Aluna swam towards the abandoned outpost, her heart pounding, her breathing necklace pulsing at her throat. She kicked her legs harder, wishing it were tomorrow. Wishing she already had her tail. With a tail, she could speed through the water, fast as a dolphin.
Goldenfins and shiny-blues darted out of her way. Most of the sun’s light was gobbled up by the ocean above her, but she could still see every frond of kelp, every sprout of rainbow coral, every pair of eyes hidden deep in a hidey-hole. The ancients had blessed the Kampii with everything they needed to survive underwater: powerful tails, thick bones and tough skin, adaptable vision, breathing necklaces…everything except the ability to fix their own tech when it started to fail.
“Hurry up,” she called to Hoku. The thick ocean swallowed the sound, but the tiny artifact in her throat sent her words directly to the artifacts in Hoku’s ears…despite the fact that he was trailing ten meters behind her.
“I’m swimming as fast as I can,” Hoku said. “You know, there might be a reason the outpost is forbidden. Maybe it’s overrun with Deepfell.”
“Deepfell don’t hunt this far into the shallows,” she said, hoping she was right. They’d both be fishfood if she wasn’t.
Thirteen-year-old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean with the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after centuries spent hidden from the Above World, her colony’s survival is at risk. The Kampii’s breathing necklaces are failing, but the elders are unwilling to venture above water to seek answers. Only headstrong Aluna and her friend Hoku are stubborn and bold enough to face the terrors of land to search for way to save their people. But can Aluna’s warrior spirit and Hoku’s tech-savvy keep them safe? Set in a world where overcrowding has led humans to adapt — growing tails to live under the ocean or wings to live on mountains — here is a ride through a future where greed and cruelty have gone unchecked, but the loyalty of friends remains true.
What people are saying:
“…a thrilling sci-fi adventure. Imaginative and riveting.”—Kirkus
“Action-seeking readers should enjoy the many revelations, twists, and hand-to-claw battle sequences, and fierce, take-charge Aluna is the kind of heroine who is easy to get behind.”—Publishers Weekly
Released: February 14, 2012
About the author:
Jenn Reese writes science fiction and fantasy adventure stories for readers of all ages. She has published short stories online and in various anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning Paper Cities. Her first novel, Jade Tiger, is an action-adventure kung fu romance for teens and adults. She’s currently at work on more Above World books for Candlewick Press. She lives in Los Angeles where she studies martial arts, plays video games, and dreams of rain. Visit her at www.jennreese.com.
It was his own grandmother who fed Henri-Pierre to the Cabinet of Earths, long ago when he was only four. Don’t misunderstand! It happened like this:
They were dark and cold, the first days of 1944 in Paris, and between the winter and the war, everything was bad. There was never quite enough to eat, and the rooms they lived in were never really warm, but when the electric lights winked out, Henri-Pierre and his grandmother lit a candle and huddled around its friendly yellow glow, feeling almost comfortable despite everything.
“Hands are for making things,” she told him. Her own were slim and nimble and had magic in them that could turn an odd end of wood into anything you asked for: a tiger, a salamander, a tiny ship with paper sails. Once upon a time those hands had helped make the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was maybe the most beautiful thing in the world, with the mysterious bottles glimmering behind its glass front.
“What do we keep in our bottles, little one? she asked him sometimes, and he would make the wrongest of guesses, just to hear her laugh: “Lemonade! Water! Tea!”
“Not in our bottles,” his grandmother would say (their own private joke), and she would lean forward and whisper the secret into his ear:
“In our bottles we keep Time.”
So Henri-Pierre knew what Time must look like: black grains of earth, straining like something hungry against the bottle glass.
On their first day in Paris, Maya and her little brother, James, find themselves caught up in some very old magic. Houses with bronze salamanders for door handles, statues that look too much like Maya’s own worried face, a man wearing sunglasses to hide his radiant purple eyes–nothing is what it seems. And what does all that magic want from Maya? With the help of a friendly boy named Valko, Maya discovers surprises hidden in her family tree–grandmothers who walked in magic, a cousin so unremarkable she’s actually hard to see, and a terrible family habit of betraying one’s brother. To save her own brother, Maya must take on the magical underworld of Paris . . . before it is too late.
