What’s your school day like? How about if you like in Brazil? Or Denmark? Or Kenya? See what’s the same and what’s different about kids’ days around the world through Barbara Kerley’s simple, graceful text and the gorgeous photos from National Geographic in the picture book One World, One Day.
I read this book right after [...]

There were 4 things about Pamela Turner’s The Frog Scientist that made me want to interview her about her book. 1) I loved how the whole story is an example of the scientific process in action. 2) It’s is a great example of how nonfiction books can be used with different reading abilities–Mr. E (10) [...]

Chris Gall talks about his new picture book, Dinotrux–just named a Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Book for 2009!
Describe your book:
Dinotrux is about an ancient race of primitive trucks that apparently existed millions of years ago. It turns out that they had not yet evolved into the kind, helpful trucks we have today.
How did you get [...]

Looking for a non-scary Halloween book to read? Go find Fran Cannon Slayton’s When the Whistle Blows. Each chapter features a different All Hallow’s Eve adventure as Jimmy Cannon grows up in his West Virginian railroad town.
Recently, Fran answered a few questions about her book…
Tell us about your book.  
When the Whistle Blows is a coming of [...]

Mac Barnett, picture book and middle grade author, talks about his new middle grade mystery, The Brixton Brothers: the Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity. The Brixton Brothers is a funny mystery starring Steve, who’s obsessed with the Hardy Boys-like Baily Brothers book series. So when a true mystery crops up in Steve’s life, [...]

Picture book author Eve B. Feldman talks about her newest book, Billy and Milly, Short and Silly, a book that had Colonel Mustard giggling away and asking, “How’d she do that?” Why? Because Billy and Milly, Short and Silly is an ingenious picture book–13 funny stories told in four words or less! It’s garnered starred reviews [...]

It’s Eleanor Davis, author/illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel extraordinaire, The Secret Science Alliance! (Also, the award-winning Stinky!)
Eleanor says,

“The Secret Science Alliance is about super-smart Julian, Greta and Ben, three of the coolest kids in the universe! They’re secret scientists and inventors with an underground hideout and inventions galore. Of course, there’s an evil [...]

Another kid-friendly interview by two friendly kids!
It’s Eric Wight, author/illustrator of Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom (Colonel Mustard’s favorite book of the summer!). Frankie Pickle is a hilarious graphic novel/chapter book hybrid about boy with a huge imagination and a very messy room.
Eric’s stats:

And look–he shared a haiku!
Writing with pictures
Is kind of like [...]

Hey, it’s something new! Mr. E, Colonel Mustard, and I have been emailing some of the authors and illustrators of books they’ve loved. We’re posting the results here. It’s kid-friendly interviews by two friendly kids! Take a peek, then go track down these books.
First up, S. Terrell French, author of Operation Redwood.
Here are her stats:

Operation Redwood [...]

Whew! What a whirlwind trip. We did the visit-the-relatives, attend-part-of-ALA, tour-Chicago combo vacation. We even celebrated a birthday in there!
Our Nonfiction Book Blast presentation at ALA on Sunday was a huge success. The (enormous) room was full. We had crowds waiting to come in! This was–frankly–amazing to me. Not because we didn’t deserve it (all [...]

Yes, I am! In fact, I’m presenting there. And signing books (Lerner booth, Sunday 12:15). Come see me! Here’s the scoop on the presentation:
Nonfiction Book Blast!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Convention Center Room W181
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
ALA Annual Conference, Chicago
wiki at http://nfbookblast.pbworks.com/
Track: Children & Young Adults; Literature & Collection Development
Despite the emphasis on fiction for leisure [...]

This is the face of one happy kid. For an early birthday treat, Mr. E and I took a road trip to the Red Balloon Book Store in St. Paul to see Rick Riordan and pick up a copy of the final Percy Jackson, The Last Olympian. We got there early, but the room (it [...]