Monsters at the Decatur Book Festival!

Author Reception at Little Shop of Stories

     I was so eager to get to the author reception at Little Shop of Stories that my heart was pounding in my chest.  I was wondering who I would see when we arrived.  My legs started to tingle.  I opened the door and I saw authors galore!  At this point I probably looked like a geek, because I was jumping up and down and smiling wildly.
     I calmed down and then my friend introduced me to the photo booth where we dressed like hams and posed for the camera.  We thought the camera might run out of batteries so we let other people have a turn.
     My mother called me over to where she was standing.  There was Joan Holub!  I immediately started jumping again.  I was about to fan-girl it.  I love her Goddess Girl books and have read all of them.  Once I calmed down, we chatted like the Goddess girls at MOA Academy.  Joan Holub was very kind and I really enjoyed meeting her.
     After I said and did all the things I possibly could with Ms Holub, I went upstairs to play with my friends, Jenny and Phoebe. Soon, my brother, Marsh, came to get me so I could meet some more authors.
     My mom wanted me to meet the author of Beautiful Creatures, Margaret Stohl.  I loved her variety of glasses--she had, like, six pairs in her purse.  Lucky duck!  She introduced me to her friend named Meg.  I had no idea it was Meg Cabot, author of the Allie Finkle books.  I was thrilled to meet her!
      After meeting Ms Cabot, I stayed downstairs for a while and had a funny conversation with Shannon Hale, Author of The Princess Academy series, about our favorite green people.  That was another highlight of the night.
     When I went to say goodbye to Joan Holub, I met the author Kenneth Oppel--he wrote a super-scary book called This Dark Endeavor.  He signed my copy of the book!
     I had so much fun that night.  Thank you Little Shop of Stories!

Emiline

This is me and Meg Cabot! (Thanks, Margaret Stohl)

Decatur Book Festival

    This year was the 7th annual Decatur Book Festival.   I think this festival is a great place for everyone to interact and get to know what her favorite authors are like.  I got to meet Heather Brewer, Joan Holub and got the best author signature ever from Shannon Hale!  I loved seeing Tom Angleburger, Rania Telgemeier, Nick Breul, and Peter Brown.  They were all at the children's stage. (This things they said was serious comedy gold.) 

     They also introduced the book for this year's ON The Same Page on the children's stage.  I can't wait to read it.  (P.S., it's Holes by Louis Sachar.)

This makes me laugh.

I'm holding the newest in The Goddess Girls Series!!

I love Joan Holub! You should read her series The Goddess Girls.

We are On the Same Page and reading Holes!

Summer Reading!

   

Summer Books We FLIPPED For!     

 Summer reading can be awesome if you find books you really like.   We have put together some books we've flipped for that could be great for you too!

Marsh & Emiline

Emiline's Picks for Great Summer reads:

 Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls Series by Meg Cabot

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls is a great summer series.  Even though Allie's in school she can give you great advise because of all the girl drama she deals with!  You can even learn some of her rules to help you be a good person.  I think of Meg Cabot's books as life lessons.  You'll never get tired of this series because it's packed with surprises.  If you're looking for some guidance and a nice summer series then you should pick up Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls by Meg Cabot.

  

              

Please visit Meg Cabot's site for lots of games and fun with Allie Finkle:

http://www.megcabot.com/alliefinkle/

Scholastic also has some great things for this series:

http://alliefinkle.scholastic.com/

I picked up my Allie Finkle Rules for Girl's book at my favorite Indie Bookstore, Little Shop of Stories.  One of their employees said Allie Finkle had MOXIE!

You can find these books at your school or local library, or at your favorite bookstore.

Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: The New Girl Review by Emiline

 Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: The New Girl

Review by Emiline

            Allie Finkle is back in The New Girl and this time she is dealing with a bully.  Allie is having trouble at her new school, Pine Heights Elementary.  A bully named Rosemary is making her a target because Allie had told on Rosemary for making fun of her essay.

            Allie’s feeling scared so her dad gives her a punching lesson, while her friends are saying to tell on Rosemary again.  Should she fight or tell?  What plan will Allie choose?  Find out in The New Girl.

            Three reasons why I liked Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: The New Girl:

Number one—In Allie Finkle I learned that the author, Meg Cabot, is trying to encourage kids to stop bullying.

Number two—I like Allie Finkle because she was willing to stand up for herself.

Number three—I realized that lots of people get bullied.

            I recommend Allie Finkle to people who like to have a good laugh.  

I give it FIVE MONSTERS.  I really love this book and this series.

To find out more about Meg Cabot (she also wrote The Princess Diaries) visit this site:

http://www.megcabot.com/

To play some great games and learn more about Allie's Rules visit this site:

http://alliefinkle.scholastic.com/

I found this book at my favorite Indie Bookstore, Little Shop of Stories.  You can find this book at your favorite Indie Bookstore, or at your school or local library.

Emiline's Review of Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day

Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: Moving Day

Review by Emiline

            Allie is a girl with a lot of rules.  Lots of her rules are about friendship—like her Don’t Shove a Spatula Down Your Best Friend’s Throat rule.  Some aren’t friendship rules—like the Never Eat Anything Red rule. (That’s one of my favorites.)

            Allie’s story starts out when she shoves a spatula down her best friend’s throat.  And if you think that’s bad, then wait, it gets much worse.  When Allie gets home from her best friend’s house, a.k.a Mary Kay, she finds out she is moving and she’ll have to give up her rock collection. 

            Later that night, Allie and her family go to visit their new house.  Allie kept whining because she didn’t want to move into the new house.  But Allie stopped whining when her mom said that if she moved into the house without whining she could get a new kitten.  Allie agreed with that . . . until she saw the house.  She thought it was haunted.

            When they arrived her mom also said that Allie would have to attend a new school.  Will Allie be able to change her parent’s minds?  Or will she have to make a Never Move Into a Haunted House Rule?  Find out in Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls:  Moving Day.

            Why I liked it:  Allie likes rules.  That means she will follow them.  Allie has a lot in common with me because she also follows rules and is witty—just like me.  Plus, she has blonde hair, too.  Allie is cool to me because she collects geodes.  They look like rocks on the outside, but on the inside, Geodes look like sparkly diamonds.  I recommend the Allie Finkle books to people who are crazy about rules. 

I give Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day by Meg Cabot

FIVE MONSTERS!

(I already picked up the second Allie Finkle book at Little Shop of Stories)

To find out more about the author and this series and Meg Cabot visit this site: (Meg Cabot is also the author of The Princess Diaries) 

 http://www.megcabot.com/alliefinkle/index.php

To play games and read some silly rules with Allie Finkle visit this site:

http://alliefinkle.scholastic.com/

You can find the books in this series at your school's Scholastic Book Fair, or your school and local library.  You can also buy this book at your favorite Indie Bookstore (mine is Little Shop of Stories).