How Football Works by Keltie Thomas

This is a great time of year to be a sports fan. You've got college football, pro football, college basketball and...well, we usually have NBA basketball now too, but this year it will be--different. (Don't get me started on that!) Anyway, Charlotte is a great place to be a sports fan. We've got the Panthers for football, the Checkers for minor-league hockey, and the Bobcats for pro basketball--that is, now that we finally get basketball! (Don't get me started again!) Plus, North Carolina has one the great roundball rivalries of all time--Duke and Carolina. So this is a good time of year to tell you about a really good book called How Football Works by Keltie Thomas.

It's only 64 pages long but it's chock-full of information and fun facts. You can find out about the basics of football--how it started, how the ball got its shape, what the playing positions are, etc. Then you can find out more, like information on the football field (how do they keep grass green in winter?) or what it takes to be a quarterback (you have to amazingly smart as well as strong) or just how much equipment a player wears (it's a LOT!) On top of that, there are very interesting sidebars, timelines, and a recurring section called Legends of the Game. This is an extremely interesting book and every football fan should check it out. If you're brand-new to the game, you'll learn what football is all about. If you're a long-time fan, you'll find out things you never knew. Either way, this book is a big-time winner. I was lucky enough to get a copy from the very nice people at Owl Kids Press, but you could find one at your local library. So hut one, hut two--make that run and get it!
(PS--there's even a sidebar about the Panthers's own DeAngelo Williams!)

This book get the Iron Guy Seal as ONE TERRIFIC BOOK!

Some Things This Turkey Is Thankful For

There's a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week. Here are just a few:

I'm thankful that the I finally got the latest Heroes of Olympus book. It's The Son of Neptune by the unbelievable Rick Riordan. I'm only three chapters into it, but WOW, is it terrific!!

I'm grateful that the next Cahills vs. Vespers book, The King's Ransom, comes out December 6.

And that the fifth Erec Rex book, The Secret of Ashona, comes out February 5.

I'm thankful for reader guys like Michael and Sammer who regularly write in and tell us about very cool books.

And I'm also thankful that we live in a country in which we can read the books we like without having to worry if someone will break down our doors in the middle of the night because of those books. It's not like that everywhere, guys. A lot of people in this world are not free to read and we shouldn't take it lightly.

OK, everyone, enjoy the day tomorrow and, if you're not too busy chowing down, tell us what YOU'RE thankful for!

Michael Tell Us About More Great Reads!

Once again, our good friend Michael, that book-reviewing machine, has written to us about more cool books. Let's see what he's liked lately--and get a load of his great new signature!

Diamond Brothers Mysteries, book 1

The Falcon's Malteser

by Anthony Horowitz

Meet 25-year-old Herbert Timothy Simple and his 13-year-old brother, Nick. After Herbert is fired from the police squad for incompetence, he changes his name to Tim Diamond and starts a private detective agency, Tim Diamond, Inc. But trouble soon brews as Tim and Nick are given a package by a man who is murdered the very next day. The two figure out that the package contains chocolate candy, and that somehow the candy is the key to a five million dollar fortune in pure diamonds. There are also gangters, famed killers, wanted criminals, and even a night-club singer after the fortune too, and they'll do anything to get their hands on the chocolate... even kill. Will Tim and Nick find the diamonds before it's too late, or will they be killed trying? This traditional-style mystery will have you wondering how the clues fit together till the very end.

Diamond Brothers Mysteries, book 2

Public Enemy Number Two

by Anthony Horowitz

Nick and Tim Diamond are back. When Nick gets framed for stealing a priceless jewel, he's sent to jail to share a cell with the mysterious Johnny Powers. What Nick wants to know is who Johnny and a bunch of other criminals are selling their stolen goods to. But Nick's quest for an answer leads him on a wild adventure that includes being cornered by a lion, jumping from a watchtower, collapsing a roof to a room underneath the thames river, blowing up a million dollars' worth of priceless items, burning Nick's French teacher with sulfuric acid, and much more! This is more of a thriller than a mystery, but it's one of the best thrillers I've ever read, and I highly recommend it to every reader out there! Great book!

Titanic, book 3

S.O.S.

by Gordon Korman

Paddy Burns, Alfie Huggins, Sophie Bronson, and Juliana Glam are in for the time of their lives. And not in a good way. They're all on the Titanic, which was deemed unsinkable, but is now plunging into the depths of the sea. There are almost twice as many passengers as there are lifeboat capacity, and only one of the four kids makes it to one of them. The other three are left to fend for themselves. But this book is far from boring historical fiction. While the kids are escaping the Titanic, they are also escaping the notorious murderer Jack the Ripper, who is traveling in disguise. Now that the kids know his secret identity, he is determined to kill them for good: no easy task on a sinking ship. Paddy, the stowaway, is also continuing his escape from Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller, who is determined to have him thrown overboard or killed. Help from another ship is on the way, but with hours to wait, can the four kids survive the horrible night of April 15, 1912? With startling true facts about the actual event, this book is a step up from the previous two in the trilogy, and it's bound to have you on the edge of your seat and holding your breath until the very last page!

Michael Lanier
Pianist, guitarist, banjoist, autoharpist


Thanks, Michael! You're a man of many talents! These books really sound good. I'm glad that all three of the Titanic books were good. This one sounds particularly intense! And so do the Diamond Brothers bookS. Well, keep reading,Michael, and all you other readers guys out there.

Remember, these books are--

Guy Tested--GUY APPROVED!

Sammer Claims His Prize(s)!

Our good friend Sammer came to the Myers Park library on Friday to claim his prize for winning The Great Greg Heffley Debate Giveaway. We were all glad to see him coming into the place like a victorious Roman general entering the city after conquering the barbarians. And, like the mighty man he is, he claimed not just one but two prizes from the ultra-cool prize box. Here he is with his trophies of victory:
As you can see, he's deliriously happy. And with good reason--he picked the second and third books in the Gregor the Overlander series, a true favorite with guys. While he was here, he checked out the first book, Gregor the Overlander, so he could read them in order. Wow, not only is he mighty, he's smart as well! (BTW, the second book is called Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane and the third is Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods)

Congratulations, Sammer, and enjoy your books! (and let us know how you like them!)

Sammer striking an Iron Guy pose

Sammer Does Not Rest on His Laurels

No, indeed! He's not content to simply bask in the glory of his awesome achievement; he's out there telling us about more great reads. On the same day he claimed his prize, he sent us these two reviews. What a guy!

Wow I can't believe I got the prize. But I'm here to report two interesting books today.

Number One:From the Mixed up Files of Mrs.Basil E. Frankweiler. A great book where Claudia, the main character, doesn't feel treated well enough. So she gets her brother and they run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There they find a statue named Angel and they want to find out if MichelAngelo carved it or not.


Number Two:Fablehaven.Another great book. Kendra and Seth are leaving to their grandparents' house where they find out it is a magical preserve for magical creatures such as plotting witches,saytrs[goatmen],and demonds. Will they survive? Read to find that out yourself.


Thanks, Sammer! Several guys have told about the Fablehaven books but you're the first to let us know about From the Mixed-Up Files...We always appreciate your reviews. Guys want to know what's good and you're here to fill us in. So remember, these books have been recommended by a reader guy just like you and not just a bunch of stuffy old grownups. Go find these books, men, and keep in mind that they are--

Guy Tested--GUY APPROVED!