. "Write, Noble Jedi"

Yoda
Originally uploaded by PhillipWest

"Want to see Darth Bill in a dress, do I" says Yoda. "Let us have only 4 more Jedi readers to write to us."

A Jedi Reader Writes! We Need Only 4 More!

All right! Our first Jedi has answered Darth Bill's challenge:

I read a book called the Bermuda Triangle. I am a jedi reader. I found a fact that the triangle is 500,000 square miles long. I want to see Darth Bill in a Dress!! (O: Justin B.

Good job, Justin B! Come in and get your free book. Justin knows, as I've always said, that nonfiction is not boring!
But---dum dum DUM!--whenever the Jedi appear, the Sith are not far behind. Here's a new posting from Lord Vader:

I just finished Deltora Quest: The Lake of Tears by Emily Rodda. Lief and his companions continue on in their quest in this book. They have to fight an evil sorceress and some of her children. They pick up another companion along the way and find another gem.
The force tells me that Mel is a girl I have seen at the library many times before.

What do you think, guys? Is Mystery Mel a girl or boy? Is he right? I know the force is strong in him, but can we trust Lord Vader? Hmmm....

Qui-Gon Jinn Wants All You Jedi Readers To Write!

Because he wants to see Darth Bill in a dress! We'll all see it if you Jedi readers write to us by August 31. We need only 4 more!

Here are a couple of books that I've really liked. Both are biographies. They're incredible true stories of remarkable men, proving that biographies do not have to be boring! The first is John Smith Escapes Again! by Rosalyn Schanzer. What a life! You've probably heard the story of John Smith and Pocahontas--well, you don't the half of it! John Smith was shipwrecked, became a "pirate", got rich, went to war, was captured, made a slave, and rode 16 days to make an escape. And that was before he ever came to America! You'll also read the real story of him and Pocahontas. This is one exciting book and the illustrations are as much fun as the story.

The second one is Jim Thorpe's Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac. Jim Thorpe could be the greatest athlete that America ever had, possibly the greatest athlete ever. He played football, baseball, ran track, and excelled at all these sports, setting records that stood for years. He even participated in the 1912 Olympics in Stockhom and shook hands with the King of Sweden! But he had to overcome a lot of hardships to get there. He grew up a poor Native American on a reservation. He couldn't sit still long enough to finish any school. Yet his father encouraged to keep trying, becuase Jim's father knew that the boy had a special talent for sports. Read about how Jim finally made it big and then had a terrbile injustice committed against him, yet he never gave up. It's a great story--and the best part is that it's true!

You Gotta Love a Book With This Title!

Hey, guys, Carl again. I saw this book yesterday and had to read it. How could you pass up a book called The Stinky Sneakers Contest (by Julie Ann Peters)? It' s really good. Two guys, Earl and Damian, are best friends and do a lot of things, like bicycle racing, together but Damian always cheats to win. Then they find out that the Feetfirst shoe company will hold a Stinky Sneaker contest, with a prize of ten years' worth of free sneakers going to the boy with the stinkiest shoe! Damian thinks he's going to get the prize because he's stuffed old liverwurst and cheese in his shoes. Is that fair? Could you stay friends with someone who cheats like that? But could you cut your best friend out of your life? This is a quick read, a fun book, and a good story about friendship. (Sorry, there's no picture available)

I also read another cool book, Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements. Ted Hamond is a boy growing up in a small town in western Nebraska. The town is so small, in fact, that the school has only one room because there are only nine students! Ted's life suddenly changes when he sees a girl's face in the window of an abandoned farmhouse. Ted loves mysteries and tries to find who the girl is. He finds lots of surprises and has to make some hard choices. I read this book in one day because I had to know what happened to Ted and this mysterious girl. You'll really like this one.

Darth Bill says he's on vacation for a week, but I think he's hiding on Tatooine so he doesn't have to put on that dress when all you Jedi readers write to us. Don't worry--I'll send the bounty hunters to find him.

Darth Bill in a Dress! I Gotta See This!

