GreenBeanTeenQueen

Kirsten Hubbard is one cool author! Her new book, Wanderlove , is set Central America. So what better way to celebrate a backbacking novel than taking a trip herself? So Kirsten has set off on her own trip and she's blogging all about it. Readers can also post questions for Kirsten while she's traveling and post their own photos. Take a look at the site and you'll be in the mood for a vacation!! And if you submit a photo, you can be entered into a contest to win a signed and butterfly doodled hardcover of Wanderlove ! Here's more info from the publisher:   Kirsten Hubbard’s new book, Wanderlove , is set in Central America. But not just in one location -- in over a dozen! Wanderlove settings range from bustling capital cities to dense rainforest to tiny Mayan villages to idyllic Caribbean islands, and each is special in its own way. Most exist in real life; all are based on real life. We’re very excited to share these amazing places with you in the novel -- and on t...

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. I haven't posted a booklist in awhile, so I decided one was due! When giving reader's advisory to library patrons, I have my go to authors and series that I always suggest. The tweens on the other hand have their go to authors and series. I was thinking about what the tweens ask for compared to what I suggest. Here is my (very unscientific) results of what is popular at my library: Tween Go To Books:  Margaret Peterson Haddix Mary Downing Hahn Carolyn Keene Peg Kehert Jeff Kinney Rick Riordan My Go To Books: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows (for younger tweens) Allie Finkle Series  by Meg Cabot From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle Catwings by Ursula K. LeGuin Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomer...

Have you met the Spellmans? The Spellman family are a group of private investigators-are a funny dysfunctional family! While the books are published for adults, the series has teen appeal. In fact, the first book, The Spellman Files , won an Alex Award in 2008! Author Lisa Lutz wants to reach out to a younger audience and ensure that her books are read by future generations, so she gave her latest book, Trail of the Spellmans, to some tween readers. Here's what happened: I love it!! Hilarious, right? You know you want to read it now! I want to help Ms. Lutz get her book into the hands of new readers, so I'm happy to say that thanks to Simon & Schuster (who is amazing!) I have a copy of Trail of the Spellmans to give away to one lucky winner! About the Book: For the first time in Spellman history, Isabel Spellman, PI, might be the most normal member of her family. Mom has taken on an outrageous assortment of extracurricular activities—with no apparent motive. Da...

J.K. Rowling will be back with a new book-this time for adults. The title, release date, and details were not released and should be out later this year. The big change is that now Rowling will be published by Little Brown in the U.S. Rowling said "Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series , which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world," Rowling said in a statement released by Little, Brown. "The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life." Will you read the new book? I'm very excited and can't wait to see what's in store!!

Earlier this week I posted about cover changes from hardcover to paperback . I included books I thought had gone under a good cover makeover. Then over the past few days, as I was thinking about covers, I came across some that had undergone a makeover that I thought went from good to bad. This isn't an uncommon occurrence. And what one person says is bad, another person may love. It's all about marketing and trying to reach a certain audience. First up is Between Shades of Gray . This book was on the Morris Award Shortlist and the honor is well deserved. It's a beautifully gripping story that is heartbreaking and haunting. I think the original hardcover has the right feel of loneliness, isolation, and arctic cold: It's a simple cover and it says a lot. Then we get to the paperback edition: I actually think this is a lovely cover-just not for this book. To me this looks very paranormal and seems to match a lot of the covers that are in the YA market right now. I don...

Downton Abbey may be over for this season-check out my recap of the Christmas Special with Melanie!! I think this was my most awesome find of the day! Wentworth Hall is a new YA book coming in May. Here's the description: A lush, historical novel about the secretive Darlingtons of Wentworth Hall! The prettiest people often have the ugliest secrets… Eighteen-year-old Maggie Darlington has turned into an entirely different person. The once spirited teen is now passive and reserved. A change Lord and Lady Darlington can’t help but be grateful for. It’s 1912, and the Darlingtons of Wentworth Hall have more than just the extensive grounds to maintain. As one of Britain’s most elite families, they need to keep up appearances that things are as they have always been…even as their carefully constructed façade rapidly comes undone. Maggie has a secret. And she’s not the only one…the handsome groom Michael, the beautiful new French nanny Therese, the Darlingtons’ teenage housegues...

