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Why mess around? Collect all six.
Grades 3-6. Paperback. Cheap!
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Archive for Scary Tales
LOCALS: Come See Me This Saturday, 10/21, at the Open Door Bookstore!
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I’ll be signing a range of books, I imagine, but mostly we’ll be celebrating 50 years of the fabulous Open Door bookstore. What an accomplishment, what a service to our community.
For this visit, we’ll be focusing on some of my spookier titles — Exit 13 and the “Scary Tales” series — but there’s also just a big, wonderful, glorious store to visit and support. Put your money where your values are.
Please stop by and say hello.
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ONE-EYED DOLL Published In Persian, Featured in the “Tehran Times”
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Take a minute, study hard, and tell me if you can notice any subtle differences in the covers . . .
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Yes, okay, correct: one is red and the other is orange. And yes again. The image of the doll has been reversed! Very good. Now look closer at the words. That’s right! The book on top was published in Persian. How cool is that?
Thanks to Google Alerts, I found this article from the Tehran Times yesterday:
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TEHRAN – “One-Eyed Doll” by American children’s book writer James Preller has been published in Persian.
Cheshmeh is the publisher of the book translated into Persian by Maedeh Mortazavi.
Welcome. Have a seat. The doll will move if you ask nicely. She’s got a story to tell. But be warned. One-Eyed Doll isn’t just any tale. This is a scary tale.
Meet Malick Rice and his sister, Tiana, two kids who love to hunt for hidden treasure and are about to make their biggest find yet: a small box, tightly locked, buried behind a deserted house; a box meant to stay buried forever… in this bone-chilling tale from James Preller and Iacopo Bruno.
Preller is the author of the popular “Jigsaw Jones” mystery books.
He has also written widely for young readers of all ages, from picture books to young adult novels. Some middle-grade titles include “Blood Mountain”, “Bystander”, named a 2009 Junior Library Guild Selection; “Six Innings”, an ALA Notable Book; “The Courage Test”, a 2016 Junior Library Guild Selection; “The Fall”, a YALSA award-winner; “Better Off Undead”; and, “Before You Go” — as well as the “Scary Tales” and the “Big Idea Gang” series.
Younger readers might enjoy his pirate-themed books (“A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade”) and an upcoming picture book of haiku, “All Welcome Here”.
He lives in Delmar, New York, and gratefully visits schools around the country.
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Anyway, just sharing. Once you put a book out into the world, there’s no telling where it might end up!
And while it’s unlikely that Maedeh will find this blog post, thank you, Maedeh Mortazavi, for translating my English into Persian. I hope you enjoyed the experience.
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Fan Mail Wednesday #321: from Kaya in Istanbul
For many years now, I’ve been receiving fan mail from a school in Istanbul, Turkey. It’s always a thrill to get them, just the idea that something I wrote can make it all the way there — and then, years later, we connect through that shared book experience. Writer and reader. Words bring us together. It’s kind of beautiful when you think about it. Here’s one from Kaya . . .
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Dear Mr Preller,
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I am Kaya from Turkey. I am a fifth grade student at Hisar College. English my foreign language. I read your book Jigsaw Jones: The Case of the Best Pet Ever. I really enjoyed it. It was for my English project but it was so good. I had so much fun.
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I like your book because I love detective stories. I was curious about who stole the Grand Prize. Also, I like your book because it was about animals and I have pets. I have two dogs and they like to play with shoes like Rags. I remembered my dogs Hugo and Coco when Teddy says his dog steals shoes.
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In the beginning I thought it was a human who stole the prize. I was surprised when I learned that it was an animal. I was suspicious about Solofsky like Jigsaw and Mila were. I thought that he was lying. I didn’t like this character but in the end I was so happy when he was innocent. I liked the friendship and work of Mila and Teddy. I was happy when they solved the detective case. I wished that Jigsaw and Rags would win the contest. I was disappointed when the hamster won it.
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Some of the vocabulary you used was difficult for me but I learned new words. Normally I read slowly but I was curious about your story and I read it so fast.
I liked the pictures of your book. They helped me to understand your story better. In my opinion the book can be more interesting if pictures are colorful.
I want to read other books of Jigsaw Jones this summer. They look so interesting.
Nice to meet you.
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Kaya Ö
I replied . . .
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Dear Kaya,
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I must have a very good friend in Turkey, because I sure get a lot of letters from students at your school. For years and years now. It’s amazing how one teacher can make such a big difference.
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You are very impressive to be able to read and write in English with such skill and charm.
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I am a dog lover, too. My dog is named Echo and I am pleased to report that he no longer steals my shoes. As a puppy, he went through a phase when he ate 2 remote controls for our television. What a mess! Nowadays Echo is nearly perfect. But sadly, he’s afraid of thunder. Storms send him into a tizzy. We have to figure out a solution, because it’s getting worse.
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My sweet sensitive dog.
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I enjoy writing about Bobby Solofsky. He’s always trouble. Like Jigsaw says, he’s a pain in the neck . . . only lower. When writing mysteries, it’s important to have a few different suspects to keep readers guessing. Bobby is good for that. In my most recent Jigsaw Jones book, The Case of the Hat Burglar, I was able to explore Bobby a little bit more. Jigsaw even visits his house, sits in his kitchen. I think maybe he’s not such a bad kid after all.–
Thanks for reading my book. You sure must be one smart cookie!
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My best,
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James Preller
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P.S. At the risk of sounding too self-promotional, I do have other books that might work for a reader with your sophistication and ability. That is, the characters are older than Jigsaw Jones — as are you — but the stories are not much harder to read. If you like scary stories, I think you’d do well with my “Scary Tales” books. Also, I have three books in the “Big Idea Gang” series that again are not much more difficult to read. Good luck & thank you, Kaya!
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Sweet Note from a “Retired” Teacher: (I Don’t Think the Good Ones Ever Really Retire)
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This sweet note, out of the blue, made me feel better about everything.
Good morning James,
I had written to you last year regarding word choice in one of your books. I have recently retired and subbing one day a week. My task is to buy books and target reluctant readers. I thought I’d share with you my growing collection. The students are really enjoying them.
Thank you,
C
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