Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: The Templeton Twins Have an Idea--plus a GIVEAWAY!
Still recovering from the KEEPER 2 deadline of doom, so once again the amazing Deb Marshall (THANK YOU DEB!!!) volunteered to cover my MMGM. And she's chosen to feature a book I've heard great things about, THE TEMPLETON TWINS HAVE AN IDEA, by Ellis Weiner
Here's how the publisher describes it:
Suppose there were 12-year-old twins, a boy and girl named John and Abigail Templeton. Let's say John was pragmatic and played the drums, and Abigail was theoretical and solved cryptic crosswords. Now suppose their father was a brilliant, if sometimes confused, inventor. And suppose that another set of twins—adults—named Dean D. Dean and Dan D. Dean, kidnapped the Templeton twins and their ridiculous dog in order to get their father to turn over one of his genius (sort of) inventions. Yes, I said kidnapped. Wouldn't it be fun to read about that? Oh please. It would so. Luckily for you, this is just the first in a series perfect for boys and girls who are smart, clever, and funny (just like the twins), and enjoy reading adventurous stories (who doesn't?!)
And just like in previous times, here's Deb explain for herself why all of us need to read this one. Take it away Deb!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delightful. Funny. Witty. Sarcastic. Twisty. Turny. That is the storytelling and plot.
Smart. Absentminded. Different. Ridiculous. Ridiculous-er. Misguided. Scary. Hilarious. That’s the cast of characters.
Bring all of the above together with a smart aleck narrator, marvelous illustrations that weave in and out of the text, crazy laugh out loud questions at the end of each chapter and you have a rip roaring fun read that is a must share. Even better would be to share it with a classroom or book group as a read-a-loud pic. I can only imagine the fun to be had.
This book is rich with wordplay and laugh out loud moments that made me love more and more with each page turn. Plus, the book design and illustrations! Oh my.
Now Dear Readers, I have met kids who actually do not like it when the narrator talks directly to the reader. Of course, I always tell them that that is okay. We all have different tastes. But, would I not recommend this one to them? Nope. In fact this might be the exception to their no read rule. And, if you’re a fan of The Giggler Treatment and others in the series by Roddy Doyle, this is one for you to check out…for sure.
As always, a big BIG thanks to Shannon for letting me do this. Love sharing the middle grade love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've heard so many good things about this book. Thanks for the feature, Deb!
In the meantime, I want one of you to have the chance to discover it, so I'm giving away a copy to one lucky winner. To enter, make sure you leave a comment on this post by 11:59 pm PST on Saturday August 18th. I'll draw one random winner and post their name on Sunday, August 19th. International entries welcome.
For more awesome middle grade recommendations, check out these other MMGMs floating around the blogosphere.*
If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count--but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you're featuring and a link to your blog at SWMessenger (at) hotmail (dot) com. (Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so I see it)
NOTE: I used to not have a cut-off time for adding links to the post, but with how insane my schedule is right now, if you don't email me by Sunday evening (usually around 11pm PST is when I put the links together) I can't guarantee I'll have a chance to add you. BUT, you are welcome to add your link in the comments on this post so people can find you!
*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen posts ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me ahead of time
Here's how the publisher describes it:
Suppose there were 12-year-old twins, a boy and girl named John and Abigail Templeton. Let's say John was pragmatic and played the drums, and Abigail was theoretical and solved cryptic crosswords. Now suppose their father was a brilliant, if sometimes confused, inventor. And suppose that another set of twins—adults—named Dean D. Dean and Dan D. Dean, kidnapped the Templeton twins and their ridiculous dog in order to get their father to turn over one of his genius (sort of) inventions. Yes, I said kidnapped. Wouldn't it be fun to read about that? Oh please. It would so. Luckily for you, this is just the first in a series perfect for boys and girls who are smart, clever, and funny (just like the twins), and enjoy reading adventurous stories (who doesn't?!)
