Goblin Secrets
About the Book: In the town of Zombay, there is a witch named Graba who has clockwork chicken legs and moves her house around—much like the fairy tale figure of Baba Yaga. Graba takes in stray children, and Rownie is the youngest boy in her household. Rownie’s only real relative is his older brother Rowan, who […]
See more
The Witches
About the Book: This Roald Dahl classic tells the scary, funny and imaginative tale of a seven-year-old boy who has a run-in with some real-life witches! “In fairy tales witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy tale. This is about REAL WITCHES. REAL […]
See more
My Very UnFairy Tale Life
About the Book: You know all those stories that claim fairies cry sparkle tears and elves travel by rainbow? They’re lies. All lies. I’ve spent my life as an official adventurer. I travel across enchanted kingdoms saving magical creatures and fighting horrible beasts that most of you think are only myths and legends. I’ve never had […]
See more
Okay for Now
About the Book: As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be […]
See more
Drawing Like Dürer
I’m so excited for this week’s art activity! This activity was created by a very good friend of mine, Rosalyn Eves. Rosalyn is a talented writer whom you can on the web here or follow on Twitter here. She’s one of the smartest people I know, and she’s also an artist! Without further ado, here’s the great activity she created […]
See more
Masterpiece
About the Book: Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays’ apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy. After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature […]
See more
Yarn-Wrapped Frame
This week’s art activity was created by another one of my super-talented friends, Erin Shakespear. Erin is a writer and a craft expert and one of the funny, most warm people I know. Take it away, Erin! With a cool book like Framed being featured on Elaine’s awesome blog, it seemed fitting for this week’s art project to be a frame! […]
See more
Framed
About the Book: A few things to know about Dylan: He is the only boy in his entire town—so forget about playing soccer. His best friends are two pet chickens. His family owns the world’s only gas station/coffee house—their pies are to die for, but profits are in the hole. Criminal instincts run in his family—his […]
See more
Middleworld
About the Book: An epic adventure that brings together ancient history and modern adolescent angst – as it pits a pampered, pizza-eating, 21st century Boston teenager against the Death Lords of the Maya Underworld. In Book One: “Middleworld,” 14-year-old Max Murphy is trying to survive in the perilous rainforest. But poisonous snakes and man-eating jaguars are […]
See more
Exploration and Observation: Tasty Chemical Reactions!
On page 3 of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, we learn that the Herdmans burned down Fred Shoemaker’s old broken-down toolhouse when they started a fire with Leroy Herdman’s “Young Einstein” chemistry set. Let’s do some chemistry that’s more fun and much, much safer! So what is chemistry anyway? It’s studying matter and how it reacts and […]