One sure thing about kids is that whatever age they are, they want to be older. The "big" kids are always so strong, so fast, so smart, so cool . . . I remember when my son was in third grade and had a high school reading buddy. His buddy was his hero--just because he was *gasp* a high schooler.
When people think of Dean Koontz, they do NOT instantly think children's author. They think of adult horror and suspense, and rightfully so. However, that is not the only hat he wears these days. Believe it or not, he is also a picture book author and children's poet.
His picture books, SANTA'S TWIN and ROBOT SANTA: THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SANTA'S TWIN are a huge hit with my high school students and my middle grade son. As you can tell, they're a bit twisted, and MG kids usually love anything twisted.In addition to his Santa PBs, he also has a couple of picture books about his dog, Trixie: I, TRIXIE, WHO IS DOG and TRIXIE AND JINX. Both are adorable.
The most middle grade friendly of his children's books is THE PAPER DOORWAY: FUNNY VERSE AND NOTHING WORSE, a collection of poetry reminiscent of Shel Silverstein.
Poems like "The Monstrous Broccoli Excuse," "Boogeyman," "Frankenbunny" and "You Get the Pickle You Asked for" will be instant hits with most middle grade readers. And they get the added bonus of being able to say they read Dean Koontz!
I will give away ONE copy of The Paper Doorway to a commenter on today's post. To enter, follow Project Mayhem and leave a comment! The lucky winner will be notified by email on Wednesday. Good luck.
Glad I saw this posted on Twitter (thanks@HilaryWagner1). I didn't know Dean Koontz had these books out. Can't wait to track them down.
ReplyDeleteYay, middle grade!
I'll take a look at some of these. I know that Harlen Coben did a great job with Shelter, but other adult authors don't always translate as well.
ReplyDeleteI never would have guessed.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover of that book! And the Santa books, I didn't know he had these out. Yeah, I've been living under a rock. They look awesome, though.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea he wrote for kids. I'll let someone else win this one. Thanks for the contest.
ReplyDeleteWeird, I haven't seen any of these out in the world! Wonder why not? Love to see if my boys would like them.
ReplyDeleteCool! I had no idea!
ReplyDeleteShannon, welcome, welcome! To those of you who don't know this is Team Member Shannon O'Donnell's inaugural post!! :) You know, Stephen King writes this vivid terrifying horror novels, but his short stories, like The Green Mile for example, are some of the most touching stories around. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat first post, girl!
I forgot about that part, Hilary. Yes, yes, welcome, Shannon!
ReplyDeleteWe're Kootz fans and mg readers and had no idea! Look forward to seeing his other side!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Shannon. Welcome aboard. I had no idea Kootz dabbled in kid and MG lit.
ReplyDeleteReally? I had no idea he did kids' stuff. I love the poem titles you mentioned, and I'm a big fan of Shel Silverstein, so maybe I'll check him out.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Shannon--great to have you onboard the SS Mayhem.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be no end to Dean Koontz's talents. Thanks for showing us his MG side.
Creepy Santas! Had to shake off those images a bit - now I'll need to read the books to redeem Santa - ha!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're joining us, Shannon!
Love everything Koontz and combine him with Shel Silverstein prose and I'm smitten. His Trixie tales were awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance and I'm a new follower
shel704 at aol dot com
I love Santa's Twin. I didn't know about Robot Santa. Gonna have to get that one for myself. I love anything that Koontz writes and Parks illustrates. Would love to win The Paper Doorway!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
suzebomb(at)gmail.com
I've been reading Dean Koontz books since I was in middle school (probably not age-appropriate!) but now it is nice that I can share an appropriate book with my own middle schoolers.
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