Showing posts with label guest post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guest post. Show all posts

Blog Tour: Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers + Guest Post



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Here We Are
Author: Oliver Jeffers
Reading Level: Picture Book
Genre: Contemporary
Released: November 2017
Review Source: Penguin Young Readers

Our world can be a bewildering place, especially if you’ve only just got here. Your head will be filled with questions, so let’s explore what makes our planet and how we live on it.

From land and sky, to people and time, these notes can be your guide and start you on your journey. And you’ll figure lots of things out for yourself. Just remember to leave notes for everyone else...

Some things about our planet are pretty complicated, but things can be simple, too: there are lots of us on here, so be kind.
Creatures that Live in Thin Air

Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers is a sweet book that introduces kids to the world, our world. Children are able to learn about space, our land, the sea, air and other facts about our planet. So to add to this introduction, I thought it would be great to talk about couple of creatures that live in thin air.


Alpine swift are known to be able to stay aloft in the air for up to seven months! They have very short legs which are used for clinging to vertical surfaces. They drink on the wing, but roost on vertical cliffs or walls.


Llamas! Yes, these creatures live in grassy open spaces at very high altitudes of 7,400 - 12,800 feet. They have more red blood cells per unit volume of blood than any other mammal.


Himalayan marmot is a marmot found  throughout the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau at elevation from 3,500 to 5,200 m (11,500 to 17,100 ft). They dig large burrows, which generally restricts them to areas with light-textured and adequately deep soil.


Yak (Bos mutus) are  long-haired domesticated bovid in which their coat helps to insulate them in their cold environment. They can lives up to 6,100 m (20,000 ft) and make their homes in treeless areas which are on mountains and plateaus.. Their horns are used to break through the snow and reach
plants.



Oliver Jeffers makes art.

From figurative painting and installation to illustration and picture-book making, Oliver Jeffers’ work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in multiple cities, including Lazarides Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Brooklyn Museum and Spring Break Fair (Armory Week) in New York, and Gestalten Space in Berlin.

Oliver’s picture books — including The Incredible Book Eating Boy,  This Moose Belongs to Me, The Day Crayons Quit  and its sequel The Day The Crayons Came Home ( both #1 NYTimes Bestsellers)  and Once Upon an Alphabet — have been translated into over 30 languages. Working in collaboration with Studio AKA, Oliver’s second book Lost and Found was developed into an animated short film that has received over sixty awards, including a BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film.

Picture book awards include the The New York Times Best Illustrated Books, Smarties Award, Irish Book of the Year, The Red House Book Award, British Book Design Award, and The Blue Peter Book of the Year. Oliver won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo. In 2013 Oliver co-directed with Mac Premo the video for Ordinary Love by U2, and more recently made art for, and helped art direct, U2’s Innocence and Experience World Tour.

Oliver is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Blog Tour: Renegades by Marissa Meyer + Guest Post




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Renegades
Renegades #1
Author: Marissa Meyer
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: November 7th 2017
Review Source: Feiwel & Friends

From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer, comes a high-stakes world of adventure, passion, danger, and betrayal.
Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

Sweet mother of Prodigies! Marissa Meyer is a genius and Renegades is as awesome as her other stories. After waiting for an eternity to read Renegades, I was gifted an advance copy in exchange of a review and I was so gratefully excited. I was so stocked to start and it certainly did not disappoint. So if you're a fan of comics, superheroes, and/or villains, this one is a must.

The story begins with a very traumatizing event. Poor Nova, one of the main characters, is a witness to this event and is forever engraved with the horrific act that occurred. Now, that she is grown, Nova wants vengeance. How exciting? As the story continues, we learn that in Gatlon city is divided by two camps, the Superheroes known as Renegades and Villians known as the Anarchists. What makes this story special is the dual POV's between Nova, a secret Anarchist known as Nightmare and Adrian, a group leader of the Renegades. It's fun to read their world collide and how intense these characters can get. Seriously, they are so much fun to get to know. 

Renegades provides you more of the world-building and how everything operates in Gatlon City, so it is slowly paced. So it does have its highs and lows. You'll be introduced to characters within each sector and will learn more about their abilities. But once you past the introductions, you'll be hooked. Also the ending is so shocking and the plot twist... Yes, THAT plot twist will definitely have you start a new countdown to the release of book 2.  So if you're doubting whether to read this book or not, just give in and read Renegades. Be sure to get your hands on it on November 7th. You won't be disappointed. 


My Top Ten Heroes in Literature / Comics

Top ten is always hard when it comes to books and comics. Like how are we supposed to choose from the hundreds of options? Can you come up with just ten? No, right? So to answer this question, I asked myself, who would I want fighting on my side during war? Again, hard but here I go:

Arya Stark - Game of Thrones: Fights for what she believes for



William Herondale - The Infernal Devices: With his fierce love, he will do anything to keep you protected.


Iron Man - Marvel: Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist



Hermione Granger - Harry Potter Series: One of the best role models with her strong, smart and independent personality.


