This month, Kidsreads.com is full of characters. I got to see a bunch of people dressed up as their favorite comic book characters at a conference called Comic-Con last week. It felt like Halloween! I was surprised at how amazing some of these costumes were. People captured soooo many of the details just right. Because of The Dark Knight movie, there were many "Jokers" roaming the floor. It was a lot of fun, but no, I am not planning to dress up next year!

I did not see anyone dressed up like the characters from Jeff Smith’s Bone comic book series --- I imagine they would have looked like big marshmallows. The eighth installment, TREASURE HUNTERS, is now available as a full-color graphic novel. You can win a copy by filling out a form and having your parents sign it. See all the contest details here.  

I DID get to see Eoin Colfer at Comic-Con where he performed his “Fairies, Fiends and Flatulence” show, which was part of his U.S. book tour (he even had a tour bus!). By the way, his name is pronounced "Owen." In case you missed the show, you can see some video clips here. Many of the characters in his books are based on his own brothers, and he had pictures of them as little kids that he showed as part of the program. EVERY time I see Eoin, even just to say hello, I laugh. Thus I laughed a lot during his one-and-a-half-hour show. They gave out green flashlights at the event, and they came in VERY handy last week when my sons and I were touring a lighthouse after dark. The park rangers had suggested a flashlight, but since we were staying at a hotel, we did not have a regular one. Instead my younger son pulled this one out, and by the green light we found our way!

So here's more about his latest book.... What if the character you had to battle was yourself? That’s the challenge facing Artemis Fowl in THE TIME PARADOX. He must go back in time and challenge his past self in order to save his mother’s life. Not caught up on the Artemis Fowl series? You can read about the other books in this blockbuster series here. 

A brand-new character has entered your local bookstore and library: Alec Flint, Super Sleuth. He and his clever friend Gina are detectives-in-training. Will they be able to solve their first mystery in THE NINA, THE PINTA, AND THE VANISHING TREASURE? Maybe you can find a clue in this excerpt! Read our interview with Alec’s creator, Jill Santopolo, for more about this sleuthalicious series. 

Some characters are villains --- the bad guys, the criminals, the…haunted masks? This spooky villain is the star of the fourth book in the Goosebumps Horrorland series by R.L. Stine. Read all about the series here and play the trivia and word scramble games! There are plenty of bad guys in these pages just waiting to give you chills. 

Lots of characters change over the course of a book or series. They go from silly to serious (or sometimes the other way around), or maybe selfish to generous, or any other kind of change you can imagine. Just think of the ways you have changed in the last year! Throughout Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, the main character, Arthur Penhaligon, has gone from timid to courageous, and from weak to strong. Find out more in our review of SUPERIOR SATURDAY. 

Some characters can be found all around the world. In ENCYCLOPEDIA MYTHOLOGICA: FAIRIES AND MAGICAL CREATURES, the masters of pop-up, Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda, show us fairy stories from different countries. You’ll love looking at all the similarities and differences between these characters.  

You’ll find lots more crazy characters in our Cool New Books and New in Paperback roundups and in our most recent reviews. Some of these characters would make great friends. Let us know which individual from a book you’d like to be friends with, and whether or not you’d be interested in coming across bookish characters in real life, in our poll and question.  

TREASURE HUNTERS: Bone, Volume 8 by Jeff Smith
The Bone cousins, Gran'ma Ben and Thorn reach the city of Atheia, where they reunite with old friends and prepare to battle The Lord of the Locusts. The Pawan army has joined forces with Briar and the rat creatures, and danger increases as Thorn's visions become more threatening. Meanwhile, Phoney Bone is convinced Atheia is rich in gold, and he is determined to find it!

-Click here to read a review of TREASURE HUNTERS.
-Click here to look inside TREASURE HUNTERS.
-Click here to read Jeff Smith's bio.

-Click here to read an excerpt from THE NINA, THE PINTA, AND THE VANISHING TREASURE.
-Click here to read our interview with Jill Santopolo.
-Click here to read Jill Santopolo's bio.

Are you looking for a hilarious series that will also give you a serious case of the heebie-jeebies? The master of spooky storytelling, R.L. Stine --- author of the incredibly popular Goosebumps books --- has just the thing: a 12-book series called Goosebumps HorrorLand. Be prepared to laugh out loud, even as you break out in a cold sweat of terror!

Experience Goosebumps HorrorLand in a unique, exciting manner by reading the books and by visiting www.enterhorrorland.com, where the stories develop further and readers can discover more clues to the HorrorLand mystery.

-Click here to read our Artemis Fowl series feature.
-Click here to play the updated Artemis Fowl trivia game.

SUPERIOR SATURDAY: The Keys to the Kingdom, Book Six by Garth Nix
Arthur Penhaligon has wrested five of the Keys from their immortal guardians, the Trustees of the Will. But gaining the Sixth Key poses a greater challenge than any he has ever faced before. Superior Saturday is not just one of the Trustees, she is also the oldest Denizen and the most powerful and knowledgeable sorcerer within the House. Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle.

-Click here to read our Keys to the Kingdom series feature.
-Click here to play the SUPERIOR SATURDAY trivia game.
-Click here for the SUPERIOR SATURDAY word scramble.

To celebrate the August 5th release of the second installment in Meg Cabot's Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series, Kidsreads.com is giving 10 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the first two books, MOVING DAY and THE NEW GIRL.

