Shelley Workinger's Blog, page 50

Children's Book Week GIVEAWAY HOP!

This hop, organized by KidLitFrenzy, Classic Children's Books, Mymcbooks, and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, features over 100 (!) participating blogs offering book-related giveaways!

Winner here at BWATE? gets a Signed Copy of either:
"Solid" (Solid Series Book #1) or "Settling" (Solid #2)

To enter to win, just follow this blog and leave a comment/question,
along with a way to contact you.

Optional Extra Entries:
+1 Follow on Twitter
+1 Like Solid Series on Facebook
+1 Add series to your to-read list on Goodreads

Giveaway runs from May 7th to May 13th; last day to enter is Sunday, May 13th.

http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/05/...

Please Welcome Steph Bowe, Author of Girl Saves Boy

I like food. A lot. And as much as I try and write characters that are radically different from me, inevitably parts of myself end up creeping in. One character will share my shyness, another will tell bad jokes that sound a lot like mine and pretty much all of them will really, really enjoy food. All of the important events of their lives seem to occur with the backdrop of a Chinese restaurant, or a fish and chip shop, or eating Tim Tams in a pillow fort. No, really. I think they might need to hand themselves over to Overeaters Anonymous. (Luckily no one seems to put on weight with all this eating they do. Perks of being a fictional character.) My first novel, Girl Saves Boy, was published in 2010. It's a contemporary YA, and since I'm Australian, they eat a lot of Tim Tams and hot chips. There's also a lot of adventuring and funny-sad scenes and awkward teenage romance.

More:

http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/05/...

Toastworthy Teens! S.C.I. Youth Council

How’s this for a teen summit? S.C.I. (Social Capital, Inc.) youth councils from Dorchester, Lynn, and Woburn, Massachusetts met to discuss community needs and ways they could help. The teens all felt so strongly that “every voice has a right to be heard,” that they proceeded to put together a “Speak Up” campaign promoting healthy teen relationships (i.e. non-abusive, non-consuming, unpressured, etc.).

This project, which enabled the teens to not only address important issues but also to develop their planning, organizational, and leadership skills, has encompassed everything from a community day with performances by Boston artists to creating poignant public service announcements encouraging teens to “Speak Up” against abuse, peer pressure, racial slurs and more.


See one of their PSAs here: http://youtu.be/VQ-_K6-lKc8



Do you know a toast-worthy teen you’d like to see featured here at BWATE?
Comment below with your email address so we can get a post together!

http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/...

Please Welcome Mary Lowry, Author of The Earthquake Machine

It’s certainly not unusual for American girls to have complicated and sometimes difficult relationships with food. Rhonda, the 14 year-old protagonist of my novel The Earthquake Machine, is no exception.

Rhonda escapes her devastating family situation by running away while on a river rafting trip on the Rio Grande River. She swims across the river to Mexico, and with the help of a peyote-addled bartender, transforms her appearance so that she can “pass” as a Mexican boy named Angel. She then heads south into interior Mexico in search of her family’s former gardener Jésus.

Rhonda/Angel quickly determines that she must starve herself so that her body won’t develop into womanly curves that will give away the fact that she is female. So with an iron-willed determination, she refuses the tempting foods she encounters on her journey. She walks past taco vendors selling delicious nopalitos (cactus) and mango aqua fresca. No matter how delicious the food she encounters on her journey, or how she swoons with hunger, she takes care to eat very little.

More:
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/...

Toastworthy Teens! Matthew Mokoroa

Matthew Mokoroa was diagnosed with a rare condition known as Wilson’s disease when he was 9 years old and given one month to live. 6 years later, the 1/3 liver donated to him by his father, along with his mother’s desire to treat him like a normal kid and encouragement in sports to keep him healthy helped Matthew run away with gold, silver, and bronze medals at the 18th World Transplant Games.

But perhaps the greatest factors in the New Zealand’s teen success are actually the strength, determination, and winning attitude of the 15-year-old athlete who believes his transplant was “a gift, because I get to travel to places like this [Sweden]. It’s given me opportunities.”

With an outlook that bright, his future’s sure to be brilliant. ;)

To find out more about the World Transplant Games, visit:
http://www.wtgf.org


Do you know a toast-worthy teen you’d like to see featured here at BWATE?
Comment below with your email address so we can get a post together!

http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/...

Authors in Bloom GIVEAWAY HOP!

This Giveaway Hop is Blooming!