And just like in previous times, here's Deb explain for herself why all of us need to read this one. Take it away Deb!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delightful. Funny. Witty. Sarcastic. Twisty. Turny. That is the storytelling and plot.
Smart. Absentminded. Different. Ridiculous. Ridiculous-er. Misguided. Scary. Hilarious. That’s the cast of characters.
Bring all of the above together with a smart aleck narrator, marvelous illustrations that weave in and out of the text, crazy laugh out loud questions at the end of each chapter and you have a rip roaring fun read that is a must share. Even better would be to share it with a classroom or book group as a read-a-loud pic. I can only imagine the fun to be had.
This book is rich with wordplay and laugh out loud moments that made me love more and more with each page turn. Plus, the book design and illustrations! Oh my.
Now Dear Readers, I have met kids who actually do not like it when the narrator talks directly to the reader. Of course, I always tell them that that is okay. We all have different tastes. But, would I not recommend this one to them? Nope. In fact this might be the exception to their no read rule. And, if you’re a fan of The Giggler Treatment and others in the series by Roddy Doyle, this is one for you to check out…for sure.
As always, a big BIG thanks to Shannon for letting me do this. Love sharing the middle grade love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've heard so many good things about this book. Thanks for the feature, Deb!
In the meantime, I want one of you to have the chance to discover it, so I'm giving away a copy to one lucky winner. To enter, make sure you leave a comment on this post by 11:59 pm PST on Saturday August 18th. I'll draw one random winner and post their name on Sunday, August 19th. International entries welcome.
For more awesome middle grade recommendations, check out these other MMGMs floating around the blogosphere.*
- Andrea Mack is cheering for THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE. Click HERE to learn why she thinks its worth a read.
- Laurisa Reyes has a review on CABINET OF EARTHS--plus a GIVEAWAY! Click HERE for details
- Michelle Isenhoff is raving about SEA CUTTER. Click HERE to see why.
- Barbara Watson is dishing about SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS. Click HERE for details.
- Jennifer Rumberger is ALSO championing SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS. Click HERE to see what she thought.
- Natalie Lorenzi is talking about SHOOTING KABUL. Click HERE to learn more about it.
- Michelle Mason is caught up in THE WESTING GAME. Click HERE to see why she enjoyed it.
- Gina Carey has shivers for A TALE DARK AND GRIMM--plus a crazy 9 book giveaway! Click HERE for details.
- Dorine White is reviewing the THE END OF INFINITY and FLYING THE DRAGON. Click HERE to see what she thought of them.
- Gabrielle Prendergast is loving SLEUTHS. Click HERE to see why she thinks you should be too.
- Heidi Grange is wondering at WONDER--with a GIVEAWAY! Click HERE for details.
- Brennan and Meyrick Murphy are cheering for ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS. Click HERE to see what these two middle grade readers thought of it.
- Jasmine Ko is feeling lucky for JUDY MOODY AND THE BAD LUCK CHARM. Click HERE to see why.
. Joanne Fritz is featuring MALCOLM AT MIDNIGHT--with a special GIVEAWAY. Click HERE for details.
- The Mundie Moms are always part of the MMGM fun (YAY!). Click HERE to see their newest recommendations. And if you aren't also following their Mundie Kids site, get thee over THERE and check out all the awesome!
- The lovely Shannon O'Donnell always has an MMGM ready for you! Click HERE to see what she's featuring this week!
- Karen Yingling also always has some awesome MMGM recommendations for you. Click HERE to which ones she picked this time!
- Pam Torres always has an MMGM up on her blog. Click HERE to see what she's spotlighting this week.
If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count--but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you're featuring and a link to your blog at SWMessenger (at) hotmail (dot) com. (Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so I see it)
NOTE: I used to not have a cut-off time for adding links to the post, but with how insane my schedule is right now, if you don't email me by Sunday evening (usually around 11pm PST is when I put the links together) I can't guarantee I'll have a chance to add you. BUT, you are welcome to add your link in the comments on this post so people can find you!
*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen posts ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me ahead of time
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