Daenerys Targaryen - Game of Thrones: mother of dragons


Helena - Orphan Black: A psycho with a heart, if she considers you as family. 



Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games: A heroine that changed her generation for the better.


Celaena Sardothien - Throne of Glass: One of the most strongest characters in Young Adult literature and loves to read!

Bellamy Blake - The 100: total badass


Wolverine - X-Men: a character comfortable with shades of grey, hey, if he's on your side, then you're set for life




MARISSA MEYER is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles series, as well as the graphic novel Wires and Nerve: Vol. 1, and The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book.

Her first stand alone novel, Heartless, was also a #1 New York Times bestseller. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters.



Blog Tour: The World's Greatest Adventure Machine by Frank L. Cole | Guest Post | Giveaway



Welcome to Day #10 of The World's Greatest Adventure Machine Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of The World's Greatest Adventure Machine by Frank L. Cole (8/8/17), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Frank and 10 chances to win a copy of Adventure Machine, as well as theme park tickets in the Grand Prize Giveaway!

Deleted Scene


This was the original Chapter 1 of The World’s Greatest Adventure Machine. I wrote it over two and a half years ago and I really loved how it showcased Trevor to the reader. However, a few months after submitting this to my publisher, something horribly similar happened at another zoo with a gorilla. Thus, I was asked to change this chapter as it could be considered too insensitive to current events. Just to make sure you understand, I wrote this first, then the actual event happened later.

  Chapter 1

Trevor Isaacs dropped down into the gorilla habitat and ducked below the tall grasses. Immediately, his shoes sunk into the thick mud and a swarm of gnats began attacking his arms and legs.

“Get off me,” Trevor whispered, swatting at the annoying insects.

Shockingly, no one had seen Trevor shimmy up the fence post and slip through the iron bars at the top. It was the final week before summer vacation at Hunter Middle School, and there were more than five hundred students crammed within the East Chester Zoo and Aquarium in Decatur, Illinois for the school’s annual Zoo Day. Most of Trevor’s sixth grade classmates had gathered around the enclosure to watch Gil, the massive silverback gorilla, strut around the center of the habitat.

Trevor scanned the ground, searching for his cell phone. He had dropped it into the enclosure by accident while trying to capture Gil’s earlier rampage and figured he only had about two minutes to locate the phone before someone started screaming.
He was wrong.

“Is Trevor supposed to be in there?” a girl shouted from up above.

Marci Gibson could never mind her own business. Trevor considered chucking a handful of mud at the school snitch. Instead, he frantically pushed the reeds out of his way.

“Come on. Where is it?” Trevor’s phone had to be somewhere around there. It had just dropped over the side. If he didn’t find it, his mom would kill him, or worse, ground him for the summer and never buy him another phone. Trevor’s teacher, Mrs. Dobson, leaned over the rail. “What on earth? Trevor Isaacs, get out of there right now!” “Dude, are you crazy?” said Hoyt Franklin. Clearly, no one was watching the gorilla anymore. Trevor noticed dozens of cell phones pointed in his direction, all filming him as he stood within a hundred yards of a killer beast.

“Calm down, everyone,” Trevor said. “I just need to find my phone and then I’ll get out.”

What was the big deal anyway? If Marci hadn’t opened her mouth, he would’ve been back on the sidewalk before anyone was the wiser. Finally, Trevor spotted his blue, metallic case and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it had missed the mud.

“Found it,” Trevor announced. He picked up the phone and crammed it into his pocket. Now it was time to get out of there. Prior to leaping in, he hadn’t really thought about how he would leave the gorilla habitat. The rod iron bars curved out and then down, preventing any animal from climbing over. But there had to be a door somewhere. How else did the zoo workers bring food in for the gorillas? Figuring an exit had to be closer to where the gorillas slept, Trevor trudged toward the far wall.

“You sir, stop right there.” It was a man’s voice. Trevor glanced up to see a heavyset officer wearing a light tan uniform, reaching through the bars with a long pole and some sort of wired noose at one end. What was he going to use that for?

“Grab hold and I’ll pull you up.” The officer wheezed. He didn’t actually think he could hold Trevor’s weight, did he? Trevor wasn’t a large kid, more average than anything else, but he weighed almost seventy pounds.

Trevor smirked. “Are you serious? I don’t think that will work.” “It will work.” The man stretched, pressing his face against the bars, and trying to force the pole’s noose into Trevor’s hand. The poor officer was already covered in sweat.

“Honestly, I’m fine,” Trevor said, laughing. “Just show me the door. Besides, there’s no way I’ll be able to climb up, even with–” A deafening roar erupted from inside the habitat, and Trevor fell silent. Gil, the gorilla, may have been the last to notice Trevor’s intrusion, but he definitely was the most annoyed. Trevor turned to face the animal. Gil ferociously pounded his chest with his enormous fists and then roared again, revealing a mouth filled with yellowed fangs. Gasps filled the air as the teachers and Trevor’s classmates held their breath.

