Book of the Week - Sabriel

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Prologue: Sabriel is born to a mother who just stumbled into the middle of a camp of traders. Baby Sabriel dies. Just as the traders are about to say the final rights, a necromancer arrives and proceeds to walk into the land of the dead and bring back the baby--alive. Sabriel is revived, marked with magic, and she and her father join the group of traders.

If that doesn't suck you into a story then I don't know what would. This book promises from the beginning to be full of death, magic, and adventure, and it fulfills all of those promised to the letter. Sabriel doesn't give up, lighten, or slow down from beginning to end. It also pushes the boundaries on what would be considered a children's book. Esteemed editor Virginia Buckley said she would never sign a young adult book with an eighteen-year-old protagonist, yet Sabriel is just that and it is very much for the adolescent audience. Sabriel is a dark adventure, but perfect for anyone needing a good fantasy.

Forgotten Author of the Week - Alexander Key

Yet another author in which you do know their work although perhaps not their name. In a week the DVD release of Race to Witch Mountain will be out. In honor of this event, I present to you--Alexander Key.

Alexander Key was an American children's sci-fi writer. He became nationally known for his illustrations before he became an author. Many of his books have a distinctive rugged landscape due to his home being in the North Carolina mountains.

His novel Escape to Witch Mountain was made into a popular film in 1975, 1995, and again this year. The sequel, Return From Witch Mountain (an absolute favorite of mine) was also made into another popular film in 1978. Among some of his other books is The Incredible Tide which was made into an anime series called Future Boy Conan, Sprockets, The Forgotten Door, The Sword of Aradel, and a dozen others.

Key is known for his portrayals of aline, but human-like people who have psychic powers and close communion with nature. Often his characters can speak to animals. The protagonists of Key's books are often ostracized, feared, or persecuted because of their abilities or alien origin, and Key uses this as a clear metaphor for racism and other prejudice.

Book of the Week- This Land Was Made for You and Me

This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie by Elizabeth Patridge

What a large amount of research this author had to wade through in order to write this book. From interviewing friends and family to reading the almost illegible scrawl of Guthrie’s handwriting later in his life. Despite the very detailed and vivid information the author provides, the reader always feels like they are being presented with facts. Nothing feels made up or crafted for the story. There is rich sensory details such as how the dust must have felt during the dust bowl, and the way the migrant workers camp must have felt. She pieces this together from Guthrie’s life, but also through outside sources, letters, and conversations with people who may or may not have been associated with the Guthrie movement. Partridge weaves together a tale that does not shy away from the good, the bad, or the ugly. She takes these facts and transports you into the world of Woody Guthrie. One can’t help but go find one of his CD’s and listen as you read the book.

Forgotten Author of the Week - Sempe-Goscinny

Perhaps you have run across the Nicholas books while perusing your local library shelves. More than likely you have not.

Rene Goscinny is the writer of the story. Born in Prais, France in 1926 and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Goscinny discovered his love of reading. He lived in New York City for awhile, but eventually moved back to France in the 50's. Most of Goscinny's books were written in French first and later translated by himself into English. He has written numerous children's books such as the Adventures of Asterix the Gaul and Nicholas.

Jean-Jacques Sempe is the artist of the Nicholas series. Sempe was born in Bordeaux, in the South of France in 1932. When he was a little boy he was always getting into trouble at school, just like Nicholas. When he was older, Sempre tried all kinds of jobs from selling toothpaste to working in a summer camp. When Sempe was eighteen-years-old, he moved to Paris and soon got one of his drawing printed in a newspaper for

the first time. He had no formal training as an artist. He has been drawing cartoons and illustrations for magazines, newspapers, and books ever since.

Illustrator of the Week - Jean-Jacques Sempe

In honor of the Forgotten Author of the Week. The Illustrations of Jean-Jacques Sempe.

Book of the Week -We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro Baseball by Kadir Nelson

Every author must make a conscientious choice of whom the narrator of their story will be. Typically, the voic

e centers around the main character or characters. Whether in first or third person. However, Nelson chooses to use a god-like voice in We Are the Ship. This voice explains and describes the story as if he was a part of the story, as if he is one of the ballplayers. There is a distinct vocal style, reminiscent of the way African-American’s spoke centuries ago. The book begins, “Seems like we’ve been playing baseball for a mighty long time.” Th

e word ‘we’ allows the reader to feel like they are part of that we. The ‘mighty’ creates a distinctive cultural flavor that permeates the story. There is no name to the voice, but there doesn’t need to be. This is your voice, this is Jackie Robinson’s voice, it is Leroy “Satchel” Paige, and everyone else who made up the negro leagues so long ago. 

