Are you an only child who longs for a big, crazy family? Or maybe you’re an only child who longs for a separated-at-birth twin… who turns out to be a creature of the night? Or perhaps you have lots of siblings already, and you just long for the day you can create a fort together without any injuries? Or you’re none of the above and you simply long for an easy way to please Mom?

Well, we’ve got something for everyone in our latest podcast — mothers, brothers, long-lost vampire sisters, children of godly parents, and more!

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• Karen’s book review: The Moffat books by Eleanor Estes
• Nancy’s book review: Switched (My Sister the Vampire #1) by Sienna Mercer
• A review from YOU: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan
• You heard it here first — a Mother’s Day Gift Giving Revolution has begun!!!

And don’t forget: write in with a book review below. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

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— Karen and Nancy

Finally! We solve the biggest mystery of 2012 (thus far): how to pronounce “Jarrett J. Krosocscka,” author of the Lunch Lady series and host of this year’s Children’s Choice Book Awards!

Check out this unbelievable, action-packed, hilarious introduction to the awards gala, starring our hero/host Jarrett J. Krosocska, last year’s host Jon Sciezka as the villain, and other awesome kids’ book authors:

Karen posted the finalists in each category last month, and now here are the winners!

Grades 3-4 Book of the Year was presented by Mary Pope Osborne, the author of the Magic Tree House series. And the winner was…

Click to reveal winner, or watch the video below: »

Grades 5-6 Book of the Year was presented by Andrew Clements, author of Frindle, The School Story, Lunch Money, and many more! And the winner was…

Click to reveal winner, or watch the video below: »

And for the big kahuna: Author of the Year! Last year, Rick Riordan won this title, so the winner certainly has super-duper awesome big shoes with light-up lights to fill. And the winner was…

Click to reveal winner, or watch the video below: »

For more, you can watch the whole awards ceremony. Or, watch the ceremony and then read all the 2012 winners and finalists. Or, eat a banana and then read all of the 2012 winners and finalists. I think you and I both know what I’m getting at.

— Nancy

Nancy has read all of the winners except one, but she won’t reveal which one. Hint: it’s not Author of the Year Jeff Kinney.

More about Nancy »

You know how sometimes it takes a while to get into a book and you’re not sure if it’s going to get better but you figure you might as well stick with it a little longer to see? Well, reading The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander is NOTHING like that!

As soon as I met Mac on the very first page, I was hooked. Mac is no ordinary middle schooler; he’s like the godfather amongst his classmates — a fixer, a businessman who will help you out… for a price. Or a favor. And he runs his operation out of the fourth stall of a school bathroom — hence the book’s title.

When you first observe Mac doing his thing, everything is going great for him and his best friend (and business partner), Vince. But soon, Mac is a wanted man rather than being the one in charge — thanks to a little kid who comes to Mac for protection from an older sleazeball named Staples. (Why? I dunno.) Staples runs his own shadier and more violent operation in gambling and debt collection, and this spells a whole world of trouble for Mac and his associates.

How can Mac beat Staples and get back on top? Well, he has a plan, but let’s just say things get a whole lot worse before they get better… To find out how Mac involves the school bullies, sniffs out a rat, gets into a huge fight with Vince, and even entertains the idea of joining Staples’ crew — well, obviously you’ll just have to read the book!

Of course, if you’ve already read the book, leave a comment with your thoughts! I want to hear how you liked it, and your favorite parts!

— Karen

If you like The Fourth Stall, don’t forget who recommended it to you. Karen has her ways when it comes to collecting on favors…

More about Karen »

Photo by John Dugdale, from the HarperCollins website

Yesterday, the world lost a groundbreaking author/illustrator — and children everywhere lost a hero and champion. At the age of 83, the legendary Maurice Sendak passed away after complications of a recent stroke.

I imagine Mr. Sendak setting sail for a faraway island where a group of hairy, horned, and hooting/hollering creatures await his arrival. That’s because, of course, I associated Sendak most with his famous picture book Where the Wild Things Are.

But Sendak also published a lot of other well-loved stories, including In the Night Kitchen; Chicken Soup with Rice; and a  childhood favorite of mine, Higglety Pigglety Pop. You may also know him as the illustrator of Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear books — some of which I still have on the shelf in the bedroom where I grew up (my parents are NOT allowed to get rid of any of my old books, no way no how).

Despite his great achievements as a children’s book creator, the funny thing is that Sendak never considered himself as such. Recently he explained, “I don’t write for children. I write, and somebody says, ‘That’s for children.’”

But for someone who didn’t tailor his work specifically to kids, it seems that Sendak certainly understood — and applauded, respected, and celebrated — them. After all, this was a man who said, “…what none of us seem to realize is how smart kids are.” And also: “Children are tough, though we tend to think of them as fragile. They have to be tough. Childhood is not easy. We sentimentalize children, but they know what’s real and what’s not.”

Maybe Sendak felt that way because he himself had a rough childhood. He was often ill, he lost many relatives in the Holocaust, and he didn’t really feel accepted by the world at large. Perhaps that’s why so many of his books have a dark edge, a determination not to show the universe as all sunny and smiley and shiny all the time.

