Cyber Kid Writes and Collects!

Greetings, reader guys, it's Carl once again. Our faithful friend and reviewer cyber kid 303 has told us about another good read:

I just finished reading Orphan Train Rider by Andrea Warren. It is a biography about a boy named Lee Nailing and his family. It is 1926 and America is in a recession, a lot like today. One family in particular is having a hard time. They are the Nailings and their mom has just died. They had 7 kids and their dad alone could not feed and take care of them all. The three oldest, Fred, Ross, and Evelyn had to live on the streets. The baby went to live with family friends. Their dad kept the toddler. But the two other kids named Lee and Leo went to an orphanage. Since their dad was not dead, he would sometimes come and visit them in the orphanage. Lee had always wanted to be a train engineer. When he was told he would ride a train through the country all the way to Texas, he was excited. When they were boarding the train, he and his brother found out that their little brother, Gerald, going with them because their dad did not have enough money to take care of him after all.


The train was full of orphans traveling from town to town. Whenever they stopped at a town, the orphans would have to line up so people could look at them and decide if they wanted to adopt any of the children. Lee, Leo and Gerald get separated and go to live with different families. Read this amazing true story. Do they ever see each other again? Do they live happily ever after? Read and find out.


Cyber Kid 303 out!!!!!!

Thanks, cyber kid! I'm really glad you told us about a biography because they are some of the best books out there--and the amazing thing is that the stories are true!!



We also have a picture of cyber kid with his prizes from the March Madness Author Shoot-out:





He's wearing his Deadwood Jones T-shirt (generously donated by Helen Hemphill) and holding his bag of Deadwood Jones salt water taffy and the signed copy of Erec Rex:The Dragon's Eye. Well done, cyber kid!

PS--let us know how you like Erec Rex!

Dragonslayer Claims His Prizes!

Heigh-ho, bold readers, the valiant dragonslayer 1191812 came to Imaginon to claim his prizes for winning the March Madness Authoer Shoot-out contest by sending the most reviews. Here he is, proudly displaying his trophies:
He hath chosen a signed T-shirt from Kaza Kingsley, as well as two signed copies of her Erec Rex books. Well done, dragonslayer!! Let us hear how you like those books. In fact, feel to write to us anytime!!

And the Winner Is...

JAY PISCOPO!!!!

Yes, with a whopping 27 votes plus three more for a review, Jay easily won the March Madness Author Shoot-out (although Neil Gaiman had a very good showing with 12 votes). Hooray, Jay! You deserve it. The Undersea Adventurews of Capt'n Eli is the most creative, fun, and exciting graphic novel series in a long time!

Wait a minute--did I say "threee more points for a review"? That's right! Just like a three-point shot just before the buzzer sounds, our new friend dragonslayer 1191812 sent us a review of Capt'n Eli. Well, he actually sent us two reviews! Let's see them:

Just finished The Underwater Adventures of Capt'n Eli The mystery of me and both parts of The Mystery of the Sargasso Sea.Both books are really great. They are about Eli. For some strange reason he doesn't know where he is from. All he has is a pod.The action in both books is cool. Illustrations are interesting because the colors make your eyes pop!Can't wait to meet Jay Piscopo!

Yes, those colors really do make your eyes pop. And Jay Piscopo really is going to be in Charlotte next week!! He'll be at Imaginon and several libraries around Charlotte next Monday and Tuesday. Read Darth Bill's post of April 1 to find out where and when.

dragonslyer also told us about The City of Ember:

I'm sorry I had to miss the book club meeting about The City of Ember because of the bad weather! The book was great. It was about two kids who try to find a way out of their city because of blackouts and food shortages.They don't know that they are living underground.The kids find out that the mayor is stuffing his face with hidden food while everyone else is going without food.I don't want to give the end away.Read the book to find out what happens to Doon and Lina.

P.S. Be glad we don't have Assignment Days.

I'm sorry you missed it too, but we'll have another one (possibly in June) and read The People of Sparks, the second book.

