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Today is April 22nd, which means it’s EARTH DAY! Today’s the day we should celebrate the lovely (and only) planet we inhabit by putting extra effort into green living, such as recycling, planting trees, being kind to animals, not wasting energy, and a billion other things you can do
A while back, Karen posted about some awesome books to check out in honor of Earth Day. And last year I interviewed science writer Seymour Simon and got the dirt on cow farts.
This year, I decided to honor Earth Day by reading You Can’t Have My Planet, But Take My Brother, Please by James Mihaley… completely random, I know! But it turned out to be the perfect book for Earth Day. In it, 13-year-old Giles is the less-than-impressive middle child of the family, and he’s pretty annoyed that his formerly cool big brother would rather study for the SATs than hang out with him.
On vacation, he spots a sleazy real estate agent (who happens to be an alien) selling Earth to a king and queen (who also happen to be aliens. After parking their alien spaceship for them with his mind, Giles finds out that human beings have lost their right to inhabit Earth because we’ve treated it so poorly… and we’re being evicted to the depressing, barren planet of Desoleen.
At this moment, you’re probably like, “Whaaaaaa is going on in this book?”
It’s okay. That’s how I felt, too… so I read on! Here are just a few hijinks and crazy characters Giles encounters:
So today, on Earth Day, I stayed in with this wacky book and thought, if Giles is going through such great lengths to save Earth for humans, then we should too! So, what did you do for Earth Day?
— Nancy
Nancy was determined to use as little electricity as possible today, which resulted in eating cold pizza. Yum… cold pizza.
Based on all your comments about this year’s Kids Choice Awards, it sounds like you guys are not so pleased with the results. Well, now’s your chance to cast your vote in another kidlit competition: the Children’s Choice Book Awards!
You have until May 3rd to vote, and then the winners will be announced at a big gala celebration in NYC. Last year, Nancy and I attended the gala (and positively swooned like crazed fans as we mingled with super celeb authors like Rick Riordan, Jeff Kinney, and R.L. Stine).
Around that time, there will also be a bunch of events around the country to celebrate Children’s Book Week. From Los Angeles to Washington, DC — and in cities in between — there are parties planned all over the nation!
Of course, even if you can’t make it to any of these events, we’ll report back to you on all the Children’s Choice Book Awards winners. But obviously, in order for there to be winner, YOU need to vote first!
The finalists are…
For Grades 3-4:
For Grades 5-6:
And you can also vote for Author of the Year and Illustrator of the Year. Finalists include Brian Selznick, Christopher Paolini, and Rachel Renée Russell!
So, who will you vote for? Leave a comment and let me know! And maybe this time, your pick will actually be crowned!
— Karen
Karen has read only a few of these books, so her self-esteem is pretty low right now. Better get to the library!
More about Karen »
No one could ever accuse Karen of tooting her own horn — okay, fine, people could and they do… See what Karen is congratulating herself about this time! And also meet a royal storyteller trapped in the mountains, a mermaid finding her identity in the ocean, and a young farm boy discovering his destiny through a dragon’s egg. It’s all in our latest podcast!
Download the MP3 (4.8 MB)
And don’t forget: write in with a book review below. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!
— Karen and Nancy
Tomorrow, April 15th, 2012, marks the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the great ship Titanic. Almost everyone has heard of the Titanic — but if you’re a history buff like me, you’ll want to pick up Deborah Hopkinson’s new book, Titanic: Voices from the Disaster.
The book is, of course, nonfiction — but as I was reading it, I found myself sucked into 1912. I kept hoping it was a tragic made-up story — only to remember that this actually happened. Warning: this book will probably make you cry. So many people perished, but many people were really brave, too — like the husbands who insisted their wives and children get into the limited lifeboats, knowing that they themselves would drown in the icy waters.
It’s not all sad, though — at the beginning of the book, I found out a lot about the luxurious cabins and accommodations, along with how a 882.5-foot hunk of steel travels so quickly in the water. Did you know that most photos of the Titanic are actually photos of its sister ship, the Olympic? Or that there was a swimming pool and gymnasium on the ship, which is pretty normal on cruise ships these days, but was quite an advancement in 1912? I especially liked the photo of a man riding a “camel machine.”