As Sendak put it, “I didn’t set out to make children happy or make life better for them or easier for them.” And yet, through his books, I think he kind of did, don’t you?

Fare thee well, Maurice Sendak. Normally, I would say “Rest In Peace” in a situation like this… but in this case, I hope you’re enjoying a wild and decidedly un-peaceful rumpus somewhere!

— Karen

Karen recalls reading aloud from Chicken Soup with Rice when she was a kid. Even back then, she loved anything related to food! Or maybe it was because the book was so good…

More about Karen »

Mother’s Day is in one week, so I hope you’ve ordered your flowers, written your cards, and practiced your breakfast-making skills!

In honor of the upcoming holiday, here’s a shout-out to awesome moms and mom-like figures in our favorite books… That’s right — she doesn’t have to be related to you, just someone who takes care of you and loves you!

Caroline “Ma” Ingalls
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Well, her name was pretty much “Ma.” She always looked after her family: Pa, Laura, Mary, Carrie, Grace, and even their brindle bulldog Jack. Not many people can run a tidy household in a covered wagon!

Sarah, adoptive mother
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Sarah traveled all the way to the prairie to become a wife and mother without ever meeting Caleb and Anna or their father, Jacob, and she became a wonderful mother.

Mrs. Frisby
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
Mrs. Frisby risks everything to take care of her children — especially little Timothy, who’s ill — even battling cats and seeking the advice of an intimidating owl.

Mrs. Quimby
Ramona series by Beverly Cleary
Not only does Mrs. Quimby appear in every Ramona book, there’s also an entire book, Ramona and Her Mother, filled with haircut mishaps, pajamas, and crockpot incidents. I just love how Mrs. Quimby says at the end of the book, “I couldn’t get along without my Ramona.”

Lily Potter
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Lily Potter might be THE ultimate fictional mom of the century! She sacrificed her life for Harry, which protected him from the Killing Curse and Voldemort.

Pictured: Lily Potter from the Harry Potter movies.

Miss Perumal, adoptive mother
The Mysterious Benedict Society books by Trenton Lee Stewart
Even though she doesn’t play a HUGE role in the series, Miss Perumal is always there for Reynie… first as his tutor and friend, and then as an adoptive mother!

(Unfortunately, no known photos/images of Miss Perumal exist)

Honorable Mention: Aunt Marilla
The Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
Marilla Cuthbert may have been strict and tried to curb Anne’s fanciful imagination, but she loved Anne Shirley. Anne eventually names one of her daughters after Aunt Marilla, nicknamed “Rilla.”

Pictured: Aunt Marilla from the Anne of Green Gables TV miniseries.

What “mom” character do YOU love most?

— Nancy

Nancy apparently looks exactly like her mom, minus 25 years. It’s both comforting and creepy to know nearly exactly how you’ll look in the future. Like having a time machine…

More about Nancy »

If you enjoyed going to the theater and munching on popcorn as you watched Coraline flee from button-eye wielding alterna-parents in the movie version of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, then you’re in luck — Disney has announced a film adaptation of Gaiman’s Newbery winner, The Graveyard Book!

The movie will be directed by Henry Selick, who did the Coraline movie. Disney hasn’t said whether The Graveyard Book will be live-action or animated, but my hope is that it will be stop-motion in the same visual style as Coraline.

Also no word on the release date. They actually don’t even have a screenwriter yet, so I think we’re in for a looooooooooong wait… The upside? More time to re-read the book, or discover it for the first time if you haven’t read it before. And if that’s the case, you can get the scoop on the story in this podcast, where I made The Graveyard Book my Halloween pick.

Now, I was completely spooked the entire time I read The Graveyard Book, so I can only imagine the extreme terror I’ll feel when the story comes to life before my eyes. But obviously, there’s no way I’m going to miss this movie! I just may need to hide my face every once in a while. I hope Nancy doesn’t mind when I clutch her arm and scream in her ear…

But what about you? Have you read the book, and would you see the movie? Leave a comment and let me know!

— Karen

Karen has to confess she’s never read Coraline or watched the movie. Nothing freaks her out more than the idea of parents who are actually monsters. Great, now she’s getting creeped out just thinking about it! [insert panic and fear here]

More about Karen »

What do you get when you put together a dog who’s trained to attack and a really fat hamster? Our latest podcast! Don’t worry — no animals were harmed in the making of our podcast; it just so happens that our book picks both feature some crazy critters!

Also tune in for mumbling, jazz hands, and a review from you!

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• Karen’s book review: Showoff by Gordon Korman
• Nancy’s book review: The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies
• A review from YOU: So B. It by Sarah Weeks
• Nancy fails at pet care (aka “Did that hamster get cloned?!”)

And don’t forget: write in with a book review below. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

National Humor Month is coming to an end, but the fun’s just getting started… with a new blooper reel! This one is almost twice as long as last year’s blooper reel, so get ready…

Believe it or not, this is edited down from about 50 minutes of bloopers, outtakes, bad takes, mistakes, and even some spit takes.

