Previously on Bound: Memorial Day Books

Some interesting Revolutionary War picture books about our founding fathers and mothers mentioned on the smart MacKids blog.


For older kids there's the new "Countdown" by Deborah Wiles or "This Means War!" by Ellen Wittlinger, both set during the Cuban Missile Crisis:

If you feel safer reading about war in alternate universes, "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card was a big deal to me, I'm not sure if it still holds up for today's readers. Two new titles that may take over for Ender are Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother" (though the book lost me on some of the technology. Perhaps I am more like Pat Sajak than I care to admit.) Just finished "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins and am beside myself with worry for when I will get my hot hands on the even hotter "Mockingjay." (Reading tweets of the BEA Scholastic/Mockingjay party, they said that Suzanne reads Katniss with a Southern accent. I'm not sure I can get behind that just yet. I'm trying. Team Peeta, for the record.)


Everyone in the children's book community is in love with M.T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing books "The Pox Party" and "The Kingdom on the Waves" as well as Laurie Halse Anderson's "Chains" (follow-up "Forge" comes out in October.)


Walter Dean Myers's has set his stories in the Civil War, Vietnam, and Iraq: "Riot," "Sunrise Over Fallujah," and "Fallen Angels."


And don't forget some incredible graphic novels: the online "Zahra's Paradise," "Refresh, Refresh," and "The Photographer."

Previously on Bound: New Nonfiction

At that crazy BEA book expo I met some very cool people like Marc Tyler Nobleman. His book, "Boys of Steel" is a wonderful look at the origin of Superman. And not from the loins of Jor-El, but the typewriter and ink pen of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Illustrated by Ross MacDonald (I LOVE how he draws shoes, just saying, and Nobleman is a great storyteller.)

At BEA I did not meet Don Brown. If I had, I might have swooned. To me, his picture book biographies can do no wrong. Check out his latest, "A Wizard from the Start" about Thomas Edison.

A book many adults, including myself, could use on a daily basis: "For Good Measure" by Ken Robbins. 

Previously on Bound: Author Spying 05/20

Today is a great day to stay home and read blogs. No, really. There's a spring storm here — white caps to the west and a tornado to the east. This is battening-down-the-hatches weather.

So let's do some author spying. Today's peepings are on YA author Maggie Stiefvater and author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka:
First up is Maggie Stiefvater. She's a YA author with books about werewolves and 'homicidal faeries' to her credit. Making the book blog rounds is a peek at Maggie Steifvater's new book trailer which is TOTALLY AWESOME.

A snapshot of Maggie's blog:


















Here's her trailer for "Shiver"

And the new trailer for "Linger" Plus some great 'making of' posts. Part 1, 2, and 3. Definitely check those out on Maggie's blog. You'll have to wait till July to read the book, though!

Author/Illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka you may remember from "Punk Farm" or the Children's Choice award-winning "Lunch Lady" comics series? And I believe you may remember that funny lady Amy Poehler has optioned "Lunch Lady," which is going to be awesome?








Here's a snapshot of Jarrett's blog (where you can see that Jarrett's part of Graphic Novel Spectacular, an event happening this weekend in Brooklyn with lots of other spectacular graphic novel dudes like Matt Phelan and Eric Wright!)

Previously on Bound: Kids Got Mail

Do you get Daily Candy? The Kid edition? I do and love it. And they featured the coooolest thing a couple of days ago. One of my favorite books as a kid was the one with all the addresses you could send away to for free bits and bobs. That book is dead as a door nail now that we can print .pdf downloads or subscribe to things online, but with it died the thrill of the postman ringing twice. For the price of a week's worth of mochas, you can bring back six months of stamped fun.

Abe's Peanut, is a serial postcard story service for kids, four postcards to a story, one card per week. A six month subscription is only $48 and you can get in on the first issue -- it starts in June. Look at this charming image they have on their site (I think it is by Vanessa Boer):

Over on Bound, BURIED TREASURE FOR REALS. And the Edgar Award

WHAT? Why is this not all we can talk about? There's actual buried treasure out in the world. Twelve treasures, to be exact. And to find it all you have to do is read a very short book. With pictures. See more on Bound. Plus, the Edgar Awards came out a few weeks ago and I totally spaced all that. I adore the nominees I've read and look forward to snapping up the ones I haven't gotten to yet.

Previously on Bound: Mysteries and REAL BURIED TREASURE!