MOVING DAY by Meg Cabot
When nine-year-old Allie Finkle's parents announce that they are moving her and her brothers from their suburban split-level into an ancient Victorian in town, Allie is sure her life is over. She's not at all happy about having to give up her pretty pink wall-to-wall carpeting for creaky floorboards and creepy secret passageways --- not to mention leaving her modern, state-of-the-art suburban school for a rundown, old-fashioned school just two blocks from her new house.

With a room she's half-scared to go into, the burden of being "the new girl" and her old friends all a half-hour car ride away, how will Allie ever learn to fit in?

THE NEW GIRL by Meg Cabot
Allie is very excited for her first day of school at Pine Heights Elementary. She is going to be in the same class as her new friends Erica, Caroline and Sophie, and she loves her new teacher, pretty and stylish Mrs. Hunter. Plus, she’s getting a new kitten --- the first pick of showcat Lady Serena Archibald’s litter!

ONE SMALL STEP by P.B. Kerr
It’s 1969, and 13-year-old Scott MacLeod is about to explode into an adventure of a lifetime. It all starts when Scott’s Air Force dad begins teaching him how to fly an airplane. His amazing piloting talents attract the attention of NASA, and before long, he undergoes intensive training for a secret mission --- a mission involving him and two chimps blasting into space. Reviewed by Chris Shanley Dillman.

-Click here to read an excerpt from ONE SMALL STEP.

The sixth installments of two popular fantasy series finally have been released. Eoin Colfer’s THE TIME PARADOX continues the story of teenage criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl, and in SUPERIOR SATURDAY, Garth Nix’s protagonist, Arthur Penhaligon, struggles to gain possession of the Sixth Key from its immortal guardian.

July's roundup of Cool New Books also includes MERCY WATSON THINKS LIKE A PIG, Kate DiCamillo's fifth rollicking adventure featuring the irresistible pig who this time must outwit Animal Control; LOST AND FOUND, an entertaining and thought-provoking chapter book from Andrew Clements about twin brothers who hatch an elaborate plan to fool everyone at their new school; TOM TRUEHEART AND THE LAND OF DARK STORIES by Ian Beck, which continues the unlikely adventures of an ordinary boy who risks his own life to save his six older brothers and their princess brides; and FAIRIES AND MAGICAL CREATURES, the first installment in Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda's dazzling pop-up series, Encyclopedia Mythologica.

July's roundup of New in Paperback titles includes DEXTER THE TOUGH, Margaret Peterson Haddix's chapter book about a boy whose life has been anything but smooth sailing so far and who pretty much hates everyone at his new school; LEEPIKE RIDGE, N. D. Wilson's page-turning adventure of an 11-year-old who finds himself lost in a series of underground caves; MY TEACHER FOR PRESIDENT by Kay Winters, in which a savvy second grader believes his teacher would be the perfect candidate for president of the United States; and WHO WON THE WAR?, the final installment in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's series about the rivalry between the Hatford boys and the Malloy girls.

-Click here to read an excerpt from ATHERTON: RIVERS OF FIRE.

OUTCAST: The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Book Four by Michelle Paver
For two moons Torak has hidden a terrible secret --- and now it is revealed. He bears the mark of a Soul-Eater and must pay the price. Cast out of the clans and on the run from clan members who will kill him, he settles on an island in the Lake for the summer. But he is not safe there, either. Relentlessly pursued by Seshru the Viper Mage, one of the strongest Soul-Eaters, Torak must defend himself and the clans from her terrible plans. Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts.

-Click here to read an excerpt from OUTCAST.

GODS OF MANHATTAN by Scott Mebus
New York City has been the setting for several recent fantasy novels that shed light on the many secrets lurking behind (or beneath) Manhattan's famous landmarks. Add to that list Scott Mebus's debut work of fiction, GODS OF MANHATTAN, which melds New York City history with modern geography in a thoroughly entertaining start of a promising new series. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

SPELLBOUND by Anna Dale
Twelve-year-old Athene hates her pesky little brother, Zach. While on a family vacation she tricks him into being captured as a slave by the Gloam, magic folk who live in underground caves. But now that he is finally out of her life, Athene misses Zach and embarks on a daring rescue to bring him and the other Gloam captives back home. Reviewed by Usha Reynolds.

THE CROSSROADS by Chris Grabenstein
Eleven-year-old Zack Jennings knows that not everyone senses the spirits trapped in trees that he does. Luckily he, his father and new stepmother are moving out of New York to North Chester, Connecticut, where his father grew up. Little does Zack know, however, that he also will be encountering sinister spirits all over in the country. Reviewed by Amy Alessio.

ATTACK OF THE GROWLING EYEBALLS: Who Shrunk Daniel Funk?, Book 1 written by Lin Oliver and illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
Eleven-year-old Daniel is the only male in a house filled with females, including the dog. So imagine his double surprise when, first he shrinks down to the size of a toe, and second, he discovers he has a twin brother also the size of a toe. The adventure factor in Daniel's life blasts into a growth spurt of 100%! Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman.

THUMBELINA, TINY RUNAWAY BRIDE by Barbara Ensor
Like all good independent girls who will grow up to be adventurous, spirited and independent women, Thumbelina doesn't understand why her mother wants to oppress her so much and keep her safe from the big, bad world. Thumbelina decides to venture away from Anne Marie, her desperately clutchy mom, and finds out what the real world has in store for her, good and bad. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

Poll:

Do you ever find yourself wanting to meet some of the characters from the books you read? 

Yes
No
Not sure

-Click here to participate in the poll.
 

Question:

What character from a book could you see yourself being best friends with?

-Click here to answer the question.