Forgotten Author of the Week - Howard Pyle

Just like many of my previous forgotten authors, you do know Howard Pyle even if you don't realize it. His 1883 classic The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print to this day and his other books often have some of the same themes. 

 

Howard Pyle was born in 1853. Although he w

as born in Wilmington , Delaware, he spent most of his life living in Florence Italy. In 1894, Pyle began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry. In 1883 he wrote The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. He also wrote an original work called Otto the Silver Hand (1883), and a four-volume set in King Arthur. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and St. Nicholas Magazine. His Men of Iron book was made into a movie in 1954 called The Black Shield of Falworth.

Pyle's most famous work distilled many Robin Hood legends and ballads, making them suitable for the child audience that the sought to appeal. Pyle was not so concerned with historical accuracy as he was about storytelling. Although, none of the tales in the book were Pyle's own making, he wove them together to form a unified story.

Illustrator of the Week - Howard Pyle

In honor of my forgotten author this week, I also bring to you the illustrations of Howard Pyle.

Book of the Week - Judy Moody

Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

There is this tricky bit when writing books for intermediate readers. Judy Moody is eight-years-old. If we are to assume that the average child reader wants to read a book about children older than themselves, then this books is aimed at 6-8 year-olds. Yet, there are many big words in this books, words that set this book apart as a story for advanced readers of this age group. Average words for a second grader are words like might, cry, flew, and maybe. McDonald pushes further using words like memorizing, armadillo, invitation, collage, and unscrunched. The author is challenging her readers, taking them many steps past Magic Tree House and the A-Z Mysteries. By creating a book aimed at younger readers, but expecting them to read at a higher level, McDonald makes a book that is far more engaging and in-depth than much of the literature written for this age group.

Forgotten Author of the Week - Michael Ende

Michael Ende is a German writer of fantasy and children's literature. Before you jump to the conclusion that you do not know this author, I can promise you that you have heard of him and seen his work. Ever heard a little film called The Neverending Story? That is Ende. Ende was born in 1929 in Bavaria, Germany.

Ende was one of the most popular and famous German authors of the 20th century, mostly due to the enormous success of his children's books. However, Ende was not strictly a children’s author, as he also wrote books for adults. Ende claimed, "It is for this child in me, and in all of us, that I tell my stories," and that "[my books are] for any child between 80 and 8 years." Ende’s writing could be described as a surreal mixture of reality and fantasy. The reader is often invited to take a more interactive role in the story, and the worlds in his books often mirror our reality, using fantasy to bring light to the problems of an increasingly technological modern society.

Die unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story) is Ende's best known work. Other books that have been translated into English include Jim Button and Luke the Engine Drive (1960),  Jim Button and the Wild 13 (1962), The Grey Gentlemen (1973), The Neverending Story (1979), Ophelia's Shadow Theatre (1988), The Night of Wishes (1989).

Michael Ende's works have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 20 million copies, and have been adapted into motion pictures, stage plays, operas and audio books.

Book of the Week - ...If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights

...If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights by Anne Kamma

This book is organized very well. First it sets up the story, the very reason the book is written. We begin with the very first women, Abigail Adams and Deborah Sampson, who began writing and talking about women’s rights. Then we delve into what women were not allowed to do. This is extremely important in the set up of the story, for many young girls today do not understand what it was these women were fighting for.  Jamma hits on poignant issues that young reader’s would be interested in such as what woman wore the first pants, rode bicycles, and schooling. Mixed within those tidbits are the facts, the women who fought, and the eventual winning of women’s right to vote, own land, and go to college. By carefully mixing these two things, the reader gets all the facts without getting bored by all the names, places, and laws.

Book of the Week - Handel: He Knew What He Liked

Handel: He Knew What He Liked by M.T. Anderson

Footnotes are a great way to insert needed information into a story without putting them into the narrative. Some children’s stories have an abundance of footnotes, inserting them all over the page. This can be seen in non-fiction science and animal books especially. Anderson understood that he was writing a story that is very time period directed, and although children will understand the emotions of a character, they may not know what a clavichord, or an opera, or a libretto is. The footnotes are details, but not too much detail. Needed information that would otherwise slow down the pacing of the story. When writing non-fiction one has to keep footnotes into consideration to insert much needed information. 

Forgotten Author of the Week - Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit is a rare gem of a writer, but sadly her success in the U.S. has never been widespread. Yet, a few of her book are still in print. Edith was born in 1858. She studied in France and at the young age of 19 (not so young then), married Hubert Bland, a writer and political activist. Edith was all the scandal for she had a child two months after their wedding.

