The Bruner Boys Beware on Gary Paulsen, Evil Webkinz, and Old T-shirts

Hey, everyone, it's Carl and I was thrilled to see four new comments from the Bruner Boys Beware:

The Bruner Boys finished up THE RIVER. IT WAS DULL. Nothing DANGEROUS... just harrowing raft down a waterfall and a grownup struck by lightning into a coma. ALWAYS nice to see grown-ups get struck by lightning and zapped unconcious. We need some DANGEROUS BEASTS and HARROWING ESCAPES. We are looking for another read-aloud for family time today here at the Matthews library. Maybe the BONES book.

We are holding Master Zach hostage in the Millenium Falcon Mini-Van tomorrow until we get the second CAPTAIN ELI book from Darth Bill.

Austin is STILL wearing the shirt and drinking chocolate milk from the sacred cup. BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!Keagen gives two HUGE thumbs up to the Hardy Boys Graphic Novel Series. We almost snatched them all up so far and Keagen got one to KEEP at the book sale at Imaginon for only 50 CENTS!!!

By the way... Gary Paulsen has a book out about puberity... did you know... I am not sure we are BRAVE enough for that book... plus thinking about BODY ODOR and GIRLS is SOOOOOO THE DARK SIDE if you know what I mean.

BRUNER BOYS BEWARE!

DUDE! We read this book and LOVED IT!!! We especially liked it because we started a lawn mowing business this summer... I DO HAVE TO SAY... we agreed that having a RIDING MOWER will make you MORE RICH and LESS CRANKY... because ours is a push mower and we think it STINKS! BUT we are hoping to get RICH.GOOD BOOK!

NEW SHIRTS! Should we tell Austin?!?! AND I have run across some VERY DANGEROUS and VICIOUS webkinz... one is the PINK POODLE... BEWARE!!! This one was especially hard to stop with the FORCE.... we had to resort to the DROID DECAR thingy.

BTW!!! Did you know MASTER JEDI ZACH is an EAGLE SCOUT? That is why he is a MASTER JEDI...

Outstanding work, Bruner Boys!! It's too bad that you didn't like The River but Lawn Boy sure was good, wasn't it? Funny!! And I didn't know the Hardy Boys Graphic novels would be so good. Now you've got me wanting one and I think all of ours are checked out!

Just to let you know, Zack is not only a Jedi but a Jedi Master and may be more tha you can handle, if it's only overnight! Never underestimate a Jedi master or an Eagle Scout!

Darth Bill is doing his best to get the second Capt'n Eli book out to everyone. Be patient. After all, as Darth Bill would say, the Death Star wasn't built in a day! And I'll let him comment on the best way to deal with evil webkinz--though I think a droid decar is a good idea. PS--Two weeks, same shirt? Yeah, a new shirt would definitely be a good idea!

That's four comments in one day! I don't know if you realize it, but you have just shot 4 major blasts at the mean and sneaky girls who have tried a hostile takover of our blog. If they are too low and underhanded to understand the goodness and generosity of boys, maybe they'll understand our overwhelming numbers!!

Darth Bill is a Dufuss and I Loved the Book

I am having difficulty writing this post because I know us guys need to band together to fight off the hostile takeover by the girls, but I must point out how WRONG Darth Bill is about, "The Deathly Hallows."

I know it must be difficult for a Sith to read a long book, but that is no reason to say it isn't very good! I encourage all readers (boys and girls alike), to cast a vote saying just how WRONG Bill's comment was!!! Just remember a true Jedi does the right thing and only votes once. We can win this vote with honor, don't fall to the dark side and cheat!

In my Jedi opinion, this book was the perfect end to one of the greatest series of all time. Okay, now we can get back to making sure those girls don't take over our blog.

Oh, No! It's War Again!

OK, guys, we've got a MAJOR problem on our hands. These girls at the Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy, despite all our efforst to be kind, gentle, generous, and peaceloving, are still trying to take over our blog!!! Can you believe it?? The whole world stands shocked at the mean and sneaky girls who refused our offers of peace and brotherhood, even ignored our great compliment in saying that they acted like boys!! Well, then, there is only one thing to do---DEFEND OURSELVES!!!!!!

What--you don't believe me? Well, here is the proof from Mary, who read Sophia's review today:

This is a cool review. I think you should read Danny the Champion of the World and other Roald Dahl books, too.

By the way, I am Sophia's friend, also from Metrolina Regional Scholars' Academy, and she and some of my other friends from school are trying to do a hostile takeover!

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid was a great book, too! I really thought it was funny. There's a sequel to it, too. It's called Rodrick Rules. That book's good, too.

~Mary from Metrolina Regional Scholars' Academy (MRSA)
dONE!