Confession: I’m kind of scared of boats and sea travel (and this book did not help!), so I don’t actually know much about ships. Well, the glossary at the end came to my rescue — I learned just exactly what a collapsible, a davit, and a bulkhead are.
At the end of the book was a nice section on actual people mentioned in the book, and what happened to them after they were rescued by the Carpathia. For the uber-nerds out there, *cough* like me *cough* the charts and statistics about the Titanic were pretty interesting too.
So, like mentioned earlier — if you’re a history buff, pick up this book and sail away to 1912… But if you cry at the drop of a hat, this book might not be for you!
Nancy just realized she’s lived on islands for about 1/3 of her life. Thank goodness for bridges and air travel.
The very first thing I need to say about The False Prince is that it’s published by Scholastic, which is the company that I work for. Now, we talk about a lot of Scholastic books around here (hello, Harry Potter fanatics, what what!), and normally I just kind of mention the Scholastic connection in passing — you know, so that I’m being totally honest, but you guys know that where I work doesn’t have any influence at all on which books I like or don’t like.
But in this case, I’m bringing up the Scholastic thing right from the get-go because you should know that The False Prince is getting a lot of buzz around the office. And why should you know that? Because all the hype led me to have SUPER high expectations for the book. And guess what: it totally surpassed my expectations! And that’s coming from someone who deliberately reads negative reviews of movies that I’m psyched to watch because otherwise I’ll have ridiculously high hopes that can only be clobbered by reality…
So that’s just my long way of saying: THIS BOOK TOTALLY ROCKS!
The first book in Jennifer A. Nielsen’s new Ascendance Trilogy, The False Prince follows Sage, an orphan who’s forced to compete in a deadly competition. Prove himself to be the best imitation prince, or else, well, let’s just say that the cunning nobleman who’s running the contest is determined that the losers will take the secret to their graves…
To get the story from Sage himself, check out the official book trailer:
Yikes, that image of the blood-splattered and shattered crown gets me every time…
I’ve already lent my copy of The False Prince to a friend — I gave it to her, like, immediately after I turned the last page. It’s THAT good. So what are you waiting for? Go go go! And once you’ve read it (or if you’ve already read it), definitely leave me a comment with your thoughts!
In the case of the Hunger Games movie, Karen avoided all reviews, articles, and even online fandom like the plague. And it worked! Expectations managed.
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad it’s time for a new post on Kidsmomo?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ha ha ha! Ha.
But seriously, folks… Over the weekend I mentioned that April is National Poetry Month. Well, it also happens to be National Humor Month!
In the past, Nancy and I have rounded up our favorite funny books for your reading pleasure, so today I thought I’d do something different and turn the spotlight on you!
Here are some of the coolest reviews for funny books that we’ve gotten from you guys over the years. So if you’re seeking something hilarious, giggle-tastic, LOL-inducing, and/or milk-out-your-nose/side-splitting, then look no further:
Never Mind! by Avi and Rachel Vail Submitted by alyson(derf), Age 11 from Rhode Island Rating: Never mind is a fiction book,that will blow your socks off.It is the best book bye Avi yet.I recomend this to children ages 10-17 maybe even older.If you came up to me and said “should i read never mind by avi?” i would say- OH SWEET MOTHER OF POTATOS YOU SHOULD BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket Reviewed by: Bat, Age 11 from Texas Rating: Picture this: you’re a member of a really rich family. You’re playing on the beach one day when a banker with a really bad cough turns up and tells you that your parents died in a fire that destroyed your whole mansion. You’re then put into the care of a really mean man who wants to inherit your fortune and makes you do all the chores. That’s exactly what happens to the Baudelaire childre*************** Sorry, my typewriter broke. As I was saying, that’s exactly what happened to the Baudelaire children. How do they cope? You’ll have to read this book (and the whole series) to find out. (One of the children loves inventing, another reads a lot, and another bites everything in sight.)
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka Submitted by Jenna, Age 11 from Maine Rating: I first heard of this book when my teacher said she recommended it. But it looked kind of dumb, so I never did bother to read it. That is, until my teacher read it to my classmates and I. I loved it so much, I read it again by myself! Knucklehead is a hilarious memoir by Jon Sciezka, telling of his childhood memories of living with his five brothers, Jim, Tom, Gregg, Brian, and Jeff. This book is full of funny memories and tons of photos. I really enjoyed the part when they brought the cat in the car with them and something hilarious happened. So you’re probably wondering what happened, right? Well, sorry, but you’re going to have to read this funny memior to find out!