Edith and her husband were socialists, not something that was smiled upon in 1883. Even more out of the norm, her husband had a mistress who lived with them, and bore Herbert's child. Amazingly, Nesbit seemed all right with this. Nesbit was a regular lectureer and writer on socialism. However, over the years she began to devote less and less time to her political acitivities and began to write books for children. Her most famous novels include The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899), The Wo

uldbegoods (1901), Five Children and It (1902), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1

904), The New Treasurer-Seekers (1904), The Railway Children (1906) and her most famous, The Enchanted Castle (1907).

Edith's husband died in 1914, but within a year she married Thomas Tucker, an engineer. Edith continued to write children's book and published forty-four novels by the time of her death in 1924.

Edith has this wonderful quality in her books that really pulls the reader in, draws them into these extraordinary fantasy worlds. Although the language is a bit archaic at times, the stories never lose their magic and will hopefully remain in print for many years to come.

An interesting article about Edith Nesbit:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/13132

Book of the Week - The Chronicles of Prydain: The Book of Three

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

There are dozens of ways in which an author can introduce information into a story. Alexander chooses to come right out with it. He uses a “remember when” method. This is when two characters are speaking with one another and one character says to the other, “Remember when—” The character then proceeds to inform the other character and also the reader about back story that they do now know. Almost the entire history of the land of Prydain is giving in the first chapter of the book in just this manner.  The reader learns of all the bad guys, magic, history, and some of the characters we will meet throughout the book. This can feel heavy handed at times, but it is a quick and efficient way to give information and not worry about inserting bits and pieces slowly throughout the story. 

Forgotten Author of the Week and Books of the Week - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

I'm combining two posts this week as it is my blog and that's what I feel like doing this week. Stella Gibbons is by no means considered a children's author, however her books hold a certain amount of childlike fun.

Stella was born in 1902 in London, the daughter of a doctor who she said was a "bad man", but a good doctor. Stella was taught from home before attending North London Collegiate School for Girls. In 1921 she received her 2-year degree in Journalism and received a position working with the British Union Press in 1924. Her job at the Union Press quickly led to a decent career as a journalist where we also work for Evening Standard and Lady. While working for the Standard, Mary Webb's (author of Gone to Earth) books made a resurgence and Stella was forced to write reviews. She disliked Mary Webb's books, which became the catalyst for her book Cold Comfort Farm.

Many are not familiar with Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm being the only book still in print, Stella was actually the author of 25 books. A mixture of fiction, poetry, and one children's book, The Untidy Gnome. Many of those books received very positive reviews at their releases. Although Gibbons is not considered a children's author her books are all appropriate for teenage readers, especially Cold Comfort Farm. If you loved Jane Austen or any other classical romantic writer then this is the perfect book to bring a smile to the face. 

Illustrator of the Week - Ard Hoyt

Ard Hoyt was born in Temple, Texas and some of his very first memories are of being lost in the illustrations and the stories in children's books. He says his "very favorite" is The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf , drawings by Robert Lawson. "These books took me places I had never imagined I could go," says Ard, "and I have been traveling ever since in stories and in pictures of my own."

Ard is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He's illustrated several books including One-Dog Canoe by Mary Casanova and I'm a Manatee by John Lithgow. Other books include Utterly Otterly Day, The Impossible Patriotism Project, and the brand new The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacker Goes to School. Ard lives in Arkansas with his wife and three daughters, and a lovable mutt named Lickerish.

Coming Soon: June 23

Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers by Angie Sage

Enter the world of Septimus Heap with this collection of previously unpublished papers. This rich compendium includes:

 

·      The private journals of Septimus, Jenna, and Marcia Overstrand.


·      The best—and worst—places to eat as described in The Egg-on-Toast Restaurant Guide.


·      Sirius Weazal's Speedy Guides to the Palace, the Wizard Tower, and Wizard Way.


·      Excerpts from the Pigeon Post Biography series and the Heaps of History series.


·      Alther Mella's Guide to Being Dead: Ten Handy Rules for New Ghosts.


·      Beautiful maps, quirky flyers, funny letters, and much more!

 

Have you Seen My Cat?  By Eric Carle

A little boy's cat is missing and he is worried. Beautiful illustrations and a brief, easy-to-read text lead small readers on a round-the-world quest for the lost cat, and to an ending that is a wonderful surprise. Along the way, the little boy meets a wide variety of people, all trying to be helpful, and sees many beautiful members of the cat family strikingly pictured in Eric Carle's distinctive collage technique.

This popular book, first published more than a decade ago, has now been completely re-illustrated by Eric Carle and is more appealing than ever. We are proud to re-introduce it now for the delight of a new generation of readers.

 

A Taste for Red by Lewis Harris

A sixth-grade Goth girl who thinks she’s a vampire encounters her greatest nemesis when she enrolls at Sunny Hill Middle School in this hilarious and entirely original take on the vampire genre for middle graders. 

Svetlana Grimm has recently discovered she’s a vampire. The clues are all there: she can eat only red foods, has to sleep under the bed because of her heightened sensitivity to light and noise, and can read others’ thoughts. But this new discovery is making her transition from home-schooling to attending sixth grade at Sunny Hill Middle School that much more difficult. After all, what can she possibly have in common with those jellybean-eaters in her class? She prefers to watch them from afar in her hidden lair atop the Oak of Doom in her backyard. 

But things get more interesting when Svetlana’s cruel yet beautiful science teacher, Ms. Larch, reads her thoughts. Svetlana is excited to have found another of her kind—until her new neighbor, The Bone Lady, fills her in on Ms. Larch's true identity and her own. What happens when your sixth-grade science teacher might also be your immortal enemy?

 

The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson

Mom and Dad Fleefenbacher think their daughter Zoe's hair is wild and beautiful. And for her kindergarten teacher, Zoe's vivacious tresses were a comfort. But Zoe's about to start first grade, and her new teacher doesn't fool around....

"School has rules," she says. "No wild hair in my class!"

So what are Zoe and her free-spirited hair going to do now?

 

Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted

Thirteen-year-old Cody Saron has never lived in one place longer than a few weeks, and has never attended a regular school. Growing up on the run with his father, an undercover agent for the CIA, Cody has traveled the entire globe; he speaks five languages, and he has two black belts. What Cody isn't prepared for is...junior high.

When the danger surrounding Cody's dad heats up, Cody is sent to stay with the aunt he's never known, Jenny, in her small Connecticut suburb. Cody has no idea how to fit in with other kids, how to handle his first crush, or how to make it through a day of classes.As Cody struggles to adapt to the one thing he's never experienced -- a normal life -- he starts to fear that his father's world has followed him and no one he loves is safe. Greg Logsted weaves together action, humor, and heart, building to a surprising revelation about what Cody has always believed to be true. 

 

Wicked Will: A Mystery of Young Shakespeare by Bailey McDonald

Thirteen-year-old Viola, disguised as a boy, joins her uncle’s troupe of traveling players and arrives in Stratford, where she meets a lively 12-year-old named Will Shakespeare. When a local man is murdered and her uncle is imprisoned as a suspect, Viola and Will join forces. Hoping to startle a confession from the supposed murderer, Will hatches a dramatic trap in which Viola, disguised as a “ghastly ghost,” delivers lines written by Will in iambic pentameter.

 

Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne by James Gavin

At long last, the first serious biography of entertainment legend Lena Horne -- the celebrated star of film, stage, and music who became one of the first African-American icons.At the 74th annual Academy Awards in 2002, Halle Berry thanked Lena Horne for paving the way for her to become the first black recipient of a Best Actress Oscar. Though limited, mostly to guest singing appearances in splashy Hollywood musicals, "the beautiful Lena Horne," as she was often called, became a pioneering star for African Americans in the 1940s and fifties.

 

Extra Credit by Andrew Clements

It isn't that Abby Carson can't do her schoolwork, it's just that she doesn't like doing it. And that means she's pretty much failing sixth grade. When a warning letter is sent home, Abby realizes that all her slacking off could cause her to be held back -- for real! Unless she wants to repeat the sixth grade, she'll have to meet some specific conditions, including taking on an extra-credit project: find a pen pal in a foreign country. Simple enough (even for a girl who hates homework). Abby's first letter arrives at a small school in Afghanistan, and Sadeed Bayat is chosen to be her pen pal.... Well, kind of. He is the best writer, but he is also a boy, and in his village it is not appropriate for a boy to correspond with a girl. So his younger sister dictates and signs the letter. Until Sadeed decides what his sister is telling Abby isn't what he'd like Abby to know. As letters flow back and forth between Illinois and Afghanistan, Abby and Sadeed discover that their letters are crossing more than an ocean. They are crossing a huge cultural divide and a minefield of different lifestyles and traditions. Their growing friendship is also becoming a growing problem for both communities, and some people are not happy. Suddenly things are not so simple 

Book of the Week - Book Lists

For grad school I have to read a 120 count reading list. Not only do I have to read these books in a little over a year, but I there are also the books I want to read for fun, for papers, for my thesis, as well as the occasional adult book. I have read a lot of great books in the past 5 months and here is a list of all of them in alphabetical order by author. Some of these I had read before, but there is a large difference reading a book for fun and reading it for the analysis. I have starred the books that I really enjoyed though.

