Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library

by Chris Grabenstein (2013)

A game, a mystery, a list of great authors and books to read, a Willie Wonka homage, and a celebration of libraries. Kyle loves to play all sorts of games, and while spending the night at the brand new town Library takes part in he most challenging game yet: how to escape from being locked in the Library? It is more game than dangerous mystery, very Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-ish, but there are many clues and puzzles to unravel before the end. Great examples of teamwork, using your brain, never giving up. And many, many books are referenced to fill an entire shelf.

Deeper: How many authors and books are mentioned? Research libraries, Dewey Decimal, and apparently there is one more problem to solve for the reader, not the characters in the story. I think this would be a great read aloud and higher level project book.

Nice author's website too, and it looks like he visits schools!

Guys Read: Funny Business

Saw this on a cool blog -- Not Just For Kids -- and love the video, putting faces and voices with the authors' names.  Can't wait to check out the book!




...and here is the "Guys Read" website which looks incredible! Every parent/teacher/librarian should have it cued up and ready for when the guy answers the question "So, whatta ya like to read?" with " Uh..."

Who is this Harris Burdick guy???

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/flash.html

http://www.hmhbooks.com/features/harrisburdick/

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

by Chris Van Allsburg (1984)

Ah-ha, so that is who this "Harris Burdick" guy is!  Don't know how this one slipped under the radar, we're big Jumanji fans around here, but now that my new best friend amazon.com has dropped off another package I am wiser.  And ready for our next creative writing lesson!

The Annotated Cat

The Annotated Cat

by Philip Nel

While a bit too dry/scholarly for most classrooms, this could still be an interesting reference book and certainly helps illustrate the importance of editing and rewriting for young authors. If Dr. Seuss himself has to work hours on one page and try many different words in a sentence to get it just right, maybe that will encourage students to keep working.

I love annotated editions because I like knowing where the ideas came from and how the story and art takes shape over the creative process.  This is a great book for Seuss fans, talks a lot about his early years and the effort to improve beginning reader books. The author tends to repeat himself, how many times can one bash poor ol' Dick, Jane, and Spot, but overall interesting and worth a look.

SF, Fantasy, Horror!

The Internet Speculative Fiction Database

and Alternative History, too -- The Alternate History List