What people are saying:
“A-shimmer with magic”–Horn Book
“Charmingly creepy”–Kirkus
“Evocative prose and a confident narrative voice”–Publishers Weekly
“Readers will be swept along by the novel’s swift pace”–Shelf Awareness
“A unique, interesting fantasy with just enough suspense to keep readers turning the pages into the night”–VOYA
“Reading this book is like discovering a treasure box full of rare and wonderful things. If you open it, you’ll find a brave and good-hearted girl hero, the mysterious streets of Paris, and a magical cabinet full of life itself. The writing is luminous and absolutely compelling. It’s the best thing I’ve read in a long, long time.”–Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief
Released: January 3, 2011
About the author:
Anne Nesbet teaches film and Russian literature at the University of California, Berkeley. She lives near San Francisco with her husband, several daughters, and one irrepressible dog. You can visit her at www.annenesbet.com.
Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, or May B. as she is known, is helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie homestead, “Just until Christmas,” says her Pa. Twelve-year-old May wants to contribute, but it’s hard to be separated from her family by fifteen long, unfamiliar miles.
Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned to the oncoming winter, trapped all alone in a tiny snow-covered sod house without any way to let her family know and no neighbors to turn to. In her solitude, she wavers between relishing her freedom and succumbing to utter despair, while trying to survive in the harshest conditions. Her physical struggle to first withstand and then to escape her prison is matched by tormenting memories of her failures at school. Only a very strong girl will be able to stand up to both and emerge alive and well.
In this debut novel written in gripping verse, Caroline Starr Rose has given readers a new heroine to root for, one who never, ever gives up.
What people are saying:
“Heroes come in all sizes, and my newest hero is a pint-sized girl called May B. Armed with only her book, a broom, and a lot of sheer grit, May B. faces the terrors of school, winter, and the west Kansas prairie. Caroline Starr Rose tells May’s story in simple, moving verse that captures the joy of family, the gloomy isolation of a dirt soddy, and the determination of one scared but indomitable young person. May B. is a girl you’ll be proud to know.”–Karen Cushman, author of The Midwife’s Apprentice (winner of the Newbery Medal) and Catherine, Called Birdy (Newbery Honor book)
“May B’s incredible adventure gripped me right from the beginning. You can almost hear — and feel — the cold prairie winds of Kansas whipping through the pages of Caroline Starr Rose’s impressive first novel.”–Deborah Hopkinson, author of Band of Angels and Girl Wonder (Jane Addams Award honor books)
“In language as stark and beautiful as the Kansas prairie, Caroline Starr Rose offers a tale of survival. With nothing sugar coated, and everything surprising, readers will fall into the story and connect to May B.’s resilient and humble character. A great antidote to the hooked-up, plugged in age.”–Kelly Easton, author of The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes and Hiroshima Dreams, and Hamline University Professor in the MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults program
“The language that streams through this book is timeless, transcendent, and graced with lyric spark, moving, always, the consequential story along. I listen for rhythms in the books I read, and I found them aplenty here. I look for heart, and found that, too—abundant and dear. Special books fit themselves into special places, and May B. has a new home here on my shelves.”–Beth Kephart, author of Dangerous Neighbors and The Heart is not a Size, and National Book Award Finalist.
Released: January 10, 2012
About the author:
Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. As a girl she danced ballet, raced through books, composed poetry on an ancient typewriter, and put on magic shows in a homemade cape. She’s taught both social studies and English in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. In her classroom she worked to instill in her students a passion for books, the freedom to experiment with words, and a curiosity about the past.
Caroline has recently returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she lives with her husband and two sons. You can visit her at www.carolinestarrrose.com.
Giveaway:
Caroline has been kind enough to contribute an ARC of May B for a giveaway!
Just comment on this post to enter.
For extra entries:
-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].
-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].
Please list your extra entries in the comments.
The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on January 25th at midnight EST.
Win a signed copy of Circus Galacticus! Details at the end of this post.
My parents always told me I was special. The trouble is, I believed them. Just like I believed they’d always be there, and that real monsters didn’t exist. Right.
I guess in a way it’s true. I’m not like the other girls at Bleeker Academy. But nobody calls me special here. They have plenty of other names for what I am.