Hey, dragonslayer, you just gave us two reviews of March Madness Author Shoot-out authors. Do you know what that means?? You are our first place winner!!! That's right--I've been telling everyone that the guys who send the most reviews of books by the authors in this tournament will win prizes and YOU sent the most!!! That means you get to pick one of these prizes:

A signed t-shirt and signed books by Kaza Kingsley, author of the Erec Rex series

A t-shirt and a signed copy of The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill

A Capt'n Eli graphic novel and pack of Capt'n Eli cards

Come by Imaginon and pick one. If I or Darth Bill are not here, ask any of the library staff. But tell us who you are and what you wrote about so we'll know it's really you.

And we have a three-way tie for second place. cyber kid 303, Andre the Giant from the SMS Guys Read blog, and Anonymous all wrote one review each. You are all welcome to come to Imaginon and claim a prize (Andre, I'll mail your prize) But, as I said, tell us who you are and what you wrote about so we'll know you're not an android in disguise!

Well, I need a rest after all this excitement. I'll be on vacation next week. I bet some of you will too. Enjoy and take some good reading with you!

Carl

PS--cyber kid just now sent another review. It's not by a tournament author but it still sounds interesting:

Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer is about Vladimir Tod, who has a secret. His secret is that he is a vampire. His dad was also a vampire, but his mom was not. I guess this makes him a half vampire. Vladimir likes the fact that he is vampire, but he does not like the fact that he is different. No one knows that he is a vampire, but his aunt and his best friend. His parents did know but they died in a fire when he was nine. In the book he learns how to use some of his powers. Some of his powers are flying and, of course, his fangs.His aunt and his friend help him throughout the book. His aunt helps him by taking packets of blood to him from the hospital. His best friend also helps him by helping keep his secret safe. I liked this book because it was a mix of horror, comedy, and action.

The Championship Round, Nuclear Mentos, and cyber kid

All right, everyone, you all have voted and decided who would move from the Final Four to the Championship Round and again we have a major upset!! Take a look and see:


J.K. Rowling 14 online votes///////////////Jeff Kinney 10 votes
Jay Piscopo 40 votes/////////////////////Neil Gaiman 14 votes

Jay Piscopo trounces J.K. Rowling for the major upset of the year! Therefore the authors that move on to the Championship Round are:




Jay Piscopo, author of The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli

vs.

Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, The Graveyard Book, and many others

Let the voting begin! You have until noon on Friday, April 3 to choose. And you have until then to send in reviews of books by any of these authors to win a fabulous prize!!

In other news, our brother reader guys at the SMS Guys Read blog have conducted a highly dangerous science experiment that risked life, limb, and the chance to be sprayed in their faces!! Yes, they performed the Nuclear Mentos test. Take a look at the SMS Guys Read link on the left-hand side of our blog!! You gotta see it!!

And our faithful friend cuber kid 303 has sent us a review of The City of Ember (even if he won't give this Ellen-innocent-or-guilty thing a rest!):

I got my revenge after all. And I do still think Evil Ellen did it. Where is proof from the DNA test? Innocence? HA!

Back to book reveiws now. City of Ember is an action packed book about the City of Ember, which is under gound.For 241 years, lights have been keeping the it in light, nstead of paralizing dark. The lights are powered by the genorator, which is starting to fail. Lights are starting to flicker. Even if the genorator worked, they are running out of lightbulbs and oher vitals such as food. This book is really, really good

Yes, it is!! This book will really grab your attention. This puts you in the running for one of our fabulous prizes. Remember, these prizes go to the three guys who send in the most reviews by noon this Friday!!

Carl

The City of Ember Book Club, Another Possible Upset, and Who's Messing With the Girls' Space?

Hey, reader guys, It's Carl and we had a great time last Saturday at the first Boys' Book Club meeting. We read The City of Ember and had some fun discussion. Then my good friend John Austin, Discovery Place volunteer, talked to us about the science of electricity. John really likes to tinker with things and find out how they work or think of new things to do with them. So he found this old DVD player and was about to throw it out when he started thinking, "Hmmmm, what if I...." and took the motors out to show us how a generator worked. (He showed us that, by turning that motor backward, you could generate a current) Here are some photos:

John and the guys and cool stuff with meters (he's showing us how to measure current)

John and the reader guys

The guys and me. This book rocks, btw. Go read it if you haven't read it already. We'll read the second, The People of Sparks, next. The meeting for that book may be the first Saturday in June. Watch this blog to find out.

