Archive for September 29, 2017

Come to Warwick Children’s Book Festival on October 7th!

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Come to beautiful, cozy, friendly Warwick, NY, for a really nice afternoon with more than 60 authors and illustrators along with the assembled book-lovers.

“Companions of the flame!” as the poet H.D. wrote.

It’s a great scene and sends an important message to your children. We value books, reading is important, and it’s fun, too. We can’t spend our entire lives driving to soccer practice!

Time is 11:00 – 4:00.

On a personal note, yes, please say hello. I’ll have my new Jigsaw Jones books there, as well as — for the first time! — 10 advance copies of my brand new middle-grade novel, Better Off UndeadI’m so excited about this book and can’t wait for young people to read it.

Also: Ask me about school visits!

 

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CRITICAL PRAISE for

BETTER OFF UNDEAD!

Hilarious . . . splendidly lurid.” — Booklist, Starred Review.

“This uproarious middle grade call to action has considerable kid appeal and a timely message.” School Library Journal.

“Espionage, mystery, and the undead make for a satisfying experience for readers.” —Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books.

“A message of empowerment and acceptance.” — Publishers Weekly.

Click Here for Free Teaching Guides: Jigsaw Jones, Better Off Undead, and The Courage Test

The good folks at Macmillan have worked hard to support teachers as they seek to effectively use books in the classroom. To that end, I’m grateful that they’ve produced a number of free teaching guides for my books. 

Just a click away.

Thought you might want to know.

 

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Available in paperback this October!

The Courage Test Teaching Guide

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Published in Hardcover on October 31st!

Better Off Undead Teaching Guide 

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Available in both hardcover and paperback!

Jigsaw Jones: Case from Outer Space Teaching Guide 

Oh, and before you go . . .

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You can click here for a special combo Teaching Guide for Bystander and The Fall. Two for the price of nothing!

Thought for the Day

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Wow, Another Great Review for BETTER OFF UNDEAD

This is from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, and I’m glad to share it. This is a sprawling kind of “everything but the kitchen sink” book, difficult the summarize, and this reviewer did a fine job. 

I should also add that as an author, I am relieved to read a review that doesn’t attempt to state the so-called “message” of the book. It’s a common practice and always irksome. Thank you, QB, whoever you are!

 

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BCCB utilizes a coding system consisting of * (starred reviews); R (Recommended); Ad (Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area); and M (Marginal book that is so slight in content or has so many weaknesses in style or format that it should be given careful consideration before purchase.)

 
BETTER OFF UNDEAD 
Author: James Preller

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 288
Price (Hardcover): $16.99
Publication Date: October 2017
ISBN (Hardcover): 9781250066480
R
Death hasn’t kept Adrian Lazarus from worrying about surviving seventh grade. Previously singled out as the only black student in school, he’s now even more un- usual since he died in a bike accident and turned into a zombie. People are already unnerved by recent weird and possibly related occurrences, such as rampantly spreading super-flus and the endangerment of the bee population, so they avoid Adrian like the plague (it doesn’t help that they’ve never seen a real-life zombie before). The Bork brothers, a couple of old guys with more money than morals, are convinced Adrian holds the key to eternal life and spy on him for their sinister plan. Fortunately, he can rely on his friends, a band of misfits comprised of a beekeeper, a psychic, and a kid detective who talks like he’s starring in a 1940s whodunit film, who ensure his safety and stick by him during his awkward reanimated phase. Preller stylishly delivers a supernatural tale of a middle-schooler who craves normalcy, and environmental issues with some currency make the story even more relatable. Espionage, mystery, and the undead make for a satisfying experience for readers, and they’ll be glad of the hint at a follow-up. QB 

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #255: Hobbies in Ohio

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Did you know I often include a baseball card with my letters to young readers? Yeah, I do. This guy, Jack, got a 1969 Topps Bobby Tolan because he played for the Cincinnati Reds. The Ohio connection.

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I replied:

Dear Jack,

Thanks for your terrific, well-written letter. I loved that you included colorful illustrations -– lucky me!

1055418.1443369346I’m glad to hear that reading my books is one of your hobbies. What other hobbies do you have? Wait, don’t tell me. Let me guess. Hmmmm. You like to carve wooden ducks in the basement? You collect and stack old marshmallows? You taught yourself how to speak Wookie? You build bridges made entirely of burnt pumpernickel toast?

No? Rats!

Reading books –- any books, even mine -– is a hobby that you and I share. Everybody knows that reading will make you smarter, but I think it also makes you happier. So I’m very glad to learn that you are enjoying books, too. Keep it up!

When I meet people who say they don’t like to read, I always think, Oh, boy, you are really missing out.

Yes, your teacher is right, Jigsaw does say “Yeesh” a lot. Though I think he’s saying it less and less these days. I’m not sure if he says it even once in the latest, The Case from Outer Space. The dot, dot, dot thing is called an ellipsis. It’s interesting that you noticed I do that. Now I’m worried that I might do it too much!

An ellipsis is usually an omission, words left out, but I mostly use it in the Jigsaw Jones series to indicate a pause. For example, Mila might say to Eddie Becker, “You like to eat . . . lizards?” To me, it tells the reader to give a little pause there, a little air, a little space, before going on to the next word.

That’s me, I’m always trying to help the reader out.

I found another one on page 53 from The Case from Outer Space. I’ll include the setup:

“Good,” I replied. “Are you sure she didn’t see you?”

Joey paused. His mouth said “No,” but his head nodded yes.

He had me confused.

I repeated the question as if I were talking to my dog. “Did . . . she . . . see . . . you?”

Joey shrugged. His nose twitched. “Maybe, sort of.”

“Maybe,” I echoed.

“Well, she waved to me,” Joey admitted. 

My best to you, kind Jack!

James Preller