I was browsing through coming soon titles today and came across this book: From the Book: Combining elements from the popular Twilight saga with accessible pop psychology, a guide to finding eternal love Stephanie Meyer's supernatural romance saga has inspired millions of people worldwide with its tale of a young girl torn between two apparently perfect loves. Many fans are now on the hunt for their own real-life Edward or Jacob. Luckily for all the Twilight fans out there, this book uncovers the seven secret steps towards true love. Inspired by the saga, these secrets reveal the relevance of Bella's experiences to your own love life, explain your feelings for Edward and Jacob, and expose the perils of Twilight's powerful, romantic messages. I was just talking with friends the other night about what terrible relationship models are in Twilight ! I can't believe this is actually a book (out May 1!). All I can hope is that the book tells girls...

Please welcome Diane Zahler to GreenBeanTeenQueen! Ms. Zahler writes awesome fairy tales for tween readers! Check out my reviews of A True Princess and Princess of the Wild Swans . Why do you write for tweens? That’s the time I remember most vividly from my own past. Not necessarily in a good way, but very intensely. And that was when books meant the most to me. Fairy tales and fantasies were a cherished escape, and realistic stories (I liked the ones about outsiders, like Harriet the Spy and A Wrinkle in Time , best) helped me understand that I wasn’t alone in the way I felt. I hope that my books can do a little of that for readers too. A Wrinkle in Time  is  one of my favorite books-I adored it as a tween! If you could live in a fairy tale, which one would you choose? You really have to pick carefully. A lot of the original versions are incredibly grisly (Cinderella’s stepsisters cut off their toes to fit into the glass slipper and have their eyes pecked out...

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. Join the fun and add your link below! Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Release Date: 1/31/2012 Add to Goodreads About the Book: When her father the king arrives home with a new wife, Princess Meriel and her brothers are all suspicious. When Meriel discovers the new queen has sent her brothers to school, she believes something more sinister is at work. Meriel discovers that the queen has turned her brothers into swans. With the help of her brother's friend Riona, Meriel finds a way to break the spell. But with winter coming, will she be able to free her brothers of their swan form before the lake freezes over or will they have to fly south or perish? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: If you work with tween readers who love fairy tales, Gale Carson Levine and Shannon Hale, make sure you are stocking Diane Zahler's books in your library. Her fairy tale retellings are...

Cover changes are part of the publishing industry. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Working with teens, books in my library get judged by their covers all the time. And I'll admit it, I judge the covers to. Sometimes the original cover doesn't make me want to pick up the book at all. Then, the cover changes and I'm interested! The content hasn't changed, the story is the same, but the cover change had made all the difference. Dust City is a fairy tale-esque story about a wolf trying to solve the mystery of his family's past. This hardcover cover is pretty cool and I like it, but I really like the paperback cover: I think this paperback cover has more crossover appeal and is appealing to older readers. I also think it gives it a hint of comedy and I can tell it's fairy tale based, whereas the first cover looked more paranormal. The hardcover for Shadow Hills has an OK cover, but it's really nothing special. It's plain and forget...

Photo Credit: Suzanne Selfors Website Please welcome Suzanne Selfors to GreenBeanTeenQueen! Suzanne is a superstar author who writes for Tweens and Teens. She has SIX books coming out this year-told you she was a superstar author! Why do you write for tweens? It feels like a natural fit for me. I started out writing for adults. I wrote 3 novels, found an agent, but none of those novels sold, except for one which eventually found a Greek publisher. Gaced with a pile of rejection letters, I almost gave up. But then I got this idea for a children's novel and I wrote it. I called it Curse of the Merfolk and it went to auction. Little, Brown won the auction, turned it into To Catch a Mermaid , and here we are. And now, To Catch a Mermaid is being rereleased with an awesome new cover! Books with a bit of magic seem to be popular with tween readers. Was there any special magical power or wish you wanted as a tween? I always wanted the power to morph into another form. To be a bir...

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. Join the fun and add your link below. Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Release Date: Re-release-originally published in 2007 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Poor Boom Broom-he's had a string of bad luck. After a twister swept his mother away, his father refuses to come downstairs and his sister keeps making up illnesses to make sure she can stay home from school. Halvor, the Viking descendant who lives in the Boom's garage, makes Boom eat fish every day. And now Boom has detention which means he's going to miss the kick the ball against the wall tournament at lunchtime. So when Boom has to pick out a fish from the reject fish bucket to take home for dinner since that's all he can afford, he picks out a strange colored fish. Turns out Boom didn't find a fish, but a merbaby-and with it comes the curse of the merfolk. In order to save his sister...

