The 4th Annual March Middle Grade Madness Sign-ups Are Open!

It's a new year, which means another round of

 March Middle Grade Madness!

I am SO excited to start planning and organizing the 4th Annual March MG Madness! If you're new to this event, it's a month long celebration of middle-grade that features tons of reviews, author interviews, guest posts, giveaways, and more. For more info, check out the 1st MMGM, 2nd MMGM, and the 3rd MMGM.

 I LOVE middle-grade literature and this event is my absolute favorite of the year! But, I can't do this event alone, I need some awesome middle-grade authors and publishers to participate as well. In the past three years, I have had some AMAZING authors and pubs get involved and it has been AWESOME!

So, what's this MMGM thang all about? Glad you asked! Basically, every weekday in March a different middle-grade author and/or book(s) will be featured. Here are some guidelines:

• the event will run from March 1-31
• the event is open to ALL middle-grade authors and pubs (traditional, indie, self-published)
• as long as the book(s) you want featured has been released within the last year or will be released within the year, then it's allowed
• authors will have a wide range of posts to choose from (reviews by me, interviews, guest posts, spotlights, giveaways, etc)
• it doesn't cost a thing to participate, but a shout-out about the event on your websites/social media accounts is always appreciated
• I will have about 18-20 spots available, so sign-up early and guarantee a date

Sign-ups will close at midnight on January 31st and you will get an email from me the first week of February (maybe sooner) for more info. 

sign-ups now closed. thank you :)

And if you have ANY questions at all, please email me at wordspelunker[at]gmail[dot]com

I CAN'T WAIT TO WORK WITH Y'ALL ON THIS FUN EVENT!!

How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel Blog Tour {Review & Interview}

I'm thrilled to have the How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel Blog Tour stopping by today because I just love this series! Check out my review and interview with author Jess Keating below...

How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel 

(My Life Is A Zoo #2)

by Jess Keating

1/6/15

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

What would life be like if you lived in a zoo? Just ask Ana Wright…

After becoming the zoo’s most popular student ambassador, Ana Wright is facing her busiest summer yet. For the first time since her best friend  Liv, left, Ana is  starting to love her life- even if her family does live in a zoo. She has a whole summer away from the Sneerers, the clan of carnivorous predadors…er, girls, at her school.

But things are changing at the zoo. When Ana’s famous grandfather funds a new aquarium, and the meanest girl at school volunteers to help out, Ana’s life goes from sunny to sunk.

Now Ana’s stuck working with her arch-enemy, chasing after escaped hermit crabs, and cleaning up even more animal poop than she was before. Ana’s newest adventure has her questioning why, after finally getting her life sorted out, do things have to change again.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / Indiebound

How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Untied

(My Life Is A Zoo #1)

Jess Keating

6/3/14

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

What would middle school be like if you lived in a zoo?
Ana didn't ask to be named after an anaconda. She didn't ask for zoologist parents who look like safari guides. And she definitely didn't ask for a twin brother whose life goal seems to be terrorizing her with his pet reptiles. Now, to make matters worse, her parents have decided to move the whole family INTO the zoo! All of which gives the Sneerers (the clan of carnivorous female predators in her class) more ammunition to make her life miserable-and squash any hope of class tennis stud, Zack, falling in love with her. Ana tries to channel her inner chameleon and fade into the background, but things are changing too quickly for her to keep up.  Goodreads / My Review

Last year, Jess Keating’s How To Outrun A Crocodile With Your Shoes Untied charmed me completely with its wacky setting, lovable heroine, and sparkling storytelling. Well Keating returns to Ana Wright’s animal filled world in the wildly funny and sweetly adorkable sequel, How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel!

Just when soon-to-be eighth grader, Ana Wright, thought life was getting back to normal (as normal as it can get for the granddaughter of a world famous man and who is forced by her parents to live INSIDE a zoo, oh and after becoming the youngest presenter at the zoo, is sort of semi-famous herself) after the wild events at the beginning of her summer. She still lives in a zoo (but kind of loves it), her BFF is still on the other side of the world (but Ana’s made new friends), she gets to hang out with cutie Kevin (who may or may not like her), and now the zoo is home to an amazing marine life exhibit, where Ana will work and hang out with sharks(!)...oh and her worst enemy, Ashley, will be working with her...ok, so maybe Ana’s life just isn’t meant to be normal!