Pretty good, Mary! A lot of kids have also talked about how much they liked the Diary of a Wimpy kids books and...Wait a minute, I almost forgot myself!! We're in the middle of a hostile takeover!! We need your help, guys!! Write in those reviews! All you boys at Metrolina Regional--are you going to let this happen?? And all you boys out there in blog land?? Will you help us in this time of need?? Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their blog!!

Defending the castle to the last stroke of the keyboard,

Carl

Of Webkinzs, Harry Potter, Capt'n Eli and 39 Clues

Hi all!!!!! It's the meanest Sith, even badder than Lord Voldemort, that you all love so much....... Darth Bill!!!!!!!!! Well I have a couple of things that I really need to talk about on this post. So lets just get to it then:

1) How many of you out there have heard about this Webkinz phenomenon? Well Mrs. Leah here at ImaginOn has adopted one that was forced upon us. I swear, I think these creatures are pure evil. Just take a look:






Just look into it's eyes!!!!! I tell you this creature is up to no good. Can you feel the evilness just radiating from it??????








Well it just so happened that Leah was not here today so I took matters into my on hands and challenged this vicious animal, with sharp pointy teeth, to a duel!!!!

What happened, you are asking yourselves?????? Well let's just say once I find were this evil creature is now hiding I will soon have a new pair of very comfortable winter gloves. Check out below the Webkinz''s cowardice as it runs from my lightsaber:

Help me!!! Help me!!! This here Sith is crazy!!!!!!

2) Well I finalllllllllllllly finished reading the last installment of the Harry Potter Series: "The Deathly Hallows" or as I like to call it, "That really long book that took me forever to read because it was not that great in my humble opinion (and did I mention it was way, way to long with not much happening)." Okay, I know I am going to get a bunch of flack on this comment, so give me your best shot!!!!!! I stand by my words proudly and with courage!!!! See the picture to the left of how this book almost was the end of me:






3) The second installment in "The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli" has recently come out (we are in the process of getting some copies that the wonderful folk up in Maine were so kind to give to the library system) and me and Carl are in Graphic Novel Heaven!!!!!!!! Check out the pics below:

Carl and myself high-fiving as we get ready to dig into the latest Capt'n Eli Graphic Novel!!!!!

Carl showing off his very cool "Capt'n Eli" Shirt that the Maine "Capt'n Eli Makers" sent him!!!!!

4) The 39 Clues Book: "The Maze of Bones" and the website game is extremely popular here in the Spangler Room. Just look how nicely we play together to be the next to get to read it:





Yea, just one big happy family!!!! Kinda makes me weepy eyed (just feel the love)!!!!!!!


























Well, that's all I got for now folks. Talk to me and tell me what you think.
Peace,

Bill

Now This Is More like It!

Yesterday I received two reviews from Sophia, a girl in the Fourth grade at Metrolina Regional Scolar's Academy. These were the same girls who tried the hostile takeover. When I got these reviews, however, there was no mention of a takeover; only three paragraphs about some good reads! She has obvioulsy accepted the olive branch of peace that the boys offered so generously in our bigness of our hearts. OK, we're glad you did, Sophia. Let's see what our friend wrote:

Danny the Champion of theWorld

Danny the Champion of the world is by Roald Dahl. It is about a little boy named Danny whose dad goes paoching one night. Poachng is when you go out into the woods and "steal" food for your families. Danny has only father; his mother died when he was four months old. Danny's father poaches pheasants and one day he falls in a hole and breaks his leg, then Danny has to go and rescue his dad. Then Danny and his father think up a way to poach two hundred birds at one time. This book will keep you on your toes, it has so much action in it. That is why I love it and think you all should read it.

James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach is, again, written by Roald Dahl. It is also about a little boy. His name is James. James' parents died when he was young, so he was sent to live with his horrible aunts. One day a little old man gives him a magical bag of something lucky and James hurries to dirnk this formula. Suddenly James spills the bag and the things go into an old peach tree that never produces peaches.

The next day, a peach starts growing. James crawls in and he finds giant insects inside. Then James goes off on adventures!! I LOVE this book, and I am urging you to read it! It has a lot of action in it.



These book reviews are again written by by Sophia, a girl in 4th grade at Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy.



Very well done, Sophia! You've REALLY made want to read the second book! Several boys have written before and talked about Danny, the Champion of the World. A lot of kids like it. (Go to the list of already-reviewed books on the left hand side of the page and see what other kids have said)

Now you see, everyone, this is as it should be! There was no mean and sneaky attempt to take over. She simply shared her love of readiing with all the rest of us. She did the right thing. In other words, she acted like a boy.



Isn't it wonderful?



Carl

Hooray! Our First Boy Review of The Maze of Bones!

And guess who wrote it? Our good and faithful friend cyber kid 303!