OK, here's your chance! Who wants to see Darth Bill in a dress! I know I do! Come on, let's hear it! Just 5 comments from Jedi readers will do it. I will personally take the picture. I know all you Jedi want to see a Sith in a dress!
Well, on a different note, here is the second list of books I promised on Tuesday. (Sorry I didn't post it yesterday)

Graphic Novels

All That Pikachu by Hideki Sonoda

Hercules story by Paul Storrie
Teen Titans: Go! Ready for Action!
Goosebumps: Terror Trips

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: A Novel In Cartoons by Jeff Kinney

Series Paperbacks

Pokemon The Movie 3: Spell of the Unknown by Tracey West
Shivers: A Ghastly Shade of Green
Secrets of Drron Special Edition: The Magic Escapes by Tony Abbot
Deltora Quest: The Forests of Silence by Emily Rodda
Star Wars: The Last of the Jedi and
Star Wars jedi Quest: The School of Fear by Jude Watson

Nonfiction

Mysterious Jungles by Andrew Llamas
Roanoke: The Mystery of the Lost Colony by Lee Miller
The Human Body Revealed by Dr. Sue Davidson
Black Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic by Robert Burleigh

Let me tell you about a couple of great books. One is Whales On Stilts by M. T. Anderson. This is the one I'd nominate as Goofiest Book I've Read This Year. It's funny with really goofy humor. There's a girl named Lily whose dad works for a mysterious company that is supposed to make stilts for whales. That's weird enough, but then she sees her dad's boss, who has a whale's tail sticking out of the back of his suit, pour salt brine water over his head (which has a bag over it) Then she finds out that this company is part of a plot to take over the world through death and destruction by fitting whales with laser eyes! This book gets goofier and funnier, but it gets pretty exciting too. There are chases, narrow escapes---and whales blasting towns with laser eyes! It's not like anything you've read lately and you'll really enjoy it.

The other one is Instruments of Death--written by Stewart Ross; illustrations by Inklink. (Sorry--no picture available) It's a graphic novel about anicent China. A 12-year-old boy is suddenly taken from his home to be a zither player for the first emperor to unify all of China. He plays the zither (a stringed instrument) very well and becomes a favorite of the emperor but then he gets caught up in a scheme to assassinate the emperor. It's a good story and there are lots of interesting facts about ancient China at the back of the book.
OK---enjoy the weekend and let us hear from all you Jedi readers!
Carl

Hello everyone,

Eeyore Vs. Darth Maul - Only One Can Rule!!!!! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!!!
This event was great. I saw it on Naboo and I tell you, man, those cats sure can scrape with the best of them!
Unfortunately due to Pay-Per-View restrictions, I cannot reveal who won.
I know you are extremely happy to hear from me yet once again. It does this Sith's heart good to see that all the young Sith out there are such avid readers. I guess it's just to much to hope for a Jedi to achieve the same heights of greatness. Therefore, I must do something to draw the Jedi out to see if I can get them to post. Hum, ah, I've got it!!!! How about a little contest? If just 5 Jedi post by the end of this month (August 31, 2007) talking about books they like, I will suffer humiliation by having my picture taken in a dress. Yes you heard me correctly!!!! Come on you cowardly Jedi, I openly challenge you!!!! Are you up to it? We will see I guess?

Now I want to talk about some pretty cool books I have recently read:

1) The Midnight Library Series by Various: Liar & End Game - These books are not for the easily frightened or scaredy cat reader out there. These ghoulish books are wickedly good in scaring the devil out of you and making it hard to go to sleep at night. End Game has this really cool story of the same name in it. Just imagine if you had one of the most powerful Personal Computers in the world. Imagine that you were offered for free a game for this PC that was so realistic you could not even tell it was a game. Well this is just what happens to rich and somewhat spoiled Simon. In this game he gets to control a vicious criminal that carries out crimes in the very town he lives in. What could be cooler than this? Almost anything else it turns out when Simon loses control of the game and the stakes become much higher than he could have imagined. Another great story from Liar is "Tickets, Please." Brian, Emily and Craig are best friends that have tickets to see their favorite basketball team play in a really big game. Much to their chagrin when they reach the train station that is to take them to the game they realize they have no money to buy tickets for the train ride to the arena. They decide they will jump a train when no one is looking and ride for free. After all what's the worse that can happen? More than they bargined for it turns out. Read both these stories from The Midnight Library series along with the 2 other chilling stories in each book. I dare you or are you to scared to try?