Visit all the stops to meet over 70 authors and enter their individual giveaways.

Collect all the pieces and return to the main page to enter to win the Grand Prize:
an e-reader (Nook or Kindle - winner's choice) and a $25 gift certificate!

You can start with my stop here:
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/...

Toastworthy Teens! Jessica Markowitz

When Jessica Markowitz was in the 6th grade, a Rwandan man named Richard stayed with her family and told them about the horrific 1994 genocide in his country. Jessica, who’s favorite quote is: “When you educate a girl, you educate a community,” was particularly shocked to learn that many Rwandan girls couldn’t afford to go to school, and, as the daughter of an activist, knew she could do something about it.

Jessica’s foundation, Impuwe Richard’s Rwanda, has since evolved from middle-school car-washes and bake sales to selling apparel and writing grant proposals to fund support for more than 7 different Rwandan schools. In between taking the SATs and managing the many other challenges of high school, Jessica is currently working to build the Rwandan students a much-needed science center, and several other members have formed more chapters to continue to grow the youth-led organization.

See their work in action here:
www.richardsrwanda.org



Do you know a toast-worthy teen you’d like to see featured here at BWATE?
Comment below with your email address so we can get a post together!

http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/...

Toastworthy Teens! Michael Lake & Justin Loria

Michael Lake and Justin Loria, sick of witnessing the curse words and middle-finger raising amongst their peers, decided to offer an alternative. Yup, their self-launched clothing line, LL Clothing Co., sells shirts, hoodies, and dog bandanas emblazoned with the “hang-loose” gesture and the word “HUAAA,” which stands for Help Us Avoid All Anger.

They hope that seeing their logo will make people pause before swearing or flipping someone the bird, and ultimately choose instead to curl their hands into the hang-loose sign and yell, “Hoo-aah!” Yes, it may sound a little goofy at first, but, as Michael says, “When you’re agitated and think about HUAAA, you can’t be mad at anything anymore.”

Sounds good to me. :)

You can find Michael and Justin’s HUAAA merchandise at:
http://llclothing.spreadshirt.com



Do you know a toast-worthy teen you’d like to see featured here at BWATE?
Comment below with your email address so we can get a post together!

http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/...

Please Welcome Sue Ann Bowling, Author of Tourist Trap

Science fiction may not seem like it should pay much attention to food, but even aliens have to live on something! Mine in Homecoming and Tourist Trap are either Human-like or Human, and they all eat. What’s more, they all enjoy eating—sometimes a little too much!

Roi, my protagonist in both Homecoming and Tourist Trap, has learned to appreciate fine food from his uncle, the noted gourmet Derik Tarlian. But he started life (and Homecoming) as a slave, and he hasn’t forgotten slave chow. (Think Dog Chow without the taste tests.) Even years later he will eat just about anything if he has to, as shown in this snippet from Tourist Trap when he’s helping Penny feed a team of sled dogs.

The dogs seemed to like it, and Roi took a cautious fingerful himself. “Roi, that’s dog food!” Penny scolded.
Roi grinned and sucked his finger. “Tastes better than a lot of slave rations I’ve had,” he commented. “Probably better nutrition, too.”

More:
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/...

Charity Hop GIVEAWAY!

I am thrilled to be part of this hop, organized by Reading Away the Days and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, which features over 100 participating blogs!


My SOLID series grew from my wish to give reluctant readers (particularly early teens and tweens who find themselves so overwhelmed by required reading that they lose interest in reading for pleasure) fun and fast books to bring them back into the booklovers' fold.

But mine's a pretty small wish compared to those granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which brings dreams to reality for children with life-threatening conditions. So for the duration of this giveaway hop, I will be donating all profits from the sales of Solid and Settling to Make-A-Wish. This offer will actually extend through April 6th, so that those of you who do not win a copy of Solid or Settling and then choose to buy either or both books will also be contributing to my donation.

The details for my giveaway are as follows:

Winner here at BWATE? gets a Signed Copy of either:
"Solid" (Solid Series Book #1) or "Settling" (Solid #2)

To enter to win, just follow this blog and leave a comment/question,
along with a way to contact you.

Optional Extra Entries:
+1 Follow on Twitter
+1 Like Solid Series on Facebook
+1 Add series to your to-read list on Goodreads

Giveaway runs from March 30th to April 4th; last day to enter is Wed., April 4th.

http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2012/03/...