Posted by Carly M. on May 31, 2009 10:10 AM in Reads
What do you get when you take the suave, clever, and mysterious demeanor of the famous fictional crime detective, Dick Tracy -- and transplant it into a reptile? One grotesque and scary mystery to solve? Well, yes . . . but you also get this fast-paced comedic series: the Chet Gecko Mysteries by Bruce Hale.
In these stories, which are reminiscent of witty1940s crime detective novels, readers are introduced to Chet Gecko, a wisecracking 4th-grade detective from Emerson Hicky Elementary. Oh, yeah, and he's also a gecko! Yes, like from the commercial, but without the accent.
The Chet Gecko Mysteries are full of interesting characters like Tony Newt, Shirley Chameleon, and Eena Moe. Plus, you'll also get to help Chet solve unusual yet fascinating mysteries — just check out these book titles: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, The Hamster of the Baskervilles, and The Malted Falcon!
However, my favorite thing about the Chet Gecko Mysteries is Hale's use of quirky and hilarious similes and metaphors, such as these gems:
"my heart beat like a hyperactive octopus with a drum set" "the line of kids dribbled out the doors like snot from a runny nose in flu season" "my classmate kept staring like his choo-choo didn't go back to the station anymore"
Classic!
So dig out your fedora, put on that trench coat, and get ready to help Chet Gecko solve some mysteries.
Plus, gear up for reading Hale's books by submitting YOUR best metaphor in the comments. Here's mine! "Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze."
I grew up on the beach, so packing a bag and a cold sandwich and walking down to the scalding hot sand was a regular part of my summer vacation. We always brought some standards -- fresh fruit, LOTS of sunblock (I learned my lesson early on, after a particularly bad sunburn!), plenty of beach towels, and of course, a few things to keep us entertained for when the waves got too rough or the sun got too bright.
As we head into the summer season now, I got to thinking about the best beach books — you know, those titles that so clearly capture what the summertime is all about: relaxing, swimming, friendships, and exploring!
So here are my top five choices for the best beach reads:
5.Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman (ages 10-14) Hailey and Claire are best friends, but it seems like this summer, everything is changing. Claire's family is moving away, and even their regular summer hangout — the beach club — is closing at the end of the season. Hoffman is one of my favorite authors, with her magical and mystical stories; this one is classic Hoffman, because one day the girls discover that a bad storm has delivered a mermaid to the shore. It should be simple enough to rescue the ever-weakening mermaid by bringing her back to the ocean, but alas, she's in love with the boy running the beach club's gift shop. Strange and dreamy, this beach read was turned into a feature film a few years ago. Check it out!
4.Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford (ages 9-12) Raise your hand if you've ever put off a homework assignment! Well, we've all been there, and in this book, poor Moxy has put off her summer reading homework so long that she now has exactly one day to do it all. But she can't help it if things keep getting in the way — like inventing stuff, or gardening. Will she finally read her homework before it's too late? This hilarious book will leave you relieved that YOU haven't waited until the last minute to complete your summer homework. (Hint, hint.)
3.Summer Reading is Killing Me! (The Time Warp Trio) by Jon Scieszka (ages 7-10) Speaking of summer reading lists, have you ever misplaced yours? Sam, Fred, and Joe (members of the Time Warp Trio) find themselves stuck in the pages of books – literally! Now they have to deal with 266-pound chickens and other crazy book characters in order to help save the heroes of kids' literature. A helpful reminder to keep your summer homework in a safe place!
2.Boy-Crazy Stacey (The Baby-sitters Club #8) by Ann M. Martin (ages 9-12) This one holds a special place in my heart because in it, Stacey and Mary Anne spend two glorious weeks with the Pike family in Sea City, New Jersey — which was modeled after the beach towns I grew up near! This title has everything I love about summer: boardwalks, beach days, miniature golf, salt water taffy . . . I could go on. As usual, some baby-sitting crises arise, but Stacey and Mary Anne manage to come out on top and learn some key lessons.
1.Alice the Brave by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (ages 9-12) At some point growing up I realized not everyone is as fond of the water as I am. Take Alice, who's about to enter 8th grade. She and her friends spend all their days at a friend's swimming pool — sounds relaxing, right? Well, not for Alice, because she's way too busy hiding her fear of deep water from her friends — who, meanwhile, are busy with secrets and changes of their own. A great beach read for those of you who maybe don't love the beach as much as I do!
