Andrew Peterson's Blog, page 58

Want an Autographed Copy of NORTH! OR BE EATEN?

We're carrying signed copies of North! Or Be Eaten in the Rabbit Room store, as well as discount bundles of autographed books one and two for only $20! Order now and we'll get the books in the mail. Thanks for reading, and for supporting me and mine.

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A Rabbit Room Review of the Wingfeather Saga

Hello, friends.

My buddy Jonathan Rogers, author of the Wilderking Trilogy, was kind enough to read his review of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness for the latest Rabbit Room Podcast. Head over to the Rabbit Room to listen, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Thanks for listening,

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P.S. North! releases next week! Can't wait to hear what you think.

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A Letter from Preston in Michigan

Hello, folks.

As we gear up for the release of  North! Or Be Eaten in three short weeks, I'll be posting reviews and pictures as they come in. For now, though, be sure and visit the "Art by YOU" section to see a picture of the Igiby cottage drawn by 11 year-old Preston. Here's the letter he sent with it:

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The High Calling of Bending Low

I just finished Roald Dahl's short autobiography Boy: Tales of Childhood, which was a fine gift from Russ Ramsey last time I saw him. I closed the book with a greater belief than ever in the work God has given me. In the last chapter, after Dahl tells the story of his funny, delightful, and often painful childhood, he says that he worked for a few years as a businessman.

"I enjoyed it, I really did. I began to realize how simple life could be if one had a regular routine to follow with fixed hour

Calling All Bloggers!

Dear readers,

North! Or Be Eaten releases next month (August 18), and we're trying to let as many people know as possible. One of the ways to do that is this nutty thing called a Blog Tour. Basically, the publisher is offering a complimentary copy of the new book to any eligible bloggers who'll blog about it around release week. If you want to participate, send an email to Kelly Blewett at kellyblewett@hotmail.com with the subject line "Take Me North!" and she'll let you know further details.

As a

Maurice Sendak on Children's Stories

Travis Prinzi, a fellow contributor to the Rabbit Room, just posted this quote from Maurice Sendak (one of my favorite illustrators, most famous for Where the Wild Things Are). It rings true with me, and it echoes some of what I said in the Note to Parents:

"Most frightening to children is to dream their own figures of fear and find no analogue in anything they hear about or read. Children need to see their feelings, particularly the darkest ones, reflected in their stories. Mitigating the darkne

A Dragon Day Festival in Kentucky

I was delighted to get this email yesterday:

"I teach 1st grade at a small Christian school in Louisville, KY and I read your book to the students daily throughout the second semester and they absolutely loved it!  Their favorite things were the interesting characters–the thwaps, toothy cows, horned hounds, etc… We finished the book a few weeks ago and last Friday we hosted a "Dragon Day Festival" for the entire school.

My 1st graders came up with four games and a snack and for an hour each on Fr

New Art by YOU

I love to get mail. I especially love to get mail when it's a package full of drawings by 4th graders. And I especially, especially love to get mail when those drawings are from On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Big thanks to Miss Robb's class for all the kind notes and superb artwork.

I just posted them in the "Art by YOU" section. As always, be sure and click the picture to zoom in on the details. Here are a few to whet your appetite:

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E is for "Esben", F is for "Fazzle Dove"

I finished my final edits of the typeset version of North! Or Be Eaten, and they were approved by my kind editor, which meant it was time to continue work on the encyclopedia. If you ever need a refresher on the First Books, or fazzle doves, or "The Fisherman's Elbow", look no further.

Don't forget, if you want to send any drawings of your own Skreean creatures, email them to andrew@wingfeathersaga.com. I can't seem to locate Pembrick's drawings of a fazzle dove or a flabbit, so your help would b

Fangs on the Playground: A Letter from a 4th Grade Teacher

I got a great Facebook message today from a teacher in North Carolina who's been reading On the Edge to her 4th graders. I don't think she'll mind me sharing a portion of it here:

Recess activity for Miss Robb's 4th grade girls: All GIRLS line up in a straight line. Each girl steps forward, and when her turn comes she acts out her favorite character from On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. My job was to guess each character. It was priceless. I just LOVED that it was my girls–they loved pret