Roland Smith has 2 books on this year’s Mark Twain Award Nominee List – Jack’s Run and Cryptid Hunters. In 2004, his book Zach’s Lie won the Mark Twain Award. Zach’s Lie is one of my all time favorite books and I’m always recommending it to teachers and students. As I read it, I kept asking myself, “What would I do if I had to change my name and move away from friends and family?” I can’t imagine being in the Witness Protection Program. Jack’s Run is the sequel to Zach’s Lie. Even if you haven’t read Zach’s Lie, Roland Smith gives enough background information to easily understand Jack’s past. In Jack’s Run, Alonzo, the drug czar, intensifies his hunt for Jack’s family. Since Jack had messed up once before, I kept wondering, “Will he do it again?”

In his novels, Roland Smith makes the readers feel like they’re inside the story, seeing the action and adventure through the eyes of the character. Remember the boy introducing Cryptid Hunters on this year’s Mark Twain Award video when he said (about Roland Smith) “…best author in the world right there, best author.”

Do you agree – Is Roland Smith the best author in the world? What do you think about his books? Will he have another Mark Twain Award winner this year?

 

 Where did Mary Amato get the idea to write The Naked Mole-Rat Letters?  I went to her website (www.maryamato.com) and read that she actually based this book on a personal experience.  Her mother died when she was ten years old and a few years later her dad starting receiving letters from a woman he met at a conference.  She didn’t write to the mystery lady but wished she had.  Mary Amato and her main character Frankie are different but do share a few things in common:

          dulcimer – Mary plays the dulcimer but didn’t start playing as young as Frankie

          The Miracle Worker – Mary also auditioned for a part in the play

          cooking fires – There were 2 cooking fires in her house but  nothing was                                                                 destroyed.

What do you think of this story?  Do you have anything in common with any of the characters?  Has anything similar happened to you that happened in the story?

Last week I attended the Missouri Association of School Librarian’s Conference.  Monday night was the Readers Award Banquet.  I was so disappointed that none of the authors of last year’s winning books were at the banquet.  We did get to preview the video introducing the 2007-08 Mark Twain Award nominees.  That was fun!

This year 29,822 Missouri students in grades 4-8 participated in the Mark Twain program.  Here are this year’s voting results:

          3rd place – Toes                                  2548 votes

          2nd place – The Old Willis Place          4336 votes

          1st place – Abduction by Peg Kehret   5442 votes

What do you think about Abduction winning?