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New Book Trailer for ‘Jedi Academy #3: The Phantom Bully’

Star Wars: Jedi Academy is one of the most entertaining and hilarious book series of the last few years. The third book in the series is called The Phantom Bully (in stories now), and it may be the best of the bunch.

If you’re a fan of comics, graphic novels and, of course, Star Wars, this is the series for you.  Here’s what Star Wars: Jedi Academy #3: The Phantom Bully is about:

51V9vlXHClL._SX336_BO1,204,203,200_It’s hard to believe this is Roan’s last year at Jedi Academy. He’s been busier than ever learning to fly (and wash) starships, swimming in the Lake Country on Naboo, studying for the Jedi obstacle course exam, and tracking down dozens of vorpak clones–don’t ask. But now, someone is setting him up to get in trouble with everyone at school, including Yoda. If he doesn’t find out who it is, and fast, he may get kicked out of school! Why can’t middle school just be easy. . .

This incredible, original story captures all of the humor, awkwardness, fun, and frustrations of middle school–all told through one boy’s comics, journal entries, letters, sketches, e-mails, and more.

Read the First Chapter from ‘The Marvels’ By Brian Selznick

The Marvels is the highly-anticipated new novel from Brian Selznick, the bestselling author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck. His latest novel is a true epic, spanning from 1766 to present day.

The Marvels is actually two stories — one in words, the other in pictures. The illustrated portion (nearly 400 pages) begins with the lone survivor of a shipwreck named Billy Marvel, and follows his unique family’s story over five incredible generations. The other portion of the book begins in 1990 and follows Joseph, a mysterious kid who runs away from school to his distant uncle’s home in London.

While the two stories are seemingly unconnected at first, what makes this story so special is the surprising and mysterious method that they’re eventually connected.

Sound interesting? Check out the first chapter below.

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THE MARVELS
Chapter One

Joseph was lost.

Somewhere far away the headlights of a car swept through the snowy night. He stopped to rest beneath a low passageway off an ancient cobblestone street. A single rusting streetlamp flickered nearby. He put down his heavy suitcase, dried off his glasses, and coughed. He was shocked he’d made it all the way to London without being caught. But then again, the headmaster at St. Anthony’s was probably relieved he was gone.

Joseph leaned against the wall and pulled out the map he and Blink had made. They’d marked his uncle Albert’s house at 18 Folgate Street with a big red X, as if they were looking for treasure. All Joseph knew about his uncle were a few overheard words from his mother through the years and the line in her address book: A. Nightingale, as if they were related to a bird. He had no idea what his uncle would say if he showed up unexpectedly at his house. He prayed A. Nightingale was a generous man, more generous than Joseph’s parents, anyway, and he’d let Joseph stay for a few days and help him figure out how to track down Blink.

Joseph had forgotten his gloves on the train, and his hands were shaking. He couldn’t make sense of the map at all.

If only he had run away with Blink when he’d had the chance, then he wouldn’t be standing here alone and freezing. The hazy blue light made Joseph think of the nights the two of them would sneak off to some empty room at school, light a candle, and read out loud to each other from one of Blink’s books. They’d quickly get caught up in the adventures of characters with names like Pip and Mowgli and Prince Caspian.

It was while reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson that they first got the idea to run away together. Joseph knew it was just a game, but it was fun to imagine themselves on pirate ships or alone on desert islands. Soon their stories grew more complex. They dreamed of finding abandoned mansions in the woods and vanishing into secret chambers in ancient castles. Once,  Joseph had mentioned he had an uncle in London he’d never met, and Blink insisted he get the address, just in case they were ever to really run away. Joseph had laughed, but as a surprise for Blink, he’d snuck into his mother’s room during a visit home and copied down his uncle’s address, which he proudly handed over when he returned to school.

That night, instead of reading together, the two boys had huddled in the library, creating a detailed map of the route that would lead them from St. Anthony’s in Cornwall to Albert Nightingale’s house in an area of London called Spitalfields, where their adventures would begin.

It was that same map Joseph was now holding, in the middle of a snowstorm, a couple of days after Christmas, lost in a city he didn’t know. He was supposed to be here with Blink. But Blink was gone, leaving behind nothing except a single book, and Joseph had no idea if he’d ever see him again.

There was no else Joseph could talk to about any of this, least of all his parents. They were always expressing concern that he spent too much time lost inside of stories, and now it seemed as if that’s what actually had happened.

