MR. POPPER'S PRIZE PACKAGE

Yes, I love alliteration! And I love birthdays! And I love MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS! What do these things have in common? Well, in honor of my daughter, Hannah's 19th birthday, and the opening of MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS (this isn't an endorsement, since I haven't seen it yet, but did I mention how great the book is?) I'm giving away a PENGUIN PRIZE PACKAGE!


It will be filled with things Hannah loves (and she loves Mr. Popper and his flippered friends), like the book, Hot Tamales, a stuffed pony, a stuffed penguin AND a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card! (Stuffed items subject to change.) More random items may be included. 

How to enter: Tell me what animal you would have if you could and how you would feed it. It does not have to be an animal that lives on this planet. Purely imaginary animals are fine, too. In fact, they are better!


Contest ends July 1st!

SUMMER FUN

My kids help with the local summer reading program doing puppets and skits. They never walk the two blocks (aren't we lucky?!) to the library, without bringing home sacks of books. I confess, I'm a little jealous that they have so much free time to read. Sigh.


This summer I'm reading WE ARE NOT EATEN BY YAKS, LOSER, RULES, WHALES ON STILTS, and WIVES AND DAUGHTERS (which is a humongous non-middle-grade book, which I read to keep from turning into a twelve-year-old boy, ya know ;). I hope to read more than these, but I have to write, too. AND we're beginning rehearsals for WILLY WONKA soon at the Children's Theater of Wellington, so that will be "Buckets" of fun. (If you get that pun, be sure to note it in the comments!)


So, what are you reading this summer?


AND, it wouldn't be summer without a good game of flashlight tag, and Leslie Rose of YES, THIS WILL BE ON THE TEST has tagged me on her blog. Go check it out. She's the coolest fifth grade teacher I know, and she's into STAR WARS. Seriously. Check it out. Here are the honest answers to the tag questions:

Do you think you’re hot?

I'm certainly warm.

Upload a picture or wallpaper that you’re using at the moment. 

That's my husband (of course, he wasn't my husband then), me in the middle (age 16), and my brother, Jay. Oh, and the poodle? That's Cha Chi. This pic has been circulating throughout the Brownie ranks this summer.

When was the last time you ate chicken meat?

Two days ago I made some incredible baked chicken for dinner. I got the recipe off the Biskquick box. ;)

The song(s) you listened to recently.

Everything by Delirious? (Everything is not a song. I mean literally, everything by them.)

What were you thinking as you were doing this?

Why did we ever name that poor animal Cha Chi?

Tag, you're it!

Linda Niehoff
Brenda Sills
Amanda Hoving
Chantele Sedgwick

Kassidy and Hope

This is Kassidy and her faithful friend Hope. I love her dog's name, because that's what this guest post gave me--HOPE. What books got YOU hooked on reading? For me, it was the BLACK STALLION SERIES. I would lie on my white canopy bed and read them for hours on end (always with a bag of Reese's Pieces.) Thanks, Kassidy, for sharing!

I took after my Dad because I did not like to read. It was boring to me. I would rather watch TV and play with my sisters.

     

Then my big sister told me about The Baby-Sitters Club. I liked that the characters were teenagers, and I liked reading about the same characters in the series. Then she told me about Nancy Drew. I liked the mysteries and how they were all different.

     

I don’t think reading is boring any more. Right now, I’m reading Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. I like it because it’s about horses and their different lives.

     

I know there are some people who are like I used to be, and don’t like to read. Try reading because you might find a book that you like. You just have to find a book that interests you. Once you start reading, you can’t stop!

WE HAVE WINNERS!!!

That's right, I said WINNERS! In a fit of generosity, (and because I couldn't pick a winner), I'm giving each of you who entered a copy of JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW by Nathan Bransford!! Email your mailing address to: mlbrown90 @ att . net (Squish that together, of course.)

Wonderful planets, people! Thanks for entering and happy reading!

COSMIC GIVEAWAY!

Win a copy of JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW by NATHAN BRANSFORD and illustrated by C.S. JENNINGS! This book is every bit as great as it sounds. "Space travel is all fun and games until someone breaks the universe." Substitute teachers and sprinklers. Planets that smell like burp breath. Space pirates.Yeah. So there you have it. And you CAN have it! I will send a copy of this hilarious book to the person who makes up the best planet and its inhabitants. Give your planet a name, describe it, and tell me who lives there. Contest ends June 10th, so GO!

WE WANT YOU!!

Have you read a good book lately? There are more great books than I can possibly read, so I need your help spreading the word. If you'd like to write a short (500 word max) guest review, email me at mlbrown90 @ att. net . OR, I'd really love to have you video yourself reviewing the awesome book you choose. Just please be sure the book is appropriate for 5th through 8th graders.

You do not have to be a kid to guest blog. In fact, look for LIBRARY LISA, one of my favorite children's librarians, coming to this blog soon! She is a reading machine!

I'm currently reading THE GREAT HAMSTER MASSACRE by Katie Davies. What are you reading? Hmmm?

STRETCHING

WE HAVE A WINNER!!! Congratulations, Katy! The names were too good for the Brownies to decide. So we had a drawing of all entrants. Thank you all for entering, watch the blog for our nest contest! Katy, email me at mlbrown90 @ att . net (squish that all together) and tell me which gift card you'd like!


Watch this video. It is so cool, you may have to watch it a few times. Then please come back from Slinkyland and read the rest of this post. There's a contest!

Is that cool or what? So what does that have to do with Writing News and Book Reviews? Lots! Almost everything I've had published was a stretch for me. I have a great husband (I call him my "Idea Man") who's always tossing me zany ideas and challenging me to step outside my creative comfort zone. You don't think I came up with a book titled REVENGE OF THE PINK GRANNY PANTIES all by myself, do you?


So let's do some mental stretching. Name these two slinky thingies. The Brownies will decide the winner. I'll announce the winner Monday, May 2. What do you win? How does a $25 gift card to TOYS R' US sound? (Sorry, couldn't reverse the "R" ;) Then you can buy your own Slinkies, or Sea Monkeys, or whatever. If you'd rather have a reading-related prize, you can have the same amount to spend at Amazon or Barnes and Noble!


Adults can play, too. We all need ssstttrrreeettccchhheeeddd now and then! (Just keep it kid-friendly!)