So what about you all? When you go to the beach, which books do you like to read?
Tasty tidbits on your celebrity faves!
From Gerri Miller, for the Ink Splot 26 Celeb Beat
Hello and welcome to POP-Corn, your source for cool news from the world of entertainment. You may remember the POP-Corn column from Scholastic News Online. Well, this summer it's on The Splot! We'll be bringing you a new jam-packed edition every other week, so be sure to tune in every other Friday all through the summer! (And on the other Fridays, STACKS Staffers will be posting their own Book Flap columns clueing you in to all the latest happenings with your favorite books, series, authors, and page-to-screen adaptations. It's all part of our first Summer on The Splot!)
IDOL CHATTER
Winning American Idol came as quite a surprise to Kris Allen. “I felt shocked almost every week that I made it. And to beat Adam, I was really shocked,” he confided a few hours after Ryan Seacrest announced his name. “Adam deserved it just as much as I do. He's an amazing performer,” added Kris, who became close with Adam Lambert when they roomed together early in the competition. “The best thing is I made some really good friends — the tour is going to be a blast!”
Kris, who has dreamed of a singing career since he was 13, is proof that you should never give up on something you love. “I tried for so long, and it happened, and it's been the coolest experience ever. If you want to do something, go after it. And if you fail a little bit, just keep going.”
Kris will soon get to work on his debut album, and runner-up Adam will too. “My dream is to make a really good record, do something new, push people's buttons, push the boundaries a little bit, open people's minds,” Adam said, not upset about coming in second. “I got to sing with Queen and KISS. First or second, it doesn't matter to me. I got to sing with two great heroic rock bands!” he declared, happy to make it this far. “We both get to do great things in the future. For me, it's not about what happens tonight, it's about tomorrow.”
Adam was grateful that throughout the competition he was able to sing, be, and wear whatever he wanted. “I like things that are different, things that make you look,” he said about his style. “I don't like to blend in. I like to stand out.” When he was younger, he was sometimes afraid to take such risks, he admitted, “but I pushed myself to the point where it wasn't scary anymore.”
He and Kris are very different, Adam noted, “but we found a way to get along and have a common bond through music but also just through talking and getting to know each other. If there's anything that can come from this experience that I hope all the fans out there pick up is that even if you're really different there's a way to get along with each other.”
Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis wished both well in the future and on the summer Idol tour. “That's where I had the most fun because you get to connect with the audience,” said Blake, who'll have a new album out October 6th. Queen Latifah, who performed with Lil Rounds on the Idol season finale, advised both to “get some sleep! You're going to need it because you're going to be working very hard,” she said. “Everyone has the potential to be a big star after they leave the show,” she added, and KISS singer Paul Stanley agreed. “Nobody lost tonight,” he said. “They're both champions.”
TEENS HELP TEENS
Last Christmas, actress Nathalia Ramos (Bratz) and her BFF Bosilika 'Bobo' An visited Children's Hospital Los Angeles and were troubled to find plenty of toys for younger kids but nothing fun for the teenage patients. “So we decided to do something just for the teens,” said Nathalia, who rounded up friends to help. The result was the Bash of All Bashes, a May 17th fundraiser that enabled the girls to outfit the hospital's teen lounge with music, computers, and games like Guitar Hero. “We're just overwhelmed to see it all come together,” said Nathalia, who plans to arrange more benefits. “This is just the start. We want to inspire other people to do the same thing. A lot of teens feel, 'I'm young, that's for my parents to do. I can't make a difference.' But you can. It doesn't matter how old you are. You can make a difference.”
Nathalia, who'll attend college at USC this fall, has been busy with her “new passion” for philanthropy, but she hasn't given up acting. She'll be seen next in the British independent movie Shadows From the Sky.
“I think it's important for everyone to reach out and help, and to see teens helping each other is really what I stand for,” said Bash guest Monique Coleman. The High School Musical star is writing a self-help advice book called From Ramen Noodles to the Red Carpet: A Guide to Becoming Who You Are Without Forgetting Who You Were. “It's about how to stay yourself in this industry and not lose sight of who you are,” she explained.