The voting continues for The Final Four in the March Madness Author Shoot-out. Take a look and see. And send in your reviews for a chance to win the ultra-cool prizes. Look at the post under this one to see what they are)

AAAANNNDDD--it looked like we would have another mystery on our hands!! Just as we have a Sacred Shrine of Guyhood, the girls have their own book display at Imaginon. Normally this manly man is too busy keeping the guys' display stocked to notice what the girls do. But on this day, something called out to me from that spot. I turned and saw--There were signs advertising the Boys Rule Boys Read blog all over the girls' spot!! Well, you'd think I'd be glad to see signs about the awesome greatness of boys in the girls' display! But then I heard maniacal laughter--and then, out of thin air, appeared--

CYBER KID 303!!!

"Behold my terrible revenge!!" he said. "This is my payment for declaring Evil Ellen innocent of defacing the Sacred Shrine of Guyhood. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Well, I had to grab him before he could teleport back and remind him that Evi...I mean, Ellen was fairly tried and acquitted in a Cosmic Court of Justice and that he couldn't take out his frustration on the girls' display. He took his chastisement like a true man, went humbly to the book club, and is a wiser man today. This shows how a true guy can change his behavior and is more proof, if any be needed, of the awesome greatness of boys!!!

The Final Four (and a stunning upset!!)

The results are in from the second round of the March Madness Author Shoot-out and we are ready to move on to the Final Four. But there has been a stunning upset!! Didn't I tell you--every year there's a major upset in the NCAA basketball tournament and it usually happens in the second round. You won't believe it!! Here are the results:

J.K. Rowling 28 online votes (no paper ballots votes;in fact, no one turned any paper ballots for any author this round)
Jeanne DuPrau 22 votes

Kaza Kingsley 24 votes
Jeff Kinney 30 votes

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Rick Riordan 37 votes
Jay Piscopo 43 votes!!
There it is--the major upset!! That goes to show that Capt'n Eli has a lot of fans!

Gordon Korman 21 votes + 3 for a review
Neil Gaiman 26 votes

So the Final Four will be:

J.K.Rowling vs./////////////////Jay Piscopo vs.
Jeff Kinney////////////////////Neil Gaiman

You can vote for your favorite until noon this Tuesday, March 31. Then I'll tabulate the results and announce the Championship Round. (The Championship Round will go from noon Tuesday until noon Friday, April 3. After that, I'll announce the winner) Don't forget--you can send in a review by any of the authors in this tournament (J.K. Rowling, Kurtis Scaletta, Rick Riordan, Suzanee Collins, Helen Hemphill, Jeanne DuPrau, Jeff Smith, Jay Piscopo, Dave Barry, Jeff Kinney, Gordon Korman, Dan Gutman, Kaza Kingsley, Jon Scieszka, Neil Gaiman, Jenny Nimmo)and be eligible for prizes, which are:

A signed t-shirt and two signed Erec Rex books by Kaza Kingsley
A Deadwood Jones t-shirt and a signed book by Helen Hemphill, author of The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones
An Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli graphic novel and a pack of Capt'n Eli cards

The three guys who send in the most reviews will get to pick. So start voting and sending those reviews!
Carl

New Prizes! A Three Pointer! And the Boys Book Club! And the Latest Casting Choices for The Lightning Thief!

This is amazing! The leads keep switching faster than a Carolina-Duke game! An author who has the lead one day can fall behind the next. And can you believe how close these brackets are? J.K. Rowling and Jeanne DuPrau are too close to call. Makes me hold my breath! Does the excitement ever stop??? Keep those votes coming!

A package of prizes has arrived from the wonderful Helen Hemphill. We have 2 Deadwood Jones T-shirts plus 3 signed copies of her book. Don't believe me? See for yourselves!

The shirt

The close-up

The book. These could be YOURS if you're one of the three guys who write in the most reviews!!