Download the MP3

Still not sure about hitting that play button? Well, (cue infomercial announcer voice) in this satisfaction-guaranteed-completely-free-2-minute-and-46-second-blooper-reel, you’ll hear…

• Burping!
• Laughing!
• Confusion!
• Farting (noises)!
• Indecision!
• Pizza!
• Singing!
• Dancing!
• And MUCH, MUCH More!

— Happy Humor Month from Karen and Nancy

Aphosis. Horus. Isis. Anubis. Set. Zia. Muffin. Ra. There are so many people and gods and half-cat-humans in The Kane Chronicles series… how can one keep up?!

Well, lucky for us, Rick Riordan has released The Kane Chronicles Surivival Guide — an all-inclusive guide on the Kanes, their friends, their enemies, and their frenemies. In addition to descriptions of the Kane family, there are also explanations of how each god and goddess came to be. I love reading about Sadie’s crush on Anubis in the series, but it’s nice to have an encyclopedia of information about Anubis all in one place… for instance, here’s a little excerpt:

“Anubis is the son of Nephthys and Osiris. He helped to preserve Osiris’s body after Set had killed him, and helped Osiris live again. This process created the first mummy and led to the practice of embalming, so it’s no surprise that Anubis is also known as the god of embalming and mummificiation.”

Oh, but back to Sadie’s crush on Anubis? Apparently he is kind of cute:

Is it just me, or does he look a wee bit like Percy Jackson?

I felt short, but that's nothing new.

Cute guys aside, my favorite section of the guide is Section Eight: Guide to Magical Places, which is now basically a checklist of “Places Nancy Wants to Visit.” I’ve already seen Cleopatra’s Needle in NYC, so that’s one down, about 30 more to go.

In Section Four: Heiroglyphs, Symbols and Commands, there’s an easy-to-follow guide on reading heirogylphs (for those of us who lack Sadie’s natural gift for reading ancient Egyptian languages). If only I’d had the guide when I visited Cleopatra’s Needle…

I also got a chance to review the interactive digital versions of the guide (there’s one for the NOOK and another for the iPad). There are a bunch more features, like audio interviews with Sadie and Carter, interactive quizzes, and animations. (You haven’t really seen the brooding Anubis unless you’ve seen him actually lit by moonlight with stirring storm clouds behind him).

Full disclosure: I work on NOOK digital books, but I’m not pressuring you to get this one! There are cool interactive elements like what I just described, but if you pick up the physical version, you get to put together the pyramid trading card:

Left: Pieces of the pyramid. Right, top: One side, combined. Right, bottom: The flip side of the combined pieces -- with the Egyptian gods!

Finished Product! A little creepy knowing their godly incarnations are hidden inside...

Also in the physical version: a very cool cover with a lenticular — where the image changes when you hold the book cover a certain way:

My only irk about the Survival Guide is… well… there aren’t that many survival tips. Like, uh, what happens when I actually encounter Aphosis or Desjardins? Obviously I would whip out my Kane Chronicles Survival Guide in this very-realistic-totally-would-happen-tomorrow scenario… and be able to inform my enemy all about the process of mummifying pets in ancient Egypt.

— Nancy

Nancy didn’t realize that Rick Riordan also released The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Ultimate Guide until she was doing research on the Kane Chronicles Survival Guide. Rick Riordan is truly a curse on her bank account (but a blessing on her bookshelf).

Break out the streamers and decorate the place with balloons, because yesterday was William Shakespeare’s birthday! Actually, it might be tomorrow. Or today. Who knows? No one, because there were no birth certificates back when he was born in 1564!

At any rate, Shakespeare’s birthday is sometime around now… so let’s celebrate! [cue party music and confetti cannon]

Okay, fine, maybe the idea of honoring Shakespeare with a rockin’ party sounds pretty strange. Usually, we think of the legendary writer in a serious light. But why should we be so formal? Shakespeare didn’t write dull lectures; he wrote about the crazy drama we all experience in life, and some pretty extreme emotions! Jealousy that drives people over the edge, ambition that leads to catastrophe, love that turns everyone into fools, friendships that enable growth and greatness… Nothing stuffy or boring about that!

So that’s why I want to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday by sharing some fun videos with you guys — all of which approach Shakespeare in a decidedly non-stuffy and non-boring way…

First, up Macbeth as a rap! Yep, that’s not a mistake. Macbeth as a rap!

For something a little more light-hearted, check out these animated takes on potential sources of inspiration for Shakespeare as he was writing The Tempest (about a ginormous storm and its aftermath) and Hamlet (in particular, the famous scene where Hamlet holds up the skull of a deceased court jester):

And I’ll leave you with this fan-made video — a heartfelt original song using the prologue from Romeo and Juliet as the lyrics:

All the videos are pretty awesome, right? Just goes to show: Shakespeare may have been born centuries ago, but he’s still alive today!

— Karen

Strangely, one of Karen’s favorite Shakespeare plays is Macbeth. She normally doesn’t like violent and dark stories, so it’s a surprising choice! Then again, she also loved The Hunger Games…

More about Karen »