How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel is just as awesome as its predecessor! Jess Keating is such a wonderful storyteller. who effortlessly combines humor, fun facts, heart-warming moments, and relatable teen situations, to create unforgettable and unputdownable middle-grade fiction. I love the zany zoo setting in these books so much! With her zoological background, Keating brings so much experience and knowledge to this world. In this book, Keating vividly creates an ocean world, full of sharks; jellies; seahorses; crabs; shells; and more, within the confines of the zoo. And she expertly weaves in little tidbits and fun animal facts throughout the story in a way that will have readers learning a lot, and not even realizing it!

With an absolute pitch-perfect voice, How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel captures those cringe-worthy tween years in laugh-out-loud ways. From big firsts (kisses, leg shaving, shopping for the perfect butt shaping bathing suit) to romantic woes (crushes on guys who may or may not like you back, crushes on gorgeous guys WAY too old for you, and friends who have weird crushes on your gross brother) and tween toughies (mean girls, complicated friendships, and figuring out who you are), Keating explores it all in ways that young (and old!) readers will relate to.

Adorkable heroine, Ana, is as endearing, entertaining, and lovable as ever! She’s just such a fun, relatable character to hang out with for a few hours. I loved, loved, loved watching her surprising story with Ashley, her adorable story with Kevin, and her heart-filled story with herself unfold. And of course, Ana’s world is filled with so many other colorful, fun characters, including her oddly charming brother Daz, her sweet new friend Bella, the oh so hot older guy Logan, and more!

How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel ends with an exciting splash, surprising arrest, and another sunshine-in-your-heart-makes-you-smile-big (but not in an overly cheesy way)-and-wanna-high-five-Ana kind of way ending.

My Final Thoughts: Jess Keating gives readers everything they could hope for in their middle-grade fiction: an awesome heroine, sparkling storytelling, captivating settings, giggle-inducing humor, and a lot of heart. How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel is a spectacular sequel in a must read series!

MY RATING

Thank you so much for having me, Aeicha!

What three words best describe How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel?

Swimsuits, sharks, sabotage!

Grab a copy of How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel and answer the following:

favorite chapter? Chapter 10, where Ana goes swimsuit shopping. Because I don't know a single person who hasn't looked in a fitting room mirror and cringed at how their butt looks.

favorite page? Page 275, because it's one of Ana's bravest moments! (It might involve a certain boy...)

favorite setting/place? I love writing scenes that took place in the new shark tank. Imagine getting to hang out with seahorses and sharks all day!

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser:

Page 115: "I mean, everyone knows that puberty is no picnic. That's why I hear so many adults talk about how they wouldn't go back to middle school if they were given a million bucks. Thanks for the pep talk, guys."

Your character Ana has had some zany adventures throughout the two books in this series...how has she changed or grown since book one? What is your most favorite thing about Ana?

Ana's biggest challenge in the first book was learning to be brave enough to be herself. But as we all know, that is no easy task! Ana is braver than she was, but she's still learning how to navigate her world of friends and frenemies.

My favorite thing about Ana is her readiness to dive into any situation, no matter how afraid she is. Even when she's making mistakes—and boy, she makes a doozy in this book— she makes it with gusto! 

The zany zoo and animal filled adventures in How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel are awesome, but I also love how wonderfully you capture those tough tween years. How important was it to you to explore this aspect of the story as realistically as possible? Did you use any of your own tween years as inspiration for Ana’s wildly funny world?

I'm so happy to hear this! While I will always love writing the backdrops of a wacky zoo, the emotional heart of Ana's story is always the most important to me. I wanted every reader to recognize parts of themselves in Ana, or the situations she finds herself in, and feel like they can relate to her.

Growing up, I was definitely an odd duck (surprised?!), and many of the feelings I had about fitting in, the "cool kids", and finding who I was have all found their way into Ana's story. 

Let’s talk sharks! I LOVE sharks, especially great whites, and am so jealous Ana got to hang out with sharks (albeit, much smaller ones than the mighty great whites)...do you have a favorite kind of shark? As a zoologist, do you have any experience with sharks?

