This Turkey Is Thankful For...2015 edition

Greetings, reader guys everywhere! Every year around Thanksgiving, the Iron Guy writes

a post about things for which he is thankful. If we think about it even for a little while, I'm sure we all could come up with a lot of things to be grateful for. Here are just a few for me:

First, it's been a good year at our library. We had visits from two local authors, one from E. K. Smith, author of the Alien Dude series, and one from Dave McDonald, the Hamster S.A.M. author and illustrator. These books are especially good for guys--in fact, Ms. Smith said she came up with the Alien Dude books when she couldn't find any early reading books that her son would like! (take a look at the Alien Dude and Hamster SAM labels under this post to find out more)

Second, we had a good time with the Boys Read and Write Club this year. Several different guys came between April and July, read books and wrote reviews of them for this blog. Eventually I had to discontinue the club because we couldn't get enough boys to show up every month (it's hard to keep a book club going, especially during the busy school year) but it  was very good to see boys get excited about reading.

Third, the Iron Guy was very honored to have an interview in July with the great Phyllis Reyonlds Naylor. She's a very well known and respected author and wrote, among many other things, the very funny Boys vs Girls series. I'm very thankful that she gave an interview to this humble blog and I'm glad to say that she's a delightful person! I've also seen the first book in the series, The Boys Start the War, get checked out several times and I'm very thankful that others are getting turned onto these terrific books.


Fourth, I'm very grateful for author Tony Abbott and The Copernicus Legacy, that ultra-fantastic new book series. I haven't been so excited about such new books in years--not since I read The Lightning Thief way back in 2007. It would take me all day to talk about these books, so click on "The Copernicus Legacy" label under this post and see my enthusiastic reviews. I've just started The Golden Vendetta and am happily looking forward to getting lost in it.

Finally, in light of all the terrible events of  the last week, I'm grateful that we live in a country where we are free to read what we like. Any one of you  reader guys could go into your local library and check out whatever you'd like (with your parents' permission, of course) And you don't have to worry about soldiers banging on your door in the night because of the books in your house. That's not true in some places in the world. We shouldn't take this lightly, everyone.
And I'm very thankful for the brave men and women in this country and others who defend that  right. And I'm very glad to be in the fine Charlotte Mecklenburg library system that makes sure boys (and girls) have free access to books. And I'm also thankful for the many bloggers like our good friend Ms. Yingling who keep me and other grownups informed of terrific books.

So let's put this into practice--what books are you thankful for this year? Is it something you've read already or something you're reading now? Tell us in the Comments section--we'd love to know!

Thanks.

Update--today, Nov. 23, is Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, hosted by author Shannon Messenger.

Check it out to find some truly cool books.

Fun at the Alien Dude Author Visit

E. K. Smith

It was a great day at the Myers Park library last Saturday because the one and only E. K. Smith was here, author of the terrific Alien Dude series of books. What makes these books so terrific, other than they are fun and exciting? They are written for BOYS!! Ms. Smith had a boy of her own and, when he was starting to learn how to read and having a hard time, she looked around but couldn't find anything he, or any boy, would like. "Everything was babyish," she told me. So she took the situation into her own hand and wrote Alien Dude and The Attack of Wormzilla and Alien Dude: Mr. Evil Potato Man and the Food Fight. (good books--see my reviews here) So I was very excited for a long time about her visit.

Kenner and Ms. Smith

And it was a good time. She showed slides of her books, talked about writing them, how she got ideas from her son (!!) and how she worked with the illustrator. We had a small crowd--well, really small because it was only one guy (his name was Kenner) but we still had fun. In fact, Ms. Smith talked about some upcoming Alien Dude books and said our hero will get a sidekick. Kenner then suggested that the sidekick be a robot dinosaur and Ms. Smith liked that idea. So his idea may actually end up in a book! See what could happen when even one guy talks with an author!!

Ms. Smith, because of your outstanding workon behalf of boy readers, this blog is going to give you the highest honor it can possibly offer by making you an Honorary Guy!

That's right--you now have the right to make obnoxious noises at sporting events, crack all the goofball jokes you'd like and eat insane amounts of foods with no nutritional value. I'm sure you're amazed and overwhelmed at the awesome greatness of this exceptional honor but there's no need to thank us--you've earned it!!

All silliness aside, we truly appreciate your visit, Ms. Smith, and look forward to more terrific Alien Dude books!

Alien Dude Author Visit!

We've got a real treat coming up this Saturday at the Myers Park library. An author, who wrote a couple of books for BOYS is coming here at 2:00 pm. Her name is E. K. Smith and she wrote the Alien Dude books. Ever hear of them? Yes? No? If you haven't, here's the story:

E. K. Smith was a teacher who saw that there weren't enough good books for boys just beginning to learn to read. Yeah, there were a lot of cutesy books out there but what self-respecting boy would want one of those? So she took the matter into her own hands and, with illustrator Peter Grosshauser, created her own books, the Alien Dude series!

Alien Dude is awesome. He can fly. He can morph and do many other things. But he still has to attend school. In the first book, Alien Dude and the Attack of Wormzilla, the school is overrun with worms! Who else but the giant Wormzilla could be the cause of all this disgustingness? But what could Alien Dude do against all those worm minions? You'll be surprised and will laugh at what he thinks of!

In the second book, Alien Dude: Mr. Evil Potato Man and the Food Fight, the kids in school start turning into food! Alien Dude must morph into a potato peeler and do many other things to break Mr.Evil Potato Man's spell. This book, like the first one, is action-packed as well as full of the humor that guys will enjoy.

These books are great fun and a terrific way to get guys to start reading. If you're a younger reader guy or the parent of a just-learning-to-read boy, these are the books for you. And, as I said, the author will be here this Saturday, April 18, at 2:00 pm at the Myers Park library. I've met her and she's a delightful person, so  come on over and have a good time, especially if you're a boy between 6--11 years old. (And, yes, girls are welcome too. We boys are just awesome that way)
Call us at 704-416-5800 to register or we'll see you there!
(PS--there will be Alien Dude books for sale!)