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan is awesome (you can buy it on Amazon.com). I can not wait for the sequel, A False Note, to come out. For those of you who have not read it, I have to tell you that Ben Franklin, the Wright Brothers, Harry Houdini, Sir Issic Newton, and the guy who invented microwave burritos are Cahills. And YOU might be one, too! Dan and Amy Cahill who are kids go on a dangerous quest to be the richest, most powerful people in the world, but there are others who are trying to kill them to do this first. I liked this book because it has adventure at every turn.

Fantastic, cyber kid! Everyone here at the Imaginon library is hooked on the 39 Clues game, including me! My fellow librarians, including Bill, tell me how great it is. I'm going to wait until this weekend before I start reading it because I know what will happen--I'll get so caught up in it that I won't want to do anything else! Zack, as he said yesterday, has other things to read first, but I bet he'll go through it in a hurry. If you go to the 39 Clues website, you'll see the countdown until the time the next book comes out. Have you been there, cyber kid? What branch of the family are you? I'm Tomas, proud to say!

Searching for Clues,

Carl

Yo Ho Ho! The Bruner Boys Write In!

All hands on deck! This be Eyepatch Carl, the scurviest knave that ever blogged the Seven Seas! We've sighted a new ship and there seem to be a new group of friends on board, The Bruner Boys Beware! Step aboard, me lads and let's hear what ye have to say:

"AARRRRRRRRRRRR" Where is a pirates favorite place to eat? Arrrrrrrrrby's!

We loved this new book and especially liked the game!Even our girl-dubed-a-dude liked it. Austin has been wearing his Captain Eli shirt for 2 weeks straight now and Master Zach is begning to get scared I think. Well, we are finishing up THE RIVER, by Paulsen. We liked HATCHET because it is GRIPPING and DANGEROUS. THE RIVER is not really as exciting yet, but we are hoping for some NEAR DEATH experiences this week near the end. Maybe a 10 foot BEAR or something horrible like a BROKEN BONE.Austin is reading THE SUGAR CREEK GANG there is 60 of them in the series he says...hmmmm.We also finished reading Jake Maddox books from Imaginon including BOARD REBEL, GO KART RUSH, and BMX BUDDY. These are great Keg says and perfect for the errand trips in the car.SEE YOU LATER MATE-Y...

Did I mention that Austin is STILL wearing the shirt?!?! We returned the book to Master Zach on the vessel in Matthews... he was very glad to have received such a LOOT! ARRRRRRRRRRR.What is a pirates favorite letter of the alphabet? RRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Good work, me lads! Those jokes have got me slapping the wooden leg! Isn't the Capt'n Eli graphic novel truly cool? Haven't enjoyed a gn that much in a long time. And I like me Jake Maddox books and REALLY like some Gary Paulsen, especially Hatchet. Look at the post for March 2, 2008 to see the Jake Maddox reviews and July 19 and 20, 2008 posts for me reviews of Hatchet and Lawn Boy, another fine Paulsen book. Have ye ever read the graphic novel version of Treasure Island, the greatest pirate story ever? ARRRRRR, ye should! Go to me post of September 27, 2007 to read of it.

Glad to have ye aboard, mateys! Keep writing to us!

Sailing across the Spanish Main,

Eyepatch Carrrrrrrrl

Master Jedi Zack on the Clue Hunt

The Jedi have joined in on the 39 Clues that the evil Sith, Darth Bill, talked about earlier. I am a part of the Ekaterina clan (the clan with the best crest of all) and will prove that a this hunt is best undertaken by a Jedi!

I am still waiting for the first book, Maze of Bones, to show up at the library, hopefully it will be soon. It looks like several people are already lining up for copies, so if you want to be one of the first you should set a request for it.

More to come...

Hacksaw Jim Duggan Writes Again!

Our old friend, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, from the Guys Read blog has sent us a note:

Hey guys,
Sorry i haven't been on in forever!! =[ Anyways, I've heard about the series and it sounds pretty good. I'll remember to pick them up if I'm not busy reading something else, like "Monster" by Frank Peretti, which is what I'm reading right now.

Good to hear from you again, HJD! He commented to us from the Boys Are Peacemakers post of today, so he must be talking about the Girls Against the Boys series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I just started reading it. I'm also about to start The Maze of Bones. I've got my cards out and will register them tonight. Monster sounds like a good read. I read Frank Peretti's book This Present Darkness several years ago and never forgot it! REALLY good!! Lots of action and good spirits vs bad spirits. I can still picture the battle, suspense, and scary scenes! Go get it, guys!

Carl

You See, Boys ARE Peacemakers!

If you ever needed proof that boys are generous, noble, peaceloving souls, let no further than this blog!! We have a comment from our friend Anonymous who posted a review last week but didn't say if he were for the boys or girls. (I tried to post this last Thursday, but a lot of computer problems stopped me) Here's his comment:

Anonymous here! Put my vote with the guys! Girls are ok and I too hope we all simply read and share that love for reading. I thought reveiwing a book with both a girl and a guy as the main characters should show if we work together we all can win! PEACE!

