#AuthorFanFaceOff 1

A few weeks ago one of my favorite nonfiction writers and friend, Steve Sheinkin, reached out to me about a new video series idea he had.  I was intrigued...An author and a young fan battle it out on questions about a favorite book written by said author. A leap worthy concept and am thrilled to be part of the team!

Check out our pilot featuring fifth grader, Ace and author, Chris Grabenstein, as they go head to head answering questions about Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. Go. Pause game. Play along. End game. How well will you do? 

We have many more episodes in the works. Stay tuned! And please, if you've got a pair to share, we're open to all suggestions!

CHOBANI and Almonds Grabenstein Style

The bookstore asked if I could sell 100 books. Could I?
I told my students there was a "contest".
IF we sold 100 books, our friend Chris Grabenstein would visit.



We sold 108 books.
Splendiferous! As our reward, Chris Grabenstein returned to CES last week. WOOHOO!

We love having lunch with our visitors.  This time it was going to be a bit challenging.  Got this message from the bookstore coordinating his visit:

Apparently he likes:   Chobani blueberry no-fat yogurt and a bag of almonds  

That was a stumper.  Were the kids going to be into that? For lunch???

So...I knocked this around with one of my teachers who said,

Chobani... suggestion: have a selection of five or more different almonds... sliced, blanched, roasted, tamari, raw... and some fresh blueberries...

Within the parameters, you can still be you (AKA going over the top)

I took that and leapt. What about a Chobani and Almond blind taste test with some fourth graders?

A trip to the grocery store and twelve different tubs of Chobani, five cans of almonds later I was ready for "Chobani and Almonds Grabenstein Style."  I made up a review sheet, got some pencils and spoons and we put our taste buds to test.  It was a wonderful interaction between reader and author that I highly recommend.  Giggles, "ews" "yums" and guesses all lead to a different kind of bonding that we don't usually experience when we have lunch together.

In hindsight, I believe Chris wishes he requested ice cream, but a healthy dose of yogurt was certainly a close second.  (and I was thrilled that so many of the kids enjoyed the Chobani.) Maybe for the launch of SHINE (Chris's new middle grade he wrote with his wife.  It's due out in the fall--Stay tuned!) we'll have ice cream.  I had to ask Chris, "Why Chobani?"  He told me it was a good company with a good mission (see below).  Also, yogurt is easy to polish off while chatting with kids.  And as far as Chobani goes, he is right--Check out the [anti] CEO's recent TedTalk. If it's up to me, we'll be having more Chobani tests in the future.

As per his request, the BLUEBERRY NONFAT CHOBANI

Prologue:

Check out this recent TED Talk by the anti-CEO of Chobani.

A Surprise for 400+

Last Tuesday we threw a surprise party for way over 400 people! If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I love surprises more than anything and the idea of surprising this many was such a thrill.

Chris Grabenstein wanted to come to Castleton on the book birthday of Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race.  Not only that, the movie was premiering the night before on Nickelodeon and Chris wanted to be here to watch it with some kids.

Hmmm...So Chris has been to Castleton a few times already.  How do we make this visit special and memorable? I know! We surprise EVERYONE! Not just the students, but the faculty, too! AND...we try and raise enough money from the community so that EVERY student could get a signed copy of the book. 

And that we did!

A shocked Connor!

How were we going to figure out the movie part? Well, we held a video contest that we opened up to the whole district, K-12. Contestants ended up being from grades 3-7.  Winners were chosen by Chris and invited to a special surprise dinner hosted by him at Dlish restaurant. If that isn't an awesome prize for a fan, I don't know what is!

Speaking of movie--Chris with "Mr. Lemoncello!"

All contestants were invited to a viewing party back at school. They thought they were just coming to watch the movie with friends.  They had no idea that Chris would show up!

Chris during a commercial break with his fans!

  

We all cheered when we saw this!

Chris snuck out right after the movie ended to "catch the next train back to NYC".  Little did anyone know that the last train to NYC had left a couple of hours before!  He went back to his hotel only to tiptoe into our gym, coffee in hand, at 7:25 the next morning.