A dog barked in the distance, and the wind suddenly snatched the little map out of Joseph’s shivering fingers. He picked up his suitcase and ran after it, toward a group of vagrants who were warming themselves over a fire by the side of the road. Joseph watched as the map was plucked out of the snow by one of the men, who looked at it briefly, turned it over, then crumpled it into a ball and fed it to the flames. Sparks lifted up from the fire like tiny orange insects, zigzagged into the air, and vanished.

Joseph panicked. What would he do without the map? He wondered if he should return to Liverpool Street Station and make his way back to school, but he’d already turned down so many streets and passed through so many little alleys, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to even find the station again. And besides, the school probably wouldn’t take him back now.

Joseph looked at his watch. It read 11:16.

The barking dog he’d heard before got louder, and suddenly a white blur came barrelling through the snow. It raced past him like a rock speeding down a mountainside.

A sound, high in the air, bounced off the brick walls and repeated itself.

“Marcus!”

Joseph, half-blinded by the snow and the darkness, turned a corner and ran straight into a boy who seemed to appear from nowhere. The boy was out of breath and his teeth were chattering. He was taller than Joseph, almost the same height as Blink, and he was wearing a blue cap.

“Hey!” gasped the boy. “Watch out!”

Joseph coughed.

“Have you seen Marcus?”

“Who?”

“My dog. He’s white, so it’s hard to find him in the snow. His name’s Marcus.”

Joseph adjusted his glasses and pointed down the street. “He ran that way.”

The boy smiled and turned, but then stopped to look back. “You have a suitcase,” he said. “Why do you have a suitcase? It’s the middle of the night. And it’s snowing!” The boy took a step closer. “Are you running away?”

“I’m looking for Folgate Street.”

“That’s right near my flat.”

Joseph felt a wave of relief wash over him. “Fantastic!”

“But the only person who lives on Folgate Street is . . . wait . . . who are you looking for?”

“My uncle.”

“Not . . . Albert Nightingale?”

“Yes! You know him?”

“Of course I know him! Everyone knows him. But . . .”

“But what?”

“Why does he live like that?”

“Like what?”

“You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what? I’ve never even met him. Please just tell me where he is! I’m freezing!”

“I’m freezing, too,” said the boy. “I’ve been out here for hours looking for Snowball.”

“Who’s Snowball?”

“My dog!”

“How many dogs did you lose?”

The boy stared at Joseph. “What are you talking about?”

“You said your dog’s name is Marcus.”

“Oh! Right! No, I don’t think that’s it. It would upset my mum too much, and my dad probably wouldn’t like it, either. Maybe Paddington!”

“Don’t you know your own dog’s name?”

“Not yet.”

Joseph was confused, but he was distracted by the wind whipping down the street and the cold water seeping into his shoes. He looked again at his watch.

“What time is it?” asked the boy. “It must be late.”

“I don’t know.”

“You just looked at your watch.”

“It’s broken.”

“Then why did you look at it?”

Joseph’s head was pounding. He didn’t feel like talking; he just wanted to find his uncle.

“Why don’t you get your watch fixed?” asked the boy.

“I don’t want to get it fixed.”

“Why not? What use is wearing a broken watch?”

Joseph wasn’t about to tell this stranger the real reason he wore the watch, and he was losing patience. “What use is chasing a dog whose name you don’t know?” He turned and marched off down the street. He’d find his uncle’s house on his own. It couldn’t be too far now.

“Wait!” came a voice behind Joseph. “I’m sorry.”

Joseph kept walking, but the boy jumped in front of him.

“What time is it?”

“Go away.”

“Don’t be so stroppy. I mean, what time is your watch stuck at?”

Joseph did not like this boy at all, but he pulled up his jacket sleeve and showed him the watch. “11:16. Now will you leave me alone?”

“I have an idea. Help me find my dog, and I’ll help you find your uncle.” The boy smiled.

Joseph sighed. “Do you promise?”

The boy nodded and adjusted his cap. His nose was bright red. “Good! Let’s go!” He ran down the street shouting, “Pudding! Paddington!”

“How will we know when we get the name right?” asked Joseph, trying to keep up.

“When he answers to it!”

Joseph was tossed back into the labyrinth of ancient streets as he followed the boy, shouting the names of dogs from books he’d read: “Bull’s-eye! Toto! Snowy! Pongo!” After a while they paused to catch their breath.