Well done, Anonymous! Here is the proof of the greatness of boys; even though the girls went for a mean and sneaky hostile takeover of our blog, a boy extended the olive branch of peace to them. How noble! How... excuse me--sniff, sniff--I'm just overcome with the goodness of boys, even to their mean and sneaky opponents. Well, now that I've got control of myself, I think it's time to put this battle to an end. No girls have written back to us, so they are obviously ashamed of their low behavior and ceased their hostile taeover. Besides, we have made them Honorary Guys and...I'm sorry, I'm getting choked up again--sniff, sniff, snifffffflllee!--it's time to let us all read together as brothers.

All this, of course, reminds me of books. Specificaly, it reminds me of the Girls Against the Boys series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. She wrote that great book Shiloh, one of the great boy-and-his-dog stories of all time. Well, in this series, the Hartford brothers, who live in Buckman, West Virgina, are waiting for their new neighbors to arrive. Their best friends, the Benson brothers, have moved to Georgia and the Hartfords are expecting some more boys to move into the house. Imagine thier surprise when three girls move in!! The boys decide to amke the girls' lives so miserable by playing practical jokes on them that they'll move away, but they didn't count on the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the Malloy sisters! They use their smarts to match the boys trick for trick! Who finally wins? You'll have to read and find out! There are twelve books in the series, one for each month of that school year:

The Boys Start the War (remember, this is a work of fiction--no boy would ever start a war!)

The Girls Get Even

Boys Against Girls

The Girls' Revenge

A Traitor Among the Boys

A Spy Among the Girls

The Boys Return

The Girls Take Over

Boys In Control

Girls Rule!

Boys Rock!

Who Won the War?

These books are supposed to be funny. To be honest, since I'm a boy, I have to let you know that I haven't read them. But, also since I'm a boy, I'll lead by example and start reading the first one. Who's with me? Any one out there want to read them with me and tell us what you think?

Carl

Lord Vader Steps Up to Defend the Boys!

Hello, everyone, it's Carl once again. We have a new review from our old friend Lord Vader (otherwise known as Mikie). In fact, he sent us two reviews this time! I don't know if he wrote to defend the blog from the sneaky and underhanded hostile takeover attempt from the girls at Ms. Smith's fourth-grade class at Metrolina Regional Scholar's Academy, but, since he is a guy, I will add it to those who have so nobly aided our cause. Let's hear what Lord Vader has to say:



I just finished "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J. K. Rowling. It had been a while since I had seen the movie so I forgot a lot about the story. Every time the Dementors would start making Harry hear his mom I didn't want to read anymore. But I finally finished it and I'm glad I did. I really liked how Harry and Hermione got a "do over" with Serious and Buckbeak. I wish you could do that in real life. I also liked Hogsmeade. My mom told me there is a town with little shops kind of like in the book up by where I was born. It's called Salem, Massachusetts. I would recommend this book to others, but since it is a little more darker than the beginning ones I would tell readers to make sure they read it in the daytime. Especially about the kiss the dementors give. The book is really descriptive.

I also read "Michael Phelps" by Jeffrey Zuehlke. It's about Michael's awesome career and how he got started in it. I think he is great and loved reading about him. I can't wait to read his other one that talks about his training and diet.

Mikie (a.k.a. Lord Vader)



Another good one, Lord Vader! Or, I should say, another good two!! No girl would dare take over our blog with Lord Vader on our team. In fact, here's a warning to anyone would mess with the great Sith lord:



There you go! You have been warned!

The 39 Clues

Hello all Jedi and Sith out in the land of Blog.

It is once again I the hippest Sith this side of Vader (who we all know is really that wimpy Anikan Skywalker) with news and happenings in the world of books and such. Well in this post I'm going to talk about one of the coolest mystery books I have read in some time.


Speaking of mysteries, I have included a short clip here from The Pink Panther movies with the world famous Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Watch this master of unveiling the truth to get true insight on how a a real pro solves crimes:




As you can see a master of his craft is Clouseau!!!!!



Well enough of that, let's talk about the amazing new series "The 39 Clues:"

The 39 Clues, Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan - How would you feel if you had a close relative who you thought you knew very well and they passed away leaving you wondering if you really knew them at all? Add to this that you find out that you belong to a huge family whose family tree is divided into four clans that includes some of the most famous individuals in world history such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Houdini, Mozart, Annie Oakley, Marie Currie and so many more. Finally lets include one more ingredient, you along with many other relatives, some you know, some you do not, are invited to the reading of the will and given the choice between receiving 1 million dollars or receiving a clue that could lead to something so grand and wonderful that its value is incalculable. Well this is exactly what happens to orphaned brother and sister Dan and Amy Cahill. They find out near the start of the book that their beloved Grandmother Grace, whom they were both close to, has passed away and that they along with many other relatives are in her will that offers the strange and challenging choice described above. Of course Dan and Amy take the clue and thus begins a great story that you will not be able to put down and will keep you up into the late hours of the night reading.