To add to the competition, our friend Andre the Giant from the SMS Guys Read blog has sent a review of a Gordon Korman book:

This is for Gordon Korman. I think his best book is schooled, where a hippie goes to a public school and greatly influences his students. This not only has a deep embedded msessage but it is a vastly interesting book. My favorite part is where the main character saves the bus driver by evading the cops and driving the bus to the hospital. He then asks why everybody is congratulating him for driving the bus, but not how the bus driver is. Gordon Korman Rules!!! Andre the Giant from Guysread

All right, Andre! Not only are you in the running for prizes, you have also given Gordon Korman three more points!
We also have some paper ballots out. I took some ballots and review forms to a school yesterday and won't get them until Friday. I'll get the results tabulated and posted Saturday. Then we'll move into the Final Four. And you can send reviews anytime to be eligible for prizes!

The first meeting of our Boys Book Club is this Saturday at 2 pm here at Imaginon. We 'll talk about The City of Ember and have John Austin, a Discovery Place volunteer, talk to us about the science of radiation and electricity. We have space for 15 guys and have 8 signed up already, so if you're a boy between 9-12 years old and have read The City of Ember, call 704-973-2720 to register. Our book clubs have always been fun. Hope to see you there!

Carl

PS--I just found out the latest casting choices for the Lightning Thief movie! I think they made good choices for Chiron and Medusa. I don't know the other actors/actresses, but it's good to see that the actress for Athena actually has a Greek name! (But Athena doesn't show up until the second book. Weird)

The Great and Powerful CARLMAN Goofs! Plus Our First Guy Event of 2009

It's Carl and it's painful to be corrected by a sith, but Darth Bill is absolutely right. He reminded me that I told you all that one of the prizes in the March Madness Author Shoo-out would be a Capt'n Eli graphic novel and a pack of Capt'n Eli cards.I looked back to space and time and saw that he was right! So, to be correct, let me tell you again what the prizes will be be:

A signed t-shirt and signed books by Kaza Kingsley, author of the fan-tastic Erec Rex series
A signed t-shirt and a signed book by Helen Hemphill
A Capt'n Eli graphic novel and pack of Capt'n Eli cards

The three guys who send us the most reviews of books by the 16 authors in this touramnet (J.K. Rowling, Kurtis Scaletta, Rick Riordan, Suzanee Collins, Helen Hemphill, Jeanne DuPrau, Jeff Smith, Jay Piscopo, Dave Barry, Jeff Kinney, Gordon Korman, Dan Gutman, Kaza Kingsley, Jon Scieszka, Neil Gaiman, Jenny Nimmo) will get to pick from these prizes. So send them and make yourself eleigible for one of the extremely cool prizes!!

BTW, Ms. Hemphill wrote to us about the tournament and losing by one vote:

I'm so bummed! I saw the balloting was closed and didn't know about paper ballots! Oh, well. I got the books and T-shirts off to you guys yesterday. Have a great tournament and keep reading! HH

I'm so sorry! I goofed again! But I tried to correct my goof in yesterday's post. We do have paper ballots and review forms here at Imaginon--feel free to use them, guys. You're a really good sport to send us those things anyway and we appreciate it!

Last Saturday we had our Boys Afternoon with Roald Dahl, Dr. West, and a Giant Peach. What a great time!! Dr. Mark West, English prof at UNCC, came and talked about Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Danny Champion of the World, and others. Dr. West, a very cool guy, knows a lot about Roald Dahl and told this very funny story about going to England to interview the author. Then he read us a hilarious chapter from Boy: Tales of Childhood, Dahl's autobiography. This chapter was about the time the author, as a young boy, put a dead mouse in a jar of candy!! (You can imagine the response Roald got from his dad!) Dr. West showed us how the author used that story when he wrote The Witches and how we can hold on to our funny stories and use them later on. After the talk, we had a snack break and then watched the animated movie James and the Giant Peach. As I said, what a great time!

The guys hang on Dr. West's every word!

Thanks, Dr. West!