“Look,” said the boy, pointing to a sign. “My father’s shop.”

The sign read Bloom’s Bakery.

A light was on in a window above the shop, and the shadow of a figure passed across the closed curtains. “And there’s my dad! Keep your voice down.”

“He doesn’t know you’re out here?”

The boy shook his head. “Do your parents know you’re out here?”

Joseph’s parents didn’t really know anything about him. They lived their lives of great privilege, with their servants and their money and their travels that didn’t include him. He glanced up at the window and changed the subject. “You live above a bakery?” he asked.

“No,” the boy whispered.

“But—”

“Come on. This way!”

Soon a church steeple appeared in the distance, silhouetted against the moon, and the boys came to a long row of old brick buildings, all separated by a series of pitched glass roofs held up by cast-iron frames. The openings between the buildings led into a vast nighttime marketplace, lit by a procession of fluorescent lights. Delivery trucks pulled in and out of the market, and inside were a hundred different stalls, with names like Gibbs and Pardoe Fruits, Great British Mushrooms, and David Kira, Banana Merchants. Old crates filled with fruits and vegetables were piled everywhere, and the place teemed with people, even at this hour. The boy pointed to a four-sided clock suspended from the ceiling in the centre of the market. It read 11:36.

“If we’d been here twenty minutes earlier,” said the boy, “your watch would have been correct!”

A dizzying cascade of smells mingled in the cold air. People gathered for warmth around a cast-iron stove where someone was making tea. “The Little Drummer Boy” played on the radio. Christmas decorations still hung on the walls, and a few strings of coloured fairy lights blinked on and off, like a secret code.

Joseph and the boy ran up and down the aisles searching for the dog until they bumped into a man piling silvery fish onto ice. He wore a thick checked wool coat with a white apron tied over it, a long scarf, and a leather top hat.

“Frankie!” said the man, sounding surprised. “What are you doing here so late at night?” He spoke with a French accent, and there was a gap between his front teeth. “It’s not the dog again, is it?”

Joseph noted the boy’s name.

“Have you seen him?” asked Frankie, trying to catch his breath.

“Does your mother know you’re out? You must not worry her so much.”

“It’s okay, she’s asleep!”

“Sneaking around will only lead to trouble . . .”

Just then, there was movement at the end of a long aisle on the other side of the market. Someone shouted, “Get out of here, you runt!” They heard barking, and Joseph saw a dirty white ball of fur with something in its mouth dash out from beneath a table.

“Well, I think you have found your dog,” the man in the top hat said with a curious smile.

Joseph and Frankie chased the dog into the streets again. After a few minutes, Joseph bent over to catch his breath, and he dropped his suitcase. It sprung open and as he looked down at his clothes and books in the snow, his glasses slid off his nose.

“Hello?” Joseph yelled. He found his glasses, dried them off, and put them back on. “Frankie?” There was no answer. “You promised you’d help me!”

Joseph returned everything to his suitcase, pausing when he came to the bright red book Blink had left behind. He carefully dried it off as much as possible and gently ran his hand along the cover. In gold letters, it read, The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats. Joseph set it safely inside his suitcase.

Frankie was gone and Joseph’s toes were going numb. He needed to find somewhere warm soon. He looked for an open doorway or a place he could escape from the snow for a little while. Finally, the howling wind took pity, and it spoke from far away.

“Follow the ship!”

It sounded like the beginning of a pirate adventure he and Blink would have loved. And then it came again . . .

“Follow the ship!”

Joseph realized it was Frankie’s voice, calling to him from some other street.

“What are you talking about?” Joseph yelled into the night. “Where are you?”

But there was no answer now.

“What ship?” Joseph trembled. “Answer me!”

There was no ocean, no dock, nothing nearby at all, just streets and parked cars and darkness and snow.

Frankie’s voice cut through the cold night air once more: “Follow the ship!”

Joseph looked up into the sky, although he wasn’t sure why. Maybe he was looking for the moon, or a star, or a chimney with plumes of smoke to guide himself by. He thought he saw something far away glint in the dark. He cleaned off his glasses to get a better look and found himself walking toward a mysterious glow.

And there it was.