2) The Battle of Iwo Jima: Guerrilla Warfare in the Pacific by Larry Hama and Anthony Williams - This book is a Graphic Novel in the Graphic Battles of World War II Series. It tells the true life story of how the U.S. Marines fought and defeated the Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima in 1945 during World War II. The battle for this small island was one of the most deadly between two armies in recorded history. U.S. General "Howling Mad" Smith is quoted in this book as saying: "The fighting was the toughest the Marines ran across in one hundred and sixty-eight years." The story is told from both the American and Japanese forces points of view. Pivotal individuals, battles, and events are delved into with great detail in this amazing piece of non-fiction. This is a very moving and powerful story that all should know about.



Until next time all,

Darth Corder

Grownups Like Lists

Hey guys, it's Carl. Darth Bill will get back on here one day but he's extremely busy these days. (I think he's laughing because no Jedi readers have written to us lately) I wanted to stop the ususal routine today and make a list of books that we and you have recommended so far. Let's face it--grownups like lists. Teachers and librarians especially. But lists do come in handy when you're trying to find things like good books. So I'm going to make a list today of all the chapter books that you and we have liked so far. Tomorrow I'll make one of the graphic novels, paperback series, and graphic novels that have everyone's written about. Make a copy of this list for yourself, your friends, and give copies to your teachers, media specialists at your school, and the people at your local library. These people are always looking for books boys like. And tell them about this blog. (But beware--it might be hard to print this from your computer. I'd highlight the list and hit "selection" on the print dialog box. Don't just hit "print"--you might get the whole blog!)

Chapter Books

1. Wringer and Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli
2. Coffin on a Case by Eve Bunting
3. The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick
4. The Snow Spider (The Magician's Trilogy v.I) by Jenny Nimmo
5. Lion Boy by Zizou Corder
6. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse)
7. The Island trilogy by Gordon Korman (Shipwreck, Survival, Escape)
8. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
9. Awakening (v.I of the Quantum Prophecy) by Michael Carroll
10. Key Lardo by Bruce Hale
11. More Horowitz Horror:More Stories You Wish You'd Never Read by Anthony Horowitz
12. The Missing Chums by Franklin W. Dixon
13. Windcatcher by Avi
14. Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

All right, I know it's a long list, but I hope it will be helpful. Tomorrow's list will be shorter.

More from Lord Vader

Lord Vader writes again:

My pick this week is The Secrets of Droon Special Edition: the Magic Escapes by Tony Abbott (I read that he will be at ImanginOn so I hope I can make that). In this book Lord Sparr escapes and is followed by the heroes. They find themselves in a world of goblins. With some help from a magician find out if they can escape the goblins' clutches. I especially liked the spells and the pie fight.

I really like the Secrets of Droon books. I hope to see Tony Abbot too. Hey, Lord Vader, do you think you could use The Force to tell me if Mystery Mel is a boy or girl?

Mystery Mel Outsmarts Me!

Aaauuugghhh! My brilliant plan has been thwarted! I thought I could tell if Mystery Mel were a boy or a girl when Mel came to claim the book, but guess what---Mel showed up in a mask! So now I'll never know! Come on, guys, can you tell me if Mystery Mel is a boy or girl?

A Mystery--Who wrote this Comment?

Hey everyone, I've got a mystery on my hands. This great new comment came in, recommending some really good books, but I don't know who it is. As you can see, there's no name on it. Darth Bill thinks it may be a library employee. His spies say it might even be someone named Mel. Well, here's the comment:

The Snow Spider: The Magician’s Trilogy, Book 1 by Jenny Nimmo
In The Snow Spider, we meet Gwyn. He seems like an ordinary kid until some strange things happen after his ninth birthday. His grandmother, Nain, gives him 5 strange gifts (a piece of seaweed, a tin whistle, a brooch, a scarf, and a broken toy horse). When she gives him his gifts she tells him, "Time to find out if you are a magician, Gwydion Gwyn. Time to remember your ancestors, Math, Lord of Gwynedd, Gwydion and Gilfaethwy.” Gwyn doesn’t really believe but then he starts to find out that these ordinary pieces of junk hold power and danger. He begins to learn that his family is more complicated than he thought.

Lion Boy by Zizou Corder
This book is a lot of fun to read. It has it all: villains, a boy who can talk to cats, science, lions, the future, a floating circus, and adventure! Check out my review on Bookhive (http://www.bookhive.org/books/details.asp?id=2054) to see more about this book. Yeah, these books were written by girls but occasionally they can write decent books!