The Elite Eight

The first round is over and, boy, did we have a couple of close ones! I'll show the results in just a minute but let me tell you something first. I made some paper brackets here at Imaginon so that guys could vote while in the library. It's really handy, especially when school groups come. Well, last week we had 3 guys use those paper ballots and those three guys made a difference. Here you go:

The J.K. Rowling/Kurtis Scaletta bracket was almost an upset. Rookie author Kurtis led in the early voting!! It was like the Pittsburg/East Tennessee State game this weekend, where it looked like #16-seed ETSU would upset #1-ranked Pittsburg. In the final voting, however, it was:
J.K. Rowling 25 online votes + 3 paper votes
Kurtis Scaletta 20 online votes

In the opposite bracket:
Rick Riordan 46 online votes + 1 paper vote + 3 more points for a review
Suzanne Collins 15 + 2

In another exciting contest:
Helen Hemphill and Jeanne DuPrau were tied at 13 votes each. The paper ballots came in and Helen Hemphill got 1 vote and Jeanne DuPrau got 2!!! So she won by one vote! (always remeber that your vote does count!)

In other brackets:
Jeff Smith 5 + 3
Jay Piscopo 19

Dave Barry 8 + 2 ///////////////////Gordon Korman 13 + 1
Jeff Kinney 15 + 1////////////////// Dan Gutman 7 + 2

Kaza Kingsley 19 + 2///////////////// Neil Gaiman 18 + 1
Jon Scieszka 11 + 1////////////////// Jenny Nimmo 9 + 2

Yes, that bracket was a heartbreaker for Helen Hemphill fans, especially since she emailed me on Friday and said that she'd send some T-shirts and signed books as prizes!! Maybe it would have made a difference if I'd said something. Anyway, the votes are in and we move on to the Elite Eight. That means that the winner in one bracket will go against the winner in the bracket below (not in the bracket directly across, as I mistakenly said last Monday)

And those brackets are:

J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter) vs///////////Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson, The 39 Clues) vs
Jeanne DuPrau (City of Ember series)////Jay Piscopo (Capt'n Eli graphic novels)

Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) vs///Gordon Korman (the Island Trilogy) vs
Kaza Kinglsey (Erec Rex series)////////Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book, Coraline)

Looks like we have another action-packed week of voting ahead! You have until noon Saturday to vote (and you can vote for more than one author at a time). Don't forget that we have paper ballots here at Imaginon. And we also have paper book review forms. Your local library may have them too. If they don't, ask them to call me (Carl) and I'll send them out. Remember that your author will get 3 more points for each review of one their books that you send. PLUS, you will be in the running for prizes. The three guys who send in the most reviews of books by these authors (J. K. Rowling, Kurtis Scaletta, Rick Riordan, Suzanne Collins, Helen Hemphill, Jeanne DuPrau, Jeff Smith, Jay Piscopo, Dave Barry, Jeff Kinney, Gordon Korman, Dan Gutman, Kaza Kingsley, Jon Scieszka, Neil Gaiman, or Jenny Nimmo) will get a choice of signed t-shirts and books by Kaza Kingsley, signed books and t-shirts by Helen Hemphill, or your pick of graphic novels and/or books from our fabulous giveaway collection. (Yes, I changed the prize list when I heard about Helen Hemphill's prizes. And, yes, you can write reivews by the authors that didn't get into the Elite Eight) So vote for your faves, send in those reviews, and make this round one as exciting as the last one!

Carl

The Tension Mounts!

Yes, guys, this is definitely the most exciting contest we've ever held! The J.K. Rowling/Kurtis Scaletta and the Helen Hemphill/Jeanne DuPrau brackets are still so close that no one can tell how they'll turn out! Meanwhile Kaza Kingsley has a lead over Jon Scieszka, but he has made a run since yesterday and picked up a few more votes. And that can happen with any of the brackets! You have until 6:00 PM Saturday to vote, so send them in! Remeber, you CAN vote for more than one author with each ballot!

Don't forget that we'll have the Boys Afternoon with Roald Dahl, Dr. West, and A Giant Peach at 2 pm tomorrow! Dr. West, English prof and very cool guy, will talk about Roald Dahl and the day he spent with the author! After that, we'll take a snack break and then show the animated movie James and the Giant Peach. Still time to sign up. If you're between 9-12 years old, call 704-973-2720 to register. (or have your parents call) And----this is a BOYS ONLY event!!!!! Yippeee!