Appearing through the snow, high in the air, was a golden sailing ship, like a dream a lost sailor might have. Joseph thought of “The Little Match Girl,” a story he’d read in school last year about a girl who ended up dead in the snow after a freezing night filled with beautiful visions. Joseph hoped he wasn’t imagining the golden ship, and he prayed his own story wouldn’t turn out like the Little Match Girl’s.

Not knowing what else to do, Joseph ran toward the ship. As he drew nearer, he saw it was a massive golden weather vane, signalling to him. A sign that read Folgate Street was just visible beneath a thin sheen of snow on the corner, and soon he was standing in front of an old brick building in the middle of the dark narrow road. There was a large metal gas lamp hanging above the entrance, illuminating a brass knocker shaped like the head of a dog with a ring in its mouth. Pine garlands with red velvet ribbons were hung around the doorframe. The house provided the only light on all of Folgate Street.

The number 18 was nailed to the centre of the door.

From The Marvels by Brian Selznick, Scholastic Press © (2015) by Brian Selznick, used with permission.

The Best Upcoming Children’s Books of the Year

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We’re more than halfway through 2015, and it’s already been a great year for books. But, there’s still plenty of other great books on the horizon. These are a few of the very best upcoming reads that we’re excited about.

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

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Mega-talented author Katherine Applegate, burst onto the scene in 2012 with the awesome The One and Only Ivan. But she’s written plenty of other great stuff, too, including the Roscoe Riley books and even a few Animorphs titles. 

So, when we saw her newest novel, Crenshaw, come through the office, we were very excited. Good news: the book doesn’t disappoint. It’s an incredible story of limitless creativity, overcoming adversity and unexpected friendship. The only bad news: you’ll have to wait until Sept. 22 to read it.

Here’s the official synopsis:
Crenshaw is the unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience.

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There’s no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He’s large, he’s outspoken, and he’s imaginary. He has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

Read an excerpt here.

How to Tell a Story by Daniel Nayeri

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If you’re a fan of telling tall tales, How to Tell a Story is for you. The interactive game book comes with 20 six-sided illustrated story cubes that provide all you need to craft more than a million stories. Roll the story cubes to get the story started, and let your imagination do the rest.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Introducing an incredible storytelling package—a full-color, 144-page book paired with a collection of 20 six-sided, beautifully illustrated storytelling cubes that make it easy for any imaginative child (and that is every child) to start creating wonderful stories. Roll the blocks, and you can make anything happen, to anyone, anyplace in this or any other world.

The book is a guide to the principles of creative storytelling. It covers the essential elements like conflict—that thing that no one likes in real life, but without which no story could ever start—characters, motivation, dialogue, theme, and, of course, the climax. As you turn the pages, you’ll be prompted to roll the story blocks. And that’s when the magic starts to happen.

How to Tell a Story will be in stores starting Oct. 6, but be sure to come back to BookZone in October for a giveaway of the book.

Kid Athletes by David Stabler

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In 2014, Quirk Books released the hilarious Kid Presidents, telling true stories of the childhoods of the American Presidents. Now, the same minds behind that book, are back with Kid Athletes. Learn about hilarious childhoods of Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Peyton Manning and more of the most legendary sports stars in history. The book includes quirky illustrations and plenty of unusual trivia.

Kid Athletes hits bookstores in November. For now, you can read an excerpt here.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney

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With more than 150 million copies in print, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid is one of the most popular series of all-time. The lastest installment is called Old School.

Life was better in the old days. Or was it?

That’s the question Greg Heffley is asking as his town voluntarily unplugs and goes electronics-free. But modern life has its conveniences, and Greg isn’t cut out for an old-fashioned world. With tension building inside and outside the Heffley home, will Greg find a way to survive? Or is going “old school” just too hard for a kid like Greg?

The 10th entry in the series will be published on November 3. Read an excerpt here.

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

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Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus and Kane Chronicles series were all about Greek and Egyptian mythology. Now, author Rick Riordan is covering Norse legends in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series.

If you love Riordan’s book, get excited. This one is already in high demand around the BL office. Early reviews? Epic and haw-dropping.

Read an excerpt here.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

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If you’re not already familiar with Brian Selznick, drop everything and go read The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Finished? Good, now that you’re fully aware of the author’s immense talent for world-building and epic storytelling, you can prepare yourself for his latest: The Marvels.

