Friday, August 23, 2013

Throw Back Friday: Quote from Michael Grant's The Magnificent 12


Happy Friday! Here's a little something to make your Friday's that much more entertaining. If you're looking for a great tween series, go pick up Michael Grant's The Magnificent 12! You can find more about the series here. Thank you Harper Collins for this quote!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand, Blog Tour; Character Interviews & A Giveaway



Hi everyone! I am so thrilled to be the next stop on Claire Legrand's The Year of Shadows Blog Tour. Today I have a special treat for you: An interview with Olivia Stellatella and Henry Page from Claire Legrand’s upcoming middle grade novel, The Year of Shadows! I am SO EXCITED to be part of the blog tour for this book! Read on to read my interview with the intrepid main character, Olivia, and her loyal friend, Henry. I had such fun meeting them, and I know you will too!

POST TITLE:
THE YEAR OF SHADOWS Blog Tour, Day 2: Character Interview with Olivia and Henry


Mundie Kids: Hi Olivia and Henry! Welcome to Mundie Kids. I’m so excited to be chatting with you today!

Olivia: Hey.

Henry: Hi! And, uh, don’t let Olivia bother you. She really is excited to be here; she can get a little shy around new people.

Olivia: I do not. I just . . . I don’t know. It’s weird, talking about everything that happened. You know?

Henry: I know. But doesn’t it make you kind of proud?

Olivia: I guess.


Henry: Come on, Olivia, we did a great thing that year. We saved a lot of things that needed saving.


Olivia: I know we did. I just . . . ugh. I wish Igor were here. I always feel better with him around.

Henry: Are you saying your weird talking cat is better company than me, an actual person?

Olivia: How many times do I have to explain this? He’s not an actual talking cat. He just . . . only talks to me.

Henry: You know, if I didn’t like you so much, I might call you crazy.

Olivia: You know, if you call me crazy, I might draw a picture of you as a giant, germy, fuzzy amoeba and make copies of it and tape them all over the lockers at school.

Henry: Except that didn’t work so well the first time. You can’t get rid of me that easily.

Olivia: You smile too much.

Henry: Everyone says my smile is charming.

Olivia: Charming?! Gross. I mean, just . . . no.

MK: So, how do you feel about the fact that your story will soon be out there in bookstores and libraries for total strangers to read?

O: It’s weird. It makes me feel kind of afraid.

H: Afraid? Why?

O: Doesn’t it freak you out to think that soon people will know all our horrible secrets?

H: We don’t have horrible secrets, Olivia. Don’t be dramatic.

O: I’m not being dramatic! I’m just . . . I don’t know.

H: It embarrasses you?

O: Yeah. I don’t like talking about myself. Sometimes, some of the things I did and said . . . I don’t feel proud of those things.
H: But Olivia, you were so brave. And yeah you were angry and said some mean things, but you totally had the right to.

O: You never got mad or rude or whatever. Mr. Perfect Henry Page.

H: Are we really going to start that again?

O: You are pretty perfect, though.

H: Maybe I’m just better at hiding the things that bother me. Maybe I can’t show my emotions like you can. Maybe that makes you really strong.

O: What are you, a psychologist?

H: I’d be a fantastic psychologist.

O: A modest one, too.

H: Says the artist superstar.

O: Excuse me?!

H: Oh come on, you know you love it when they put up your paintings in the trophy case at school.

O: Well, okay . . . that is kind of awesome.

H: I rest my case.

MK: Can you tell us a little about Emerson Hall, the music hall where Olivia’s dad works? You both spend a lot of time there, which is a bit unusual for twelve-year-old kids!

O: I used to hate it.

H: I always loved it. I worked there on concert nights; I was an usher. But I was there all the time because it was a great place to study and Maestro Stellatella and Mr. Rue—he was the president of the orchestra—they didn’t care.

O: I was forced to live there. In the storage rooms. Backstage. With the broken music stands. Everything smelled like moldy music and trumpet spit. Did you know brass players empty the spit that collects in their instruments by opening a valve and blowing their own spit out onto the floor?

H: It really freaks out the woodwind and string players.

O: That part is kind of funny.

H: It was a beautiful hall. It was built in like, what, the late 1800s?

O: According to Frederick’s memories, yeah, something like that.

H: Dragons painted on the ceilings—

O: —and these fountains in the lobbies, which never worked. These giant swirling staircases in the front lobby—

H: —and a huge pipe organ above the stage.

O: It used to be beautiful, and then after a long time it wasn’t—but it still was, in this weird way. Like a graveyard. Crumbling and old.

MK: Olivia, you go through a lot during your year of shadows, aka, the year the ghosts came. But you managed to get through it. Do you have any advice for kids who, like you, might be going through a rough time with family, money, or bullies at school?