See you there!

Carl

Our First Three-Pointer!

The thrills just never stop in the March Madness Author Shoot-out! We have several games are are close and could go right down to the wire!! J. K. Rowling and Kurtis Scaletta are neck-and-neck, with J. K. up by only ONE vote!!! Who would have thought that a rookie author could be so close? Will she hold on or will there be an upset??? Helen Hemphill and Jeanne DuPrau are also only one vote apart and have been switching leads all week. Other brackets seem to have authors far in the lead, but, as any basketball fan knows, that could change at any time. You have until 6 pm on Saturday to vote, so keep those votes coming. And remember, you CAN vote for more than one!

And now, guys, let me proudly present the first three-point shot in the contest!! Remeber, any guy who writes a review of a book by an author in the tournament will not only give that author 3 extra points but will put himself in the running for some very cool prizes! Let hear what anonymous has to say:

The Demigod Files are awesome!!! Rick Riordan is the best author ever!!! His writing is particularly great becauses it connects the mythological world with the modern world. Rick Riordan is an awsome writer!

Good shot, anonymous! The Demigod Files really is good. And you've said in one sentence what I've tried to say in long paragraphs--Rick Riordan is great at connecting the mythological and the modern and that's why the Percy Jackson books are so great! Thanks! Keep shooting those 3-pointers and---aaaughhh! Who are YOU??

I AM THE WATCHER.

So what are you staring at?

Look right there. Do you not see it?

See what??

That is the money you could be saving with...

OH, GET OUTTA HERE!!!

Yeesh, the things you gotta put up with!
Carl

Prizes, Where To Read The First Chapter of The Last Olympian Online, and Boys Like Gregor

Wow, fellow reader guys, the March Madness Author Shoot-out has gotten everyone all excited!! We've had the most hits EVER on this blog! And the most votes ever!! The tension mounts as readers vote. Who will win and move to the next round? Will there be an upset?? Anything can happen!! Keep those votes coming! And don't forget that we are giving away prizes to the three guys who write in the most reviews of books by these authors. The first-place prize is a T-shirt from Kaza Kingsley's fan-tastic Erec Rex series plus the first two Erec Rex books, signed by the author! To show you how extremely cool these prizes are, Darth Bill took some photos:

Here is the unbelievably handsome CARLMAN modelling the Erec Rex t-shirts that Kaza Kingsley so generously gave us:

She even signed them!

Not only that, she also gave us copies of her first two books:

And signed them too!!!

THANKS, KAZA!!!! These books and the t-shirt could be YOURS if you send in the most reviews. The second-place winner gets a Capt'n Eli graphic novel and cards. The third-place winner gets free books and comics. We'll take your reviews until the end of the contest. Remember, when you send in a review, not only are you eligible for a prize, your author gets three more points (a "three pointer")

On to other things. A couple of new friends have written to us. Bibliophile told us where to read the first chapter of The Last Olympian, the next Percy Jackson book, online. Cool!!

There is a place where you can read an excerpt of The Last Olympian!!! It's on the Percy Jackson book site (percyjacksonbooks.com). You click on About the Series at the top of the page. If you're not already at the blurb about The Last Olympian, you just click on the book at the left. Next to a picture of the book that will come up, there will be a summary, and underneath that, a button that says, "read first chapter." There will be an excerpt of the last book in this amazing sereies.

Thanks, bibliophile! I've gone to that site and read it. Boy, Percy doesn't waste any time getting into danger. By the end of that first chapter, he's in danger from telkhines and Annabeth! Hmmm--I wonder which I'd be more scared of--an angry telkhines or an angry Annabeth!! Read the chapter yourself by going to the Percy Jackson Booksite in the Links section on the left-hand side of the page or by going here.

The other comment comes from hollybookscoops. This new friend tells about how much guys like Gregor the Ovelander:

I really enjoyed Gregor the Overlander and passed the recommendation on to a Mother of 4 boys. Her oldest devoured the books and then re-read them, just to make sure he didn't miss something.

Wow--he read them and then re-read them. Very impressive! Hope that oldest boy is reading this post. He could be in the running for prizes if he sends in reviews of the Gregor books. The excitement just keeps building!!
It's March Madness, baaaayyybeeee!!!!

