Five Kingdoms: Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull

After a rocky arrival into Zeropolis, Cole, Mira, Dalton, and Jace join the local Unseen resistance. But consistent persecutions force the Unseen to go deep for their safety. Once they meet Mira, their main objective is to find Constance. However, Constance’s star is missing. Unseen leaders convince Cole to travel alone to Junction City and contact Queen Harmony.

The third book in Mull’s Five Kingdom series places our heroes in a science-fiction kingdom where magical energy is used to establish a technologically advanced world. Yes, the group’s mission is to save another princess, but Mull proves that even if his characters go on a quest to do repeated tasks, it doesn’t mean the plot is predictable or formulaic. Mull pulls out all the stops in Crystal Keepers.  A read worth the ride. The fourth book is Death Weavers.

Allen County Young Authors 2016

Soon after the Bentonville Youth Literature Festival, my mother's school district in Iola, Kansas, celebrated their Allen County Young Authors' event...a program that has been going strong for 17 years. Authors Deborah Hopkinson and Obert Skye were invited to present their books and past writing experiences to the kids. It was another successful year thanks to these authors, the Young Author committee, the volunteers, and the kids who wrote some awesome books!

Now, I talked in more detail about how the Young Authors' program works in last year's post, but I wanted to show you what one student's book looks like. This particular book was written by my nephew...a very gifted writer. His Young Author book was twelve chapters long and he's only in 5th grade! With the help of his teacher and parents, he typed up, edited, and illustrated this book, The A.C.E. Competitions. It's hard not to see why his book was an award winner! Great job!

The celebration begins on Friday evening with a dinner hosted at Iola's Bowlus Fine Arts Center. For all 17 years, a special local grant from the Sleeper Family Trust (which is distributed by the Bowlus) has funded this amazing program. Their investments have paid off because even though Young Authors has been around for so long, it's response by teachers and students has grown exponentially! At many schools 100% of teachers participated in supporting their students to write books. And this year showed the highest number of student submissions within all 17 years. Quite an accomplishment!

Saturday morning, bright and early, Young Author winning students flock to Iola High School to be recognized for their outstanding books. They got to see personalized presentations from Deborah and Obert and then share their books with their peers and Young Author volunteers. I have been volunteering since my mom started up the program. So here I am sitting with a group of kids as they each read aloud and show off their books. After they read aloud, we have a short question and answer period to better understand how they created their award-winning reads.

So here we are after another successful Young Authors' Celebration with both authors.

I met Deborah Hopkinson at last year's Warrensburg Children's Literature Festival (see last year's blog post). She is a gifted non-fiction and historical fiction author of both chapter books and picture books.  She loves to write books about insightful and influential people who don't always get acknowledged by society. Like her historical fiction, The Great Trouble, talks about Dr. John Snow, the doctor who discovered how cholera was really being spread in 1850s London. A fascinating read!

I have known Obert Skye for several years, again thanks to the Warrensburg Children's Literature Festival. He has become a fast friend ever since meeting him. In the near future, I'll showcase Obert's work and writing experience when I post reviews for his Pillage and Creature In My Closest series. He mainly focuses on middle-grade fantasy, but he will be publishing some teen fantasy reads soon.

Thanks for checking out my blog and PLEASE check out these authors and their books!

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Gwendolyn Allister has reluctantly moved to London with her paranoid mother. However, Gwen’s best friend, Olivia, has come to help ease Gwen’s transition. Things go supernaturally wrong when the girls are kidnapped by flying shadow creatures—known as the Dark Ones—and taken to Neverland. The girls get separated but Gwen is rescued from the Dark Ones by the handsome, metal-handed Captain Rowan. Peter Pan sneaks onto Rowan’s ship, takes Gwen, and reunites her with Olivia. But this Peter Pan is a seductive teenage leader who magically brainwashes anyone to get his way.