These books sound good, don't they?Come in and get your free book, Mel--or whoever you are. But I've got a suspicion that this comment may have come from a girl! Hmmm, I guess that's all right as long as long as we find out about books that boys would like. Mel does have a good point. After all, who wrote the Harry Potter books? A girl! So what do you think, guys? Is Mel a girl? Wait, I've got a brilliant idea---why don't we wait until Mel comes in to claim the book. We always get a picture. Then you can tell us! Oh, I'm so smart!

Halfway Through August (almost)

Well, guys, it's the hottest time of the year. This is also the month for a lot of birthdays. Seems like a lot of my friends and relatives have birthdays this month. So that brings me to a book in which a birthday plays a big part. It's Wringer by Jerry Spinelli. Do you look forward to your birthday? Palmer LaRue (nicknamed Beans because he loves cold beans out of the can) does not. He knows that he'll become a Wringer on his tenth birthday. What's a Wringer? That's a boy who wrings the necks of pigeons that don't get killed instantly during his town's annual Pigeon Day shoot. Most boys in town can't wait to become Wringers but Palmer hates the thought. Yet everyone expects him to do it. Things really become complicated a pigeon lands on the windowsill of his bedroom and Palmer makes it a pet. What can he do? Can he get out of being a Wringer? Read it and find out!

As long as we're talking about Jerry Spinelli books, let me tell you about one more--Fourth Grade Rats. When Suds (doesn't Jerry Spinelli give his characters great nicknames?) and his best friend Joey go into the fourth grade, they hear this chant from a bunch of third-graders: "First grade babies! Second grade cats! Third grade angels! Fourth grade rats!" Joey wants to act like a rat when they go into fourth grade but Suds doesn't. Joey starts pushing Suds to misbehave. Will he listen or will he do the right thing? This is a great book about peer pressure--something we've all had to face up to, right? I think both these books are good stories about doing the right thing in spite of peer pressure. Go read them if you've ever been in that spot.
Well, I'm going to stay inside and be cool. I'm reading a book that I'll tell you about next week. It's quick, fun, and I will nominate it as The Goofiest Book of the Year.

Darth Bill and Two Evil Sith (But Not Too Evil)

Wow! What great luck! We've had two more boys come in today to claim their free books. All this in one day! Here we see Darth Bill standing behind Jay B. (alias Evil Sith II) and Trevor B. (alias Smith the Sith). You can read their comments in the post from July 21. Darth Bill and Jay are obviously starting to enjoy their reign of terror while Trevor seems to be thnking about what planet to send the Death Star to next.
So we've had 2 comments from these guys and 3 or 4 from Lord Vader with only one comment from a Jedi, Obi-wan Andrew. That means the Sith are running the reading galaxy so far. Well, come on, Jedi Knights! Are you going to let the Sith take over? Let's see that the Jedi can read as much as they can!

Another One Gets a Book

Here we go, guys. We have another boy who has written a comment and claimed his free book. This is Thomas, who wrote to us way back on June 21. (Go to our Archives and click on "June" to see what he said) Way to go, Thomas!

Hey, here's a head's up for an event coming in October. I know that's a long way off, but it's a cool event--it's the WordPlay Saturday that the library puts on every year as part of its Novello Festival of Reading. WordPlay Saturday is really fun and there's a lot to do, but the real reason I'm telling you about it now is because there are going to be some terrific authors there. There will be Tony Abbot, who writes the Secrets of Droon, Jeff Smith, who does the Bone graphic novels, and Wendelin Van Draanen, famous for the Shredderman books. They (and several other authors and illustrators) will be at the Book Brunch on WordPlay Saturday at 9:30 am. You can meet them, ask them questions, and get books signed later on that day. To find out more about WordPlay Saturday, click here. To see a list of the authors and illustrators who will be there, click here.

Who Let the Dog Days Out?

Trivia question: Why is this time of year called the "dog days of summer"? (You might be surprised to know the answer has a connection with the first name of a Harry Potter character!)

Here are two books to enjoy during these hot summer days or any time of year. The first is another mystery (can't get that Summer Reading theme out of my head!) It's Coffin on a Case by Eve Bunting. Twelve-year-old Henry Coffin's dad is a real detective and Henry would like to be one too. Then one day, while his dad is out of the office, a gorgeous high school girl walks in and says she's lost her mother--for the fourth time! Henry says he will help and is glad to be working as a real detective. But it turns out that the girl's mother has been kidnapped and Henry learns that being a real detective can lead to real danger! He finds that he's in over his head---I mean, literally over his head when he has to hide from the bad guys in the bottom of a slimy old swimming pool! Will they find him or will he drown in there? I couldn't stop turning the pages and neither will you.