Now the book alone would be cool, but if you go to the very cool "39 Clues Website" at http://www.the39clues.com/ you can sign-up and chase after clues along with the characters of this great book series. As a part of the signing up process, you get to learn what clan of the Cahill Family you belong to of the four that exist (Janus - that's what clan I the Great Dark Sith Lord Darth Bill belongs to, Lucian, Ekatrina and Thomas). After that you can start searching the web site for more clues and information not included in the books. There are also cards you can purchase that will help you as seek to solve the mystery that is the "39 Clues." There will be ten books in all each written by a different author. The next book in the series to come out will be written by Gordon Korman and will be titled One False Note. This is a great book without the website, but I highly encourage everyone to checkout the website. I will warn you though that once you do you will not have any choice be to keep revisiting. Once you have had a chance or if you have already this book, write in and let us know what you think?

Well that's all I have for the moment, so peace all,

Bill

Hey guys, Jedi Master Zack here again.

I've been reading a great book I thought you all might be interested in. It is called Kenny & the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi (one of the people who does the Spiderwick books). This book is great, it has Dragons (in case you couldn't tell from the title), knights even a town in panic. What would you do if your new best friend is about to be hunted down just because he is a misunderstood creature? Well Kenny must face just that. You should check it out!

Capt'n Eli and Talk Like a Pirate

Hi all,

We got the following message from our good friends up in Maine who have brought us the most awesome Graphic Novel ever in "The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli:"

First there is this cool welcome message to the newest Seasearchers:

"Those of of here driving the sub that is Capt'n Eli headquarters, welcome the new Seasearchers!"

They also gave us some info. on a cool place to go to look into talking like a pirate:

"To get some good practice talking like a pirate visit http://www.sarahlthomson.com and listen to the hilarious reading of, PIRATES, HO! read by Bill Dufris (the voice of Bob the Builder.)"

"The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli" Volume 2 is coming out in October!!!!!!!

These guys are the best and I hope all of you out there check out "Capt'n Eli." If you do, write the blog and let me know what you think of it.

Thanks again to our friends up in Maine and peace all,

Bil

A Neutral Party Writes In

We have just received a new review, but I can't tell if it's from a boy or a girl. It's signed Anonymous, so I don't know. Let's hear it:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Call To Arms!": I have a review for the blog. I just finished a very cool book called "Who Stole the Wizard of Oz?" It is by AVI. The story is all about a brother and sister who are twins, Toby and Becky. There is a very neat puzzle within the mystery of who stole a copy of "The Wizard of Oz" from a school library. There is both action and suspense. I'm now starting the second book by Charlie Fletcher,"Ironhand". The first book "Stoneheart" was hard to put down so I expect the same from this one.

Very good, Anonymous. Avi writes very good books. Click on the label below to see what other Avi books we've reviewed. Bill wrote about the Stoneheart book on May 30 and Ironhand on August 29. They sound good to me too!

But the big question is: are you on the boys' side or the girls' side? Or maybe you're not on either side. Maybe you're a peace-loving soul who just wants us all to read together in peace.Well, we boys are noble creatures and would not harm the tiniest fly. Even when we slice our enemies to bits with light sabers, it's all in good clean fun. But we were forced into this battle by a hostile takeover by the girls! So, until the girls cease this totally-unprovoked and vicious attack on us innocent boys, we will have to defend ourselves!! Can we hear it, guys? We need three more boys to write in to even the odds--four or more to win!!

Carl

A Call To Arms!

ALL RIGHT!!! A manly man named Cy has responded to our cry of distress! Our blog is danger of a hostile takeover by the girls of Mrs. Smith's 4th-grade class at Metrolina Scholar's Academy. (see yesterday's post) Let's hear Cy's brave response to this brazen attack:

hey, its cy, from Mrs. Smith's third grade. I'm not letting any girls take over.boys in Mrs. Smith's class(fourth and third). write in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very good, Cy! But did he just stop there? NO!! He got out his manly pencil and wrote two reviews!!

Star Wars Pop-up by Matthew Reinheart

If you don't know much about the Star Wars galaxy, this is the book for you. The pop-ups are huge. The book has almost everything about the Star Wars galaxy. but I think that the working light sabers are the coolest. I recommend this book.

Sardine 5 by Emmanuel Guibert

Don't turn this book away Just because the main character is a girl, this series is full of missing brains to scamcorders. when I read this book, I was laughing all night. If you have questions, read the book.

OK, Cy!! You've made want to read the Sardine series! We've had them at our library, but they're checked out now. Maybe I'll get it from one of the others.

