One innovative book I am really excited about is Patrick Carman's latest work, SKELETON CREEK, the first installment of a new suspense series that tells its tale in two parts: Ryan shares his journals within the text of the book, while his filmmaker friend Sarah tells her side of the story through videos that readers can watch by visiting her website, www.skeletoncreekisreal.com. This interactive method of storytelling makes readers feel as though they are a part of the story, investigating the mysteries of Skeleton Creek right alongside both Ryan and Sarah. Check out a behind-the-scenes interview with the author, as well as an excerpt of this groundbreaking two-book series and our review.

Another story for mystery fans is SCAT by Carl Hiaasen. In this thrilling and hilarious mystery, two students investigate the strange disappearance of the dreaded biology teacher, Mrs. Bunny Starch. Check out our review and an excerpt. And those looking for an adventure with plenty of laughs and danger will enjoy the fifth Children of the Lamp book, THE EYE OF THE FOREST. P. B Kerr has the supernatural twins on an action-packed quest in the Amazon Jungle. You can find out more by reading our review. 

Sam Llewellyn tells us about his inspiration for LYONESSE: THE WELL BETWEEN THE WORLDS and his new series based on the legends of King Arthur. Check out our interview and get a feel for his fantasy tale by reading our review and an excerpt. 

Get the behind-the-scenes scoop on PAINT THE WIND, a heartwarming story about a girl and her horse now available in paperback, through our interview with award-winning author Pam Munoz Ryan. Find out about Pam's love of horses and much more, and then take a look inside her book. 

This month's new installment in the Goosebumps Horrorland series feature is SAY CHEESE --- AND DIE SCREAMING, and the third addition to the Schooling Around series, MASCOT MADNESS!, by Andy Griffiths is now available in stores. Also recently published is SASSY: LITTLE SISTER IS NOT MY NAME! by Sharon M. Draper and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!: Party Edition by Dr. Seuss, which celebrates the classic book's 50th year in print. (And a belated Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss, whose big day was March 2nd.)

Would you be interested in winning a trip to Universal Orlando® Resort for you and your family? I thought so! All you have to do is visit http://www.seussville.com/birthday with your parent or guardian to learn more about the HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Sweepstakes and how to enter. While you’re there, be sure to check out all the other cool and exciting features on Dr. Seuss’s official website. Once you enter Seussville, you will not want to leave!

For more books to curl up and stay warm with, check out our Cool New Books and New in Paperback roundups as well as our latest reviews --- which now include graphic novel and manga titles.

Happy reading!

Carol Fitzgerald for Kidsreads.com

 

Children’s author Patrick Carman’s latest work, SKELETON CREEK, is the first installment of an innovative new series that tells its tale in two parts: Ryan, one of the main characters, shares his journals within the text of the book, while his friend Sarah --- an amateur filmmaker --- tells her side of the story through videos that readers can watch by visiting her website. In this interview, Carman and his editor, David Levithan, discuss what inspired this multimedia project and reveal the initial insecurities about taking on this new method of storytelling. Carman also shares some behind-the-scenes information about shooting the videos, explains why it’s so important to think outside the box as a way to encourage young readers, and talks about why he chose to end the book with a cliffhanger.

SKELETON CREEK by Patrick Carman
Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek --- and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out...and then email the clips for Ryan to see. In a new, groundbreaking format, Patrick Carman's story is broken into two parts --- Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website (www.skeletoncreekisreal.com), with links and passwords given throughout the book. Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts.

-Click here to read a review of SKELETON CREEK.
-Click here to read an excerpt from SKELETON CREEK.

SCAT by Carl Hiaasen
Mrs. Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, was last seen during a field trip to Black Vine Swamp. The school’s headmaster and the police seem to have accepted the sketchy, unsigned note explaining that her absence is due to a “family emergency.” There’s no real evidence of foul play. But still, Nick and Marta don’t buy it. Something weird is definitely going on. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

-Click here to read an excerpt from SCAT.

THE EYE OF THE FOREST: Children of the Lamp, Book 5 by P. B. Kerr
In their latest adventure, John and Philippa Gaunt find themselves tangled up in a spellbinding mystery that takes them deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle. When a collection of Incan artifacts goes missing, the Blue Djinn of Babylon dispatches the twins and Uncle Nimrod to recover them. Along the way, though, John and Philippa encounter their friend Dybbuk, who was drained of his djinn powers but is determined to get them back. Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts.

LYONESSE, BOOK 1: THE WELL BETWEEN THE WORLDS by Sam Llewellyn
Idris lives in Lyonesse, the noble island where King Arthur once resided with Merlin and his Knights of the Round Table. Yet thousands of years after the great king walked this country, it has become a place of shadows, where men hunt and capture the monsters that dwell in the dark depths of the sea. Under the reign of a corrupt ruler, Lyonesse is slowly drowning --- and now the fate of the land and all its citizens depends on Idris. But can one boy stop the wickedness that's been growing for centuries? 