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka Submitted by Jenna, Age 11 from Maine Rating: I first heard of this book when my teacher said she recommended it. But it looked kind of dumb, so I never did bother to read it. That is, until my teacher read it to my classmates and I. I loved it so much, I read it again by myself!
Knucklehead is a hilarious memoir by Jon Sciezka, telling of his childhood memories of living with his five brothers, Jim, Tom, Gregg, Brian, and Jeff. This book is full of funny memories and tons of photos. I really enjoyed the part when they brought the cat in the car with them and something hilarious happened. So you’re probably wondering what happened, right? Well, sorry, but you’re going to have to read this funny memior to find out!
Babymouse Series by Jennifer Holm & Matthew Holm Submitted by Elizabeth, Age almost 10 from New Hampshire Rating: Babymouse wears a pink heart dress and loves to eat pink cupcakes. She has a baby brother named Squeak and her best friend is Wilson Weasel. Babymouse gets pushed around by a mean cat named Felicia Furrypaws at school. Babymouse gets into all kinds of trouble and Wilson always helps her out. Unlike Babymouse he does everything right. My favorite book is Babymouse Burns Rubber. Have a squeaky day!
Have YOU read any fantastically funny books recently? Leave a comment with your recommendation, or submit a full review!
Karen never got into the whole vampire craze, but she loves this joke: What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit? A neck-tarine! HA HA HA HA! Ha.
It’s April, and you know what that means… Well, yes, it’s probably going to rain a lot. But I was actually referring to National Poetry Month!
I know not everyone is into poetry, and I understand. Some poetry is crazy difficult to understand, and some poetry is very dull. Other poetry, well, it’s just plain bad — for example, the poetry I wrote when I was a teenager! But poetry can be fun, especially when you feel free to get silly with it. Which I am about to do!
Last year, I had such a blast writing booktalk poetry that I decided to do it again. So prepare yourself to be wowed by my amazing skillz!
Obviously, I have to start with a limerick:
Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton There once was a girl named Jamie. And I know she’d totally slay me, But I read her secret notes; There’s a zillion funny quotes! C’mon, can you really blame me?
Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton
There once was a girl named Jamie. And I know she’d totally slay me, But I read her secret notes; There’s a zillion funny quotes! C’mon, can you really blame me?
Then I thought it would be fitting to write a haiku for this book, which is about a doll that the Japanese government gives to America as a token of friendship:
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson If you’re a girl who Likes historical fiction, This book is for you.
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
If you’re a girl who Likes historical fiction, This book is for you.
Not bad, eh? Well, I saved the best for last! Here is my ode to a little green guy who holds my heart:
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger Meet Origami Yoda. He’ll give you some advice. But can you really trust him? I suggest that you think twice. Is it truly Yoda’s wisdom, Or could it be his maker, Dwight? Some suggestions work out great; Others don’t seem right. Tommy really needs to know, ‘Cuz he asked about romance. Is this just a joke by Dwight, Or should he take a chance? If you wanna know what happens, Then you gotta read the book. And there’s also a fun sequel That’s totally worth a look. I also heard that soon, There’s gonna be a Book 3. You know I’m gonna get it, ‘Cuz it’s about… a wookiee!
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Meet Origami Yoda. He’ll give you some advice. But can you really trust him? I suggest that you think twice.
Is it truly Yoda’s wisdom, Or could it be his maker, Dwight? Some suggestions work out great; Others don’t seem right.
Tommy really needs to know, ‘Cuz he asked about romance. Is this just a joke by Dwight, Or should he take a chance?
If you wanna know what happens, Then you gotta read the book. And there’s also a fun sequel That’s totally worth a look.
I also heard that soon, There’s gonna be a Book 3. You know I’m gonna get it, ‘Cuz it’s about… a wookiee!
Well, I hope these poetic book reviews have inspired you — to write your own, read the books, or hopefully both! If you decide to give it a go, please share the results in the comments. I would love to see what you create!