Here’s what you can except from The Marvels when it’s released on Sept. 15:

Two seemingly unrelated stories — one in words, the other in pictures — come together with spellbinding synergy! The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle’s puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries. How the picture and word stories intersect will leave readers marveling over Selznick’s storytelling prowess. Filled with mystery, vibrant characters, surprise twists, and heartrending beauty, and featuring Selznick’s most arresting art to date, The Marvels is a moving tribute to the power of story.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar

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Fifth grader Tamaya Dhilwaddi and seventh grader Marshall Walsh have been walking to and from Woodbridge Academy together since elementary school. But their routine is disrupted when bully Chad Hilligas challenges Marshall to a fight. To avoid the conflict, Marshall takes a shortcut home through the off-limits woods.

Fuzzy Mud hits bookstores on Aug. 4.

Read the first chapter here.

Boys’ Life Fiction: ‘Ollie’s Owl’ by Yona Zeldis McDonough

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Fiction by Yona Zeldis McDonough

 

Oliver doesn’t know exactly what makes him sit up in his sleeping bag — but he’s so glad he does. Perched on a low-hanging branch a few yards away sits a great gray owl!

Trying to remain still, Oliver stares. Great grays are rare; he might never see one again. The owl looks bigger than it is; Oliver knows its inflated size has to do with lush feathers covering a rather small body. But it is the owl’s face that is so arresting: flat and round, with a pattern of concentric gray and black feathers that frame the lemon eyes and amber beak.

Then, without a sound, the owl opens its massive wings and takes off into the night.

6Oliver is still staring when he realizes his dad is sitting up too. “Did you see that?”

His father nods, a look of wonder on his face. “A great gray owl … I never thought I’d actually see one.”

“Too bad we didn’t get a picture,” says Oliver. “But I can still record it.”

Oliver has been a birder since he was 10. He knows how special that owl is and reaches into his backpack for his journal, so he can note the sighting.

Later, as he is drifting off to sleep, Oliver thinks about the owl. What is it doing here, nearly two hours away from the Sierra Nevada mountains where it’s reported to live? Is it on its way somewhere else, or has it made its home nearby?

In the morning, he has an answer. While his dad makes pancakes and bacon, Oliver wanders around the campsite with his binoculars. Mourning doves coo in the trees, and he sees a finch and a brown-headed cowbird. Then he sees a big nest in an Oregon ash. Great grays don’t build their own nests but use those of other large birds. Could this nest be a home for the great gray he saw last night?

Without telling his dad, he climbs up the tree and peers inside. There are four smooth white ovals, each about 2 inches long. He has seen pictures of the great gray’s eggs, and these look just like them! He fishes out the old digital camera he and his dad use on their trips, takes a bunch of pictures and shimmies down again.

Back at the campsite, he shows his father the photos. His dad agrees: owl eggs.

The next day, Monday, Oliver’s dad is off to work. It’s June, and school has just let out. Oliver has a late breakfast with his mom. She’s reading the newspaper, then stops and hands it to him. “Look at this.”

7Oliver reads the headline: “New Shopping Mall Under Discussion.” The new mall will have a cineplex, a sporting goods store and one of Oliver’s favorite places to buy jeans. Sweet.

But when he reads where they want to put it, his smile fades.

“That’s right’s where Dad and I go camping.”

“I know,” says his mom.

“They can’t do that!” Oliver says. “We saw a great gray owl there. Do you know how amazing that is?”

“Is that a rare bird?” asks his mom.

“Rare and endangered, at least in this area,” says Oliver. “Its wingspan can reach 60 inches, Mom. It’s got the longest tail of any known owl, and it’s one of the most skillful hunters.”

“Sounds like you know a lot about these guys.”

“I do. That’s why I don’t think they should build that mall.” He looks down at the article again. “There’s a town council meeting on Tuesday. Can I go?”

“That’s an excellent idea,” says his mother.

But when Oliver bikes over to the meeting, it’s clear no one takes him seriously.

“That’s nice that you’re interested in birds, son,” says the town council president. “Why don’t you write a paper for your science class?”

Oliver blushes; he’s 14 but the town council president is treating him like he’s 5.

“I have pictures of a nest,” he persists. “With eggs in it. Owls are breeding in that area.”

6The president glances at the pictures. “The date stamp on these says 2000; that’s 15 years ago!”

“How could that be? I just took them!” says Oliver. But he knows the camera is old. Maybe there was a malfunction with the mechanism.

“I have no idea. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to conduct.”