O: I shouldn’t give advice about that. I . . . I mean, I didn’t always handle everything that well.

H: Olivia, what happened to you . . . nobody could have handled that well. Seriously, give yourself a break.

O: I guess. It’s just, I don’t like to think about some of the things I said. But when I imagine going back and doing it all over again, I don’t think I’d do anything differently.

H: Because people needed to hear the things you said. Your dad—

O: I was awful.

H: He was awful.

O: . . . He was. He didn’t mean to, I don’t think—

H: Still. You had every right to be angry.

O: I had every right. I guess, if I had to give one piece of advice, it would be this: Don’t hide. When things get bad, don’t hide. I did. I hid in the shadows, I hid in my sketchbook, I hid in clothes I thought would make people ignore me. But in the end, the thing that helped me the most was friendship. Some of my friend were, you know, vaporous, drifty, smoky beings who weren’t exactly alive, but . . . anyway, don’t hide. Don’t be afraid to let people be your friend. Like Henry. If I hadn’t let Henry be my friend . . .

H: You didn’t, at first.

O: I really hated you.

H: You thought you hated me.

O: I was wrong.

H: It happens to the best of us, Mademoiselle Artiste.

O: Show-off.

MK: Both of you are pretty artistic, or at least have an appreciation for the arts. Olivia, you love to draw. Henry, you love music. Why do you love the arts so much? How do drawing and music help you?

O: At first, it helped me escape. Drawing helped me pretend all the bad stuff away.

H: Same here. I mean, this is Olivia’s story, but I had some bad things happen to me and my family too, and music helped me remember when things were actually good. It made me feel happy when nothing else could.

O: Not even your honor roll-worthy grades?

H: Ha, ha.

O: But later, it was like . . . I don’t know, I realized drawing was this thing that made me me. It wasn’t just an escape. It was something that made me stronger. I think when I realized that, when I stopped using drawing as a hiding place, I became a way better artist. Because at that point, I wasn’t drawing because of other people, because of how they made me feel. I was drawing for me.

MK: Olivia, do you have a favorite out of the four ghosts who became such good friends with you? What about you, Henry?

O: That’s like asking what’s the better cookie at The Happy Place: the oatmeal raisin or the chocolate chip? Impossible to answer because they’re both amazing—but so different from each other.

H: Great. Now I want cookies.

O: You eat like a horse. No, you eat like ten horses.

H: I’m an active young man, Olivia. Can’t help it.

O: Young man? Now that’s just freaky.

H: Well, okay. So there was Frederick. He was really helpful and friendly, because he was the youngest ghost.

O: Yeah, because he had been a ghost for the least amount of time. And Mr. Worthington was the oldest ghost because he had been a ghost for the longest amount of time.

H: Mr. Worthington made the funniest noises sometimes.

O: He didn’t really talk. It was hard for him, being so old.

H: Oh! Frederick was a musician. Automatic cool points.

O: Nerd. And Tillie and Jax, they were best friends when they were alive, so when they were ghosts, they always spoke at the same time, which was pretty funny.

H: It’s impossible to pick.

O: Agreed. They were like a team, or a band or something. Each part is equally important, and when one person goes missing . . .

H: It all falls apart?

O: Sometimes it felt that way, to me.

H: It all worked out for the best in the end, though. Didn’t it?

O: I think so. Yeah. It did.

H: It did.

O: Stop holding my hand, Henry. We only do that before séances or in moments of extreme emotional distress.

MK: Do you think you would have become friends if the ghosts hadn’t shown up that day in the lobby?

O: No.

H: Yes.

O: Oh really?

H: Even if the ghosts hadn’t shown up, a lot of stuff was going on that year. We would have to talk eventually.

O: We’re so different, Henry. Sometimes I think . . .

H: What?

O: I don’t know. Sometimes I think we’re still too different to be friends. I’m quiet and you’re not. You make good grades and I don’t.

H: Your grades are way better now. You’re like an algebra pro.

O: Thanks to you.

H: I may have helped you study, but you had to do the work. Anyway, who cares about grades and who’s louder and who’s quieter?

O: I don’t, most of the time. Most of the time, I . . . whatever.

H: No, you’ve got to finish that thought, or I’ll hold your hand again.

O: Ugh, okay, okay. Most of the time, I just think about how cool you are, and how much I like hanging out with you. Okay? Happy?

H: Euphoric.

O: Henry, seriously, put down the dictionary every once in a while. It won’t kill you.

H: Or you could pick one up . . .

O: You’re pushing it, Page.

MK: Music plays such a huge part in this story. Do either of you play an instrument? If so, which? And if not, what instrument would you like to play?

H: I know what instrument Olivia wishes she could play.

O: Oh yeah? And what’s that?

H: Well, let’s just say, you could spend a lot more time with a certain dreamy musician if you started playing the trumpet. I mean, he could give you private lessons and everything.