I've recently started hosting a once a month evening "Pajama Time Storytime". Our weekly storytimes are during the day and I wanted to offer something in the evening. The turnout is much smaller than our regular daytime storytimes, so this last Pajama Time Storytime I held in the children's department instead of in the storyhour room. It was much cozier and was lots of fun! Here's what I did our first Pajama Time Storytime Opening Song: Shake Your Sillies Out by The Wiggles Literacy Skill: Love Books-because when you read books that you love, your children will notice and it's an easy way to share the joy of reading with your kids! Read what you love!:) Book: Time for Bed by Mem Fox-We have this in big book format which makes it even more fun to read. I love this book because it has a nice, simple storyline perfect for bedtime reading. It's also easy to skip pages if the crowd is getting restless since each page has it's own rhyme. Song: T...

I'm sure many of you have seen this short film, but it's such a wonderful treat for booklovers, I had to share!! The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo .

Concept books are always asked for in the children's department. Where are the numbers, colors, and ABC books? Here are a couple of my favorite new alphabet books. Al Pha's Bet by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Delphine Durand The King has just announced that he needs someone to put 26 letters that have recently been invented into order. Al Pha decides that he's the perfect man for the job and takes on the King's bet. Throughout a series of silly events, Al Pha discovers the perfect order for the letters. Al Pha's Bet has plenty of laughs and readers who are learning their alphabet will get a kick out of the way Al Pha figures out where each letter should go. The book has bright, cartoonish illustrations which add to the fun. Great for preschool and up, although maybe a bit long for storytime. E-Mergency by Tom Lichtenheld What happens when the most used letter of the alphabet, letter E, falls down the stairs and is hurt? Now she can't go to work an...

Rating: 3/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 1/17/2012 Add to Goodreads About the Book: When Evelyn Morgan walked into the small village bookstore, she didn't know she was about to meet the love of her life. Brendan Thorne and Evelyn spend the week they have together and Brendan shares the story The Green Knight, a legend about star-crossed lovers. Are Evelyn and Brendan to have the same fate as those in the story? And is the story more than legend? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: This book has a very unique packaging which is what sold me on the book in the first place. The book has an accordion style to it, which allows you to read one side of the story, then turn it over and read the other. You can choose which one to start with (I started with Evelyn) and you find yourself reading an almost circular story. The format is pretty cool, although I will say it was a bit hard to hold because of the binding and accordion style. Also, at one point I dropped the book and it ...

I know everyone says that you can't judge a book by it's cover-but tell that to teens in the library! I see it everyday-teens will pass up a great book just because the cover doesn't appeal to them. (And it's not just teens-I'm guilty of the same thing-I'll admit it!) There are some books that I love so much and I want to share with the teens, yet no matter how many times I display it or booktalk it to classrooms, the book doesn't move. So what's a librarian to do? That's when I handsell the books. One of my favorite books to suggest to teens is Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. It's a great action-adventure story with a bit of romance. There are airships, strange creatures, pirates and it's a bit steampunk. It has a male and female main character and I think it has appeal to guys and girls of all ages. It's also the first in a series which my teens are always looking for. It has everything you would think they would want it a book, yet it si...

Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka, illustrated by Chad Cameron Working in a library, I get asked for themed books all the time! We can't keep enough concept books, holiday books, or season books on the shelf. Fall Mixed Up is going into my "stock list of books to suggest". The book explores Fall and all the Holidays we have during that season, but instead it mixes everything up-like candy for dinner at Thanksgiving, and Pumpkins that are red. The illustrations have lots of colorful details and kids will have fun picking out all the mixups that happen along the way. The text has a nice rhyme to it and I would suggest this book as a preschool storytime read (although I haven't used it in storytime yet). A funny entry into the seasons that is sure to get parents and kids laughing! Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow by Susan A. Shea, illustrated by Tom Slaughter Using rhymes, the text asks questions about which objects will grow. If a duckling grows to a be a duck, does a...

A week ago many librarians (and some non-librarians) returned from the ALA Midwinter Meeting. And as expected, posts went up about ALA. A debate ensued-how should you act at events like ALA or BEA? Should you be greedy and take lots of ARCs for your blog? What about the librarians that are members of ALA and attend? And what to do with ARCs after you hauled a bunch home? Many bloggers have responded to this and they have said it all much better than I can, so I encourage you to check out their posts: Kelly at Stacked on the line between Blogger and Librarian Kelly also has a great post about the ethics of what to do with ARCs and selling them (which is unethical-I agree!) Jennie at BiblioFile on greediness at conferences Colleen at Chasing Ray on "Winning ALA" April at Good Books and Good Wine on Professionalism and Blogging Since there's been some discussion about ARCs, I thought I would share about what I do with ARCs. Most I get by attending ALA, but I also ha...