Oliver leaves the meeting room and goes outside. As he unlocks his bike, the door opens and out steps one of the men from the meeting.

“I’m Ben Hadley, and I wanted to say that what you did in there was great. Not many guys your age would have the courage to speak out like that.”

“But he won’t listen,” Oliver says.

“You’ve got a smartphone, right?” asks Ben. Oliver nods. “Make another trip. Use it to take the pictures that will prove your point.”

That night, Oliver tells his dad about the meeting and the new pictures he needs to take. “Can we go again?”

“Not until next month,” says his father. “I’m flying to Dallas this weekend and Aspen next.”

“Next month is too late,” Oliver says. “The town council is going to vote really soon.”

“I’m sorry I can’t help you, Ollie,” says his dad.

After dinner, Oliver pedals over to see his best friend, Dylan, and tells him the story. “I want to go again, but my dad can’t drive me.”

4“Maybe Jake could take us.” Jake is Dylan’s older brother.

“Really?” Oliver brightens.

“I’ll ask.”

“Thanks!”

On the way home, Oliver’s mind is busy developing a plan. The geotagging and date/time-stamping features on his cellphone’s camera will prove where and when the pictures were taken. And the GPS coordinates will be included, so he can easily lead the council members to the tree. Now if only Jake will say “yes”!

Two days later, Dylan, Jake and Oliver are driving toward the campsite. The sky is gray and filled with clouds.

“Looks like rain,” says Dylan.

“Hope not,” says Oliver. But he has his phone and a rain poncho. He’ll get those pictures no matter what. Only, when they get to the campsite, Oliver can’t find the Oregon ash that holds the nest.

“It was right here,” he says. They walk round and round, getting nowhere. A light drizzle starts to fall. “You guys head back to the car.”

“No way, dude,” says Dylan. “You know you have to have a buddy.”

Jake goes back to the car to wait while Dylan follows Oliver. Fortunately, he’s got a poncho too.

Oliver remembers the tree had a long branch extending in one direction, like a finger pointing. He’ll find it. And after about 10 minutes, he does. He snaps a picture of the tree. Now it’s raining harder and the wind is blowing. As Oliver nears the tree, a branch smacks him in the face. Ouch!

Dylan waits on the ground as Oliver starts to climb — up, up, up. When Oliver reaches the nest, he sees it’s tilted perilously; on the ground below are three shattered eggs. Only one egg is left. He snaps pictures, puts the phone away and shimmies down.

6But on the way, his poncho gets caught in a branch and tears. Now he’s being pelted by the rain, shirt soaking up the water like a sponge. He lets go too soon and falls with a thud to the ground. When he tries to get up, he can’t — he’s twisted his ankle.

“Are you OK?” Dylan rushes to his side.

“It’s just my ankle,” moans Oliver.

“Call Jake,” Dylan says. “I left my phone in the car.”

Trying to ignore the shooting pain, Oliver pulls out his phone and frantically taps. The battery is now dead! Now what? Can he crawl to the car?

Then he hears his name, and there’s Jake! The boys hoist Oliver up and get him home.

Three days later, Oliver shows up at the town council meeting on crutches. He shows the photos to the members, and even the president has to admit that they are convincing. And using the GPS coordinates contained in the photo files, Ben is able to drive the members to see the nest. Oliver goes along.

“There’s only one egg left,” he says when they arrive. “But inside, there’s a great gray owl ready to hatch.”

“I move that we consider several other sites for the mall,” says Ben.

While the other members are seconding the motion, Oliver looks down where the crushed eggshells are scattered and sees a sleek, gray feather. He picks it up.

It’s from a great gray owl, possibly the one that was nesting in this tree. It’s illegal to keep a feather from an endangered bird, so he sets it down again. But even the sight of it is special, like a gift meant just for him.

Click here for more books by Yona Zeldis McDonough.

These Quirky Bookmark Stickers Will Transform Your Book

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Attention page folders, there’s a better way to mark your spot in a book. Sure, you can use a cheap bookmark, but why not try something more adventurous.