The other book is the one I talked about last week, The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel In Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick. Did you ever read something that made you sit back and say "Wow" when you're done? I just finished this book and that's what I did! It's awesome. There's so much that happens and it's all so exciting that I can't tell you about it briefly but I will say that it's about a notebook with plans for a mechanical man, the very first movies, an old man with a mysterious past, and a boy living in a train staton, hiding from the police. Brian Selznick does a great job with bleanding the words and pictures to make a really thrilling book. Go get it!

One more thing for all you Percy Jackson fans: Rick Riordan has written his first Percy Jackson short story! It's on the author's blog and it's called "The Stolen Chariot". Click here to read it. (Scroll down until you see "The Stolen Chariot" in Previous Posts)
Carl

Lord Vader Speaks Again! (So Does Carl)

Lord Vader's really been busy lately! Here's another couple of books he's liked:

My two for tonight are fairly short books. The first is Star Wars: Last of the Jedi - Jude Watson. I love any type of lightsaber action. Ferus Olin is a Jedi trying to help the resistance while he has to work for Palpatine. I liked Flame also.

My second book was more of a graphic novel. It was "All That Pikachu - Hideki Sonoda. It had a cool Pokemon called Charzard in it. It had two stories in there - both featuring Pikachu. It also had a Pokemon called Onix.
Speaking in an event tone now, I went to the Take Off event at the library today and it was awesome. I loved the cool experiment with the dizzy pain reliever and the film cap that burst off the canister. Mine almost hit the roof.

Mikie a.k.a. Lord Vader

Glad you had a good time, Mikie. I got to see you there! There was a lot of fun stuff to do. We have lots of cool events at Imaginon.

I've got another series for you guys--it's the Island trilogy by Gordon Korman. Wow! Were these books exciting! They're about 6 kids with behavior problems who are sent off to a rehab program called Chartng A New Course in which they spend all their time at sea, learning teamwork and better behavior. But the boat sinks, the captain is gone, and the kids wash up on a deserted island with no food, no shelter, and no supplies. They don't know where they are and there's no way to communicate with home. Could you survive under those conditions? Can they? I tore through each book, wondering what would happen to those kids. So will you!

The three books in this trilogy are: Shipwreck, Survival, and Escape.

Let me tell also you about a brand-new book I've just started, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It's really different; a combination of chapter book and wordless book. Yeah, that's right--sometimes the words tell the story and sometimes the pictures do. It's really, really good so far. I'll tell you more next week. Have a great weekend and keep reading!
Carl

Lord Vader's Pix

Here's a picture of Mikie (aka Lord Vader) proudly displaying his free book. Notice how Darth Bill stands respectfully behind the great Sith lord.

Lord Vader's Picks

Hey, one and all,

Lord Vader has sent us yet another post!

Hi everyone. I hope you are enjoying your last few days of July. I just read another great nonfiction called Mysterious Jungles by Andreu Llamas. I learned a lot about plants and some jungle animals that I never knew. They had things about poison plants and meat eating plants. Also about forests that grow under water. I think you will really like this book.
Mikie - a.k.a. Lord Vader

Glad to hear that you've found another good nonfiction book. Has anyone else read one?

Well, it's about time that I told you about a couple of great books--and they're both about the ancient Greek myths. The first one is a graphic novel called Hercules : The Twelve Labors (story by Paul Storrie ; pencils by Steve Kurth ; inks by Barbara Schulz). This book is truly awesome. The story is very exciting (it should be--people have been telling it for the last 3000 years!), but the artwork is really what grabbed me. Most of the artwork in these graphic novels based on classic stories is only OK. This one, however, was truly fantastic! Bill said that it was good enough to be a Marvel publication. (No offense to you DC fans!) So check this one out. You'll love it.

The other book is The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, the first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I haven't been so excited about a series in years! Did you ever get so fired up about a book that you wanted to tell every friend you had about it? That's how I feel about these books! They're funny, exciting, suspenceful, thrilling--well, you get the idea. If you want to know more, check out my review here.
That does it for today. Hope you're enjoying August. Tell me about you're reading.
Carl
P.S. Where are you, Obi-wan Andrew? Are you going to let Lord Vader write three posts in a row without a response?