The Edgar Awards for 2010 came out a few weeks ago. Some of my favorite new mysteries were nominated which is awesome, and proves the Mystery Writers of America have bloody good taste. There are a number of MWA groups across the U.S., if you care to join one. I went to one in Seattle once and greatly admired their choice of meeting place -- an Irish pub with a subtle jail theme. The meeting's keynoter stood right under a giant ax mounted to the wall, could you ask for better mystery writing ambience? I think not.

The 2010 Best Juvenile Edgar Nominees and Winner:

"Closed for the Season" by Mary Downing Hahn (WINNER!) Hahn has written loads of mysteries, so be sure to check out her other titles.

"The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity" by Mac Barnett (LOVE! This is the first in the Brixton Bro. series with the next one out in October)
"The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour" by Michael D. Beil (Want! Also first in the series)
"Creepy Crawly Crime" by Aaron Reynolds (Also want, this is the first in the Joey Fly series, a totally rocking insect noir graphic novel. The second book comes out in late fall)
"The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline" by Nancy Springer (love that Enola Holmes -- Sherlock Holmes's sister, of course. This is the fifth book in the series, be sure to grab the earlier ones first. The sixth one just came out last week) (1) "The Case of the Missing Marquess," (2) "The Case of the Left-Handed Lady," (3) "The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets," (4) "The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan," (6) "The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye"
And if all that wasn't enough, have you heard about the new McSweeney's book?!? "The Clock Without A Face" is basically a giant clue to twelve hidden treasures. Not only is it awesome to look at, but you could win an emerald encrusted number if you are smart enough and not afraid of a little dirt digging. For all the junior super sleuths out there, this has got to be right up their allies. And one of the contributors to the book, Mac Barnett (who wrote "Case of the Case" above) has a groovy interview over at Betsy Bird's blog, perhaps there's a hint about the jewels within his interview answers...

Previously on Bound: Nonfiction Award Winners

Are you looking for some fun, nonfiction picture books? Maybe some autobiographies that inspire? Well, I don't know how I missed these, but in November, the Orbus Pictus Award went out, and the winner was:

"The Secret World of Walter Anderson" by Hester Bass, illustrated by E.B. Lewis.
Here's the publisher's description:

"Residents along the Mississippi Gulf Coast thought Walter Anderson was odd, rowing across twelve miles of open water in a leaky skiff to reach Horn, an uninhabited island without running water or electricity. But this solitary artist didn’t much care what they thought as he spent weeks at a time on his personal paradise, sleeping under his boat, sometimes eating whatever washed ashore, sketching and painting the natural surroundings and the animals that became his friends. Here Walter created some of his most brilliant watercolors, work he kept hidden during his lifetime."

Two other honor books include:

"Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream" by Tanya Lee Stone. The book has won, like, 18 other awards or mentions. Kirkus said it was a:
"Fascinating, dramatic story...The author offers great insight into how deeply ingrained sexism was in American society and its institutions. Handsomely illustrated with photographs, this empowering, impassioned story will leave readers inspired."




And "Darwin: With Glimpses Into His Private Journals and Letters" by Alice B. McGinty and illustrated by Mary Azarian. The Horn Book review:"... Explanations of natural selection are particularly strong . . . Nearly every spread contains a parchment-like "letter" containing edited portions of Darwin's diary and letters. These quotes validate the main narrative and form an abbreviated chronological record for important events and thoughts in Charles's life. A brief author's note, source material, and full documentation complete this book."

The Orbus Pictus Award is handed out by American English teachers for excellence in nonfiction writing. The award "commemorates the work of Johannes Amos Comenius, Orbis Pictus—The World in Pictures (1657), considered to be the first book actually planned for children."

Previously on Bound: Vampires for All Ages

Books That Suck! I couldn't write that in the title line...

Teen vampy books, of course, suck in the best way! A huge, huge, huge thank you to Sci-Fi Movies Superfan Amy for her fabulous recount of the Charlaine Harris book event. Harris was just in Seattle, too, and her adorable exterior hides so much delicious vampire bloodlust! I love her. AND her book series is a huge hit with all the teens I know.

But if you've read all ten Sookie books, do you want to try out some different blood types?

Here are just a few, but since biters are still all the rage, we promise to bring you more suggestions in a few weeks.