Unhooked is a gothic yet modern twist to Barrie’s Peter Pan tale. Gwendolyn is tied to the sporadic, unstable whims of her anxious mother. If she leaves, her mother will fall apart. But if she stays, her social future is doomed. Her one glimmering hope is Olivia, a strong-willed girl who looks past Gwen’s flawed mother and sees a friend. But when Gwen is reunited with Olivia after their kidnapping, Olivia’s resilient mind is lost to Pan’s seductions. Losing Olivia spurs Gwen to accept her destiny and face Neverland’s terrors and temptations head on. Alongside Gwen’s story, Maxwell adds snap-shots of Rowan’s service in WWI. This WWI storyline is unique, but is an anachronism. For example, Rowan mentions Barrie being inspired by Neverland. But Barrie didn’t write his Peter Pan play until 1904 and WWI didn’t begin until 1914. How could Barrie write a Hook/Captain Rowan character before Rowan even arrived in Neverland? Putting these inconsistencies aside, Unhooked is an addictive, mature reimagining of the Peter Pan story that teens will devour.      

Withering-by-Sea by Judith Rossell

While residing at a health resort with her three stingy aunts, Stella Montgomery witnesses the murder of an elderly hotel patron, Mr. Filbert. But before his death, Mr. Filbert entrusts Stella with an ancient bottle to keep away from his murderer—a magician known as The Professor.

Withering-by-Sea is the start of Rossell’s new illustrated middle-grade series. It is a tale full of danger, magic, friendship, death, and mystery. As the story opens, readers are introduced to young Stella Montgomery. Some might say she has a fabulous life traveling all over the world with her three wealthy aunts. But as readers take a closer, they realize Stella is a lost, neglected little girl who is literally searching for her place in the pages of her ruined Atlas. Surprisingly, after Mr. Filbert’s death, Stella’s life comes alive to new worlds, friendships, and adventures. Up to that point, she was just enduring the insults in hopes of receiving stray clues to her parents’ past. Afterwards, her intelligence, courage, and untapped magical abilities aid her to survive the terrors dealt by The Professor. A fun, intriguing read similar to such classics as The Little Princess and James and the Giant Peach.     

Spot, the Cat by Henry Cole

A boy’s cat, Spot, gets distracted by the world outside and goes on a journey to see the city for himself. When the boy realizes Spot is missing, he feverishly searches the busy metropolis for his beloved cat. But several near misses keep the two from reuniting until Spot returns home.

Cole’s intricately detailed wordless picture book is a feast for the eyes. His pen and ink illustrations bring a city to life as a boy and his cat navigate their way back to each other. Their tale begins with readers viewing an intimate, relaxing day at home. But Spot is drawn into the huge wide world and he must satisfy his curiosity. Once Spot leaves the apartment, Cole pulls his illustration perspective back so readers become pedestrians searching for Spot and helping the boy. When all hope seems lost, readers are zoomed into the boy’s perspective again to observe his loving reunion with Spot. More heartfelt and story-driven than any Where’s Waldo book, Spot, the Cat is a story readers of all ages can relish over and over again. 

Wake Up, Island by Mary Casanova, illustrations by Nick Wroblewshi

During the dawning hours, as a child sleeps soundly in bed, the world on the child’s island home starts waking up. Animals, birds, plants, and insects begin their morning routines of waking from their beds, foraging for food, and securing their homes. In the midst of all this outdoor activity, the child is awakened by the sun’s light. However, a hearty pancake breakfast can’t keep the child from running outside to welcome the start of a new day.

In the picture book world, there are countless bedtime stories. But what about books that wake up young readers to the outdoors? Casanova and Wroblewski successfully forge ahead into a new reading realm with Wake Up, Island. Inspired by Casanova’s pre-dawn canoeing trips on Minnesota’s lakes, Wake Up, Island is a call to readers to be aware of the life outside of their human environment and to respectfully experience Nature for themselves. Casanova’s expressive text with Wroblewshi’s rich woodcut prints vividly render the intimate morning routines of animals, birds, plants, and insects. But the author and illustrator also draws young readers into Nature’s sunrise schedule by showing how they impact the start of a beautiful day. A fun yet thoughtful sensory read, Wake Up, Island can be a helpful tool to get kids hooked into the vibrant outdoors rather than being entangled into the alternate realities of media.    

Bentonville's Second Annual Youth Literature Festival, 2016

Spring Greetings!

Last Friday & Saturday my husband and I took a weekend vacation to Bentonville, Arkansas, to help support the community's fairly new children's literature festival. The event was held at the Bentonville Public Library where picture book, poetry, and YA authors presented seminars to children, teens, and adults.