“Oh, sweet!” Trevor cheered. This was a classic display of dominance. He remembered watching a grainy video of gorillas in the wild a few months ago in science class. Male gorillas would often beat their chests when they felt threatened.

Trevor carefully slid his hand into his pocket and once again pulled out his phone. He selected his camera app and zoomed in on the enraged gorilla. “How do I get video on this thing?” he asked himself. It was a brand new phone, after all, and Trevor had yet to try out all the various features. He could only hope someone up on the main level was filming everything. That was the sort of viral hit he could be proud of. Gil had had enough. Without any warning, the gorilla charged. His fists thundered against the ground as he rapidly covered the distance in less than a couple of seconds. Trevor snapped two quick pictures on his phone, but the flash failed to distract the beast. Everyone screamed, none louder than Mrs. Dobson.

Suddenly, Gil skidded to a stop, as a bright orange feather appeared in his shoulder. The animal flinched, pawing at the feather and the metallic shaft of the tranquilizer dart protruding from his skin. The gorilla staggered backwards, dropped to his knees, and then collapsed to one side, less than a few feet away from Trevor. Gil’s chest expanded slowly with each breath. His eyes were still open, but they were unfocused.

Trevor slowly turned and stared up at the crowd. “That was awesome!”

*****
Blog Tour Schedule:
August 14th — BookhoundsYA August 15th — Good Choice Reading
August 16thWord Spelunking August 17th — Life Naturally
August 18th — A Dream Within a Dream August 21st— Reading Teen
August 22nd — Crossroad Reviews August 23rdNovel Novice August 24th — YA and Kids Books Central August 25th — Once Upon a Twilight


Follow Frank: Website | Twitter | Facebook
An adventure novel about four lucky kids and a mysterious, but thrilling ride for fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Jurassic Park! CastleCorp and the famous Castleton brothers are unveiling the World’s Greatest Adventure Machine! The roller coaster is an experience like no other, and four lucky kids have won the chance to be the first to ride it. There’s Trevor, whose latest stunt got him in trouble at school again. There’s Devin, whose father is pushing him to be the next Internet sensation. Nika’s wealthy grandfather isn’t too pleased about her participation. And Cameron, he’ll be the first to tell you, is a certified genius. The whole world is watching. But as the kids set off on their journey, they begin to realize that there is perhaps more to their fellow contest winners than meets the eye. And the Adventure Machine? It might just have a mind of its own. Join the contestants on their wild ride if you dare. Your adventure starts now!


About the Author: FRANK L. COLE lives with his wife and three children out west. When not writing books, Frank enjoys going to the movies and traveling. The World’s Greatest Adventure Machine is Frank’s ninth published book and his second with Delacorte Press. His first was The Afterlife Academy. You can learn more about his writing at frankcolwrites.com or find @franklcole on Twitter.


GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY
  • One (1) winner will receive a copy of The World's Greatest Adventure Machine and a set of two theme park tickets to the park of your choice (up to $125)
  • US Only
  • Enter via the rafflecopter below
  • Giveaway ends 8/27 at midnight ET
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor + Giveaway



Welcome to our tour stop for A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor ! This tour includes a giveaway courtesy of PenguinTeen.

A Map for Wrecked Girls
Author: Jessica Taylor 
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: August 15th 2017
Publisher: Dial Books
 
We sat at the edge of the ocean—my sister Henri and I—inches apart but not touching at all. We'd been so sure someone would find us by now.

Emma had always orbited Henri, her fierce, magnetic queen bee of an older sister, and the two had always been best friends. Until something happened that wrecked them.

I'd trusted Henri more than I'd trusted myself. Wherever she told me to go, I'd follow.

Then the unthinkable occurs—a watery nightmare off the dazzling coast. The girls wash up on shore, stranded. Their only companion is Alex, a troubled boy agonizing over his own secrets. Trapped in this gorgeous hell, Emma and Alex fall together as Emma and Henri fall catastrophically apart.

For the first time, I was afraid we'd die on this shore.

To find their way home, the sisters must find their way back to each other. But there’s no map for this—or anything. Can they survive the unearthing of the past and the upheaval of the present?


AMFWG in 10 Gifs or Less

1. Emma has always been a little awkward.


2. But her older sister Henri . . . there’s um, nothing awkward about Henri.

3. They’re the best of friends . . .


4. . . . until some drama goes down.


5. Seriously. Things get real.


6. On their tropical vacation, Emma is desperate to put back together what’s been broken.


7. But a boating accident leaves the sisters shipwrecked on a deserted island.


8. Their only companion is Alex, a boy they met on vacation.


9. The three must survive each other and survive the island with practically nothing.  


10. They don’t even have a ninja star.





Jessica Taylor adores atmospheric settings, dangerous girls, and characters who sneak out late at night. She lives in Northern California, not far from San Francisco, with a law degree she isn’t using, one dog, and many teetering towers of books.



Enter for a chance to be one (1) of three (3) winners to receive a hardcover copy of A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor. (ARV: $17.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on August 7, 2017 and 12:00 AM on August 28, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about August 30, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.


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