It is finally here! Connecting Boys With Books (American Library Association, 2003) was aimed mostly at practicianers, reading specialists and librarians. This companion volume is aimed at a much wider audience: subject and self-contained classroom teachers, parents, administrators, and policy makers.

Description (from ALA):

In his hugely successful Connecting Boys with Books (2003), Sullivan delved into the problem that reading skills of pre-adolescent boys lag behind those of girls in the same age group. In this companion book, Sullivan digs even deeper, melding his own experiences as an activist with perspectives gleaned from other industry experts to help you

Looking for a great true adventure? Pre-order this sure-fire winner...

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession, by David Gram (Doubleday, February 2009)

This nonfiction account covers a hundred years of fateful, and even fatal, expeditions into the heart of the Amazon region. It is part adventure tale, part horror story, part ecological treatise, all wrapped up in some amazing storytelling. This is Bill Bryson with teeth! It is a tropical Into Thin Air. Journalist David Gram follows in the footsteps of some of the greatest explorers ever into a land that even the great explorers could not conquer to try to solve a mystery as old as history in the New World. He goes in search of the golden city of El Dorado.

Stone Rabbit: B.C. Mambo, by Erik Craddock. (Random House, January 2009)

A prehistoric farce of a graphic novel about a rabbit, a bottle of barbeque sauce, an evil caveman-genius who wants to rule the world, and an army of wind-up killer robots. No, the boys won't enjoy this!

Here is the last of series of pre-publication fantasy booktalks, and I saved my own for last:

The Sapphire Knight: Book One of The Bard, by Michael Sullivan (PublishingWorks, January 2009)

A young traveler sits beside a fire on an open heath and hears a most amazing tale from a broken and disfigured old man, a tale of sorcery and battle between the light of a great white castle and the dark green wood, between the White Lady and the Green Queen. Caught between two great powers, a young knight must discover truth and his own courage to defend that truth. But is it just an idle tale of a lying old man, or is it the true history of the Sapphire Knight?

Preorder from PublishingWorks.

Before I tell you about a great upcoming fantasy, I want to invite those of you in the New Hampshire area to two book signing events:

Thursday, November 20, 4pm at the Country Bookseller in Wolfeboro, NH for teacher appreciation night and Tuesday, December 2, 4-8pm at the Cat & the Fiddle in Concord, NH for the Granite State Reading Council's Author/Illustrator Holiday Open House. I'll be there signing my new book "Escapade Johnson and the Witches of Belknap County", as well as my earlier titles. Now on to a great epic fantasy due for release soon:

Lamentation, by Ken Scholes (Tor, February 2009)

In a post-apocalyptic world, centuries after the folly of man has pushed civilization to the brink, the world has been reordered and brought together again, until an ancient evil is recalled to destroy the center of this emerging civilization. Now all powers strive, in ways both forthright and subtle, to fill the void and dominate what is left over. At the center of the storm is a warrior of great destiny, a boy caught in the whirlwind, a woman who is being played like a piece on a board, and a long-dead leader who has returned to this turbulant world in hopes of saving it. Passion, power, ambition, and enlightment mix in a fast-paced tale of a world that yet may be.

Highly recommended for teen and adult fantasy buffs. I couldn't put this one down.

Hi all, here is the first in a series of prepublication recommendations for some great books, heavy on the adventure and fantasy:

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, by Alison Goodman (Viking, December 2008)

There has been a recent trend towards fantasy based on the martial arts, from Jeff Stone's The Five Ancestors to Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori. Alison Goodman has the latest entrant, with Eon: Dragoneye Reborn. The power of twelve dragons stands behind the empire, and each dragon works through his appointed emmissary and an apprentice. But the most powerful dragon of all has deserted the world for centuries until the most unlikely of apprentices is called. Plenty of swordplay and powerful magic in this epic fantasy based on karate and Chinese mythology.

Last week I had the privelege to address a retreat for children's magazine editors in Boyds Mills, PA, sponsored by Highlights Magazine.

My topic was "The Kids Who Need You the Most." I was reminded, and was able to remind these magazine producers, of all the things that magazines can do to help struggling readers, reluctant readers, and those readers who are just don't read the way we expect kids to read. Think of what magazines can offer:

Strong visuals tied to text.
Short chunks of text.
A focus on nonfiction.
Tying reading to activities and interests for experiencial learners.
A huge number of topics to choose from.
Always new reading material.

All these things are perfect for reaching boy readers. We do not put enough magazines in the hands of boys.

Here are a few magazines you might not know but should:

Moo-Cow Fan Club: The Children's Magazine Both Funny and Smart (www.moocowfanclub.com)
This is one for every kid who draws his own commics when he is supposed to be paying attention in English class. Thematic and edgy.

Boys' Quest (www.boysquest.com)
The boys counterpart to Hopscotch For Girls, Boys Quest is activity-based and full of games, puzzles, jokes, and all kinds of interactive language.

Dig (Published in partnership with Archeology magazine. www.digonsite.com)
Caves, mummies, lost civilzations and ancient mysteries. Add in photos and illustrations, along with projects to make, and you have a real winner for the guys who like to get their hands dirty.

... and don't forget the old favorites, like...

National Geographic Kids (www.kids.nationalgeographic.com)
All right, this is the classic. Adventure, animals, and the most amazing photography in the magazine world.