Then we started the assembly.  Business went as usual. We announced the boxtops winners of the month. We watched the winning videos.  We sang "Happy Book Birthday" to the book on Chris's voice mail. Mr. Reischer's class put on a skit about Chris and the birthday, and still no one knew Chris would show up! And then he did...AND everyone got a book!

Check out Chris's Lemoncello shoes! 

Oops! We learned this red carpet should have been orange for Nickelodeon!

Thanks for everything, Chris, even the leaps!

ps-A few people were in on the secret (truly, not many).  None of this could have happened without the extraordinary, Brenda Kelliher, fifth grade math teacher.  Her creativity, dedication, seeing the big picture and attention to details are all amazing.  She rocks!

Photos compliments of Jason McCord, Mrs. Kosinski, Mrs. Yager and my daughter, Tari.

See more from Mr. McCord here.

Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race

If I wasn't 100 percent positive that Chris Grabenstein's manuscript for his third Mr. Lemoncello book was submitted way before the term "fake news" surfaced in the media, I would have bet money that he based the book on it.  But, since I know he did, I can only think that maybe he's just a tad clairvoyant?

One of the biggest champions of libraries and librarians, Chris Grabenstein has done it again.  Truth be told (although it not always is in this book) kids and adults alike are going to fall for this INCREDIBLETASTIC, AMAZERRIFIC, WONDERMOUS third installment in the Mr. Lemoncello series.

First scavenger hunts, then Olympics and now the "Fact-Finding Frenzy...to see who can solve clues, unravel puzzles, pass through roadblocks, and overcome any and all obstacles to find the fascinating fact [Mr. Lemoncello is] looking for!...The facts...will be linked to the five new interactive Nonfictionator displays...revealed...to the public at a grand gala..." Did he just say gala?!  I wonder who he got the idea from?  Check out this link!

But, as you know, nothing is ever simple or easy with Mr. Lemoncello. Amidst finding fascinating autobiographical facts directly from holographic versions of Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, Emily Dickinson, the Wright brothers and Thomas Edison, Kyle and his friends feel that something isn't quite right. "Nothing stops a lie faster than cold hard facts." The kids work hard and fast to uncover the truth, even if it means leaving Alexandriaville.  Fortunately, they have the banana jet to aid them in transporting them across state lines.

As with the other two books, there is also a puzzle at the end for your solving pleasure.  I also love all the book references, subtle and forthright.  I started to jot them all down and then noticed there is a list at the back of the book.  Even our friend, Kwame, is mentioned!

So many lessons learned in one fun book--Persevere.  Don't be afraid to search for the truth. Failure is ok. "I failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed," said the Michael Jordan character.  However, this book is the complete opposite of failure for Chris Grabenstein. It's his love letter to librarians, "search engines with a heart" and kids who are not afraid to dig for the truth. A success!

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; 

the point is to discover them."

-Chris Grabenstein

ps-Don't go rushing to the store just yet! The book will be released on October 10, 2017.

Welcome to Wonderland: Home Sweet Motel

Break out the Dr. Brown cel-ray soda, a soft serve twist and put aside a good few hours because you are not going to want to stop reading or listening to Chris Grabenstein's latest book.  It's a fun, laugh out loud adventure that hits shelves this Tuesday, October 4.  

A veer of a train stop away from Chris's  Lemoncello books, this tale, set in present times will immediately bring back your memories of that 70s Florida beach resort.  Me?  I got a wicked sunburn one year and ouch!  I can still feel it!  Could have been because I was using baby oil and nothing else. Agh.  Personally, I feel the need to crack open this reel-to-reel (ok, now you know how old I am!) and see if we actually stayed at the Wilkie's resort.  I'd be surprised if we didn't.

But never mind about me, here we have another great story from Chris.  Our hearts beat faster as the story got intense and suspenseful.  We laughed at Grandpa, the brothers, Mr. Ortega, the college students.  We bit our fingernails hoping the story would end up the way we hoped it would. We felt the chlorine on our skin and smelled the salt in the air. What a wonderful time of year to read this hot tale as we begin wearing long sleeves and sweatshirts here in upstate New York.

Like Chris, P.T. Wilkie is a talented storyteller and this is one story you don't want to miss.  Good thing those stories come easily to him because they could just be the answer to saving their hotel. P.T. lives with his mom and grandfather in the Wonderland Motel in St. Petersburg, Florida.  But things aren't as grand as they seem. They just found out they have to find $150,000 in a month to keep it the motel theirs.  With the help of P.T.'s new friend Gloria, they get to work.  Frog Croakie (not sure I'm spelling this right since we listened to the story and the book isn't even out yet!)--Karaoke with a frog slide is an instant hit as well as a scavenger hunt on the beach and green ice cream.  However, when a couple of brothers show up things start to get really interesting.  Is Grandpa's sweetheart from 1973 about to save him?  Could a miracle be hidden in one of the circa 1970s statues? Or someplace else? Will the motel be saved?

Even though "Life doesn't have the same rules as a board game" I don't have to tell you to roll the dice or spin the wheel to find the answer on whether you should get this book on October 4 or not. Just do it.  Mainly because you will be able to escape your worries and check out "the wonders and marvels [you] just can't find in everyday life" here at the Wonderland Motel.

Side Note:  Pair this with last year's graphic novel, Sunny Side Up by Jenni and Matt Holm and you have a double order of 70's Florida fun!

Dear Mr. Principal, I have redeemed myself....

Today was one of the top five days of my career, no doubt.  And I do believe if I didn't completely redeem myself for that epic observation fail Tuesday, I hope I came pretty darn close.

Was it the Beekle?  Did Castleton become Midnight Gulch?  I don't know, but whatever it was, a "snicker of magic" appeared at Castleton Elementary School this morning.  Fifth graders rocked the house after sharing a winning flag and singing and performing an original song to the tune of "Hey Mickey" called "Hey Chris."  Then, in a magical spindiddly moment, I leapt into the crowd and all our students screamed when they found out that Chris Grabenstein is coming AGAIN to our school in January, just one day after the release of Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics! Believe in the impossible and you just don't know where it will lead you.

Finding out Chris is coming!

*References to A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd and Fourteenth Goldfish by Jenni Holm.

Walk this Way with Mr. Lemoncello

We are 2 for 2!  The rain stopped for just enough time for Mrs. Puccio and Mrs. Seres's class to walk down to the library today!  Mrs. Colloton, Mrs. Warland and Mrs. Gershman came with us, too!  And this time we were prepared.  Many of the students brought their library cards with them to school and more brought in the paperwork to get library cards.  Watch out Castleton Public Library!  Your circulation stats are going to fly out the window by the time I'm done with you!

Leaving CES.  Hoping it won't rain!

Walking down the steps from Sacred Heart Church.  Fun!

The new youth services librarian, Mia, is so cool!
Here she is doing a great job promoting the summer reading program.

Ooh! I hope I find a book I like!

Where are your Non-fiction books?  Right here!

We're all wondering who can check out a book...

And to end it all, of course we JUMPED!

I almost finalized my summer reading book groups.  Stay tuned!  It looks like they are going to be great books.  Last year I only included the current fifth graders going into sixth. This year I will open it up to current fourth and fifth.  I would love to have the older kids, too, but I don't know if I'm cool enough for them anymore.

Speaking of books and libraries...
Yesterday was a big day because all the Lemoncello books from Mrs. Yager's class finally got digitized.  That was a job!  Scanning, uploading into powerpoint, uploading into Calameo but now I can say all eight books are done!  This was a great collaborative project but a huge one!  Mrs. Yager and I worked together to have her third graders retell Chris Grabenstein's Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library.  Once the books were completed, they read them to all the K-2 students to prepare them for Chris's visit back in March.  The books came out great.

Here they are:

Kennedy And Kate Lemoncello

Violet, Deyanna, Emily Lemoncello

Cole, Dean And Grace H Lemoncello

Alivia Justin Kyla Lemoncello Book

Zack Nate Brynn Lemoncello Book

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Cameron, Ellis and Jordan

Mr Lemoncello Book by Celise, Claire and Sean

Escape From Mr Lemoncello's Library

Since Chris was here for the release party of The Island of Dr. Libris we are keeping our fingers crossed that he can make his way North for the release of the Lemoncello sequel, due out in early January 2016.  Maybe we should cross toes, legs, eyes, to give us the most luck possible.