Warwick Children’s Book Festival – 2017

No less than 61–count ’em–61 authors and illustrators took part in the children’s book festival in beautiful Warwick, New York on Saturday, October 7th, including yours truly.  After spending the night at the idyllic Warwick Village Bed & Breakfast (which reminded me a little of the Dragon Fly Inn from Gilmore Girls), I met up with my fellow authors at the Railroad Green in the center of town where we were greeted with swag bags, balloons, live music, snacks galore (apple cider doughnuts!) and a huge crowd of enthusiastic readers.

Such much going on! A finger-puppet making station? Even doggy volunteers eager to be read aloud to by reluctant readers.

 

And what a delight meeting renowned children’s book author Jane Yolen (who penned nearly 300 books–yikes!) and her author-daughter Heidi Stemple. Great writing genes in that family! We actually met during breakfast at the B&B and within seconds we were all three laughing our heads off. My kind of peeps.

 

Here we are at the festival looking appropriately amiable and authorly…

And here we are when a fly the size of the Hindenburg decided to photo-bomb us…

I’m summoning a volunteer with a  flyswatter to come help. (Many thanks to the many volunteers in the green T-shirts, by the way, who were super helpful–even going so far as to recharge my cell phone.)

Couldn’t leave town without a visit to Ye Olde Warwick Book Shoppe, which is just as charming as it sounds. I love things that start with “Ye Olde”…except maybe Ye Olde Sushi Shoppe.

 

Bye bye, Warwick…until next time. Back to ye olde Times Square!

Warwick Children’s Book Festival

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My Thalia Book Club Camp Visit

There’s something really magical happening at Symphony Space in Manhattan. It’s called the Thalia Book Club Camp, where young reading and writing enthusiasts sign up for a week-long summer camp of visiting authors, creative writing activities, and exciting field trips within NYC.

I was lucky enough to be invited to talk about my middle-grade novel Madhattan Mystery on Wednesday to this group of eager, mega-talented kids. And smart? Holy guacamole. When I asked if anyone knew what onomatopoeia was, (when your last name is Bonk! you have to ask) every single hand went up. Same deal with “red herrings”. Very impressive!

After a little Q&A session, I conducted an experiment on how incorporating the five senses into writing can really make it come alive. So I brought out the blindfold and asked for a few brave souls to come up with some juicy adjectives for the mystery objects they would be touching…smelling…and tasting. A tad messy–but SO MUCH FUN!

Fresh Basil

Essence of Lavender

Pinecone

Armed with some really great descriptors, the group wrote a few New York City-themed paragraphs in which they including some of the five senses we’d just explored. When they shared their writing with the group, MAN, was I impressed. Jaw-droppingly good!

Book signing was next…then lunch…and then a field trip to Grand Central Terminal to relive some of the fictional moments from Madhattan Mystery. WHAT?! Yep. For real. These kids LOVE to read out loud, and so several got to read sections from the book in the actual spots where they occurred. Spots like…

…the train platform…then over to the information kiosk adorned with the gilded, opal-faced clock…then downstairs to the Lost & Found…and then everyone’s favorite… (wait for it…wait for it…) THE WHISPERING GALLERY! Oooh. Aaah. The very thing that inspired the whole book!

Lean in and whisper…

…and across the hall…

…people will HEAR you!

A farewell scene came much too soon and played out in front of the restrooms–gritty reality–and then I was homeward bound in the 95-degree heat with a happy heart and a bagful of whispers and memories.

A great big THANK YOU to Madeline Cohen, Katie Barasch, Matt Cody, and all the happy campers! I had a blast!  Be sure to check out the Symphony Space/Thalia Book Club Blog.

      

 

Get the “Inside Story” at Bank Street Bookstore

Wanna get the juicy story behind MADHATTAN MYSTERY? I’ll be part of a fun middle-grade author panel and we’ll all be revealing the inside scoop about our novels at Bank Street Bookstore in New York City on Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. I hear there are some great prizes, too!

http://www.scbwi.org/inside-story/

http://www.bankstreetbooks.com/event/scbwi-inside-story-author-event

Madhattan Mystery Makes Bank Street’s Best Books of 2013 List!

I’m beyond thrilled to announce that Madhattan Mystery is on Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of 2013 list in the 9-12 Adventure and Mystery category! *DOES HAPPY DANCE*

http://bankstreet.edu/center-childrens-literature/childrens-book-committee/best-books-year/best-books-year-2013/

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And rewinding a few weeks…

Had a FUNderful time on May 18th at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY at their first ever League of Extraordinary Readers event for middle-grade books. Here I am with fellow authors, Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Sarah Mylnowski.

Publishers Weekly liked our shiny smiling faces so much, they published this photo in their pictorial salute to Children’s Book Week!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/57378-children-s-book-week-2013-a-bookstore-photo-essay.html

MADHATTAN MYSTERY makes Booklist’s Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth: 2013 list!

Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth: 2013.  Cooper, Ilene (author). FEATURE. First published May 1, 2013 (Booklist). Mystery comes in many forms in this top 10: wartime spies, treasure hunting, kidnapping, robbery. There’s a wide range of choices for a wide range of mystery lovers here. These titles were selected from books reviewed in Booklist between May 1, 2012, and April 15, 2013. Code Name Verity. By Elizabeth Wein. 2012. Hyperion, $16.99 (9781423152194). Gr. 9–12. In this gut-wrenching mystery, Julie describes her life as a double-agent during WWII, all the while strapped to a chair after the latest round of Gestapo torture. Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes with a Price. By Tim Shoemaker. 2012. Zonderkidz, $14.99 (9780310726531). Gr. 7–10. This crackerjack thriller has a breakneck beginning: a robbery and brutal beating. But 13-year-old Cooper and his pals can’t go to the police because they might be part of the problem. Realistically portrayed characters populate a gritty novel. The Curse of the Pharaoh. By Steven Stevenson. Illus. by Stefano Turconi. 2013. Grosset & Dunlap, paper, $5.99 (9780448462172). Gr. 3–5. Twelve-year-old Londoner Agatha Mistery surrounds herself with a cast of sleuths who solve well-plotted mysteries like this one, which involves a missing Egyptian artifact. Four Secrets. By Margaret Willey. 2012. Carolrhoda/Lab, $17.95 (9780316125871). Gr. 7–10. Three junior-high friends are locked up after being found guilty of kidnapping the class bully. The mystery twists like kudzu, creeping ever closer to truths that need to be disclosed. Game. By Barry Lyga. 2013. Little, Brown, $17. 99 (9780316125871). Gr. 10–12. Jazz Dent, teen son of a serial killer, is called upon by the NYPD to get inside the head of another killer on the loose. A serious (and bloody) novel. Hold Fast. By Blue Balliet. 2013. Scholastic, $17.99 (9780545299886). Gr. 4–7. When 11-year-old Early’s father disappears and her family becomes homeless, it’s up to her to figure out what happened and why. Island of Thieves. By Josh Lacy. 2012. Houghton, $15.99 (9780547763279). Gr. 4–7. A search for hidden treasure leads to plenty of adventure as Tom and his not-quite-upstanding uncle find themselves kidnapped in Peru almost as soon as they step off the plane. Madhattan Mystery. By John J. Bonk. 2012. Walker, $16.99 (9780802723499). Gr. 5–8. Lexie thinks she and her brother are just going to New York to visit her aunt. Then she overhears details of a jewel heist and so begins a Big Apple adventure. Good plot; good characters. The Raven Boys. By Maggie Stiefvater. 2012. Scholastic, $17.99 (9780545424929). Gr. 9–12. The Raven Boys, friends at the Aglionby Academy, get involved with a mystery: finding the body of the sleeping king of Wales. But they’re not the only ones on the hunt. A marvelously tangled tale. Three Times Lucky. By Sheila Turnage. 2012. Dial, $16.99 (9780803736702). Gr. 4–6. Mysteries abound in this book set in a small North Carolina town and narrated by sixth-grader Mo, who wants to know who rescued her from the creek when she was a newborn and who has murdered one of the town’s most unlikable residents. THANK YOU, BOOKLIST! I’m smiling so hard that it hurts! Happy to be in such fantastic company.

Enter to win MADHATTAN MYSTERY ARC giveaway!

I’m giving away two autographed Advance Reading Copies (ARCs–or bound proofs) of my new middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY on GoodReads! The book has been through another editing session since this ARC was printed, so there’ll be a few more changes in the final, final hardcover version coming out on May 22nd. Nothing major, though—just nitpickery. Just in case you don’t know, an ARC is a very cool thing to have ’cause they’re not for sale to the general public. You just have to know someone who knows someone who knows someone…

 Or better yet, ENTER HERE to win a free copy!!! 

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/22312-madhattan-mystery

Giveaway ends April 20th. So, what’re you waiting for?

The “MAD about MADhattan” tour kicks off at Radio City!

In anticipation of the May 2012 release of my middle-grade novel, MADHATTAN MYSTERY, I’m taking you all on a virtual tour of the many spectacular Big Apple sites that pop up in the book. So, grab your camera and a light snack, hop on the tour bus and LET’S GO!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! It’s that “most wonderful time of the year”, so what better place to begin our tour of Manhattan than Radio City Music Hall? Located a block from the gigantic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, their trademark “Christmas Spectacular” features the high-kicking Rockettes and it’s a show—no, not just a show—an other-worldly experience unlike any other! Plenty of dazzling dance numbers, singing, costumes, and sets—plus, an onstage ice-skating rink, ballet dancing teddy bears, and a living nativity scene with live camels, donkeys, and sheep. And as if that weren’t enough, now they’re incorporating 3D effects, too. Yep, there’s actually a pair of 3D glasses attached to the programs. See?

   

You certainly can’t fault them for not keeping up with the times. Did you know that there are even small rechargeable microphones attached to the bottom of each of the Rockettes’ tap shoes?! SO COOL! (As a former tap dancer myself, I find this really fascinating.) I saw the show for about the fourth time last year with some friends visiting from Chicago and it knocked my socks off. (No wonder my ankles were freezing when we took that horse and buggy ride through Central Park.)

 Here are some more pix…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a snippet from Chapter 20 of MADHATTAN MYSTERY featuring Radio City. 

   

Entering the lobby was like stepping into a giant Donald Trump living room, provided Donald Trump liked lots of plush red and gold—and crowds. And the jaw-dropping grandiosity continued inside the theater itself. Lexi had never seen so many seats. They extended clear into the heavens, tier after tier, like a humongous wedding cake.

“Can you believe they were actually going to tear this down?” Aunt Roz said as the usher led them toward the stage, which was a glowing orange sunburst that was practically as big as the sun. “I haven’t been inside since the renovation. Melrose, have you ever been?”

“I saw the Christmas Spectacular once, back when I was, like, a fetus. Alls I remember is one of the camels in the livin’ nativity scene takin’ a dump onstage.”

That angel-of-silence thing was happening again—the fifth time that night, if you were counting, and Lexi was. Something was definitely strange with Melrose—well, stranger than usual. She had started off the evening glowing and now she was glowering, and Lexi couldn’t figure out why.

Check out Radio City’s website for more info on this beautiful and historic theatre. http://www.radiocity.com And be sure to stop back here for Tour Stop #2: Grand Central Terminal!