Another Bash guest, Wizards of Waverly Place's David Henrie, isn't writing a book, but he's reading a major one. “This year my New Year's goal was to read the Bible start to finish. I'm almost done with the Old Testament. It's a big book and it's hard to read it all, but it's one of my goals,” he said at the Bash event. On a break from the Disney Channel sitcom till June, he's excited about the special Wizards movie that will air in August. “Six weeks in Puerto Rico was awesome,” he said. “Getting to shoot in the rainforest, mountains, inside caves — it was great!”
WHAT TO WATCH
It'll be a hot summer on Disney Channel! Starting this weekend, there will be lots of specials, movies, and new episodes to look forward to, including a 90-minute crossover episode called Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana aboard the SS Tipton. Cody Linley guests on Hannah Montana on June 7 (7:30 p.m.), and the same day Selena Gomez guests as herself on Sonny With a Chance (8:30p.m.).
The hit animated movie Wall*E premieres on Starz May 30th at 9 p.m.
Andy Samberg hosts the MTV Movie Awards May 31st at 9 p.m.
Former American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar is one of the celebs who'll be dropped into the Costa Rican jungle on the reality show I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!, premiering on NBC June 1st at 8:00 p.m.
In theaters, Pixar's animated hot air balloon adventure UP opens today, and on June 5th Will Ferrell discovers The Land of the Lost.
That's it for this edition of POP-Corn! Don't forget to check back June 12th for more celebrity scoop!
— Gerri Miller, for the Ink Splot 26 Celeb Beat
Photo of Kris & Adam courtesy of Michael Becker/FOX Photo of Adam & Kris onstage courtesy of Ray Mickshaw/Fox Photo of Blake, Kim, Mandisa courtesy of Gerri Miller Photos from the Bash of All Bashes courtesy of Gerri Miller
Question: What beloved fantasy series, featuring an epic quest and a climactic battle against evil, was published in the 1950s? If you answered The Lord of the Rings, you're . . . well, you're right, I guess. BUT you're forgetting The Chronicles of Narnia!
Written by J. R. R. Tolkien's close friend, C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia have sold about 120 million copies worldwide. Personally, I read these before I ever got to Lord of the Rings, and they'll always hold a special place in my fantasy literature-loving heart. If you haven't read them, what are you waiting for? If you have, take a crack at these trivia questions!
1. What kind of creature is Mr. Tumnus?
2. Why can't Susan return to Narnia in The Last Battle?
3. The seven Narnia books were not published in chronological order, meaning that the events in Book 1 are not the beginning of the story. Can you arrange the books in chronological order? (No cheating!)
4. What does "further up and further in" mean? Who says it, and when?
BONUS: J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis were both members of a small authors group in England. What was it called?
Good luck, Splotters! I'll post the answers shortly.
A couple days ago I happened across the trailer for the new Where the Wild Things Are movie. Now, I should mention before we get into this that I'm a pretty big WTWTA fan: I read the book (or was read the book, I guess) way back when I was, like, 1 year old; I've got a T-shirt; I bought my mom a French translation (Max et les Maximonstres) for her birthday one year; etc. So it's safe to say that my hopes for the movie are pretty high. And if you've read WTWTA, or another of Maurice Sendak's famous works, In the Night Kitchen, you know why. Like Chris Van Allsburg, an author I blogged about recently, Mr. Sendak excels at drawing the insides of our minds.
So, a little background on this wizard of a storyteller. He was born in Brooklyn in 1928, and decided he wanted to become an illustrator when he saw Disney's Fantasia at age 12.
His first illustrations were published in the very creepily-named 1947 textbook: Atomics for the Millions:
And WTWTA was published in 1963, winning Mr. Sendak the Caldecott and instantly catapulting him to fame as an author.
Some other trivia about Mr. Sendak's fascinating life and work:
His 1970 book, the aforementioned In the Night Kitchen, has been banned in four states (including my home state of Illinois, to my dismay).
He was an early member of the group that eventually produced Sesame Street.
Where the Wild Things Are is only 10 sentences long.
He has designed stage sets for famous productions of several plays, ballets, and operas, including The Nutcracker, Hansel and Gretel, and The Magic Flute.
