Have you ever watched a video and been like, “WHOA. Must. Watch. Again.”? And I don’t mean because it’s a train wreck that you can’t believe exists, like Rebecca Black’s music video for “Friday.” I mean because it’s AMAZING.

Well, recently I came across a few book trailer videos so awesome that I replayed them immediately, and then sent the links off to friends right away. No joke. They’re that good. At least, I think so. But you can judge for yourself:

Sidekicks by Dan Santat

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

 
And I couldn’t resist including this incredible video for Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. I seriously LOLed when I saw this. At my desk at the office. And then everyone turned around to look at me. Yeah, embarrassing…

— Karen

Karen was never a big fan of Much Ado About Nothing, but who can resist a rapping Shakespeare? Not she.

More about Karen »

In a recent podcast, I recounted a story involving a car ride, a candy bar, and group vomiting. Thankfully, it wasn’t my story, but a memory of author Jon Scieszka’s — I was just re-telling it after reading his fantastic book Knucklehead.

Well, I’ve discovered a video where he tells the story himself! Check out this interview he did for Scholastic’s Ink Splot 26 blog*. The story comes right after he explains why he started writing:

I’ll be honest here: If Jon Scieszka were a book that I was judging by its cover, I’d say Jon Scieszka’s “cover” looks like… a hedge fund banker. Or a fancy schmancy consultant. What kind of consultant? I don’t know. Something with numbers, I suppose.

What I’m trying to say (very poorly) is that he doesn’t look like someone who’d write the laugh-out-loud picture book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (which he did). So to come across a video of this serious-looking dude talking about vomit, it’s just… just… AWESOME! Especially the way he says “pecan nut log”— I think the fact he includes that little detail is a sign of what a genius writer he is. (Although, in all fairness to me, that was a detail I didn’t have.)

— Nancy

Nancy has plenty of puke stories of her own, but she’s been sparing everyone the gooey details… Or waiting for right time to bring it up. Mwahahhahha!

More about Nancy »

*Btw, full disclosure: I used to work at Scholastic, and Karen still works there. In fact, now she’s in charge of the website that the Ink Splot 26 blog is part of! She’s actually the one who told me about this amazing video — but she swears she was just being a good friend, not trying to promote her other website. I guess I believe her…

This book trailer for The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Globe-Trotting Adventures theme. For more on The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, check out our “Adventure Is Out There!” podcast.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Getting there is half the fun.” Well, for the heroine in Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, the journey is not so much fun as… a terrifying, near-deadly experience!

This book trailer for Aquamarine was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Beach Reads theme. For more on Aquamarine, check out our “Just Beachy” podcast.

It’s a bummer summer for BFFs Hailey and Claire because at the end of the season, Claire has to move away. But at least they have one last summer together, to hang out at the beach club, crush on older cutie Raymond, and… meet a strange creature from the deep? Yep, there’s summertime magic in Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman!

This book trailer for Time Cat was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Books About Cats theme. For more on Time Cat, check out our “Cat’s Meow” podcast.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione’s got her Time-Turner to travel into the past. In Lloyd Alexander’s Time Cat, the main character’s got his… cat? Watch our video to get the scoop on this feline feat!

This book trailer for the 39 Clues series was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Summer Series theme. For more on The 39 Clues, check out our “Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer” podcast.

Summer vacation is the perfect time to make your way through a good series — unless you’re one of the kids in the 39 Clues book series. For these two, it doesn’t matter what the season is because instead of sitting at desks in a classroom, they spend their time traveling the world on a high-pressure hunt. Watch our video to get the lowdown on their whereabouts…

Thanks to our friend Agent M. for his assistance on this video!

This book trailer for Number the Stars was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our War Stories theme. For more on Number the Stars, check out our “Lock and Load” podcast.

You’re probably familiar with the story of Anne Frank, who lived in a secret attic for years to escape the Nazis. But did you know lots of Jewish children hid in plain sight during WWII, pretending to be parts of other families? In Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars, the police investigate a family in Denmark when one “daughter” doesn’t look like the others. Watch our video to see what happens.

This book trailer for The Tale of Despereaux was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Books About Royalty theme. For more on The Tale of Despereaux, check out our “Royal Flush” podcast.

What happens when a rodent crashes a royal banquet? Trouble, that’s what. Just see for yourself in our video for The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo!

This book trailer for Rascal was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Author Memoirs theme. For more on Rascal, check out our “Author! Author!” podcast.

Dog may be man’s best friend, but one beloved author spent his childhood with a very different animal companion: a raccoon! In Rascal by Sterling North, the two pals go fishing, celebrate Christmas, and even compete in a pie-eating contest together. Don’t believe it? Just watch our video!

This book trailer for the Alex Rider series was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Titles with Boys’ Names theme. For more on Alex Rider, check out our “What’s In a Name?” podcast.

Meet Alex Rider. In this series by Anthony Horowitz, he’s a regular old kid being raised by his uncle — and then one day his uncle is murdered. Why? Well, it turns out he’s a spy for the government, and he knew more than his enemies wanted him to. And not only that, now the government wants this regular old kid to fill his uncle’s shoes and go undercover.

Facing a series of dangerous missions as a 14-year-old? It’s no wonder our hero has a whole series named after him! Watch our video for a briefing on the schoolboy-turned-spy.