I've always been amazed by sharks, and great whites are so mysterious and powerful, they capture my imagination, for sure. I haven't had a chance to swim with them yet, but I'd love to hop into one of those shark cages! I also think goblin sharks are pretty cool, because they look like they came straight from your nightmares!

The scenes where Ana is interacting with sharks are also taken from my experience in university, where I was able to study them up close. Their skin really does feel sandpapery, just like you read in the books!

I love all the animal fun facts included in these books...what are your top three favorite animal fun facts?

There are too many to choose from, but marine animals can be so bizarre, they're a close of their own. Some of my favorite facts:

• Some sharks can have up to 35,000 teeth.
• Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood.
• The large bumps you see on the heads of humpback whales are actually hair follicles. (Being mammals, many whales have hair!)

I adore Ana, but her world is filled with so many other fantastic characters...if you could choose one of your other characters to star in their own spin-off, who would you pick and what would their story be called?

This is a hard question! I love writing scenes with Daz, because he always steals the show. But I also think Bella has some stories to tell. There's something secretive and clever about her, isn't there? Maybe one day...

Crocodiles, sharks, and Sneerers, oh my! Ana has faced some pretty intimidating things and had some wild adventures....so, what’s next for adorkable Ana?!

There are more Ana adventures in the works as we speak! I hope to let the cat out of the bag soon! (You know, figuratively.)  

What is the last book or movie or tv show that:

made you laugh at loud?

Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy. (And how cool was Gamora?!)

made you cry?

Book: I reread CODE NAME VERITY recently. Sob-fest.

scared you?

The trailer on TV for the new Woman in Black 2 movie. Yes, the trailer. I'm a giant wuss.

inspired you?

Movie: BELLE. This was such a beautiful story!

you absolutely loved (like an 11 out of 10 kind of love)?

Book: A PERFECTLY MESSED UP STORY, by Patrick McDonnell.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

It would be a blue velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, covered in lime green and orange jellybeans. It would be sweet, but not too sweet, and have a hint of summery-lemon. I'd call it "Sharknado and Beans". Oh, and it would magically make you look awesome in a bathing suit, too.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Jess! That cupcake sounds super yummy *_*

website * goodreads * twitter 

As a zoologist turned middle grade and picture book author, Jess Keating has been sprayed by skunks, bitten by crocodiles, and been a victim to the dreaded paper cut. Her debut How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied is coming in Summer 2014 from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, with a sequel to follow. Her nonfiction picture book, PINK IS FOR BLOBFISH, will be published by Knopf in 2016. 

She has a Masters degree in Animal Science and a growing collection of books that are threatening to take over her house. She lives in Ontario, Canada, where she loves hiking, watching nerdy documentaries, and writing books for adventurous and funny kids.

Tuck Everlasting 40 Days For 40 Years Blog Tour

I am beyond thrilled to be participating in the Tuck Everlasting 40 Days For 40 Years Blog Tour and to help celebrate this beloved classic! If you have never had the pleasure of reading Natalie Babbitt's gorgeous story of love, family, life, and death, then you are in for such a treat. Tuck Everlasting is one of those super special books that may have been written for children, but touch and move readers of all ages. This lovely little book is imaginative, sweet, funny, thoughtful, and unforgettable with its charming characters and stunning story...

Tuck Everlasting (40th Anniversary Edition)

1/20/15

Macmillan Children's Publishing

2015 marks the 40th anniversary of Natalie Babbitt’s celebrated, groundbreaking title Tuck Everlasting (Anniversary edition on sale January 20). In celebration of the anniversary, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group will publish a special anniversary edition featuring an introduction from Wicked author Gregory Maguire.

Tuck Everlasting asks readers “What if you could live forever?” Doomed to, or blessed with, eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less of a blessing than it might seem. Then complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune. 

Upon the book’s publication in 1975, Natalie was greeted with concern from parents and educators who were stunned to read a book about death written for children. She is an author who challenges her readers and thinks the best questions are the ones without answers. This 40th anniversary will introduce a whole new generation to this timeless classic. Four decades later, the question Natalie asks in Tuck Everlasting (“What if we could live forever?”) is still a source of constant intrigue. Young adult literature trends, in particular, seem to be obsessed with mortality. From vampires through the current wave of realistic fiction, it is clear that readers are just fascinated with examining death, or in many cases the possibility of eluding death. The book has sold over 3.5 million copies in the US alone, and has never been out of print since publication. This edition features an introduction from Wicked author Gregory Maguire.