“Hey, freak!”
I stop on my way into the gym, turn, and give Della my best guns-cocked-and-loaded stare. Yeah, I’ve heard the bit about walking away. Trust me, it doesn’t work with Della. She’s a shark, and I’ve learned not to bleed.
The hall is crammed with girls, most of them crowding around the large bulletin board. Excited chatter floats across the sea of navy blue jackets and plaid skirts. Della and her cronies have staked out a prime spot right in front of the shiny new poster decorating the board. Two gleaming golden words sprawl across the top of the page: CIRCUS GALACTICUS.
“Don’t look like that, Trix,” Della says, sweet and nasty as cough syrup. “We all know you don’t really like it here, so we found you a new home, with the rest of the freaks.”
I’ve got a half-formed insult almost ready to fire. It sputters out as I get a good look at the poster. Garishly painted faces leer at me, grotesque and gorgeous. But it’s not the alligator-man or the green-haired girl who catches my gaze and freezes me there, forgetting even to fight back.
It’s the guy in the center, the one in the electric blue top hat, reaching out as if he could take my hand and pull me right into that glittering page. I swear his smile has more wattage than every billboard in the city. And those eyes… It’s only a poster, but they remind me, somehow, of the sky out in the desert. Dark and deep and glittering, blazing with possibilities.
Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect.
But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it.
Soon Trix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient alien artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel the secrets of her own past– if she can survive long enough.
What people are saying:
“Fagan’s vibrant and tactile descriptions make for a cinematic read, and certain elements are reminiscent of such fantasy and science-fiction mainstays as Doctor Who, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Harry Potter. A book that reaches for the stars and provides a thrilling ride.”–Kirkus
“Reminiscent of the juveniles of old, Fagan’s story makes SF fun. It’s loaded with wild coincidences and easily spotted inspirations (X Men, Doctor Who), yet the underlying idea of valuing diversity, friendship, and self-esteem shines, carried by Fagan’s solid writing, appealing characters, and sprinkles of whimsy.”–Publisher’s Weekly
“An exuberant, adventurous tightrope walk over the stars.”–Lisa Mantchev, author of Eyes Like Stars
“Readers will enjoy the well-drawn interstellar setting, the thrilling intrigue, and the fantastic Big Top at the heart of it all. Highly, highly recommended!”–Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of A Curse Dark as Gold
“A determined young heroine sets out on a star-spanning showstopper of an adventure, making a wonderfully diverse set of friends and enemies along the way. Told with wit, verve and ingenuity, offering sly nods to everything from superhero comics to space opera, Circus Galacticus is a delight.”–R. J. Anderson, author of Ultraviolet
Released: November 15, 2011
About the author:
Deva Fagan is the author of Fortune’s Folly, The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle and Circus Galacticus. She lives in Maine with her husband and her dog. When she’s not writing she spends her time reading, doing geometry, and drinking copious amounts of tea. You can visit her at www.devafagan.com.
Giveaway:
Deva has been kind enough to contribute a signed copy of Circus Galacticus for a giveaway!
Just comment on this post to enter.
For extra entries:
-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].
-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].
Please list your extra entries in the comments.
The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on November 30th at midnight EST.
Win a copy of My Very Unfairy Tale Life! Details at the end of this post.
Chapter 1
You know all those stories that claim fairies cry sparkle tears and elves travel by rainbow? They’re lies. All lies. No one tells you the truth until it’s too late. And then all you can do is run like crazy while a herd of unicorns tries to kill you.
Of course, I had no idea what I’d done to get the unicorns all riled up. So much for having a magical guide to help me with my adventures. Anthony was about as useful as a bent thumbtack. Still, I needed his magic if I was going to get out of this mission alive.
“Anthony!” I shrieked as I darted down a hill and away from the stampeding unicorns. “Anthony, help me!” Where was that carrot-headed gnome?
The unicorns’ glittering horns were right behind me. Another minute and I’d be a marshmallow on a stick.
“All right, Jenny,” I said to myself. “You can do this.” I forced my burning legs to speed up. If I could just get far enough away, I might be able to hide.