First, consider trading Merlotte's in for Sanguini's, a vampire friendly restaurant in Texas and also the setting for Cynthia Leitich Smith's "Tantalize." "Eternal" is set in the same world as "Tantalize," but with different characters. Both out in paper back now. A third book should be out in 2011.







Or there's the Blood Coven Vampire series by Mari Mancusi with twins and their Buffyesque romantic adventures: "Boys That Bite," "Stake That," and "Girls That Growl" and "Bad Blood."









All the cool kids are enjoying "The Vampire Diaries" TV show, and how bad can it be if Boone from "Lost" is on it?!? Maybe you should read the books by L.J. Smith, too? Books 1 and 2 ("The Awakening" and "The Struggle" or 3 and 4 ("The Fury" and "Dark Reunion" are available together. The last two are "The Return: Nightfall" and "The Return: Shadow Souls".





If you aren't old enough for Sookie and friends, there's a few younger vampire books out there:

For middle graders, there's Joann Sfar's Little Vampire series. I looooove Joann Sfar's work. He compares making comics to improvising in jazz which is such a nice way to think about drawing similar, but different panels of art. All three stories in one book: "Little Vampire."

And for picture book fiends, there's "Vunce Upon a Time" by Siobhan Vivian and J. Otto Siebold.

Previously on Bound: Children's Choice Book Award Winners

Happy Children's Book Week! A lovely celebration since 1919. It used to be in the Fall, but I'm cool with the move to May. A few nights ago, there was a gala award dinner where, after oodles of children voted online, some big book winners were announced for 2010. The Children's Book Council is responsible for all the fun associated with Children's Book Week. I love this bit from their website:

"...in 2008, the Children's Book Council created the Children's Choice Book Awards, the only national child-chosen book awards program, giving young readers a powerful voice in their own reading choices.
The need for Children’s Book Week today is as essential as it was in 1919, and the task remains the realization of Frederic Melcher’s fundamental declaration: “A great nation is a reading nation.”

Here are the awesome award-winning Books of the Year:

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
"Lulu the Big Little Chick"
by Paulette Bogan

3rd Grade - 4th Grade
"Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute"
by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

5th Grade - 6th Grade
"Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life"
by Rachel Renée Russell

Teen
"Catching Fire"
by Suzanne Collins

Author of the Year
James Patterson for "Max"

Illustrator of the Year
Peter Brown for "The Curious Garden"

As Illustrator of the Year, Peter Brown gets to make next year's Book Week poster. As Author of the Year, James Patterson gets a yacht and Kleenex made of dollar bills.

Really, the poster thing is the prize of all prizes. This year's poster was done by Jon J. Muth. All the great illustrators end up doing a Book Week poster. See "75 Years of Children's Book Week Posters" by CBC and Leonard Marcus.

Previously on Bound: Iron Man 2 and more

Marvel is taking advantage of the Downey Jr. flick with some tie-in comics. Most of these are cool for teens:
First off, there's "Iron Man: Extremis" by Warren Eliis and Adi Granov, a motion comic. What is a motion comic, you ask? Well, grandpa, it's a 3D animated version of a comic book with audio and a few special effects. It is available in six, twenty-minute episodes on iTunes, Zune, or X-Box Live. Check out the trailer for Marvel's third motion comic. The talking heads are a wee bit hokey, I would LOVE to see Terry Gilliam comics available this way... Also in hard copy.

Scarlett's character gets her own comic book, too. "Black Widow" by Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuna is a new series for the lady spy that has been featured in many Marvel dude comics.
If you've been following the old Iron Man comics, you know what's up. "Invincible Iron Man 25" is a special edition of the periodical out now for the movie. By Matt Fraction.


"Iron Man Legacy" is a new series that launched in April by Fred Van Lente and Steve Kurth.
"Iron Man 2: Public Identity" by Joe Casey, Justin Theroux and Barry Kitson is a comic for those that want to know exactly what happened between the first movie and the second movie.

Littler kids might dig:
"Iron Man: I Am Iron Man" an I Can Read Book Level 2 by Lisa Rao, illustrated by Guido Guidi
A board book, "Super Hero Squad: Iron Man Springs Into Action!" by Kirsten Mayer

And for middle graders who want some super main characters, I know I've mentioned both of these before, but STILL, if you haven't picked them up yet:

"Candle Man: Book 1 The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance" by Glenn Dakin (out in paperback in a few weeks!)
"The Rise of Renegade X" by Chelsea Campbell (which just came out on May 11)