But wait!! Cy was not the only boy to stride out bravely to defend our blog; Evan also came forth with a review:

Magic Tree House: Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne

Jack and Annie get to go to ancient greece. I liked it because I like the olympics and history. I recommend it for people who like to learn because I learned that girls use to not be able to watch the olympics in ancient greece.

Good work, Evan! I like the Olympics too. Did you get to watch much of it? If you read the book You Wouldn't Want to Be a Greek Athlete: Races You'd Rather Not Run by Michael Ford (I reviewed it on January 11, 2008), you'd see why girls couldn't watch the ancient Olympics!!

But we need more, guys! We had five girls write in yesterday and two today. We need to hear from three boys to match their numbers--more to outnumber them! And what about the rest of you guys out there? Are you going to let your fellow boys be over run?

Calling for reinforcements,

Carl

PS--If you write in, you'll not only defend the blog, you'll be able to get a free book from the Imaginon or Matthews libraries!

Talk Like a Pirate Day and the Totally Cool Undersea Adventure's of Capt'n Eli

Har, Har, Har me fine Mateys,

It's I the meanest, most powerful, can't remember when I-last-had-a-bath sea-dog of a Pirate, Darth Bootstrap Bill. I hope all you scurvy seafaring scallywags and flat footed landlubbers remember that this Friday is "Talk Like a Pirate Day." An important day to be sure, right up there with the Forth of July and such!!!!!!! So remember to talk like a pirate this Friday!!!!!!

One of me fine fellows, the great pirate - Captain Jack Sparrow!!!!!!!!

One of the most famous pirates in history - Blackbeard!!!!!!!!!!!

Me personal role model and favorite pirate - Captain Barbossa and his wee monkey a name of Jack!!!!!!

Speaking of sea adventures, I would like to share a little now about the really cool "Undersea Adventures of Captain Eli" event we had last Wednesday here at ImaginOn!!!!!! First let me repeat how much I love this Graphic Novel. To see my original review of it just click: Here!!!! To see the status of the Graphic Novel in the library system click here: The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli.

At the event we placed Capt'n Eli Posters around the library with trivia questions. After the trivia questions were answered, we gave out all sorts of really cool Capt'n Eli stuff (Cups & T-Shirts), cards for the most excellent Capt'n Eli game, let those who participated be the very first people to check out the brand new Graphic Novel (Volume 1; Volume 2 is coming out next month!!!!!!!) and bestowed upon everyone who participated official Seasearcher Membership with all it's rights and privileges. It really was a great time, but enough of me talking take a look for yourself:

Two intrepid Seasearchers figuring out the answers to the trivia questions posted around the library!!!!!!

The same two unstoppable Seasearchers showing off their newly
acquired Cups and the Capt'n Eli Graphic Novels they got to check out!!!!!

A brave solo Seasearcher also collecting a very sweet Cup and getting the Graphic Novel to Check out!!!!!!!

Look at these guys. How much can you hold in four hands????? Lets see Cups, Graphic Novels, Game Cards and Seasearcher Memberships!!!!! Wow, everything but a T-Shirt!!!!!

Wait a minute!!!! Here are the T-Shirts!!!!!!

Ah!!!!!!! Another Seasearcher showing off his newly acquired, very cool T-Shirt!!!!! But surly this is not all he obtained?????

Of Course not!!!!! Here is our Seasearcher with the very hip Capt'n Eli Graphic Novel and his newly acquired deck of game cards!!!!!!

Another Brave Seasearcher with Graphic Novel and sweet new T-Shirt!!!!

Remember all who participated to use your Seasearcher Membership Cards to get to locations at the Capt'n Eli Web Site not available to non-members. Well this event was so cool and everyone had such a great time, that all out in the land of blog should stay tuned for when we will have another event of this type. It could be very soon!!!!! Well take it easy all and may the wind always be at yer backsides,

Bill

Oh, No! A Hostile Takeover!

Hey, guys, this is Carl with some seriously bad news. I got a bunch of reviews from Mrs. Smith's fourth-grade class at Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy. What's bad about that? They were all from girls!!! Now we don't mind when girls write in, in fact, we're glad to hear from you, but this is a not just writing in--they said it was a hostile takeover! "We're taking over the Boys Read blog!" were their exact words. Are we going to stand by and let this happen, guys?? Especially you boys in Mrs. Smith's fourth grade? Let's stand up and defend this blog!!

Now I should explain that these reviews were written during a free study time. The boys weren't idle; they were busy making a light saber. That's a constructive use of time, building something to cut your enemies in half. But while they were working, the girls sneaked these reviews past them in a brazen attempt to take over!



Well, in all fairness, let's hear their reviews. After all, guys, we can take the moral high ground and let them know we are fair, even if they are trying to invade and conquer our space.

