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.
Then he showed how to make super heroes with simple shapes and finally made a very cool character in 20 seconds by drawing a square! (if you ever see Mr. McDonald, be sure to ask him about the friendly hairy monster in the ice cream tree forest and the evil Mr. Melty) As I said, we all had a very good time and even learned a lot. Thanks, Mr. McDonald! If he ever comes to another library near you, be sure to see him.
When he talked about graphic novels, he mentioned the Bone series, one of the best ever created.(find out what we've written about them here) There's a great new edition of the first book in the series. It's Out from Boneville: Tribute Edition by Jeff Smith. Why is it a Tribute Edition? Because Scholastic book publisher kicked off its Grpahix line by printing the first full-color versions of the Bone graphic novels. This one has the Out from Boneville story, a preview of the second book plus a new original piece by Jeff Smith and several pages of artwork inspired by Bone done by famous artists and illustrators. I couldn't think of a better gn to check out for the long-time or first-time Bone reader. Don't miss it, boys!
That's right, the one and only Dave McDonald, author of the funny 
The first is Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight by Tony DiTerlizzi with illustrations by Ralph McQuarrie. This one is really great. We all know the story but it's still moving, especially when you read all of Luke's story in one sitting. Tony DiTerlizzi (you may know him from the Spiderwick or Wondla books) does a good job summarizing the original Star Wars trilogy but what makes this book truly terrific is the magnificent, jaw-dropping artwork by the legendary Ralph McQuarrie. He was the conceptual artist for Star Wars--in other words, he was the artist who talked with George Lucas to come up with the look for the movies. This book gathers those paintings and puts them together to tell this terrific tale. This is a terrific book for ALL guys. If you're a Star Wars fan or even if you're not, this is one book you've gotta read! The story is exciting and the artwork is amazing. What more could you want? And if you are a fan, it will be fun to look at these paintings and see how they differ from the movies. (C3PO looks way different, for example!) PS--this book is in the picture book area of your local library but don't be embarrassed to go there and get it. It's truly a book for MANLY MEN like us!
The second book is the total opposite in almost every way, but in a good way. Whereas the Star Wars book was all about magnificent artwork and story, Hamster S.A.M.: Odd-ventures in Space by Dave McDonald is all about silliness and fun. Something is desperately wrong at the Hamsternational Space Station and the only Secret Adventure Mission (S.A.M.) Hamster can rescue the day! He and his trusty sidekick Fescue T. Fieldmouse must brave the dangers of interstellar dust bunnies and King Crud (descendant of Julius Sneezer) to reach the Station. Can they get past King Crud's nose-shaped space station or will they blow it? The only way to find out is to read this book! And if you like goofy humor, silly jokes, cartoony artwork, lots of slapstick and lots of references to spit, snot and...other stuff, then you'll like this book. And what GUY doesn't like stuff like that?? Plus there's an interview with Gregory Johnson, a real astronaut, at the end. So check it out guys--and support a local artist. Dave McDonald lives right next door to Charlotte in Fort Mill, SC. And check out his website at www.davemcdonald.com
Bone: Treasure Hunters, Volume 8 by Jeff Smith - Fresh into the PLCMC Library's Graphic Novel Collection is the latest instalment of the Bone Series. Well kids things are really getting interesting in the Bone Graphic Novel Series. In this instalment the Bone Cousins (Phoney, Smiley and Fone Bone), Gran'ma Ben, Thorn and Bartleby have gained entrance into the once great ruling city of Atheia. Inside and outside the city things are not well. Outside the city Ghost Circles are everywhere and Briar (Gran'ma Ben's Sister) is gathering both rat creatures and human warriors to serve the Lord of the Locust and bring an end to all. Inside the city things are not all that great either as our heroes must contend with Tarsil, The Captain of the Queen's Guard, who has turned traitor and now rules the city. So besides the dragons disappearing, enemies all around who would like nothing better than to find and crush the former royal linage of the kingdom (that would be Thorn and Gran'ma Ben) and all that support it, the nearing release the Lord of the Locust into the world and all other types of nastiness; everything is just great!!!!!! I tell ya, you need to get ahold of this latest volume as soon as possible and read it. This is really just awesome stuff!!!!!!!!!!
The Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr by Nicolas Debon - This Graphic Novel tells the true life story of Louis Cyr who could have actually been the strongest man in the world, ever! In his lifetime he performed such astounding events as lifting a huge draft horse on his back, lifting huge boulders that weighed well over 450 pounds, resisting the pull of four horses weighing 1,200 pound each, lifting a 553 pound weight with one finger and many more outstanding featsof strength. He even owned his own circus. At his final performance as a strong man he lifted on his back a platform with 18 men standing on it that weighed approximately 4,300 pounds. Both the writing and artwork are really outstanding. This is a fascinating biography about a very interesting man.