*The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexia

The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen

Handel: Who Knew What He Liked by M.T. Anderson

No Castles Here by A.C.E. Bauer

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Bronzeville Boys and Girls by Gwendolyn Brooks

Snow White by The Brothers Grimm

Mr. Grumpy's Outing by John Burningham

The Earthborn by Paul Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots by Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Door in the Wall by Margeurite deAngeli

The Eye, the Ear, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

*House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

The Voice That Challenge A Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman

Nicholas by Rene Goscinny

Gone by Michael Grant

The Friends by Rosa Guy

*Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Bluish by Virginia Hamilton

The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton

It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex & Sexual Health by Robie E. Harris

So Many Circles, So many Squares by Tana Hoban

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes

Brave New World by Alduous Huxley

The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell

...If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights by Anne Jamma

*Darkness Under the Water by Beth Kannell

Steering the Craft by Ursula LeGuin

John Henry by Julius Lester

*Rules by Cynthia Lord

George and Martha by James Marshall

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

When She Was Good by Norma Mazer

Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh

The Kiss That Missed by David Melling

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson

*Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie by Elizabeth Partridge

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

*The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

*Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge

*Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Guys Write for Guys Read by jon Scieszka

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Reality Leak by Joni Sensel

What Have You Lost? by Naomi Shihab

In Real Life: Six Women Photographers by Leslie Sills

The Fools of Chelm and Their History by Isaac Singer

*Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Tru Confessions by Janet Tashjian

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

Poetry Speaks to Children by Various Authors

Father Fox's Pennyrhymes by Clyde Watson

Max Cleans Up by Rosemary Wells

I Love My New Toy by Mo Willems

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems

*Take Joy by Jane Yolen

Forgotten Author of the Week - Doris Herold Lund

My mother read books to me all the time when I was little. Library books, books from the bookstore, hand-me-downs, but none were as special as my mother's books. The books that had been hers when she was little. Her bookshelf was lined with these "ancient" tomes and are the direct reason for these forgotten author of the week. These were books that I love and remember fondly. I want you to fall in love with them as well. Perhaps you will see these books at a garage sale or at your library, slightly beat up and forgotten. If you are inspired enough, perhaps you will order them.

Doris Herold Lund wrote many children's book, but the one I remember the most was The Attic of the Wind. A sweet little tale about what happens to your 

lost things. 

What happens to things that blow away,

Like bubbles you blew one sunny day?

Where did they all go anyway?

To the Attic of the Wind.

It's not an Attic you reach by stair--

It's past the clouds and the stars somewhere!

And what will we find if we play up there

In the Attic of the Wind?

Lund started her writing career as a freelancer, contributing articles and stories to Reader's Digest, Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping. She published eight popular children's books, including "Attic in the Wind," which sold over 1 million copies.

When her son Eric died of leukemia, Lund wrote a nonfiction book about his battle with the disease. "Eric" was published in 1974, and was eventually printed in 20 languages. Two years later, CBS aired a Hallmark TV movie based on her book, starring Patricia Neil, Claude Akins and Mark Hamill.

"I knew I was watching something unusually courageous. Being a writer, you take things in and regurgitate them automatically. I knew I was privileged," Lund once said.

Book of the Week - Guys Write for Guys Read

Guys Write for Guys Read by Jon Scieszka

Sometimes I want to shout from the rooftops, "It's true! Guys really are from Mars!" 

Except that it's not true. Guys aren't from another planet any more than girls are. Guys are complex, funny, thoughtful, and sometimes downright hysterical. And no matter what kind of guy you are, there's a story in Guys Write For Guys Read that you will like and a guy writer who probably, in one way or another, felt a lot of the things you feel right now. 

Jon Scieszka's anthology brings together the best male writers and artists around to write (or draw, or paint) about everything from dangerous books (Neil Gaiman) to the inability to resist danger in the form of the neighbor's homemade electric chair (Jack Gantos), to a very secret Lettermens' club initiation that involved raw oysters, olives, and shoes (Chris Crutcher). Every piece in this book, whether humorous or heartbreaking, conveys the spirit of what it means to be a son, a father, a friend, a hiker on the trail of self-discovery, and most importantly, a guy. 

Even if you're a guy who normally hates to read, check out this book (you can read it one essay at a time if you're busy with sports, girls, or raiding the fridge), and take a look at Jon Scieszka's website, GuysRead.com.