We knew many of the authors attending, so this felt more like a reunion with close friends than a literature event. The authors in attendance were Henry Cole, Obert Skye, Mary Casanova, Janet Wong, Cheryl Harness, Michael Spradlin, Kashmira Sheth, Karen Akins, and Roland and Marie Smith.

Roland and Marie's daughter, Bethany Culpepper, was responsible for starting up the festival. She and her staff did a fabulous job in making things run smoothly for their second annual event. Keep up the good work!

On Saturday morning, we headed to the library and started our day with Ard Hoyt. During his slideshow, he showcased a new picture book series he and Amber Harris, a Bentonville author, worked on together called Wisteria Jane. Amber was actually in attendance and Ard turned some time over to her to describe the ten book series. Their books are about a little girl who gets into hilarious trouble but tries to blame it on her dog or other people. The next book in their series, Bingo Did It!, will come out in October.

After Ard's presentation, we watched Roland Smith present. My husband had never heard Roland before, so it was a treat for him to learn about Roland's adventurous life of zoo keeping, mountain climbing, world traveling, and storm chasing that led him to becoming a successful YA author. During Roland's presentation, he showed the upcoming cover for the sequel to Beneath called Above. That will be coming out in September. I look forward with GREAT anticipation to the ARC of Above I should be receiving soon!

After a short lunch break, we headed off to our next presentation with Henry Cole. We had both heard Henry present before, but his stories, humor, and quirky character always bring us back for more! At the end of his presentation, he turned on some music and drew his Sammy Shine character from his new book The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine. So fun!

Finally, our last author of the day, Karen Akins (pictured below), was new to both me and my husband. Karen is another Bentonville author but she specializes in humorous YA science fiction. She has written two books, Loop and Twist, that are a duology based on time travel. Her presentation was more about writing than discussing her books. She compared telling a good lie to writing successful fiction. She used examples from Harry Potter and the board games, Balderdash and Monopoly, to illustrate her points. She also gave some good writing tips on what to do when you get into a writing slump. One suggestion was writing your story from the antagonist's perspective. So for a few minutes we all took some time thinking about our favorite story and then tried to write a scene from the antagonist's perspective. A very insightful and instructive presentation!

When we finished for the day, we joined the authors in the library's "Walmart Room" to get books signed. Bethany had invited us, my mom, and my Warrensburg buddy, Linda, over to her house for a Happy Hour with the authors. Of course we don't drink, so we enjoyed our bottled water while getting to know the authors even better and solidifying friendships.

After the Happy Hour was over, we walked around downtown Bentonville. It seriously is a lovely, homey place with lots of charm, artistic flare, and character. We definitely plan on returning for next year's festival!

Stay tuned for next week's highlights of the Allen County Young Author's Celebration!     

The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine by Henry Cole

Jimmy has built a flight-ready, small aircraft, and he’s itching for a test pilot. So, he steals Hanks’ pet mouse, Sammy Shine. But the launch goes awry when Jimmy accidentally destroys the plane’s remote. Sammy takes over the controls, but he eventually crashes inside the wild Great Woods. Once there, Sammy meets a mouse clan and their friendly leader, Osmund. Osmund believes Sammy is magical because of his airplane, but warns that Mustela, the evil weasel, will want it to take over the woods. When Sammy’s aircraft disappears and Mustela isn’t to blame, Sammy searches for Goggles, an old and wise raccoon, for advice.

Cole’s wildly imaginative novel is a perfect mix of such classic stories as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper, and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Sammy loves his reclusive, relaxing life as Hank’s pet. But when Jimmy launches Sammy in the plane, Jimmy also initiates Sammy’s confidence, intelligence, and courage while facing the unknown world. From that point on, Sammy tries to jumpstart the confidence of others by acknowledging their strengths and accepting them for who they are. Supporting his light-hearted read, Cole weaves in several graphite illustrations throughout the book to bring personality to his characters and life to his setting. Each chapter beginning includes a unique drawing that foreshadows Sammy’s adventures. With Cole’s well-written story and his fun illustrations, The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine has potential to become another classic in children’s literature.