O: . . . You did not just say that.

H: You know it’s true.

O: I don’t think Richard Ashley is dreamy!

H: Liar, liar, secret admirer!

O: Anyway. I don’t play an instrument, but if I could, I’d probably pick the cello. Not the trumpet. So just don’t ever say that again.

H: That again.

O: Isn’t he funny? He’s just sooo funny.

H: If I could play any instrument, it would be the trombone. Or maybe I’d be a percussionist so I could, you know, bang on stuff all the time.

MK: One last question for you, Olivia: After the events of the year in this story, do you still consider yourself an “ombralina,” a “little shadow”?

O: Sometimes, I guess. I mean, everyone has bad days when they feel like a little shadow—unimportant and small and forgettable. But mostly? No. Most of the time, I feel . . . this is gonna sound cheesy.

H: I like cheese.

O: Of course you do. Anyway, most of the time, I feel . . . light inside. When I draw, or when I spend time with Henry or Joan, or the Barskys, or Nonnie or . . . Dad. Yeah. Mostly I feel light inside. Like everything that happened was the beginning of something really good. Like everything that happened was for a reason.

H: That’s beautiful, Olivia.

O: Like music?

H: Like your drawings.

MK: Thank you both for stopping by the blog today, and have fun with the launch of The Year of Shadows!



About the Book



Olivia Stellatella is having a rough year.
Her mother left, her neglectful father — the maestro of a failing orchestra — has moved her and her grandmother into his dark, broken-down concert hall to save money, and her only friend is Igor, an ornery stray cat.
Just when she thinks life couldn’t get any weirder, she meets four ghosts who haunt the hall. They need Olivia’s help — if the hall is torn down, they’ll be stuck as ghosts forever, never able to move on.
Olivia has to do the impossible for her shadowy new friends: Save the concert hall. But helping the dead has powerful consequences for the living . . . and soon it’s not just the concert hall that needs saving.


About The Author

Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn't stop thinking about the stories in her head. Now a writer, Ms. Legrand can often be found typing with purpose at her keyboard, losing herself in the stacks at her local library, or embarking upon spontaneous adventures to lands unknown. Her first novel is THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, a New York Public Library Best Book for Children in 2012. Her second novel, THE YEAR OF SHADOWS, releases August 27, 2013, with her third novel, WINTERSPELL, to follow in fall 2014. She is one of the four authors behind THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, an anthology of dark middle grade fiction due out in July 2014 from Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins. Claire lives in New Jersey with a dragon and two cats. Visit her at claire-legrand.com and at enterthecabinet.com.

The GiveawayAs part of today's tour stop, we have ONE copy of The Year of Shadows to giveaway to one lucky tour follower! The contest is open to addresses in the US and Canada only. To enter, please fill out the form below:

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 

Monday, August 19, 2013

Celebrating The Civil Rights Movement with Random House Kids: I Have A Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

Next week marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech. We, along with Random House want to reach out to our readers to encourage them to celebrate the Civil Rights movement by talking about a newly released book titled, "I Have a Dream" a picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson.



By: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson
Published by: Random House Kids
Released on: October 9th, 2012
Ages: All
Rating: 5 Owlets, We Loved It!
Source: book from publisher to review
Purchase from: Random House | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King: “My father’s dream continues to live on from generation to generation, and this beautiful and powerful illustrated edition of his world-changing "I Have a Dream" speech brings his inspiring message of freedom, equality, and peace to the youngest among us—those who will one day carry his dream forward for everyone.”

On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Martin Luther King gave one of the most powerful and memorable speeches in our nation's history. His words, paired with Caldecott Honor winner Kadir Nelson's magnificent paintings, make for a picture book certain to be treasured by children and adults alike. The themes of equality and freedom for all are not only relevant today, 50 years later, but also provide young readers with an important introduction to our nation's past.

As a kid I remember reading and being taught about what Dr Martin Luther King Jr did. It wasn't until I was in college, when a class I took studied his "I Have a Dream" speech did I really appreciate all that he did. I remember sitting in that class, and being so moved by his speech. That feeling has never left me. As a parent, I love that now I can share Dr Martin Luther King Jr's speech with my children, and talk to them about how important this speech was, and still is. 

The "I Have A Dream" book is a powerful read. This book not only allows young readers to read about Dr King's speech, it comes alive with Kadir Nelson's vivid illustration of Dr King, and various images taken from his speech. This book makes for one incredible read. This is a book I'm thrilled to have in my home. This book is a perfect fit for any school library, classroom library and in home library. Also included in this book is a CD with the official recording Dr King's speech. 

I highly recommend picking this book up!


