Just the Thing for Beach Reading

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 Posted by Unknown at 6:31 PM

Now, here’s a style trend that wears well: bathing suits that match book covers. I’m especially fond of the bikinis suggesting the fronts from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Quite attractive, too, is the swimsuit in design tune with the jacket on Jonah Lehrer’s Imagine, though I imagine singer-musician Bob Dylan -- whom Lehrer misquoted so

Gumshoes at the Games

Posted by Unknown at 5:20 PM

Although U.S. coverage of last week’s opening of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in England was badly muddled by Republican president-wannabe Mitt Romney’s embarrassing blunders and gaffes during a visit to London (one newspaper actually labeled him “Mitt the Twit”), things seem to have settled down since. Which means that between now and the conclusion of the Games on August 12, you might find

Audio Clip of the Day: Katherine Applegate Talks about The One and Only Ivan

Monday, July 30, 2012 Posted by Unknown at 10:08 PM

TeachingBooks.Net invited Katherine Applegate to share the backstory for creating The One and Only Ivan.

Click here to listen to Katherine's fascinating recording.

To say The One and Only Ivan is one of my all-time favorite novels is an understatement. Let me be honest: The One and Only Ivan has inspired me more than any other novel. (That's not hyperbole.) I think of Katherine's thought-provoking novel at least three times per day and have a difficult time talking about it without getting emotional. If I were a rich man, I would mail a copy of The One and Only Ivan to every elementary school in the world. Yes, the world.

Thank you, Katherine Applegate, for walking in Ivan's shoes. You inspire me every day.

The One and Only Ivan Visits a GIANT WATERMELON

The One and Only Ivan Found His Book at Lemuria Books

Plush Ivan Meets the Real the One and Only Ivan

He inspired Katherine Applegate to write The One and Only Ivan

Borrow The One and Only Ivan from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.

Natchitoches Parish Library

Sunday, July 29, 2012 Posted by Unknown at 11:17 PM

My friend Donna and I spent yesterday afternoon exploring Natchitoches, Louisiana. It is a historic town best known as where Steel Magnolias was filmed. We had a blast driving by the various filming locations and walking up and down Front Street.

I think the best part of our day was when we donated Boy + Bot to the Natchitoches Parish Library. We captured this random act of kindness on "film."

Ivan, Boy, and Bot hung out at Capitol Books

Borrow Boy + Bot from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.

Video of the Day: Becky Anderson Sits Down with Chris Colfer

Saturday, July 28, 2012 Posted by Unknown at 11:31 PM

Borrow The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.

Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood

Posted by Unknown at 10:11 PM

My friend Donna and I knew one thing when we started planning Let's Go South '12: we must visit Mississippi, the state in which Augusta Scattergood's Glory Be takes place. To celebrate this outstanding middle-grade novel, we performed the following random act of kindness: