Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #7

No two holiday celebrations are ever alike.  Despite all our planning, sometimes life has a way of taking control. Weather, health and just plain goofy happenings can change everything within hours, minutes or seconds.  

This year two entirely different books, with older release dates, were used as expressions of gratitude when reading aloud with students.  The six previous posts, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #2, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #3, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #4, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #5, and Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #6, have served to ask us not only what this holiday means to us, but the value of each and every day.

It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish folk tale (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1976) retold and with pictures by Margot Zemach (a Caldecott Medalist for Duffy and the Devil: a Cornish tale and a Caldecott Honor winner for The Judge:  An Untrue Tale and for this title) examines the life of a man believing he has reached his limits.  To clarify, he lived in one room with his mother, wife and their six children.  The crowded conditions were very hard on everyone.  Quarreling and crying were daily occurrences.  It was even worse in the winter.

One day he sought the advice of the Rabbi.  The man was desperate for a solution, agreeing to do whatever the Rabbi suggested to lessen the noise.  The first thing the Rabbi did was to ask the man if he had any animals, any fowl. The man's reply prompted the Rabbi to tell him to bring the chickens, rooster and goose into his home.

As you can imagine now on top of the quarreling and crying there was honking, crowing and clucking.  Unable to bear the commotion any longer, the man visited the Rabbi again.  The wise man's next question, the man's reply and the Rabbi's recommendation were puzzling to the man but he did it.

The ruckus was much worse.  On his third visit to the Rabbi, the man was dumbfounded with his guidance but he reluctantly did it.  Now the poor man had crying, quarreling, honking, clucking, crowing, wild butting and massive trampling. Nearly out of his mind, he went to the Rabbi for his fourth visit.  Thrilled with the Rabbi's wonderful words, he ran home and did exactly as the Rabbi encouraged him to do.  Did the man go back to the Rabbi again?  He did.  The gift of family is a rare gift indeed.

In her retelling of this tale Margot Zemach creates a storytelling cadence with the repetition of key phrases as each episode is recounted.  She heightens the tension by altering the words to describe the man's reaction to the Rabbi's advice.  Each time he is more perplexed by the conversations he has with the Rabbi.  He actually wonders if the Rabbi is crazy.  This also contributes to the comedy in this story.  Here is a passage.

"Holy Rabbi," he cried, "see what a misfortune has befallen me.  Now with the crying and quarreling, with the honking, clucking, and crowing, there are feathers in the soup.  Rabbi, it couldn't be worse.  Help me, please."

The Rabbi listened and thought.  At last he said, "Tell me, do you happen to have a goat?"

"Oh, yes, I do have an old goat, but he's not worth much."

"Excellent," said the Rabbi.  "Now go home and take the old goat into your hut to live with you."

"Ah, no!  Do you really mean it, Rabbi?" cried the man.

"Come, come now, my good man, and do as I say at once,"  said the Rabbi.

Unfolding the dust jacket reveals a background which continues from the left (back) edge to the right (front) edge. In the scene on the back the poor unfortunate man is stepping outside his hut into a snowy evening.  A crescent moon is hanging in the sky.  Smoke is coming from his chimney and the small home near his hut.  On the front we can easily see the chaos from having nine people living in a single room.  The one older child sleeping seems like a miracle.  The book case is blue cloth.  The opening and closing endpapers are a shade of deep rose.

In the single-page picture opposite the title page, the man and his wife are walking down the village's road across a bridge as his mother and six children create a rumpus ahead and behind them.  Margot Zemach alternates between single-page pictures, images crossing the gutter and two-page illustrations.  Most of the single-page pictures are interior views of the home.  The larger pictures give readers a glimpse of life in this small community as well as the visits to the Rabbi.  Sometimes Margot Zemach blends the visits to the Rabbi with views of the wildness inside the man's home.

With her illustrations Margot Zemach elevates the narrative beautifully.  One of my many favorite illustrations is when the man has returned home after a visit to the Rabbi.  It spans two pages.  On the right another man is riding in a cart drawn by a single horse and crossing a small bridge to the poor unfortunate man's yard on the left.  Behind the man in the cart is a large home with turrets.  In the yard the poor unfortunate man is untying his goat.  Three of the younger children are playing outside in the yard.  Another child is running behind the hut.  The man's wife is standing outside the hut's door.  By her posture, the man has just informed her the goat is coming inside to live.  The sun is shining in a winter sky.

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving (Orchard Books, September 1, 1990) with story and pictures by Dav Pilkey is a rewording of the famous Clement C. Moore Christmas poem.  It begins with a field trip on the day before Thanksgiving.  A fall breeze blows leaves around eight students boarding a school bus. 

The children sing as the bus bumps along down the road.  They do have visions in their minds...of drumsticks.  As their teacher drives the bus down the winding route, a chorus of noise has them lowering their windows.

They have arrived at Farmer Mack Nuggett's turkey farm.  Eight tiny turkeys can hardly wait for the man dressed in denim to open the gate.  He calls them by name.  It's love at first sight between the fowl and the children.  They play together with total bliss until one of the little girl's notices an ax by the door.

When the children hear what is going to happen to the turkeys that night, there is no consoling them.  As the sun disappears beneath the horizon and stars fill the sky, the teacher and Farmer Mack Nuggett run to the well to get the children a sip of water to soothe them.  The two adults return to find the children much calmer and fatter.  They struggle to board the bus but it soon takes off into the night.  The next day, Thanksgiving feasts in eight homes have an additional member in their family sitting at the table.  The meal in each is a delectable vegetarian delight.

Dav Pilkey has a gift for selecting the right words to convey the exact mood in the exact moment.  His verses are brimming with humor.  None of the rhymes are forced but flow easily.  The name of the farmer makes reference to a fast food chain.  The names of the turkeys, Ollie, Stanley, Larry, Moe, Wally, Beaver, Shemp and Groucho give a nod to famous comedians and the television show Leave It To Beaver featuring "Beaver" and Wally Cleaver which ran from 1957 to 1963.  Here are two verses.

The turkeys were chunky

With smiley, beaked faces,

And they greeted the children

With downy embraces.

So out through the barnyard

They ran and they flew,

And they gobbled and giggled

As friends sometimes do.

The swirling blue on blue background shown on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case is used to the left on the back.  The scene of the children running and laughing with the turkeys continues past the spine to the far left of the back.  This image is one of sheer happiness.  Bright yellow colors the opening and closing endpapers.  It's the same hue found on the turkeys' beaks.  On the title page beneath the text a turkey runs across the page with whorls of pale blue marking his path.

Autumn leaves tumble across the verso and dedication pages.  Under the dedication 

For Cyndi and Nate

Dav Pilkey has this quote:

". . .And what is done with love is well done."

---Vincent Van Gogh

Full color two-page pictures supply liveliness to the narrative lifting the level of emotional impact.  When the little girl inquires about the ax, Dav has the teacher and Farmer Mack Nuggett standing to the left in a pose reminiscent of the American Gothic by Grant Wood.  As night begins to descend and the children put their plan into place, readers come to understand why Dav includes the Vincent Van Gogh quote.  

His sky starts to have more texture as the stars appear.  As the children are climbing the steps on the bus, the sky looks like Van Gogh's Starry Night with a huge crescent moon rising and lighting the ride home.  In the subsequent pictures the sky is filled with large, dotted pale blue swirls on darker blue.  On Thanksgiving evening the crescent moon is accompanied by large yellow stars.  Love is in the air.

One of my many favorite pictures is similar to the one on the dust jacket and book case.  The children from all different ethnic backgrounds and wearing all types of bright-colored clothing are leaping and running across the barnyard from left to right.  Their arms are lifted in joy and their faces are filled with laughter.  Two of the turkeys are flying above them and the others are keeping pace with the girls and boys on the ground.  Fall leaves are blowing among them.

It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish folk tale written and illustrated by Margot Zemach and 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving story and pictures by Dav Pilkey are two classic tales enjoyed by students.  Both exhibit gratitude for what we have and for kindness extended by others.  (Eight turkeys are completely relieved as are their young friends.)  I can't imagine a celebration of giving thanks without these books.

At the publisher's website for It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish folk tale you can view several interior images. To learn more about Dav Pilkey and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  I think you'll enjoy this interview of Dav at Scholastic BookClubs Kids.    

A New Hero Arises

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, human and non-human.  They can be ordinary individuals placed in extraordinary circumstances, the victors in an unexpected challenge.  Some heroes have remarkable skills or characteristics unknown to others until a situation demands their use.  Heroes can be a part of everyday life or come from the pages of fiction.

For a moment let's agree on two things.  Dogs' lives are simply too short.  Not all humans use their brain power to its fullest capacity.  In the wonderful, wacky realm of "What-If" from the marvelous mind of a beloved author and illustrator a new hero is born.  Dog Man (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, August 30, 2016) written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey is a hilarious collection of four adventures penned by those creative comedians George Beard and Harold Hutchins.

... It's a box full of old Dog Man comics we made when we were kids.
Hey, I forgot about these!!!
They read for hours
Ha Ha Ha Ha
I crack me up.
Look how you used to draw!
Old school!
And look how bad you used to spell!!!
Well, what should we do now?
Let's make a new comic book.  ...

The first chapter begins with a bang and the origin of Dog Man.  Officer Knight and Greg the dog are caught paw-handed sleeping on the Chief's brand new couch.  Banished for the moment, their presence outside the police station is noted by villain Petey, a striped-cat, who leaves a bomb for them to disarm.  When the smoke settles, the only thing left for medical personnel to do is to stitch brilliant Greg the dog's head on the physically strong body of not-so-smart Officer Knight.  The Chief is not fond of the doggy kisses he now gets and Petey acts quickly to build a gizmo guaranteed to get rid of this Dog Man.

Seen racing from his Secret Lab riding his invention Petey's words give Dog Man an idea.  Sometimes what you swallow can be your downfall.  Sometimes you can't claw your way out of trouble.  Rats!  It's off to cat jail for Petey.  Readers beware.  No jail can contain Petey for long.

An evil mayor, an equally evil Dr. Scum and a robot on the rampage clash with Petey and his can of Invisibility.  With cleverness, instinct and knowing how to use a cell phone Dog Man wins the day once more.  Back in cat jail with too much time on his paws, Petey begins a campaign to uncover the truth of Dog Man's intelligence.

His discoveries lead him to use his latest creation the

Word-B-Gone 2000.

The results are not exactly what Petey wanted.  In fact a real stink leads to his downfall.

For some reason, Petey continues to be allowed uninspected mail while in jail.  His latest package eventually leads to his undoing but not before rampaging hot dogs, little fires, a giant gyro (or is it a Philly cheese steak?), and a bunch of bones play parts in an outrageously funny episode.  In a crashing conclusion everyone gets exactly what they deserve as the Chief surprises even Dog Man.


Dav Pilkey's signature wit and wisdom shine on the pages of his latest graphic novel.  He thinks like George and Harold and a dog with one ridiculous phrase, conversation and piece of action after another.  Word play abounds with conversational exchanges like this one between injured Officer Knight and Greg the dog.

How do you feel, old friend?
Ruff!
Me too!

His use of exclamation points, capital letters in bold and words full of meaning make reading about Dog Man like Saturday morning cartoons.

...and it won't stop until he gets sucked up!!!

HAW HAW HAW

YEEE
HAW!  ZOOOOM

As readers turn the pages they become a part of the adventure.  They can assist the hero but enjoy the crafty, non-stop inventive thinking of the adversary.  They might also wonder more than once how Dav Pilkey thinks of these things.


Resisting the front image on the book case (I am working with an ARC for which I am grateful super librarian Becky Caldaza provided to me.) is futile.  Dog Man standing on a box in the center of city buildings at night beneath a starry sky, the slight smile playing on his mouth, has the look of a hero's hero.  Of course without reading the first chapter readers might be wondering about the stitching from the head to the body.

Each page full of panels is perfectly paced.  Even when we move from one part of town to another, it is flawless.  On a single page we go from the chief's office where Officer Knight and Greg the dog are getting a verbal reprimand to the two of them wishing they could find favor with the chief and then to Petey and his sidekick spying on them through binoculars.  The expressions on all the characters' faces contribute to the comedy.  The range of emotion on Dog Man is particularly splendid.

One of my favorite set of illustrations is when Chief first talks with Dog Man.  He very clearly, in his usual loud voice, warns Dog Man who patiently listens to the tirade.  When Chief finally says

Well?  What do you have to say for yourself?

Dog Man looks at the chief and does what a dog would do.  He gives him a doggy kiss and grins.  Guess what the chief does?


Dog Man written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey (with color by Jose Garibaldi) is woof-tastic as a whole or chapter by chapter.  The combination of text and images will have this book off and never on the shelves.  You must have multiple copies.  At the beginning of the book Dav Pilkey has written an inspirational letter to the Reader.  The Flip-O-Rama pages are fantastic as are the How2Draw pages for Dog Man, Petey, and Philly at the back.  Readers will be barking when they see what Pilkey includes on the final pages.

To discover more about Dav Pilkey and his other work please follow the link to his website attached to his name.  Please stop by the Scholastic On Our Minds blog for the cover reveal and a link to an excerpt at BuzzFeedBooks.  You'll want to see this.  At Scholastic's Ambassador for School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read., Dav Pilkey leaves a message for readers.  Dav Pilkey is interviewed about Dog Man at School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.  These links, here and here, at Scholastic are great for further study of Dav Pilkey.  You'll certainly want to use the Dog Man Teaching Guide.

New book trailer alert: Dog Man by Dav Pilkey https://t.co/5TbzlPuCJF

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) August 10, 2016

Listen to #25 Dav Pilkey - Captain Underpants: The Series by @theyarnpodcast https://t.co/o4xVOfQf5C

— Mr. ©olby Sharp (@colbysharp) August 10, 2016

DOGMAN is on bookshelves now, & you need to go to Dav Pilkey's Instagram right not to see what he did. https://t.co/mtLOPNZuoF #pilkeypower

— Jarrett J. Krosoczka (@StudioJJK) August 30, 2016

Dogman!!!!! pic.twitter.com/FXAhOzyLJ4

— Mr. ©olby Sharp (@colbysharp) August 30, 2016

Then. Now. Always.

It's no longer there, the small building with white siding and a long greenhouse attached.  Memories of walking through the moist air, tending the flowers and plants, delivering arrangements and, if fortunate, helping create corsages during a busy time like the senior prom are still vivid in my mind.  At sixteen my first job outside of home was working in a local flower shop located on the same street where I lived.

After graduation from high school it was waiting tables during every vacation from college for four years, arriving at work at five in the morning, getting home at four in the afternoon and sleeping until the next day.  On campus employment was found in the food commons and at the university library.  Upon graduation the salary for my first position as a teacher librarian was $7, 986.00.  To this day one word comes to mind when I think of these various employments.  It's gratitude.

To be one person in millions contributing to the everyday life in this great nation is surprising and an honor.  To be a tiny part in this amazing whole is deeply rewarding. Three years ago to the day, on January 21, 2013 President Barack Obama was sworn into his second term of office.  The inaugural poem was released as a picture book on November 11, 2015.  One Today (Little, Brown and Company) written by Richard Blanco with illustrations by Caldecott Honoree Dav Pilkey is a stunning tribute to people in the United States, to all people.

One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores, peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.  

A city and the people residing within the homes and apartments are waking.  Mothers and fathers, men and women, and girls and boys begin their day, walking and riding, laboring and learning. Each person has a purpose; no one is greater or smaller than the other.  We all do this under

one light.

One ground

sustains and supports us.  It provides a platform for all the sights, sounds, and smells associated with our work and play.  It gives us the opportunity to exist in harmony, different but alike.

Like a dome over our world

one sky

watches our accomplishments, as distinctive as the individuals performing them.  It tells us the time of day.  It predicts the weather and seasonal changes.  It shelters and supplies a roof for our love.

At the close of the day when homes are again filled with those mothers and fathers, men and women, and girls and boys the sun passes the task to the moon and stars.  Some will slumber under the light and others will watch and wonder.  As we began, we will end...as one.

Whether you listened to this poem read by Richard Blanco three years ago at President Obama's inauguration or not, the words he wrote are worth reading again and again.  He takes the grandeur of our natural landscape, the sun, ground, sky and moon, using it as a canvas upon which he paints the cherished details of our collective lives.  He mentions school buses and fruit stands, busboys, teachers and cashiers, "I have a dream" dreams, school children gone forever, public places, fields and mines, roads and bridges, the greeting of everyday people, and love.  It is a song of us and for his parents. Here is another sample passage.

Hear:  the doors we open for each other all day, saying: hello / shalom / buon giorno / howdy / namaste / or buenos dias in the language my mother taught me---in every language spoken into one wind carrying our lives without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.


A single illustration, moving from left to right and night to day, displays a rolling-hills landscape dotted with homes and buildings, trees and a body of water on the dust jacket and book case.  We are introduced to an older sister walking with her younger brother and their cat.  They are integral to the illustrative interpretation of the poem along with their mother.

On the opening endpapers Dav Pilkey includes the characters' home in the foreground with bare-branched trees on either side (Is this a nod to The Little House?).  It is very early in the morning, still dark outside, as trucks roll out from the city across a bridge in the background.  On the closing endpapers the scene is repeated with the trucks returning to the city at night without the stars. A recent snowfall coats everything.

Rendered in acrylics and India ink the illustrations move through a day, the light and shadows reflecting the changes.  Each image includes wide rays of shifting colorful hues.  Most of the pictures span two pages with the text carefully placed within the picture, along the bottom, or in a side column.

The portrayals of families within their homes, the city streets and buildings, a portion of a church, a park, the river and bridge, with the two children and their cat going about their day amid these pictures as they wait for their mother's shift at the grocery store to finish are strikingly beautiful.  Pilkey alters his perspective with eloquent results; the children dancing down a quiet street as the cat leaps, only their feet and lower half of their bodies showing during an achingly sad moment, a chalk drawing joining the sister and brother along the bottom of an illustration, and the two of them gazing at the city street with their backs to us, the tip of the cat's tail showing next to them.  The color palette conveys every mood and emotion.

One of my favorite illustrations is of the sister, brother and cat dancing down the street.  On either side of them are hills, houses and buildings.  There is a cloud in the sky, shades of pink and purple shooting upward, a large halo of light mirroring the white bright sun.  It continues around and beneath the two.  This image is filled with laughter and joy.

One Today written by Richard Blanco with illustrations by Dav Pilkey is breathtaking.  It's an ode to America by two distinguished artists.  Dav Pilkey's choice to follow the mother, her children and the cat on one of their days in his illustrations reaches out and embraces readers.  This is a book for everyone.

To learn more about Richard Blanco and Dav Pilkey and their other work please follow the links embedded in their names to access their websites.  If you visit the publisher's website they offer a six-page reading group guide.  At the BNKIDSBlog (Barnes & Noble) there is an extensive interview with Richard Blanco and Dav Pilkey about this title.  Susan Rich, Editor-at-large at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, is interviewed at BookPage. Enjoy the video below where Susan Rich is interviewed by Director of School & Library Marketing, Victoria Stapleton.  If you did not hear Richard Blanco reading the poem on January 21, 2013 please listen now as you turn the pages of this marvelous book.



LB School Book Chat with the Editor: ONE TODAY by Richard Blanco & illustrated by Dav Pilkey from LB School on Vimeo.

Team Laughter For The Win

Rattling around in my memory banks are cries of Red Rover, Red Rover shouted out by opposing teams as other groups of children of all ages enjoyed their daily respite on the playground of my elementary school.  Every year, same time, same place, those same boys and girls could be seen in another area huddled around a hole carefully made in the dirt as a high stakes game of marbles was being played.  The swings, slide, monkey bars and teeter-totter were our obstacle course.  We invented whole new worlds in this area outside the walls of our building.  It was amazing and we loved every minute of it.

When the word went out over the virtual wire about collaboration between ten outstanding authors/illustrators, you could almost hear the humming buzz growing into a roar of anticipation.  Comics Squad: Recess! (Random House) combines the talents of Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, Dan Santat, Dav Pilkey, Ursula Vernon, Eric Wight and Gene Luen Yang.  These short stories take readers into the wonderful realm of one of the best breaks during any given school day.