Ranger Rick (National Wildlife Federation   www.nwf.org/RangerRick)
The original critter-zine that has never wavered in their commitment to bugs, lizards, and real big teeth.

Cobblestone (www.cobblestonepub.com)
History come alive. Any kid who can do a history project in school using Cobblestone will count himself lucky.

All of these magazines were represented at the editors' retreat, meaning they are all committed to improving the quality of their products for kids, and all of them now have the struggling reader at the fore of their thoughts. Think about a magazine subscription as a gift that gives those kids who may not read enough books something to read for a year to come.

Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf, by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell. (David Fickling Books, September 2008)

Classic gothic horror from the authors of the fantasy series "The Edge Chronicles". Just check out how this book STARTS:

Have you ever felt your skin being peeled slowly away from your arms and legs? Your muscles being torn and shredded as every bone in your body fights to burst through your flesh? Have you ever felt every tendon and sinew stretched to breaking point as your skeleton attempts to rip itself apart from the inside?

I have, and I'll never forget it.

Add to that a mad doctor, dark creatures lurking in a vast, annonymous city, and strange disapearances under a full moon, and you have a story that will keep you up at night. This is a quick, high velocity read with stylish, victorian illustrations. Barnaby Jones is part Sherlock Holmes, part Indiana Jones, and part Peter Pan. Oh, and he carries a sword hidden in his cane. Don't miss it.

This blog generally concentrates on books that will have special appeal to boys, but there are always books out there with broader appeal that even the most prototypically boy readers will enjoy. Here are two books that teen readers of all ilks, and those of us adults who really like teen books, are sure to enjoy.

Poison Ink, by Christopher Golden. (Delacorte Press, 2008)

Four teenage girls, with clothing, boyfriend, and sexual identity issues, standing against the cool cliques. Classic Chick Lit, right? Not when something dark and sinister begins to haunt these friends after a visit to a back alley tatoo parlor. Power flows, but does that power coe from the bonds of friendship, the power of magical symbols, or something older and darker? There are other bonds than friendship.

Through the Eyes of a Raptor, by Julie Hahnke. (iUniverse Inc., 2007)

Here is a modern fantasy based on Celtic mythology, with plenty of mystery and codes and secret passages, animal transformation and ancient powers in the endless struggle for world dominance. The perfect crossover book with struggles from the personal to the universal, with heartpounding action and deep spirituality. Best of all, of course, this is the start of a fantasy series. 

It's preview day! First, an excerpt from "Connecting Boys With Books 2: Bridging the Reading Gap", due for release in December from the American Library Association:

The Tyranny of Reading Levels

Throughout the school-age years, we continue to deny the existence of a brain lag. Every time we use terms like lexile, age-appropriate development, and grade-level reading, we are affirming that a ten-year-old is a ten-year-old, and that a fifth grader is a fifth grader—whatever the gender. There are, however, a myriad of factors that affect development in a child, and gender is one of the most powerful.

Grade-level reading is basically an average reading level for all people at a certain age. This means that at every grade level there are significant numbers of children who read above and below their level. If it is true that boys read, on average, about a year and a half behind girls, then grade-level reading becomes meaningless. The average girl, not the exceptional girl, in the fourth grade will be reading three-quarters of a year to a year above grade level. If you hand her the average fourth-grade-level reading book, you have just handed her a book significantly below her natural reading level. How does she react? You can expect her to find the reading easy and fun and to feel confident about her reading ability.

Now hand that same average fourth-grade book to an average, not a struggling, fourth-grade boy. He is reading three-quarters of a year to a year below reading level, and you have just handed him a book significantly above his natural reading level. Note that he is average for his age and gender, and his deficit is both natural and completely beyond his control. How does this boy react to this book that is clearly too hard for him developmentally?  Most likely he concludes that he is stupid, that reading is hard work and no fun, and that he is not a reader.

... and on a lighter note, an excerpt from "Escapade Johnson and the Coffee Shop of the Living Dead", now available from PublishingWorks:

We somehow lived through the silent ride home, a silent hour when mom and dad made dinner and I did homework at the kitchen table, and a dinner that would have been silent if it weren't for my sister, Revelation. She took advantage of having no one interrupt her to chatter away the whole time.

"At kindergarten today, Jeremy was picking his nose during snack time, and I think he accidentally ate some… And at kindergarten today, Mrs. Howitzer got sooooo mad at Missy that she broke her ruler in her bare hands!... And at recess we had to all stay inside and wash the hamster cage because someone poured cool aid all over Mr. Fibble… And at kindergarten today, we learned how to draw a flower… And at snack today we had Rice Krispy treats that Molly's nana brought in… At kindergarten today we learned that New Hampshire is a whole state, all by itself… Molly's nana is her grandma, that's what Molly calls her, nana… Mr. Fibble is a hamster…"

I guess if you are as young as she is, today seems pretty important because you don't have many days to compare it to.

At long last...

Announcing the release of:

Escapade Johnson and the Coffee Shop of the Living Dead

Book Two of the Escapade Johnson series by Michael Sullivan

Published by PublishingWorks of Exeter, NH (www.publishingworks.com)

Escapade makes one little mistake, one slip in a lifetime of following the rules. Is that enough to doom him to serve his sentence working for the undead? Apparently so.

Copies are available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online.

And coming this October:

Escapade Johnson and the Witches of Belknap County