Brundibar, his collaboration with famous playwright Tony Kushner, was one of the New York Times' 10 Best Illustrated Books of 2003, proving that his artistic genius has endured over the years.
In 2006, his first pop-up book, Mommy?, was released.
One cool thing I was found out was that WTWTA almost became one of the first-ever computer animated movies. John Lasseter, who would go on to direct a bunch of great Pixar movies (Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Cars), experimented with using a hybrid of traditional animation and CG to tell the book's story in 1983.
That never happened. Now, 26 years later, it's my pleasure to present the very awesome, a little bit dark and scary (but then, so was the book), surprisingly grown-up-looking, long long long-awaited trailer for "Where the Wild Things Are." Let the wild rumpus start!
What was your favorite Wild Thing? And are you looking forward to the movie as much as I am? Let me know in the comments!
It's finally mid-May, and you know what that means! Well, yeah, it means a nice holiday for Memorial Day coming up. But think bigger . . . That's right, it's almost summer! AND it's time for our next STACKS chat:
WHEN: Tuesday, May 26, 6-7 p.m. (ET) / 3-4 p.m. (PT) TOPIC: Year-End Reading-Wrap Up — what did you read this school year and what will you read this summer?
Can you believe there have been about 160 school days since Labor Day? That's a whole lot of "independent reading time" — 80 hours if you did 30 minutes every day! But you can't fool us — we know you love books as much as we do. (Uh, have you even seen how much you guys post on our book boards?) So join us for a live chat to talk with other kids about your favorite books from this school year and what you plan to read this summer.
And in the meantime, count down the days to that glorious season of swimsuits, sleepaway camps, and sunblock in our Summer Challenge competition. Join a team, score points by reading, and help Scholastic donate to kids in need. Plus if you're on the winning team, you get to brag like nobody's business. So check it out — just don't have so much fun that you forget about our chat!
See you on May 26th!
— Your Friendly STACKS Staffers :-)
UPDATE: 5/26 — Thanks for joining the chat! A transcript will be posted soon.
Often comic book writers will take two superheroes and put them into one comic, or they'll take villains and interchange them throughout various comics. Television shows will also at times merge two hit shows together. The Disney Channel does this quite well as they've had Hannah Montana and Raven from That's So Raven both appear on episodes The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Though the show changed, Hannah Montana and Raven Baxter remained in character from their other shows.
Wouldn't it be cool if books did the same thing — combine their characters and plots into one grand story? Here's what I envision if authors were to join forces and meld their books into one epic novel:
Harry Potter meets Twilight . . . Harry Potter and the Cullen Clan
Synopsis: Harry, Hermione, and Ron join forces with the Cullens to rid the world of evil vampires. A cute wizard and a gorgeous vampire in one book? I'd read it!
Captain Underpants meets Magic Pickle . . . The Adventures of Captain Underpants and the Magic Pickle: The Attack of the Terrorizing Toupee-Touting Tomato
Synopsis: What's worse than an oversized tomato taking over the town? A giant tomato wearing a toupee! But when Captain Underpants and the Magic Pickle unite, the only thing this tomato has to look forward to is being spread on a hot dog.
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls meets How I Survived Middle School . . . Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: First Year at Joyce Kilmer Middle
Synopsis: It's Allie's first year of middle school, and once again she’s the new girl — this time at Joyce Kilmer Middle School. Who will snag Allie as their friend first? Jenny or Addie? The battle for the new girl begins.
The Last Dragon Chronicles meets The Circle of Magic . . . Circle of Fire
Synopsis: Just when Zanna Martindale thought that she'd never find anyone after losing David, she meets Briar Moss. With his knowledge and magic in plants and Zanna's mystical powers, these two are inseparable. However, when evil forces go after Briar and Zanna, will their love triumph?
Dear Dumb Diary meets The Knights of the Lunch Table . . . Dear Dumb Diary: Double Dodging
Synopsis: Boys can be so dumb! Especially boys named Artie, Percy, Wayne, and Joe! Jamie just doesn't understand the importance of being able to open a locker. But when Artie lets her in on a little secret, will Jamie join the knighthood or want be exiled from their lunch table?
Those are my suggestions for some potentially very interesting and intriguing books. Share yours in the comments!