You can find out more about the book here, and watch a video of Kadir Nelson talking about the book, and his illustrations here:



I'm thrilled to be able to share an interview by Random House Children's Author, Shana Burg, who interviewed her father, who was at the march on Washington and heard Dr King's speech. Here's her interview with her father:

“IT WAS ELECTRIFYING!”


AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON


By Shana Burg


My father, Harvey Burg, was at the March on Washington. He stood only feet from the podium while Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. My father was there because he was a civil rights worker, one of the thousands who gathered that day to demand the government dismantle the Jim Crow laws that enforced second-class citizenship on people of color. These laws kept buses, hospitals, schools, and cemeteries segregated and unequal.


My father’s work with the civil rights movement inspired me to write A Thousand Never Evers, a novel set in 1963.  This book tells the story of a 12-year-old African American girl who launches her own civil rights movement in a tiny Mississippi town.

This month, as we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington, I sat down with my father to ask what it was like to be there:

First of all, Dad, why did you go to the March on Washington?

I was committed to the civil rights movement and to helping bring about equal treatment for all Americans under the law. This was to be a great demonstration and petition to the government. While the Kennedy Administration was sympathetic to civil rights, it was never the right time for them to proceed. But the leadership of the civil rights movement said there is no right time--the right time is now.
The civil rights movement was in full swing. We were all expecting that the March could lead to violence. Our frame of reference was the violence that had occurred throughout the South and particularly in Birmingham. I was twenty-two years old, when I volunteered to act as a marshal at the march. Typically, marshals are charged with helping maintain order and diffusing any tension between marchers, counter-demonstrators, and the police. I went to several training sessions, where I learned tactics of nonviolence.

Tell me about that day and what you remember most fifty years later.

It was a beautiful sunny and warm day. First, a few hundred people came. Then a few thousand. And then we were stunned--there were several hundred thousand people. I felt great! I knew that something very important was happening for the good of our country.

What did it feel like to be in the crowd?

There were 250,000 people from all over--people who had suffered under the Jim Crow laws, and other people working to oppose segregation. You could feel the love, the commitment, and the dedication of people who were standing up and petitioning the government for real change. Although primarily organized by the leadership of the African American community, a broad inter-racial and inter-religious coalition was built. The emotion in the crowd was palpable. It was electrifying.

What was on the official program that day?

There were many amazing speeches: March Director A. Philip Randolph; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Chair John Lewis; Rabbi Joachim Prinz. Representatives of all the groups that were acting with tremendous courage in the South told their tales. I remember Mahalia Jackson singing You’ll Never Walk Alone.  They all seemed to set the stage for Martin Luther King, Jr.  

What happened when Dr. King went to the podium?

He delivered the most incredible speech heard at the time. I was awed and mesmerized. He articulated everything I believed. The phrasing he used was so powerful--the simple statements like “...we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” The speech placed the values I believed were at the heart of our great country in contrast to Jim Crow and the evils of segregation. When Dr. King said he dreamed of the day when his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” that was the most electrifying moment of all.

How did participating in the March on Washington affect you?

That march motivated many people, including me. It inspired me to work in the civil rights movement in Alabama, first as a law student and field worker, and then as a civil rights lawyer. I felt part of a great movement whose mission was to end segregation and give the rights under the Constitution to all Americans.

Thanks for sharing your story today, Dad!

Shana Burg is the award-winning author of A Thousand Never Evers (Random House, 2008) and Laugh with the Moon (Random House, 2012).



Tuesday, August 6, 2013

New To My Shelves: The Late Summer / BEA Edition

It's been a crazy fun Summer. From a two week, 5,300 mile, 13 state road trip with my kiddos, to Comic Con, and various trips in between and now prepping to attend the LA red carpet for The Mortal Instruments City of Bones movie premiere, Mundie Moms / Mundie Kids has been busy this summer. While away I've not posted nearly as many reviews as I had planned, though I've read a lot. Please look for those in the coming weeks.

I did want to share a few books I've received the past couple of weeks that will be featured on Mundie Kids.

Bloomsbury Children
Harper Childrens Books
Simon Kids


I know this event took place back at the end of May and beginning of June, and I've not yet had a chance to even blog about it, but I wanted to share with y'all some of the children's book I received from them/purchased, as I'm so excited to be featuring them here on Mundie Kids.

Scholastic
Bloomsbury
Abrams

THANK YOU to: Scholastic, Harper Collins, Simon Kids, Abrams, Bloomsbury, Shadow Mountain, Candlewick Press, 

What goodies have you recently received?

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Harry Potter Box Set- Redesign

I am normally not a fan of cover redesigns, but I am SO EXCITED about Scholastic's cover redesigns for the Harry Potter books! Check out these covers, the last one being revealed yesterday. I am in love with these!







The front of the box set
The back of the box set

This is what the complete box set looks like. Yes, it screams MUST HAVE! You can preorder it now on Amazon.

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~