Is your magical kingdom falling apart? Twelve-year-old Jenny is on the case, whether she likes it or not. Saving the world might sound exciting, but for Jenny it’s starting to get old — even staying in the real world long enough to take a math test would be a dream come true! And when you throw in bloodthirsty unicorns, psychotic clowns, and the most useless gnome sidekick ever, Jenny decides that enough is enough. She’s leaving the adventuring business and not looking back. Or…is she?
What people are saying:
“Staniszewski’s debut is a speedy and amusing ride that displays a confident, on-the-mark brand of humor, mostly through Jenny’s wisecracking narration…the inventive and lighthearted premise will keep readers entertained.”–Publisher’s Weekly (read the full review here)
“A light comic romp…Staniszewski pitches her writing to a middle-school audience in her debut, emphasizing comedy along with non-threatening suspense, and keeps the tone chatty and frothy…An eye for imaginative detail mixes with these likable characters and a theme of empathy for others to keep the story appropriate to a younger audience, who easily will identify with Jenny. Charming.”–Kirkus (read the full review here)
“What a great read! Jenny is an adventurer I’d definitely want in my corner if my life ever took a wrong turn from ‘Happily Ever After’.”–Hélène Boudreau, author of Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings
“Readers will love this bold and feisty heroine as they are swept into Jenny’s many (mis)adventures.”–Jennifer Nielsen, author of Elliot and the Goblin War
Released: November 1, 2011
About the author:
Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives outside of Boston with her husband and their adopted black Labrador, Emma. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. You can visit her at www.annastan.com.
Giveaway:
Anna is contributing a copy of My Very UnFairy Tale Life for a giveaway!
Just comment on this post to enter.
For extra entries:
-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].
-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].
Please list your extra entries in the comments.
The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on November 16th at midnight EST.
Win a copy of The Princess Curse! Details at the end of this post.
Chapter 1
Three days after my thirteenth birthday, Armas, the Executioner and Chief of Prisons, came for me while I ate breakfast.
“Apprentice,” Armas said, his cold voice freezing the thyme pie in my throat. “Princess Consort wants you.”
Cook whispered behind me, “Too many pies.” I almost erped with worry. I didn’t think they actually jailed people for eating too much in Sylvania, but they probably did punish new apprentices for insubordination. And I had been a tad insubordinate to my master.
I slid from my stool, feeling stiff and weak. But I held my head high and marched ahead of Armas into the courtyard while the castle kitchen burst into excited chatter behind us. My stomach knotted and tumbled harder, and I wished for a pinch of mint to settle it.
Halfway across the courtyard, I asked Armas, “Did the Princess Consort say why—?”
Twelve princesses suffer from a puzzling (if silly) curse, and anyone who ends it will win a reward. Reveka, a sharp-witted and irreverent apprentice herbalist, wants that reward. But her investigations lead to deeper mysteries and a daunting choice—will she break the curse at the peril of her own soul?
What people are saying:
“A wonder of a book–myth and fairy tale, romance and high comedy. Reveka, the herbalist’s apprentice, takes us with her on a journey through our world and what lies beneath as she learns about life and death, love and loyalty, courage and despair. As I did, you will delight in this exciting and touchingly romantic story. I can’t wait to see what happens next to the fierce and strong Reveka. Read it.”– Karen Cushman, Newbery Medalist
Released: September 6, 2011
About the author:
Merrie Haskell lives in Saline, Michigan, with her husband, stepdaughter, and too many cats named for legendary characters. She works in a library with over seven million books, and finds that to be just about enough. You can visit her at www.merriehaskell.com.
Giveaway:
Merrie has been kind enough to contribute a copy of The Princess Curse for a giveaway!
Just comment on this post to enter.
For extra entries:
-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].
-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].
Please list your extra entries in the comments.
The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on November 9th at midnight EST.
During the night, a tiny creature had crawled out of Tyler Sato’s right ear—or so the fat, inch-long footprints across his pillow seemed to indicate. Tyler traced the path with his finger across the bedsheet to the wall. From there the prints zigged and zagged through a field of NFL football cards like a running back heading for the end zone. The creature had tagged each member of Tyler’s fantasy football team with a pastel-colored sticky notes written in tiny print:
“You like this guy? Really? This guy?”
“Your quarterback has a rubber arm!”