British designer Duncan Shotton has created a set of inventive sticky paper tabs let you create tiny landscapes on the top of your books. There are 10 themes, ranging from natural landscapes to outer space to cities like London, NYC and Tokyo. Here are a few of the coolest options:

Mars

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New York

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Nessie

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Choose from the following sets:
Mars (aliens, galactic party rock and space buggies)
Sky (fluffy clouds and a juicy little rainbow)
Ocean (curly wurly waves, icebergs and a couple of (friendly) sharks)
Polar (icebergs, igloos, snow covered trees and penguins)
Desert (sand dunes, cacti and skulls)
Forest (pointy, bubbly and perfectly round trees, and tufts of grass)
London (skyline including big ben, the gherkin, St Paul’s cathedral, London eye, red buses, houses and tower-blocks)
New York (skyline including the chrysler building, the statue of liberty, the empire state (inc. king kong), yellow cabs, tower blocks and apartments)
Tokyo (skyline including Godzilla, Tokyo tower, tochoō, sky tree, thundergate, ‘mansions’ and tower blocks)
Hong Kong (skyline including the international finance centre, peak tower, bank of china building, boats and tower blocks)

Each marker type comes in a stack of 20 sheets.

Experts Discover the ‘True Face’ of William Shakespeare

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Think you know what famed playwright William Shakespeare looked like? Traditionally, he’s been described as a slender man with dark hair that billowed down his shoulders and a carefully manicured mustache. The truth is, we have no idea. There’s never been a verifiable portrait of the writer.

Until now. Experts recently discovered what could be the only known portrait of William Shakespeare made in his lifetime. It shows Shakespeare at age 33, and is the only known verifiable portrait of the legendary writer.

How was it discovered it? In a 400-year-old botany book that contains an engraving on the title page of four famous figures — one of whom is supposedly Shakespeare.

Learn more at The Guardian.

See the First ‘Scorch Trials’ Movie Adaptation Trailer

The Maze Runner series by James Dashner was one of the most popular young adult novels of the last decade. The dystopian fantasy series followed the adventures of a group of kids called Gladers, led by the fearless Thomas. BL named The Maze Runner one of the 100 Best Books for Boys, too.

Since then, the bestselling series has been adapted into an equally successful film series. The second movie in the series, The Scorch Trials, hits theaters Sept. 18.

In the next chapter of the epic Maze Runner saga, Thomas and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.

The first trailer dropped today. Check it out below:

10 Fun Facts About ‘Where The Wild Things Are’

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Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is a classic children’s book, and one of the most respected stories ever written.

In Sendak’s 1963 book, Max, a little boy in a wolf costume, is sent to bed without supper. So he sails on a boat to a faraway land where he tames the Wild Things, becomes their king, and leads them on a wild rumpus.

Mental Floss recently posted a cool list of Wild Things facts. Here’s a couple of them:

WHERE THE WILD HORSES ARE?

Sendak was working as a children’s book illustrator when editor Ursula Nordstrom (who also did Charlotte’s Web and Goodnight Moon) offered to let him write his own book. He came up with the title Where The Wild Horses Are, which Nordstrom thought was “so poetic and evocative,” according to Sendak. Then Sendak, who was a self-taught artist, discovered that he couldn’t draw horses. When he told Nordstrom his problem, she said in an icy tone, “Maurice, what can you draw?”

“Things,” he replied.

 

THE BOOK WAS ABOUT SENDAK’S CHILDHOOD

Sendak repeatedly said he didn’t try to write for children, he just tried to write about himself and people he knew. The books were a form of self-expression for him. Where The Wild Things Are was based on his experiences living as a child in Brooklyn with his hard-working father and emotionally unbalanced mother.

“That’s what art is. I mean, you don’t make up stories, you live your life,” he said, adding, “I was not Max. I did not have the courage that Max had, and I did not have the mother that Max had.”

Click here to see the rest of the list.

Get the Scoop On Max Brallier’s Latest Book, ‘Galactic Hot Dogs.’

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Author Max Brallier has written more than twenty books, including the pick-your-own-path adventure Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? and several interactive max-brallier-75371836_bannerAdventure Time novels. He’s also a game designer for the incredible gaming site Poptropica.

Galactic Hot Dogs, his latest book, is in stores now. It’s the hilariously wacky, epically intergalactic, overwhelmingly unputdownable tale of a boy named Cosmoe and his flying food truck. (Click here for a chance to win a copy.)

Want more? You’re in luck. Max Brallier took some time out of his busy schedule to chat about Galactic Hot Dogs, Star Wars and the Boston Celtics.

 


 

What can you tell us about Galactic Hot Dogs?