The Titan’s Curse

The Titan’s Curse is a very good book, the third one in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Artemis, the goddess of the Hunt and the goddess of the Moon, goes in search of a terrible monster and gets captured by Luke and his army. Annabeth replaces Atlas’ weight of the sky. Atlas’ weight gets replaced by Luke, who tricks Annabeth into carrying the weight, then Artemis replaces Annabeth. Percy finds the Ophiothaurus, the monster, and names it Bessie. The person who destroys the Ophiotaurus has enough power to take down Mount Olympus. At the end of the book, Olympus comes to a decision—whether or not to destroy Bessie. Overall, I really liked this book. ~written by a girl! Sophia (ha!)


The Little Town in the Big Woods

I’m going to tell you a little bit about the Series Little Town in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It’s about a family that starts off in a big wood on the Indian territory. They’re pioneers, and travel all over the USA to find the perfect home for their growing family. Laura is the main character. She has an older sister named Mary and Ma and Pa are their mother and father, working hard to maintain their family and keep them happy. As Laura grows up, she meets Almonzo Wilder, and eventually gets married. When mary loses her vision and Ma has another girl, Grace, Laura has to take of them and focus on Almonzo at the same at the same time. Can she do both? It’s a relly nice series and I think you would like every single book in the series. ~Mary, Age 9

The City of Emeber
Recommendation

This is a book about a city underground. Lina, the main character, wants to be a messenger but the mayor draws that she would be in the pipeworks. Doon, her friend, wants ot be in the pipeworks, but the mayour draws messenger. So Doon asks Lina to trade with him and she agrees. They both go to the pipeworks and find a tunnel that leads them out from underground. ~Sydney, Joy, and Maria

OK, good work, ladies. You've actually made me want to read The City of Ember. And just to show that we hold no grudges against anyone, even those who try to over run our blog, we're going to bestow on you the greatest honor we can give and make you Honorary Guys, just as we did with Kaza Kingsley. No need to thank us; we know how grateful you must be. Not only that, but we will honor our commitment to give a free book to anyone who writes a review. You can go to the Imaginon library or the Matthews library to claim it. Now, in the face of such generosity, you should end your attempt at a hostile takeover. But if it doesn't, well, I'm sure there are lots of guys out there who'll be willing to write in their own reviews. In fact, are all you guys going to let us be outnumbered? Five girls just wrote to us; I bet we could get at least 5 or more boys to send in book reviews! Let's hear it, guys!!!

After all, don't forget that---

Boys Rule, Boys Read!!

PS--Don't forget, when you send a review, be sure to give the title, author, a little bit about what the book is about, and why you did or didn't like it. You can write about fiction, nonfiction, biography, paperbacks, or graphic novels.

How Extremely Cool Is This? An Interview With Kaza Kingsley, the Erec Rex Author!

Wow, am I excited!! Kaza Knglsey, the author of some the best books I've read in a long time, has been good enough to let us interview her. If you don't know, she has written the Erec Rex books, two of the most fun, exciting, imaginative, and unique fantasies out there. The first is Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye ...

...and the second is Erec Rex Book 2: The Monsters of Otherness.

See my post of August 21 to see how great these books are.






But why am I talking? Let's hear from Kaza Kingsley: (here's her picture)


Why do you think it's cool for boys to read?

There are a lot of reasons. First of all, reading takes you places you could never go by yourself. Boys who read tend to know more about a lot of things that they haven’t even seen yet. And they get a great imagination, too, which is always awesome. Plus, it’s just fun, which is truly the coolest.

Is it cool for boys to write? Why?

Yes! Writing is extremely cool for anyone. It’s something that you can do that creates a world all your own, and you can make anything happen in it. Who knows what you could come up with!

Who was your favorite comic book character when you were a girl? Do you have a favorite character now?

I always thought The Fantastic Four were really cool, and read the comics when I was growing up. I liked the guy that could stretch a lot. Now I just love the movies that are out about these characters, like Iron Man. I think the Superman movies are my favorite. I love the scenes where he’s swinging over the city.

The Erec Rex books show a lot of imagination! Have you read a lot of fantasy books? Which did you like best?

I love fantasy books (I guess that’s not a big surprise!) But I read a lot of other types of books, too. I loved the Harry Potter books, and the Bartimaeus Trilogy by John Stroud. It’s hard to pick faves, there are so many good ones out there.

What books would you recommend for boys?

Other than my Erec Rex books, there are some great series out there. On one extreme, easy to read and extremely funny are the Captain Underpants books. On the other extreme, for older boys with a strong stomach and like horror, are the Darren Shan books. He’s from Ireland, and is catching on here. In between, Louis Sachar is great, from Holes to the Wayside School books. Tolkien is great – I loved The Hobbit but couldn’t finish Lord of the Rings myself. There are so many it’s hard to pick!

Your hero is a preteen boy. Was it hard getting into the mind of a boy?

Not as much as you’d think. Erec’s character and personality developed as I was writing him as if he had a mind of his own. I guess I’ve known enough boys through my life, well enough that the knowledge was just in there for me when I needed it.