Praise for Tuck Everlasting

"A fearsome and beautifully written book that can’t be put down or forgotten." —The New York Times

"Exciting and excellently written." —The New York Times Book Review

"With its serious intentions and light touch the story is, like the Tucks, timeless." —Chicago Sun-Times

"Rarely does one find a book with such prose. Flawless in both style and structure, it is rich in imagery and punctuated with light fillips of humor. The author manipulates her plot deftly, dealing with six main characters brought together because of a spring whose waters can bestow everlasting life. . . . Underlying the drama is the dilemma of the age-old desire for perpetual youth." —The Horn Book Magazine

"Probably the best work of our best children’s novelist." —Harper’s

"Natalie Babbitt’s great skill is spinning fantasy with the lilt and sense of timeless wisdom of the old fairy tales. . . . It lingers on, haunting your waking hours, making you ponder." —The Boston Globe

"This book is as shapely, crisp, sweet, and tangy as a summer-ripe pear." —Entertainment Weekly

"Beautiful and descriptive language is the strength of Babbitt’s fantasy about Winnie and her encounter with the Tuck family, who cause her—and readers—to ponder an important question: What would it be like to live forever?" —Booklist

Pre-order the special 40th Anniversary Edition in all formats

NATALIE BABBITT is the award-winning author of Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Knee-Knock Rise, and many other brilliantly original books for young people. She began her career in 1966 as the illustrator of The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband. When her husband became a college president and no longer had time to collaborate, Babbitt tried her hand at writing. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with profound meaning. Knee-Knock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor, and in 2002, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into a major motion picture. Natalie Babbitt lives in Connecticut, and is a grandmother of three.

by me!

What if you could live forever?

This is the question Natalie Babbitt asks her readers and the question I've been asked to answer for this blog tour. As a child, I wanted young Winnie to go back to the magic spring as a teenager, drink, and live forever, having fantastic adventures with Jesse...now, as an adult, I'm so glad she didn't. She may not have lived forever, but Winnie lived fully, and that is, after all, the greatest adventure of all. Would I choose to live forever? The easy answer: no. I've been musing over the long, thoughtful answer and honestly, its pretty boring. So, I started wondering what IF I could live forever? I always wondered what fun things Jesse and Miles Tuck did and and saw every ten years. And that got me to thinking about all the fun, amazing things I would want to do if time was no issue. So I give you:

The Top Ten Careers I Would Attempt If I Could Live Forever

1. Astronaut...if I'm going to live forever, then Earth would eventually get too small for me, so naturally, I'd explore the great wide universe and beyond.

2. Marine Biologist...but before I went exploring outer space, I would love to spend decades exploring the great oceans. I would want to find shipwrecks, swim with great whites, and help clean up the oceans.

3. Bookshop/Cupcake Bakery Owner...yep a bookshop AND cupcake bakery! I'd call it Sweet Reads and it would be awesome!

4. Doctor...this would actually probably be the first career I would accomplish because an immortal doctor can save A LOT of lives and deliver A LOT of adorable babies!

5. Nail Polish Designer...I am obsessed with naming nail polishes and have always wanted to design a line of bookish nail polish called Novel Nails.

6. Ghost Hunter...with my own reality television show of course!

7. Actress...c'mon, if I'm gonna live forever then I should go for my 15 minutes of fame. And based on my acting skills, it'll be a very short 15 minutes.

8. Teacher...several lifetimes of experience, learning, and discoveries could make for a helluva teaching career.

9. Disney Princess character at Disney World or Harry Potter character at the Magical World of Harry Potter...how fun would these jobs be?!

10. Time Traveler...I'm going to live forever and chances are, time travel WILL be a reality eventually...maybe, I'll even get my own TARDIS!

and for some extra fun...

Top Five Things I Would Do If I Could Live Forever

1. read ALL the books

2. learn ALL the languages

3. play ALL the instruments

4. eat ALL the food

5. adopt ALL the babies

Ok, so whaddya think of my career choices? What would YOU do if you could live forever? Be sure to pre-order the 40th Anniversary Edition and check out the other stops on this blog tour by searching the #Tuck40th hashtag on Twitter and Facebook.