Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 57

MY LIFE IS A ZOO series by Jess Keating (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)

If you're looking for funny, smart middle grade books and lots of entertaining animal facts, you need to check out Jess Keating's "My Life Is A Zoo" series. I met Jess through Torkidlit and Nerd Camp; she's funny, smart and entertaining in person, too :-). The third book in her series, HOW TO OUTFOX YOUR FRIENDS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE, comes out from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky on October 6th.

Not surprising that these books are packed with fascinating facts in addition to being fun to read; Jess has a degree in Zoology and a Masters of Science.

I just finished rereading HOW TO OUTRUN A CROCODILE WHEN YOUR SHOES ARE UNTIED (a 2015 Red Maple Award nominee!). An excerpt from the Kirkus starred review: "The dollop of romance is refreshingly appropriate for middle school readers, and the angst Ana feels over the idea of performing in front of a crowd will touch plenty of sympathetic introverts. An amusing, highly readable book about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world."

More info about Jess and her books (where you can also read excerpts)

Jess is also on Twitter at @Jess_Keating.

 

Happy National Punctuation Day!

Happy National Punctuation Day! Be kind to a comma today, and beware of misplaced apostrophe's.

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AWKWARD by Svetlana Chmakova needs to be in every school library

Just finished AWKWARD, an absolutely wonderful middle grade graphic novel by Svetlana Chmakova (Yen Press/Hachette, 2015). This needs to be in every school library. Why? Because it Svetlana does SUCH a great job at capturing the awkwardness of middle school personal interactions, especially for the insecure and shy. I wish this book had been around when I was that age, because it would have inspired me to take more risks, to not be so afraid of making mistakes when it came to social situations. AWKWARD is funny and sweet, with *so* much energy in the character drawings, and you must read it. Highly recommended.

Free preview - Facebook Page - Publisher book page -  More about the author 

Thanks to my friend Susan Rich for the recommendation.

Synopsis:

"Penelope–Peppi–Torres, a shy new transfer student, wants nothing more than to fit in and find a place among her fellow artistically inclined souls. The last thing she wants is to stand out. So when she bumps–literally–into quiet, geeky, friendly but friendless Jaime Thompson, and is teased as the Nerder Girlfriend, Peppi’s first embarrassed instinct is to push him away and run. Though she later feels guilty and wants desperately to apologize for the incident, Peppi always ends up chickening out. She has no reason to speak to him, anyway, until she ends up bumping–figuratively and continually–into Jaime again! Will these two opposites ever see eye-to-eye, let alone become friends?"

Don't stress about getting everything perfect the first time

I love this quote by Robert Cormier so much that I've made it available as a free, print-ready poster.

Download the poster here. (after opening the image, right-click for PC, ctrl-click and hold for Mac)

Also see my free, print-ready Archives.

A Cautionary Comic For Writers

Don't count on elves to finish your stories

One of my favourite Neil Gaiman quotes: "Just write. Many writers have a vague hope that elves will come in the night and finish any stories for you for you. They won’t." You can see the original video in which he offers advice for young writers:

THE KIDNEY HYPOTHETICAL: OR HOW TO RUIN YOUR LIFE IN SEVEN DAYS by Lisa Yee (Arthur Levine Books)

Just finished THE KIDNEY HYPOTHETICAL: OR HOW TO RUIN YOUR LIFE IN SEVEN DAYS by Lisa Yee​ (Arthur Levine Books, Mar/2015). I've been a fan of Lisa's since MILLICENT MIN, and I thoroughly enjoyed her new YA. What I love about all of Lisa's books, including this one: the wry sense of humor, flawed and appealing characters, how the relationships develop throughout the story. And who could NOT love a character named Higgs Boson Bing? :-)

More info about THE KIDNEY HYPOTHETICAL on Lisa's website.

Read the (starred) review in Kirkus.

This book is on YALSA's BFYA nomination list!

Synopsis:

"Lisa Yee gives us her most fascinating flawed genius since Millicent Min.

Higgs Boson Bing has seven days left before his perfect high school career is completed. Then it's on to Harvard to fulfill the fantasy portrait of success that he and his parents have cultivated for the past four years. Four years of academic achievement. Four years of debate championships. Two years of dating the most popular girl in school. It was, literally, everything his parents could have wanted. Everything they wanted for Higgs's older brother Jeffrey, in fact.

But something's not right. And when Higgs's girlfriend presents him with a seemingly innocent hypothetical question about whether or not he'd give her a kidney . . . the exposed fault lines reach straight down to the foundations of his life. . . ."

Reminder: Every person's journey is different.

Every journey to publication is different. Don't compare yourself to others. Find your OWN path, at your own pace.

Free, print-ready poster: "Reading Lets Your Imagination Soar"

Added to my For The Love Of Reading resource for teachers, librarians, booksellers and young readers: a free, print-ready "Reading Lets Your Imagination Soar" poster. For all my free, print-ready material, please see Debbie's Print-Ready Archive.

I've also added a greeting card version of just the found object art to my Zazzle card shop (Canada/U.S.).

Booktweet: BONE GAP by Laura Ruby

What I just tweeted:

Just finished BONE GAP by @thatlauraruby. Thx @auntierez for rec at #nerdcampmi! Loved the voice. Disturbing, mysterious, thought-provoking.

— Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) September 17, 2015

Just heard that BONE GAP made the 2015 National Book Award Longlist!