Twitterific Giveaway Winner!!!

And the winner is....

ERICA!!!

Erica, please email your address to projectmayhem@gmx.com and claim those awesome middle-grade books!

Congrats Erica and thanks to one and all who entered and showed their support! 

WE LOVE OUR READERS!

Team Mayhem

Grudge Match: Character vs. Plot

This poster is all about the characters.

This past weekend my wife and I went to see the Hunger Games movie. My wife hadn’t read the book, but I had read it way back when it was first released. I can still remember finishing the book and then turning to my wife and saying, “This is going to be a huge series, and it BETTER be a movie, too. A great one.” Well, I was right on both accounts. The series has been a blockbuster, and now the movie is a blockbuster, too (and rightfully so, in my opinion).

This poster gives us a bit more about plot.

But after watching the movie, my wife and I were discussing the book and the movie and a question came up that made me stop and think. That question was: Is it the plot that hooks you the most, or is it the characters? I had to really think about this. In the end, I determined that it was the plot that does it for me most. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the characters as well, but in the end I believe I’d still love the books just as much even if the characters were weak. And that got me thinking about books in general, and which is more important: characters or plot? Not long after my conversation with my wife, I tweeted the “characters vs. plot” question and had some interesting responses. I realize that ideally you want great, fully-realized characters AND a great plot when you’re reading a book. But for the sake of argument, let’s think of which one you take to more, and which one you feel is more crucial to a good book, not just Hunger Games. 

Now I’d like to ask you that question: Which is more important (which do you take to more), plot or characters? And, why?

Books, Boys, and Gordon Korman

As I've said here before, it's not always easy to find books that interest both my boys. Now that they're getting older (Happy eleventh birthday, Noah!), they're developing their own tastes, and my recommendations don't always fly. That's why it's been so fun to discover together Gordon Korman's books.


Gordon Korman has written dozens of books over the last three decades, everything from the young adult books A SEMESTER IN THE LIFE OF A GARBAGE CAN (one of my favorite titles ever) and the more recent SCHOOLED and EVEREST to the middle-grade books THE SIXTH-GRADE NICKNAME GAME and 39 CLUES. 
   
Gordon writes in a variety of styles and with a never-ending collection of memorable characters and produces books for every kind of kid. Here are the books we've enjoyed the last few months:


SWINDLE and ZOOBREAK:
Best friends Ben and Griffin right the wrongs in their community by concocting elaborate plans involving stolen baseball cards, animal heists, and villains with perfect nicknames.



THE TOILET PAPER TIGERS and THE CHICKEN DOESN'T SKATE:
I don't have one sporty bone in my body, and yet I've still been able to enjoy these books that include a small-town underdog baseball team headed up by a brilliant-but-clueless scientist and his savvy, blackmailing New York granddaughter and a science-experiment chicken that becomes a hockey-team mascot.
 

It's great to know we have so many more Korman titles to choose from in the months and years ahead!


What contemporary titles do your boys or male students gravitate toward?

Review and Giveaway - Elliot Stone and the Mystery of the Summer Vacation Sea Monster

Elliot Stone and the Mystery of the Summer Vacation Sea Monster

Written by: L.P. Chase

Illustrated by: Carl DiRocco

From the back cover:

Elliot Stone's Summer is ruined! not only will he be away from his best friend Jake, but he'll have to miss Cassie's graduation party of the century while he spends an entire month in a Vermont cabin on Lake Bomoseen. After Elliot's dad shares the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, a month at the lake suddenly doesn't seem so boring. The situation quickly escalates as Elliot encounters a strange sighting in the lake. But when he meets Marley, the totally cute girl next door, they embark on a mission he hadn't quite planned on.

My thoughts:

It was after I finished reading the book that I discovered L.P. Chase has written several other Elliot Stone novels, so readers may already be familiar with the cast of characters. This was my first foray into Elliot's world, and I thought it was an overall success.

The writing is nice, the story has a good pace, the characters are interesting, and the setting took me back to happy camping memories. I've always been a big fan of mysteries, so seeing the twists and turns of a puzzle for this age-group makes me happy, and I think readers will enjoy the Loch Ness references and sleuthing.

The mom side of me prickled a bit when the story opened with Elliot griping about missing a party because he was going on the annual family vacation, something he usually looks forward to every summer. I know kids can have attitudes - I have three boys after all - ha! - but I was immediately distanced by Elliot's complaining. (Admittedly, I can't say a kid would feel the same way. ;) I am happy to report that things cleared up rather quickly after that, and Elliot proved to be a relatable character after all.

Finally, a word about the illustrations. I loved them! And so did my just-beginning-to-read son. He was immediately drawn to the cover and interested in the story. Job well done!

While Elliot's adventures are solidly middle-grade, this book falls on the younger end of the spectrum. I think a reader making the transition from chapter books to middle grade fare would find Elliot's adventures a nice addition to his or her library.

Thanks so much to Blue Marlin Publications for sending me a copy of the book!

Enter to win a copy of Elliot Stone, follow Team Mayhem and leave a comment telling us a favorite camping memory (or book)!

The Twitterific Middle-Grade Book Giveaway!

Hello everyone! Project Mayhem is finally on twitter! So, if you're twitterific please give us a follow and we promise we'll stalk you back! We've also done a bit of redesign on the blog. It was time! We are still making some much needed overhauls, but if you don't like it please complain to management and we'll see what we can do! We are all about pleasing our readers!

In honor of our new design and social media triumphs (because opening that twitter account took a whole five seconds) we'll be giving away a big box of stunning new middle-grade books/ARC's--hot of the presses!

Here is what one lucky winner will get:

1. Mimi by John Newman (Candlewick Press)
2. The Beyonders, Seeds of Rebellion by Brandon Mull (Aladdin)
3. Tua and the Elephant by R.P. Harris (Chronicle Books)
4. Haunted Histories by J.H. Everett & Marilyn Scott-Waters (Henry Holt)
5. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Scholastic)
6. Little Dog, Lost by Marion Dane Bauer (Atheneum)
7. Nightshade City by Hilary Wagner (Holiday House)
8. The Wild Book by Margarita Engle (Harcourt)

Wow, that's eight books! 

To enter the contest:

1. Leave a comment on social media in your life: Do you love it, hate it, addicted, or are you a recently recovered addict?? 
2. If you don't already, please follow the PM blog, by going to that little gray sidebar on the right and adding yourself to our Head Mischief Makers via Google Connect!
3. Follow us on twitter. If you don't have an account we'll just have to go by the honor system!
4. Spread the word! This is 100% optional, but greatly appreciated!

Winner will be annouced on Thursday of next week! Thanks to everyone who's built up Project Mayhem! It seems like we are exploding these days and we are so happy to have you all be part of our combustion!