-Click here to read an excerpt from LYONESSE: THE WELL BETWEEN THE WORLDS.
-Click here to read our interview with Sam Llewellyn.
-Click here to read Sam Llewellyn’s bio.
 

Well, nothing stops Sassy. All she has to do is reach into her Sassy Sack to find the right lip gloss, hair clip or rubber band, and life's problems get solved. And thanks to her best friends, Carmelita, Jazzy and Tandy, the most sour situations can become as sweet as honey!

Bestselling author Sharon Draper makes her middle grade girl book debut in this series that features an unforgettable heroine, a loving family, a diverse cast of teachers, friends and neighbors --- and a little magic.

Don't miss the first two books in the Schooling Around series!

TREASURE FEVER! by Andy Griffiths
Meet Henry McThrottle, a fifth-grader at Northeast Southwest Central School. Henry has an extremely active imagination --- sometimes it's hard to tell where his imagination stops and the real world begins. His flights of fancy lead to adventures of the sort only Andy Griffiths could dream up: always hilarious, never predictable, sure to keep kids laughing and reading!

PENCIL OF DOOM! by Andy Griffiths
Henry McThrottle thought Northwest Southeast Central School was wacky. But then he comes across the Pencil of Doom...and things get REALLY out of control.

February’s roundup of Cool New Books includes SKELETON CREEK, a groundbreaking interactive ghost story courtesy of bestselling author Patrick Carman that plays out on both the written page and in special videos that can be viewed online at www.skeletoncreekisreal.com; THE DEMIGOD FILES, a must-have guide to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series that will build even more anticipation for the fifth and final book, THE LAST OLYMPIAN, releasing in May; THE YGGYSSEY, a sequel to THE NEDDIAD that reunites readers with Iggy, Neddie, Seamus and the usual apparitional entourage for another weird and wonderful adventure by Daniel Pinkwater; and SASSY: LITTLE SISTER IS NOT MY NAME!, Sharon Draper’s middle-grade girl book debut that features an unforgettable heroine, a loving family, a diverse cast of teachers, friends and neighbors --- and a little magic.

February’s roundup of New in Paperback titles includes MOVING DAY, the first installment in Meg Cabot’s debut middle-grade series, Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls; THE BIG FIELD by Mike Lupica, the story of a star shortstop who is replaced by a better player with a questionable attitude; THE AURORA COUNTY ALL-STARS, the third book in Deborah Wiles’s trilogy set in Aurora County, Mississippi, this time featuring a 12-year-old boy as the main character; EDWARD’S EYES, Patricia MacLachlan’s deeply stirring, delicately lyrical portrait of a child, a son, a family and a brother; and THE NEDDIAD, a rollicking and totally bizarre adventure from Daniel Pinkwater in which circus beasts, ghostly bellboys, ancient mythology and 1940s Los Angeles collide.

BLOOD TIDE: A Never Land Book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
An earthquake that strikes Neverland Island floods the Lost Boys' underground hideaway, forcing them to leave. Meanwhile, a mysterious barrel washes ashore and falls into the hands of the pirates. When their leader, Captain Hook, finds out what's in the barrel, he hatches an evil plan. But worst of all is the change in the mermaids. When these once-peaceful friends of the natives injure some members of the native Mollusk tribe, the Mollusk leader, Fighting Prawn, feels he has no choice but to fight back. Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle.

THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF HOMER P. FIGG by Rodman Philbrick
Through a series of fascinating events, Homer P. Figg's older brother has been illegally sold to the Union army. It is up to the young orphan to find him and save him. Along the way, he encounters many strange but real people of that era who will engage and educate young readers about our nation's past --- in one of the most decisive moments of American history. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

RETURN TO SENDER by Julia Alvarez
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Oldest daughter Mari and her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences? Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

THE SEVEN KEYS OF BALABAD by Paul Haven
Twelve-year-old Oliver Finch misses his friends back home in New York City. Living halfway around the world in the Middle Eastern country of Balabad with his journalist father and art historian mother, Oliver is homesick and bored --- until he gets involved in a centuries-old mystery that involves a sacred carpet, hidden keys and buried treasure. Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt.

THE BEST BAD LUCK I EVER HAD by Kristin Levine
The last thing Harry "Dit" Sims expects when Emma Walker comes to town is to become friends. Proper-talking, brainy Emma doesn't play baseball or fish too well, but she sure makes Dit think, especially about the differences between black and white. But soon Dit is thinking about a whole lot more when the town barber, who is black, is put on trial for a terrible crime. Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman.

I, LORELEI by Yeardley Smith
Lorelei Connelly decides to start keeping a diary after her beloved cat, Mud, dies. It's a good thing she does, because sixth grade turns out to be a year full of changes --- from school plays to cute boys to family fights. Luckily, Lorelei is smart and resourceful, and ready to deal with anything sent her way. Reviewed by Sarah Hannah Gomez.

THE GOODBYE TIME by Celeste Conway
Anna and Katy have been best friends since kindergarten. Now that they are about to graduate from fifth grade and enter middle school, their lives are changing and their friendship is on the verge of collapse. Reviewed by Donna Volkennant.