Carl

It's March Madness Again, Baaaayyyybeeee!!!

Ah, yes, wonderful March is here again, that glorious time when the NCAA tournament fills our thoughts and TV schedules! Excitement abounds as teams battle, old rivalries come alive, and some unknown team dazzles the whole country. Last year we held a March Madness Tournament of Books; this year we're doing something different--an Author Shoot-Out! You can vote for your favorite author and win a prize for yourself!! How does it work? First, you can vote on the poll the left-hand side of the page. (you CAN vote for more than one) Then, if you send in a review of a book BY AN AUTHOR IN THE TOURNAMENT, your author will get a "three pointer," that is, that author will get 3 extra votes. PLUS---YOU will get a chance for a prize!! The three guys who send in the most reviews of books BY THESE AUTHORS will win prizes!!! Easy enough? You bet!

So the big question is---WHO ARE THE AUTHORS?

I'm glad you asked. We've chosen authors who are proven favotites with guys. We'll set them up in brackets, just like the NCAA tournamnet, and we'll start with a Sweet Sixteen. You vote for your favorites this week and next week we'll have an Elite Eight. Then we'll go to a Final Four and then the championship. You'll see the brackets in a bit, but let me first tell you who will be in the brackets:

J. K. Rowling

vs.

Kurtis Scaletta, first-time author of Mudville, a very terrific book.

Now, it may not seem fair to put a rookie against an established powerhouse, but that's what happens in the NCAA; a # 1 seed always goes against a # 16

Rick Riordan (the Percy Jackson and 39 Clues man

vs.

Suzanne Collins, author of the Gregor the Overlander series and The Hunger Games which Bill and other guys have liked a lot

Helen Hemphill, author of The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones (she came to Imaginon to speak)

vs.
Jeanne DuPrau, author of The City of Ember series (we're going to start a City of Ember book club on March 28)

Jeff Smith, creator of the awesome Bone series

vs.

Jay Piscopo, creator of the awesome Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli series

A clash of the graphic novel titans!

Dave Barry, author of Science Fair

vs.
Jeff Kinney, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid guy

Two funny guys square off!

Gordon Korman, author of the Island triolgy and One False Note, the second 39 Clues book

vs.

Dan Gutman, author of the My Weird School series

Kaza Knglsey, author of the fan-tastic Erec Rex series

vs.

Jon Scieszka, author of The Time Warp Trio series and that hilarious autobiography Knuckleheads

Neil Gaiman, author of the Newbery-winning The Graveyard Book

vs.

Jenny Nimmo, the Charlie Bone author

Two masters of fantasy in one bracket!

Here are what the brackets look like:

J. K Rowling vs//////////////Rick Riordan vs

Kurtis Scaletta////////////// Suzanne Collin

Helen Hemphill vs///////////Jeff Smith vs

Jeanne DuPrau///////////// Jay Piscopo

Dave Barry vs//////////////Gordon Korman vs

Jeff Kinney/////////////////Dan Gutman

Kaza Kingsley vs/////////////Neil Gaiman vs
Jon Scieszka////////////////Jenny Nimmo

(Yeah, these are weird-looking brackets but I couln't figure out how to make real ones
The winners of each bracket will go against the winner of the bracket directly across from it; for example, the winner of the Kaza Kingsley/Jon Scieska bracket would go against the winner of the Neil Gaiman/Jenny Nimmo bracket. Got it?

The rules are simple:

1.Vote on the poll for your favorites. You can vote more than once.
2. The boys who send in the most reviews of books BY THESE AUTHORS will get prizes. (plus your author will get 3 more points for each review)

What are the prizes?

First place will be an EREC REX T-SHIRT AND SIGNED COPIES OF THE FIRST TWO EREC REX BOOKS!!!
Second place will be FREE CAPT'N ELI GRAPHIC NOVEL AND A PACK OF CAPT'N ELI CARDS!!!

Third pace will be A FREE BOOK AND FREE COMICS!!!

All right! Have fun and-----LET THE AUTHOR SHOOT-OUT BEGIN!!

Carl