And beyond books, I'd also love to see TV producers combine characters and themes from various reality television shows. I know I'd like to watch America's Next Top Model contestants try to look glamorous while duking it out to win Survivor.
Swing Batter Batter Swing!
Strike! You're outta here!
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks . . .
What's the most famous American pastime -- and has also changed how Americans live today? Baseball! With important events such as Jackie Robinson breaking down color barriers, Babe Ruth's historic home runs, and the introduction of many significant athletes, baseball has made a major impact on American history.
Because of baseball's crucial role in US history, it's no wonder so many authors have written books about this fundamental pastime. So as we dive into another exciting season of baseball, get pumped up with my top five baseball reads:
5. The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggott
If you're a fan of baseball, especially a fan of the Boston Red Sox, you'll love this book. Join 12-year-old Oscar Egg as he takes on what he believes is a curse on his favorite team. Will he be able to break the curse deep below Fenway Park in time for the Sox to win the World Series?
[Note: Even Yankees' fans will want to read this exciting story!]
4. The Brooklyn Nine: A Novel in Nine Innings by Alan Gratz
Step back in time as the Schneider kids take you through their baseball experiences and connections, from old-time Brooklyn to today. While reading about the games and team adventures that the Schneiders' embark on, you'll witness how the sport of baseball has fundamentally changed and yet remained the same.
3. Safe At Home by Sharon Robinson
Who knew a 10-year-old's summer could be so terrible?! Meet Elijiah Breeze, a.k.a. Jumper. His father just passed away, he has to leave his secure suburban home in Connecticut for his mother's home in the hectic area of Harlem in New York City, and he has to trade in basketball, his favorite sport, for baseball camp. Discover how Jumper fares as he struggles to adjust to a new life, a new sport, and a new world.
2.Heat by Mike Lupica
In this heartwarming yet fast-paced, exhilarating novel, Mike Lupica offers readers an exciting look into the world of baseball. A former sports columnist for The New York Daily News, Mike Lupica is the go-to author for kids' sports reads. In this book Lupica invites us into the home of Michael Arroyo, a poor Cuban boy living in the Bronx with his older brother after losing both of his parents. With all Michael has lost — his home, his parents, and his friends from Cuba — Michael still has baseball.
Follow Michael as he tries to overcome the obstacles hindering him from doing what he loves best: playing baseball.
1. The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
What would you do if the fate of your town rested on winning one baseball game? Now, that's a lot of pressure! Author John H. Ritter captures this very problem as he introduces Tom Gallagher, the boy who has to save the town and the sport of baseball.
The good news is he has a plan. The bad news? It's going to be extremely challenging . . .
You don't have to be a fan of baseball to enjoy these books. They aren't just about the sport, but they are also about forming lasting friendships, enduring hardships, and overcoming obstacles.
Remember when history came to life in the hilarious movie Night at the Museum? Well, guess what? The sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian, opened in theaters this past Friday, May 22, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The movie is rated PG.
Before the movie opened, I got to go behind the scenes and talk to the director, Shawn Levy. See what he had to tell me about Night of the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian:
Get the latest on national and international events, movies, television, music, sports, and more from Scholastic News Online.
Photo of Kid Reporter Mariam El Hasan with director Shawn Levy on the set of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. (Photo: Doane Gregory/20th Century Fox)
Welcome to the first edition of Book Flap, your every-other-week splot for all the hottest happenings in the world of books. All summer long, Fridays on Ink Splot will be chock-full of awesome, so make sure you check back every week: we’ve got more Book Flap alternating with POP-Corn (all the entertainment and celeb news you can sink your teeth into). It's all part of our first Summer on The Splot!
Percy Jackson is a (Greek) God
On May 5th, The Last Olympian, the final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan, came out and quickly shot to the top of the charts, debuting at #1 on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal best sellers lists. Rick Riordan went on tour promoting the book, and you can see photos from his adventures on his blog.
If you were one of those first week fans, don't fret. Although Percy Jackson’s story is over, Rick Riordan has already finished a new book that focuses on some of the other characters at Camp Half-Blood with Percy.
And if you're more of a movie person, Twentieth Century Fox has already begun filming a movie based on The Lightning Thief (the first book in the series). The film will be called Percy Jackson and is set to hit theaters next February. Chris Columbus, who directed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as well as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is directing. The movie will star Uma Thurman as Medusa, Pierce Brosnan as Chiron, and Logan Lerman as Percy.