A company of three dons black T-shirt masks to commence their meeting of a secret club.  Given an impossible task of proving his worth, a fourth surprises everyone with his hard-earned new super-awesome ninja mindset and moves.  Gene Luen Yang's dialog between these eight-year-old guys is genuine to a fault.  Many readers will identify with Daryl cheering him on as he pursues his dream but laughing at how he accomplishes each discipline.


Dav Pilkey starts his story with a letter home to parents from a disgruntled first grade teacher.  (Trust me when I say I was chuckling by the second paragraph.)  It seems their son, George, has made a comic instead of completing a writing assignment as required.  The comic, Book 'Em Dog Man, follows a criminal cat as he attempts to rid the world of reading.  The spelling errors like

You Reeka!
airplain and
instinkts

make this truly hilarious and authentic.


The students may be at recess but Betty of Lunch Lady fame has her hands full in more ways than one when her partner is ill on the biggest lunch day of the week, Pizza Day.  In an attempt to feed the hungry hordes their favorite food on time, Betty creates problems of monstrous proportions. Super tools in hand she seeks to thwart her foe in the hallways with only five minutes to spare.  Betty's thoughts and spoken conversations will have readers nodding their heads and smiling, glad of another adventure by a beloved character from her creator, Jarrett J. Krosoczka.

Thank green beans, it's recess time.


Scratch calmly reading a book during recess is interrupted by his friend Squeak.  He has found, yet again, a magic acorn.  (Scratch enumerates his previous three hundred false finds.) As these two squirrel pals dash away into the woods and into a clearing, readers and Scratch will get an out-of-this-world shock.  Ursula Vernon provides the perfect platform for innocence is bliss versus being in the know.


Our fearless cupcake-loving heroine has placed herself in a pickle of historic happenings.  Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm send Babymouse on a quest to enjoy recess like the other students in school.  It seems as if her imagination (or something else entirely) has other ideas as medieval meanderings and a zap to Zeus, to name a couple, attempt to foil her plans.  Readers will appreciate the narrative asides in rectangular boxes as well as the Friday finale fiasco.  TYPICAL

Talk about "Spaghetti Western."


Get ready for a puns-tastic story in Eric Wight's tale of new student, Jiminy Sprinkles, a cupcake, in a classroom with a peanut, and other assorted fruits and vegetables.  It quickly starts at recess time when Jiminy asks the peanut if he can play with him.  He replies

I'm interested!  I'm just not used to having friends.  Everyone here thinks I'm a nut.

The Mean Green Gang try to trick the newbie and his pal but never fear peppermint is here.  Super Cool Man!


Not much could be funnier than three guys having a conversation about a three hundred word essay due right after recess when two of them have not even started.  To up the laughter factor the one dude is in a panic about not having even read the book.  (I can't tell you the title because I'm laughing too much. It's a sixty-four page classic.)  Add on the fact this was assigned three weeks ago and the dialogue is downright hysterical.  In a twist of fate (puke and a girl might be involved), Dan Santat delivers a stellar school story with humor at its finest.


It's raining outside; not a drizzle but pouring.  This equals doom for the students in Mr. Guff's class.  Their kickball tournament is cancelled and a fifth-grade monitor from Dullsville (my word not their word) is assigned to their room.  What the students don't know is Boring Becca has a few tricks up her sleeves.  Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman know guys and gals and... gaming.  It shows on every page.


Edited by Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm and Jarrett J. Krosoczka Comics Squad: Recess! is a rousing read.  Every single story, panels and text combined, is a success.  Babymouse and Lunch Lady act as narrative guides conversing on six separate pages before the stories start and at the end.  Four extra pages from the duo supply extra activities for readers.  Short biographical sketches of the authors/illustrators appear at the end.

Please follow the links embedded in the cartoonists' names above to access their websites.  For a peek at pages inside the book, follow this link to the publisher's website.  On the release date, July 8, 2014, John Schumacher, teacher librarian and blogger at Watch. Connect. Read. celebrated with an interview of Matthew Holm.  Jarrett J. Krosoczka stopped in at the Nerdy Book Club to chat about this title.  I don't know about you but there will be a stack of these at my house to hand out to trick or treat children this Halloween.