Karen recently re-read some of the poetry she wrote back in high school. Wow, it was terrible. Like, stinky to high heaven. You will not ever be seeing any of it on Kidsmomo.
From our celeb crushes to a celeb who disappears. From a soccer star on the bench to a bully turned best friend. Even a kid who’s not supposed to exist…
In our latest podcast, we’ve got goodies for pop culture mavens, stories of school life turned upside down, and one kid’s review of a dystopian adventure. So, what are you waiting for?
And don’t forget: write in with a book review below. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast! — Karen and Nancy
If you’re as big a Harry Potter fan as we are, then you probably followed the relatively recent announcement about J.K. Rowling’s next book. And if you’re as big a Harry Potter fan as we are, then you probably curled into a ball and cried when you learned that the book’s going to be for grown-ups — potentially a crime novel set in Edinburgh.
Well, you can stop your weeping now because today, Rowling released more details about the story, and while it’s still for adults, the book should satisfy her existing fans as well, thanks to its main characters: grown-up Harry, Ron, and Hermione!
That’s right, Rowling has re-imagined our favorite wizarding students as adult detectives, solving dark-magic crimes in modern-day Edinburgh!
Harry, of course, is an auror — but he masquerades as a Muggle so that he can also work at Scotland Yard. For reasons obvious to us, he has a reputation among his non-magical co-workers for solving the most mysterious cases in a strangely short time. And if that has them baffled, it’s nothing compared to their confusion over why Harry insists on keeping a somewhat bumbling Ron around as his partner. But his colleagues all understand why Harry maintains a good relationship with Hermione, whom Muggles know as a prominent government lawyer. Little do they know that she also heads up the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!
Will grown-up Neville, Luna, and Ginny play a role in the adventure? Will this be a new series? When does the book come out? Unfortunately, I don’t know the answers to any of those questions. The only other thing I can say is…
GOTCHA!
Happy April Fools’ Day from Kidsmomo!
Karen wishes with all her heart that J.K. Rowling would write this book. But since that’s unlikely, Karen will just have to put on the International Quidditch Association T-shirt that she wears as pajamas, and hope that she dreams about Harry and friends…
It’s been a while since we raced to the movie theater to watch Logan Lerman — I mean, Percy Jackson go in search of Zeus’ missing lightning bolt. The film version of The Lightning Thief came out in February 2010, over two years ago! So it’s about time that there’s some buzz around the sequel!
Based, of course, on the second book in Rick Riordan’s super popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Sea of Monsters is set to hit theaters March 2013. That’s nothing new.
But I’ll tell you what is new: the actor playing Chiron! Anthony Head is taking over for Pierce Brosnan as the beloved centaur/camp director. What do you think? He looks a bit more clean-cut than Pierce Brosnan did in the first movie, but I hear that Anthony Head has experience dealing with ghouls and demons from his days on Buffy, so I’m open to it!
Anthony Head replaces Pierce Brosnan as Chiron.
In other casting news, Nathan Fillion will play Hermes. He is definitely not the way that I pictured Hermes, but I guess that since Luke is so handsome, it makes sense that since Luke’s father would be good-looking too. Did I say good-looking? I mean great-looking! Har har. Hee hee. Squee.
Nathan Fillion as Hermes. Ruggedly handsome since 1971.
Anyway… Mary Birdsong, Missi Pyle, and Yvette Nicole Brown have also recently been cast, as the Three Fates. No offense to these actresses, given that the Fates don’t always look or behave in an appealing manner, but I think this is awesome casting! I look forward to seeing them torture Logan — I mean, Percy…
Mary Birdsong, Missi Pyle and Yvette Nicole Brown as the Three Fates. Head size will be adjusted for the movie.
Bonus Images: Logan Lerman x3
What do YOU think of this casting? And what are you most excited to see in the upcoming movie? Any particular scene that you just can’t wait to see on the big screen? Leave a comment with your thoughts!
Karen decided to hold off for a while before reading The Son of Neptune because Nancy already read it and said it’s frustrating to have for the next Heroes of Olympus book. Sometimes it’s hard to resist. But then Karen reminds herself that the book is huge and heavy! Karen’s lazy, so that helps.