Galactic Hot Dogs is a little bit Star Wars, a little bit Guardians of the Galaxy, a little bit Captain Underpants, and a whole lot of weirdness. This goofy, funny, action-packed space story follows the adventures Cosmoe the Earth-Boy and the crew of the Neon Wiener, a flying food truck that sells funky hot dogs and weird alien milkshakes.

The action starts when Cosmoe and his two best buddies stumble upon a long-lost spaceship full of zombie space pirates, where they discover a long-lost map that leads to something called The Ultimate Evil. Now, they’re on the run from a massive squad of bounty hunters and an entire evil army! As they flee across the galaxy, they battle evil robots, wrestle giant mutant worms, stumble into the galaxy’s strangest videogame, and more —all while on the hunt for the mysterious Ultimate Evil. 

 

It’s a one-of-a-kind story. How did you come up with the idea?

It really came to me super easily – I just slammed together the three ultimate loves of my life: action-packed space adventure, mouth-watering hot dogs, and goofy humor! I came up with a really fun crew of silly best friends and then threw them into a past-faced, really exciting, really funny adventure. At least, I think it’s exciting and funny – but I may be biased.

 

What makes writing for kids so fun?

No joke, it’s just like writing for myself. I don’t know what adults like and I don’t what they want. I would have a horrible time ever trying to write a serious book for adults. Writing for kids and teens is just fun — it’s all about tapping into my inner child. And that’s not hard — I’m basically a kid. When I’m not writing, I’m busy playing videogames, collecting action figures, and rooting way too hard for my favorite sports teams.

I was a constant daydreamer as a kid. Sitting in class, sitting on the bus, laying in bed, goofing around at summer camp — I was always daydreaming. And when daydreaming, I was usually imagining myself in the middle of some crazy, bonkers adventure with my best friends. By the way, that adventure usually involved either Indiana Jones or Wolverine or both. So when I’m writing, I just do the same thing: I shut my eyes and I just think, man, what would be really funny? What would be a really great action scene? What would two best buddies say to each other if they were staring down a giant spider beast? I just think about what I would want to read — and I do my best to write it!

 

What are some of your favorite kid/young adult books?

My favorite series of all time is either Jeff Smith’s BONE series or Herge’s Tintin series. I’m really into AMULET right now — I’ve totally fallen in love with the world Kazu Kabushi has created. Of all the recent, fantastic YA books out there, I think The Maze Runner is probably my favorite — I loved the mystery behind the dystopia and it had me flipping pages like a mad man. I think maybe the best American writing of all time can be found in Bill Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes. I always enjoy Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Timmy Failure — and I’m always inspired by their brilliant, hilarious storytelling.

 

What can we expect next from the Galactic Hot Dogs series?

Book 2 is being released LIVE at GalacticHotDogs.com, so you can follow along with the adventure there. I can’t tell you TOO much, that would be spoiling the fun — but here’s a little peak: it involves a freaky space circus that’s full of giganto monsters, robotic clowns, and all sorts of strange, mysterious characters. Also, action and jokes. Tons of action and jokes.

 

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

In no particular order, videogames (I’m addicted to Destiny right now), ping-pong, riding my bike, the Boston Celtics, reading, movies movies movies, collecting 1980s action figures, Frisbee, Pittsburgh sports, oversleeping, exploring big cities and new places, chocolate, milkshakes, chilling out.

 

Finally, finish this sentence: “He woke up falling from the sky…

and he realized with sudden horror: skydiving is a very poor choice of hobby for a narcoleptic.”

Winners of the Minecraft: Blockopedia Contest

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Are you a Minecraft fanatic? Minecraft: Blockopedia by Alex Wiltshire is the most definitive reference for all things Minecraft, providing detailed entries for blocks, plants, ores and everything else you need to know about the game. 41xxsVo+l3L._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_

The world of Minecraft is made entirely of blocks. Some help you build, some help you stay alive. Every block you discover opens up new possibilities and exciting adventures. The Minecraft: Blockopedia is fully illustrated and packed with essential information about each block and its uses. From basic plants and ores to enchantment tables and End stone, you’ll find every single block in here. Blockopedia contains everything you need to know to make the most of the blocks that make up your world — it’s a comprehensive reference tool for beginners and more experienced players alike. This hexagonal hardback book is presented in a stylish gift box.

Scholastic, $49.99 hardcover. All ages.

Congratulations to winners Charlie and Henry!