Items of interest

I have no review this week, I've been reading grown up things lately but I'll get back to the kidlit soon. In the meantime, if you are looking for something new to read there is a great website called kidsreads.com. They have a whole team of people there who read and review books. There are reviews on new books every month plus you can see what's coming soon and they have author interviews as well. It's a great place to find new things to read.

Also, I saw this on my Twitter feed this week. It's called the 90 Second Newbery Film Festival. It's a contest! James Kennedy is challenging kids to make a 90 second film of their favorite (or least favorite, or most forgotten) Newbery winner (or honor book). Here is an example:

"A Wrinkle In Time" In 90 Seconds from James Kennedy on Vimeo.

Pretty funny, huh? Neil Gaiman also tweeted that he would give a signed copy of The Graveyard Book to his favorite 90 second version of his Newbery winner. Does that get your creative juices flowing? It does mine!

Book Fair, Secret Lair, New Hair!

I got my hair done yesterday so here is a picture of me in my secret lair behind the book fair with my new hair breathing air and with another picture to share.  Ha!

The great thing about the book fair, in addition to raising money for the PTA, is that it allows me to get new books for the library. I get to select books from the fair to add to my collection. Here is a picture of two boxes of books that I have selected for our library. So you have that to look forward to when the library opens again.

If you haven't yet come down to the book fair, you have until Friday after school to shop for some terrific books. I picked up School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari yesterday and was immediately hooked after reading the first chapter.  I must finish this book!  

There are lots of other great titles as well, such as The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-fu Cavemen From the Future, a new George and Harold book from Dav Pilkey; The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi of The Spiderwick Chronicles fame; Thelonius Monster's Sky High Fly Pie, Duck, Pete & Pickles, and a Visitor for Bear, all CYRM nominees for 2010-11; and in graphic novels you can find Ghostopolis and Rapunzel's Revenge, both highly acclaimed graphic novels for young people. Or you could come and buy the last copy of The Graveyard Book because you've been putting off reading this book for way too long!

Books make great gifts and the Book Fair directly benefits the library, it's a win-win scenario.  Come on down and pay us a visit and buy some books!

The House on the Rock, day 1, in which I answer the question "Where was Mrs. Richards on Friday?"

Some of you may have noticed that I wasn't at school on Friday. Well, I had a personal necessity. I had to go to Wisconsin and get a copy of The Graveyard Book signed by the author, Neil Gaiman and bring it back to the library. While I was there, I visited the House on the Rock and went to a costume part there. But here is what happened on Friday:

I arrived in Madison, Wisconsin and picked up a friend who traveled from Toronto and together we drove to Spring Green, Wisconsin, population 1444. After we checked in to our hotel, we popped in to the Rock and Roll Drive in for a bite to eat. Inside the restaurant was this weird hot dog guy who looked a little to eager to be eaten. And wearing a sombrero. He was pretty convincing though, because my friend indeed had a hot dog for dinner. I had a hamburger and we both had some delicious root beer in glasses so frosty that the foam from the root beer that dripped down the sides froze to the glass. Next we drove up to the crown jewel of roadside attractions The House on the Rock. The House on the Rock plays a key role in an important scene in the book American Gods, by Neil Gaiman which is why Mr. Gaiman was there signing books. The whole weekend was a celebration of the book and the role that the house plays in it. So we checked in for the event and found out that our assigned book signing time would be after the evening's reading. So unfortunately, the book I was going to have him sign was still back at the hotel. Fortunately, they were giving out copies of The Graveyard Book (newly out in paperback) so I had that for him to sign. Also for sale were presigned copies of his other books so I bought a signed copy of Odd and the Frost Giants to keep for myself.

The reading was fantastic! He read part of the chapter in the book that takes place at the House on the Rock. There were several hundred people under the tent listening to him read and you could have heard a pin drop during his pauses. My friend and I had lined up early so we were able to get a seat in the third row in front of the stage. I was in heaven! After he read from American Gods he was interviewed by Steve Paulson of Wisconsin Public Radio. He had a lot of interesting things to say! I think they were recording it so as soon as it's available online, I will put up a link. Then there were some questions that were submitted earlier by fans and after that, he read two more short ghost stories which were great!

When the reading was over, it was time for the signing. My friend and I stood in line for two hours to get our books signed. It was a long wait but we talked to people in line around us so it wasn't so bad. When I finally got to the table I asked Mr. Gaiman to sign my book for Marshall Lane School and he did and doodled a little gravestone. He looked pretty tired when I got to the table but he kept signing books for another hour! He is very good to his fans. We were pretty tired by this time as well so we went back to our room and went to bed. It was a pretty great day but the next day was even better! I'll tell you about that tomorrow! In the mean time, go to mousecircus.com to listen to (and watch) Neil Gaiman read The Graveyard Book for free!