“Tsk-tsk. Rookie mistake, picking this one.”
“Didn’t this guy tear his ACL in week two?”
“Hey! Why no Japanese-American football players?”
At the top of the wall, the footprints trailed across the ceiling as if they were telling gravity to take a number and wait for service. Little steps skipped around Tyler’s light fixture, then dashed toward the bedroom door. As far as Tyler could tell, the footprint maker had escaped the room through an impossibly thin crack between the door frame and the top of the door.
In this hilarious middle-grade romp through space, eleven-year-old Tyler Sato leads a team of kids representing all of Earth in a sports tournament against alien kids from across the galaxy.
What people are saying:
“Every alien-obsessed kid’s dream come true!”–Publishers Weekly
“It truly embodies that it’s all of Earth meeting space aliens.”–Blog Review
“Laugh-out-loud funny!”–Mark Peter Hughes, author of Lemonade Mouth
“I loved it.”–James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner
Released: September 15, 2011
About the author:
Greg R. Fishbone is an author of galactic fiction for young readers, including the Galaxy Games series of humorous middle grade sci-fi novels from the Tu Books imprint at Lee & Low Books. Greg also serves as an Assistant Regional Advisor for the New England regions of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, is a two-time NESCBWI conference co-director, and founded of the Class of 2k7 debut author group. This summer he participated in the NASA and NSF-funded Launch Pad program at the University of Wyoming, intended to provide authors with better knowledge of astronomy and theories of science literacy. Visit his website at gfishbone.com for more information.
Blog tour:
This post is part of The Galaxy Games blog tour! For those of you playing along, here’s Puzzle Piece #4:
For the first time in days, I hear voices. I’m curled over on myself, pressed into my cramped hiding spot, clinging to the dark like it’s a lifejacket.
The voices move closer.
They’ll pass by, like they have before. They’ll go somewhere else. They have to.
But they don’t.
Laughter roars just above me, and through a chink in the tarp I see dirty gray running shoes move closer. I push myself tighter into a ball. They don’t know I’m here; maybe they won’t see me. Then the cover is ripped away and everything moves very fast: a roar of frigid air; a blinding wash of light; men’s voices raised in shock and alarm.
I’ve been discovered.
Just as quickly, the tarp falls back on top of me. I am alone with my terror. The voices mutter to each other, growing louder and harder and fiercer.
They were caught off guard, but they’ll soon decide what to do. They’ll rip away the cover for good this time—and then what?
Fourteen-year-old Luchi is anything but an ordinary American teenager. Born in a remote country prison in Northern Thailand, her mother’s death pushes Luchi into the outside world–and into the web of secrets that was her mother’s past. A coming-of-age story that follows a compelling character on her journey across continents, and oceans, and into a future she cannot begin to imagine.
What people are saying:
“A lovely Cinderella tale.”–Mitali Perkins, author of Monsoon Summer and Rickshaw Girl
“The tautly paced narrative places Luchi in high-stakes situations as she makes discoveries about her family history, as well as herself. … The highly atmospheric setting and thoughtful, determined narrator create a memorable thriller about identity and belonging.”–Publishers Weekly
“The teen’s taut narration captures the strangeness of her circumstances, her conflicting familiarity and insecurity with Thai culture, and her emerging sense of self and independence. The protagonist is an appealing heroine caught in a hazy web of family secrets, but determined to fulfill her mother’s last words, ‘Go home.’”–School Library Journal
Released: September 13, 2011
About the author:
Ammi-Joan Paquette (A. J. Paquette) is the author of THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES (Tanglewood, 2009), which was on the ABC’s Best of 2009 list and was featured in Scholastic: Parent and Child magazine; and the middle-grade novel NOWHERE GIRL (Walker/Bloomsbury, 2011), and was a 2005 PEN-NE Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree. She is also a literary agent with Erin Murphy Literary Agency, representing the authors of picture books through YA novels. She lives outside of Boston with her family and her very tall to-read pile. You can visit her at http://ajpaquette.com.
It was close to midnight when the last train left the station. On board sat an American woman in a fluttery shirt, a famous musician on her way to the biggest music festival in Chennai. But the festival wasn’t the reason she was in India after so many years. If she could go back to the store, the shopkeeper might have the answer she was looking for.
