Thursday, December 24, 2009

HAPPY HOLIDAYS - from Margot.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS MATES!




I want to thank ALL those who either
read
or followed
my 2 BLOGS and my
WEBSITE during 2009.

HOOK KIDS on READING

Margor's BOOKS for KIDS + Writing News


Margot Finke's of Books for Children


I tried to offer writing help and guidance to those who write for children, as well as provide titles and links to where parents and teachers could find books that HOOK BOYS on READING, as well as hook other RELUCTANT READERS.

HEY - I know I ragged on about e-BOOKS,
and books on CD.
I couldn't help it, fairdinkum!



I just LOVE the eBooks I wrote:
How can you beat QUALITY that is
THRIFTY, GREEN. . . and COOL?




Warm Holiday Greetings



from me to YOU!

And wishes for continued health and happiness
,
NEW book contracts,+ hefty
royalty
checks for 2010!




May 2010 be your break out year!

========================


Margot Finke

see

Book Trailers HERE




Saturday, December 5, 2009

BOOKS - Gifts That Will Change Kid's Lives!

Children's BOOKS
can be a Magic Carpet Ride into the past,
or a peek into the future.



They offer ways of learning that GRAB a child's
imagination. Books encourage thinking.
They also allow your child to safely
visit fascinating places.

BOOKS

Guide children down the pathway of knowledge,
enjoyment, and pure fun.

THIS IS TRUE
(no matter what format that books arrives in)

Whether unwrapped on Christmas morning,
as hard cover or soft cover, or appearing
on your computer screen ( gasp!)
as
a
Thrifty GREEN Download,
or a
way-cool CD.


Your kids ARE computer savvy. They GET books
downloaded onto e-readers or screens!



SEE FOR YOURSELF!

7 eBook
TRAILERS HERE



"Kangaroo Clues"

from my Wild & Wonderful rhyming series.
(fun and educational)

*********************

NOW. . .

Other books that will make terrific gifts,
and HOOK your reluctant reader on reading.



Three winners by JUDY COX :
Mistress of fast-paced books for boys
(and girls too)

* The Mystery of the Burmese Bandicoot:
Book One in The Tails of Frederick and Ishbu
Marshall Cavendish $16.99
* The Case of the Purloined Professor:
Book Two in The Tails of Frederick and Ishbu
Marshall Cavendish $16.99
* That Crazy Eddie and the Science Project of Doom
Holiday House $15.95
ALL 3 at Amazon
====================

Series by RENEE HAND:
Fun and adventire for all.
North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

The Crypto-Capers: The Case of the Missing Sock
The Crypto-Capers: The Case of the Red Rock Canyon
The Crypto-Capers: The Legend of the Golden Monkey
Amazon
====================

DEBORAH HOPKINSON:
Fast-passed historical fiction for boys set in the
San Francisco earthquake of 1906:

Into the Firestorm
Knopf/Yearling $5.99
Amzon
====================

Two great boy's books by DORIS HOLIK KELLY:

* Mystery of the Copper Turtle - Amazon
* Mystery of the Voyageur's Rendezvous - Amazon
Arbutus Press
** Book #3 in this series is coming soon:
The Mystery of the Bone Scavengers

====================


Check some of my past Blog pages for other
terrific titles
your reluctant readers
will enjoy reading.



***************************


Books for Kids - Manuscript Critiques
HOOK KIDS on READING
Margot's Books for Kids + Writing News




Thursday, December 3, 2009

Great Christmas BOOKS for BOYS.

Okay, here I go again, on my hobby-horse:
GREAT BOOKS for BOYS.

This Blog is all about
TWO THINGS. . .

Identifying terrific books for the kids (especially boys) in
your life, and writing books for them

However today, I can take none of the credit for this post.
I simply copied and pasted this wonderfully
detailed resource for you to read.

The guilty party is . . .
Cathy Camper's

BOOKS for BOYS

and

WHERE TO FIND THEM


Get that reluctant reader
HOOKED on READING



by giving him books that follow his interests.

Cathy's post to me includes:
links, titles, authors + words of wisdom.



Let's begin with a link to
Multnomah County Library's lists.
( OR the library where you live)

Cahy begins by writing. . .

We did some great book clubs with dads and boys,
a good way to foster male mentors.

Jon Scieszka, of Stinky Cheese fame, is a huge supporter of Guys Read, and has lists on his website. His biography, Knucklehead, is a book for guys, talks about his childhood growing up in a family of 5 boys. Really funny, not hard to read.

I work at the library doing outreach to schools grades K-12.
So I'm always doing book talks: talking with kids
about what they're reading etc.

Please don't forget non-fiction when pitching to boys. One thing we have to get over is that reading = fiction. Reading can equal sports stats, almanacs, poetry, graphic novels. So here's some titles I've seen hands grab:

Heck Where the Bad Kids Go by Portland author Dale Basye...the 2 middle school protagonists are bad, but too young to go to Hell, so they end up in Heck, which is like...ugh! Middle school.

The sequel is now out too, Rapacia the Second Circle of Heck. At one school book talk I did, ALL the boys wanted to read this, and NONE of the girls. I did a podcast interview with Dale. Podcast posted HERE

Mummies; the Newest, Coolest and Creepiest from Around the World. Think mummies are just found in Egypt? Think again, there's bog mummies, Peruvian mummies, mummies preserved in ice...and my favorite in this book are some Eastern monks that drank special herbs, meditated...and mummified themselves! Check out the pictures in this book if you don't believe me.

Just starting to read? Luke on the Loose is a fantastic graphic novel with a controlled vocabulary. Luke's a kid that can't stop chasing pigeons, so he chases them all over New York City. This is published by Toon Books, Art Spiegelman and his wife Francis Mouly, and they have a really good line-up of graphic novel readers. Visit them HERE

For 2-4th grade boys, don't miss The Dunderheads, by Paul Fleischman, about a group of kids who have a horrible awful teacher...and figure out how to use their talents, to get revenge.

For older boys who are into sports, I recommend the novels of Mike Lupica. ( I liked Heat). They talk about sports, but work in other issues as well. Heat is about a boy with fantastic baseball talent, but also involves immigrations issues, and competition between boys.

The Juvie Three is another one for middle school boys, about three boys in trouble with the law, who are assigned to live with a social worker in an apt. in NYC. When the social worker is injured in a fall, and loses all memory, the boys decide they must do everything just as if he were still around, so the authorities won't send them back to jail....but can they pull it off? Especially when one of them becomes a rock star, another falls in love, and the third is pulled back towards his life of crime....

And yes, I'm working on 2 books for boys...because I love writing humor, a lot of what I like falls into the 'what boys like' category, and I often have boy protagonists. As an author, when I book talked my book, Bugs Before Time, I often got asked by kids, "Why did you, a girl, write about bugs?" Answer: "Because they fascinate me." : )

I hope this helps and do please take a look at some of these great titles!

Thanks Cathy.
These add to the growing number of
BOOKS BOYS WILL READ!