Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
Product Description
The Legend of Sigurd and GudrĂșn is a previously unpublished work by J.R.R. Tolkien, written while Tolkien was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford during the 1920s and ‘30s, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It makes available for the first time Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and The Fall of the Niflungs. It includes an introduction by J.R.R. Tolkien, drawn from one of his own lectures on Norse literature, with commentary and notes on the poems by Christopher Tolkien.
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Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Donut Chef

The Donut Chef
Product Description
IN THIS DELICIOUS tale, a baker hangs out his shingle on a small street, and soon, the line for his doughnuts stretches down the block. But it’s not long before the competition arrives and a battle of the bakers ensues. In the competitive frenzy, both bakers’ doughnuts become “quite bizarre, like Cherry-Frosted Lemon Bar, and Peanut-Brickle Buttermilk, or Gooey Coca- Mocha Silk!” Some are not even very tasty: “Donuts made with huckleberry (don’t be scared, they’re kind of hairy).” One day, Debbie Sue, just barely two, enters the bakery, and searches in vain for her favorite doughnut, where “the choice of donuts left her dazed. Said Debbie Sue, “But I want . . . glazed.” A fun lesson in keeping it simple in which our hero chef decides to go back to the basics, and wins over the whole town.

Review
Review, Cookie Magazine, September 2008:
"The pro-simplicity parable is told via a funny, funky art style."

Review, The Wall Street Journal, September 20-21, 2008:
"Some books are meant to be tasted. . . and The Donut Chef appears to be one of them. Mr Staake's work is . . . visually delicious."

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, October 27, 2008:
"Everywhere readers look, there are delectable surprises."


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Katie Loves the Kittens

Katie Loves the Kittens
Product Description
Starred Review. This sweet book tells the story of a dog—that's Katie—who is utterly infatuated with her owner's new kittens. Aroooooo! howls Katie eagerly whenever she sees the tiny felines, but her vocalizing, leaping and avid tail-wagging only scare the living daylights out of them. Katie learns, after some setbacks (readers will totally sympathize), that desperately wanting to make friends is not necessarily a good starting point; sometimes, it's better to let the other side take the lead. Himmelman's (Chickens to the Rescue) empathetic, economical text builds dramatic tension and the audience's identification with Katie without an excess of anthropomorphizing. The pencil and ink drawings evince the same combination of craft and tenderness. Katie is the very picture of openheartedness, confusion and contrition, and readers will root for her from the very first page. Ages 3–8. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The acclaimed author and illustrator of Chickens to the Rescue has created a sweet, funny, and entirely irresistible new character—a little dog just bursting with good intentions.
Katie is so excited when Sara Ann brings home three little kittens that she can’t stop herself from howling “AROOOOO!” and trying to run after them. She loves them so much!
But Katie’s enthusiasm frightens the kitties, and she’s sad when they run away from her. Don’t they know that she just wants to play?

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The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian
Product Description
All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos's army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan's power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.
In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy's sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.

I’m sitting in my hotel room looking out at the San Francisco skyline on a sunny Sunday morning. Later today, I fly to New York to begin the East Coast leg of the Last Olympian tour.

Yesterday, we had two events in the Bay Area, and both were great. Books, Inc. hosted the first at a high school auditorium in San Bruno. It was a beautiful Saturday morning so we figured the crowd would be fairly small. Wrong! Over six hundred people showed up, according to the booksellers. Thanks to Walter (aka the Giant Storyteller) for introducing me. I’d heard legends of Walter for years, as he’s an institution in the world of children’s literature, and it was great to finally meet him in person. The only challenge of the day was the orchestra pit in front of the stage, which reminded me of the Pit of Tartarus, but we all avoided falling in as the kids came up on stage to get books signed. I met quite a few families from my old school, Presidio Hill. The staff from Books, Inc. was extremely well organized and we got through the signing line in record time. Thanks to everyone for being so patient.

In the afternoon, we headed down to Menlo Park for a second event at Kepler’s Books. I was a little worried that having two events so close geographically would make the stores compete for attendance, but I was proved wrong again. Kepler’s was absolutely wall-to-wall with kids. I was told we had somewhere between 600-700 in attendance, and the store quickly sold out of Last Olympian even though they had hundreds in stock. We signed bookplates for those who didn’t get a copy, so hopefully everyone will get their signed edition. Some of the moments that stood out for me at Kepler’s: Astara and her brother came up to the table and said they had a bone to pick with me. They were about the age of Camp Half-Blood counselors. They had their orange Half-Blood T-shirts on, ripped from what they told me were harpy claws, and their clothes were stained with soot from various explosions. “Who’s brilliant idea was a lava wall?” they wanted to know. LOL. I apologized that being demigods had made their lives so difficult, but I have a feeling those two are up to the challenge. I also got to see a former student from Saint Mary’s Hall in San Antonio (hi, Mirage!) who was in town with her mom. It’s so cool, and yet so surreal, to see people out of context like that. She was very sweet and told me how excited she was about the success of the books. Finally, thanks to Jenny, a young fan who made me an origami Pegasus. My youngest son Patrick is an origami fan, so he will love seeing that. Thanks to all the other fans who handed me beautiful artwork and thoughtful letters.

All in all, it was a great day. Thanks to my media escort Dave who helped out a lot. Dave told me he is gearing up for a Walk Against Cancer. Next week he is going to walk 43 miles from San Jose to San Francisco to raise money and awareness for cancer research. That made me feel like my travels were easy! You can check out his charity event site here.

Time to head to the airport. Thank you, Bay Area, for so much enthusiastic support. Now it’s off to New York where I’ll be staying at one of my favorite hotels, Le Parker Meridien. The burger joint in the lobby is one of Thalia’s favorite eateries, so maybe I’ll run into the Hunters of Artemis there. I’ll let you know. For my signings in the New York area, check the website calendar.

This is syndicated from Myth & Mystery, and written by noreply@blogger.com (Rick Riordan).

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Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully: A Freckleface Strawberry Story

Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully: A Freckleface Strawberry Story
Product Description
Freckleface Strawberry loves the Early Bird program at school because it means extra time on the playground–except when it rains. Rain means indoor playtime...and facing the school bully Windy Pants Patrick in a bruising game of dodgeball. Ignoring him seems the safest thing, but what's our freckled heroine to do when she's forced to confront the bully alone? Beat him at his own game, of course. A funny, inspiring story about an all-too-common problem that kids, parents, and teachers will easily relate to.

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