What is your favorite sport?

To play - soccer. To watch – football.

What do you like to do for fun?

I love movies and hiking, reading and writing of course, and also song writing! Hanging with friends is fun. I wish I knew how to play the guitar so I could join a band.

What is the favorite book you have written?

The last one – Book Three – Erec Rex: The Search for Truth. The hard thing is waiting until summer when it’s finally out. It’s a little longer than the other two, but there is so much action and suspense going on in this book that I really love it.

Which do you like better--cheeseburgers or pizza? What do you like on them?

Man, that’s like asking if I could live without air or water – I love both of them! But right now I’d pick a big, juicy cheeseburger with pickles, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, and even maybe a fried egg on top. (They have these at Red Robin and they’re my favorite.)

You seem very cool. Could we make you an Honorary Guy?

Totally! Do I get some kind of certificate to hang on my wall? ;}

Thanks, Kaza!! You should definitely get a certificate. We'll see if we can design one--or if any of you guys out there are good designers and could design a certificate, drop us a line in the comments section, tell us how to get in touch with you, and we'll see if we could use it! Any one who writes such great books, watches football, likes cheeseburgers, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Superman desrves to be an Honorary Guy.
Now she's made me hungry for a cheeseburger! Especially a Red Robin burger. Yummm! Do any of you have one where you live? We have one in Charlotte and I'm glad it's not near my house--I'd eat my whole paycheck there!

Go get these books, guys! You'll have a good time reading them. And check out the Erec Rex website. We've included it in our Links section on the left-hand side of the blog.

Thanks again, Kaza!
Carl

The Ocean, Monsters and Clone War Republic Commandoes

Hi all it is I again Darth Bill reporting from beyond the Outer Rim where I have been participating in your basic planetary assaults and takeovers. Yes as my dear Papa would say: "No one ever said that being a Dark Lord of the Sith would be a walk in the park." However, I get immense job satisfaction in my chosen profession and the benefits are great (you really out to see how sorry the Jedi treat their people)!!!!!! Now I feel I must speak about a portion of the Army of the Republic that gets no recognition or applause. Though I am forced to fight them, they have my highest respect. Who are these people you ask? They are no other than the Clone Army and all the proud individuals who serve. These men have one mission in life and that is the defense of the Republic. I am now reading a book about some very special Clones who serve in special operations. They are known as Republic Commandos. The particular squad I am reading about is known as Delta Squad and are made up of 4 very special individuals. They are made up of Sev, Boss, Fixer and Scorch. The following pictures and video are my salute to these brave men.


Republic Commandos - Delta Squad

Leader of Delta Squad - Boss

Scorch - Demolitions Expert

Fixer - Technology Expert and Hacker

Sev - Sniper and Combat Specialist

A Video Tribute to Delta Squad - Hard Rock for a Hard Team!!!!

Well I guess I'll talk about some Graphic Novels I've read a late and maybe convince ye their worth a look at:

Salt Water Taffy: The Adventures of Jack and Benny - The Legend of Old Salty by Matthew Loux - This Graphic Novel is about two brothers Jack and Benny whose parents have decided to take the whole family away from the city and to spend the summer in the state of Maine at the weird and mysterious Chowder Bay. Jack and Benny make fast friends with one of the locals known around those parts as Fisherman Angus O'Neil. One evening the boys see something huge and monstrous on the beach, but can't quite make it out. After talking to Angus they discover that Chowder Bay has a mysterious resident in the waters known as Old Salty. This leads to strange robberies by lobsters, very strange behavior by seagulls and an epic battle between Old Salty and Angus. Does any of this make sense? If not read this excellent Graphic Novel and it all will. I really loved this book and look forward to the next in the series.

Marvel Adventures Hulk, Volume 3: "Strongest One There Is" by Paul Benjamin & Steve Scott - In this latest installment of Hulk adventures the title pretty much sums up what is contained in this Graphic Novel. The Hulk in four bombastic stories takes on both super strong villains and friends. The Hulk just seems to get himself in bad situations wherever he ends up. In the first story the Hulk takes on one of Bruce Banner's friends in Doc Sampson, both brain and muscle, as he to has been exposed to gamma radiation (but not to the extent that Banner was) and retains his considerable Psychiatrist I.Q. In the second story our mean green smashing machine takes on one of the X-Men's most dangerous enemies the unstoppable Juggernaut. In the third story, through a series of misunderstandings, the Hulk goes up against the ever loving blue eyed Thing. As if that was not enough, in the last story the Hulk, Doc Sampson, the Thing and the Juggernaut all go up against an enemy strong enough to challenge them all!!!!! If you like the Incredible Hulk, you will love these stories that cover issues 9 - 12 of the comic. A definite two thumbs up!!!!!

Well until next time all,

Bill