The World's Gone Vampire-crazy
Let's start with what you've all been waiting for — Robert Pattinson (Edward), Kristen Stewart (Bella), and Taylor Lautner (Jacob) will be on hand at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards to premiere an exclusive scene from the upcoming New Moon movie (based on the YA book by Stephanie Meyer — duh). You can catch the show live Sunday, May 31, at 9 p.m. The full film will be in theaters nationwide on November 20, 2009.
And come next Valentine's Day, if you've been crushing on that vampire in your class, the perfect gift option will be there for you. Sweethearts brand of candy is releasing a line of candy hearts inspired by the Twilight series called "Forbidden Fruits." Instead of sentiments like "Be Mine," you can present your undead sweetie with a heart that reads, "Bite Me." And if you don't have a vampire of your very own, at least you'll have dazzling candy hearts (yes, they're going to sparkle).
There's also another vampire story you might want to hurry up and read: L. J. Smith's YA series, Vampire Diaries. It was just picked up by the CW to be made into a TV show, which will premiere this fall. Ian Somerhalder (Lost) plays Damon, Paul Wesley (Everwood) plays Stefan, and Nina Dobrev (Degrassi: The Next Generation) plays Elena.
Sequels and Screen Time
The final book in YA series Pendragon by D. J. MacHale, titled The Soldiers of Halla, came out on May 12th. If you haven't read the series yet, now's your chance to start! The first book in the series, Merchant of Death, is available online for free download until May 24th (that’s this Sunday!).
A way more unexpected sequel to look forward to is Wishing for Tomorrow — sequel to the book A Little Princess, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett and originally published in 1905. Hilary McKay (a current-day author) wrote the follow-up, which will be out in January 2010, and she says that the book will answer a question that's been plaguing her since she was a child: what happens to all of Sara's friends at the London boarding school?
If you want baseball and basketball instead of boarding school, you can check out The Kid Who Only Hit Homers and The Basket Counts by Matt Christopher. The movie rights for Christopher’s sports book series have been bought by Larry Meistrick's Nehst Studios, and these are the first two installments scheduled to be made into feature films.
You already know that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters July 15th, but I'm here to tell you that you won't need to wait that long for your Harry fix. On May 31st, a brand-new, never-before-seen clip from the movie will be premiered by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron) at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.
And an old favorite is coming to the small screen in the fall of 2010 — The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! will be the first cartoon show based on a Dr. Seuss character. You can catch it on your local PBS station.
And that's all I've got for you today! There'll be more Book Flap right here on June 5th. But make sure you come back next Friday, the 29th, for POP-Corn (our column full of all the latest entertainment and celeb news).
Monster slayer, demigod, wise-cracking teen, and all-around class act Percy Jackson is the hero of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books by Rick Riordan (the latest and final book in the series is the recently released The Last Olympian, which is garnering rave reviews and selling like hotcakes -- #4 on Amazon's bestsellers list as I write this).
If you're a loyal Splot reader, then you know I've been a little bit obsessed with Percy Jackson lately (check out my book review of The Lightning Thief and my PJ trivia). In honor of the end of that awesome series, I'd like to pose three questions to the man/god himself!
1. Who would win in a fight: you or Harry Potter?
2. Are you ever tempted to use your powers for ridiculous ends . . . like . . . creating a giant, air-guitaring, animated statue made of water?
3. If you couldn't be a hero in the Greek tradition but instead were a hero from another mythology — Native American, Hindi, Norse, whatever — who would you be?
I expect Percy will answer these just as soon as the last monster is dead and vanquished! I'm not holding my breath, though.
How do you think Percy would answer these? How would you? Holla at a schola in the comments!
I grew up on the beach, so packing a bag and a cold sandwich and walking down to the scalding hot sand was a regular part of my summer vacation. We always brought some standards -- fresh fruit, LOTS of sunblock (I learned my lesson early on, after a particularly bad sunburn!), plenty of beach towels, and of course, a few things to keep us entertained for when the waves got too rough or the sun got too bright.
Tasty tidbits on your celebrity faves!