Outside the air grew damp and foggy as the train rumbled through the darkness. The woman closed her eyes and fell asleep next to her husband, but not before wrapping her arm tightly around the instrument case on the other side of her.
At dawn the fog thickened, creating a mist over the countryside that was dreamy and beautiful. The fog was also nature’s way of covering up dusty village streets, roaming animals, and makeshift huts, brown with filth.
Eleven-year-old Neela dreams of being a famous musician, performing for admiring crowds on her traditional Indian stringed instrument. Her particular instrument used to be her grandmother’s—made of warm, rich wood, and intricately carved with a mysterious-looking dragon. When this special family heirloom vanishes from a local church, Neela is devastated. As she searches for it, strange clues surface: a teakettle ornamented with a familiar-looking dragon, a threatening note, a connection to a famous dead musician, and even a legendary curse. The clues point all the way to India, where it seems that Neela’s intrument has a long history of vanishing and reappearing. If she is able to track it down, will she be able to stop it from disappearing again?
What people are saying:
“Chari, in her debut novel, strikes the right note with this engaging, intricate story that spans generations and two countries.”–Kirkus Reviews
“Indian history and culture (musical and otherwise), well-observed family and friendship dynamics, and elements of fate, luck, and tradition bring depth to this quiet but enthralling mystery.”–Publishers Weekly
“Mystery! Intercontinental intrigue! Curses! Music! Cocoa! Vanished has all that and a bag of chips. Several bags of chips, actually. Just read it!”–Adam Rex, The True Meaning of Smekday
Released: July 26, 2011
About the author:
Sheela Chari was born in Bangalore, India and has lived in Iowa, Washington State, California, Massachusetts, and New York. She has degrees from Stanford University, Boston University, and New York University, where she received an MFA in creative writing. Sheela lives in New York with her husband and two daughters. VANISHED is her first novel.
Win a copy of Scary School! Details at the end of this post.
Introduction
I suppose the proper way to start an introduction is with an introduction, so…Hello! My name is Derek The Ghost. What’s yours? I know your probably didn’t say your name out loud just now, but I read your mind, and I want you to know that I think you have a fantastic name.
How did I read your mind? Let me tell you.
Last year, when I was just eleven years old, I died in science class. One of Mr. Acidbath’s experiments went terribly wrong (more about that later), but things like that happen all the time at Scary School, so nobody made a big fuss about it. Right after class they simply wheeled out my charred corpse, and the next class walked in without so much as a blink. Scary School is a very strange place.
SCARY SCHOOL details the spine-tingling and outrageous happenings at a school where monsters and normal kids tread the halls together and just making it to lunch with all your limbs intact is considered a good day. Teachers include Ms. Fang, a 850-year-old vampire, Dr. Dragonbreath, who just might eat you before recess, and Principal Headcrusher, who, well, the name says it all. Things get extra scary this year when the school is chosen to host the annual Ghoul Games––a junior-olympic event between all the “scary” schools in the world. The winners get to eat the losers! Faced with their superior monster opponents, it’s do or die for the normal kids at SCARY SCHOOL. Together they hatch a plan that will change the future of SCARY SCHOOL forever.
What people are saying:
“Kent takes school integration to a new level with breezy tales of ‘learning, horror, and mayhem’ at a grade school attended by a mix of humans and monsters.”–Kirkus Reviews
“I died laughing.”–Dan Gutman, author of My Weird School Series
Released: June 21, 2011
About the author:
Derek Taylor Kent started writing children’s books at the age of 15. Many of his other children’s books have gone on to become films and children’s plays with sold-out runs at Los Angeles theaters. Derek has also worked as a counselor at camps and after-school programs, overseeing creative writing activities and arts & crafts. Derek also teaches Children’s Writing and Young Adult writing for The Los Angeles Writing Pad. For more information about Derek T. Kent and SCARY SCHOOL, please visit: http://www.scaryschool.com.
Giveaway:
One lucky winner will receive a copy of SCARY SCHOOL! Just comment on this post to enter.
For extra entries:
-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].
-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].
Please list your extra entries in the comments.
The contest is open in the US and Canada and ends on July 27th at midnight EST.
