On the road with Lisa Yee (and Peepy)

Have you ever had someone come up to you and offer to pay you to eat chocolate? Lisa Yee has.

She is the author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius, Absolutely Maybe (for ages 12 and up), and coming out this September, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally). But that's not all! Along with getting paid to eat chocolate, she's also been a hand model and has written a speech for the President of the United States! Joining Lisa on all her adventures is her yellow stuffed Easter bunny Peep, named "Peepy," which (whom?) she carries everywhere with her — from the ancient Mayan ruins of Mexico to the busy streets of New York, and everywhere in between!

In between all her travels — not to mention penning a book now and then — Lisa also writes her own blog, and she starts off each entry with a photo of her and Peepy. Here are some of those pictures, which Lisa gave us to share with you! Take a look and see if you recognize any of these places!

—Alyssa, STACKS Intern

Photos courtesy of Lisa Yee

Book Review: Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

History is about to be changed!

I just FOUND my HG (Holy Grail) of kids' fantasy series! It's called Missing, and it's by Margaret Peterson Haddix, the author of the Shadow Children series. While I think Twilight and Harry Potter are both great series, they were somewhat predictable in the end. [SPOILER ALERT!!!!!] I mean, who didn't doubt Bella was going to end up with Edward? Or that Harry was going to succeed against Voldemort?

Predictability is certainly not the case in Found, the first book of Haddix's Missing series. Why is that, you ask? Well, I don't want to give away the entire story, but if you like time travel, history, mystery, and action, then you'll love this book.

At the start of Found, Angela DuPre, an airline worker, finds 36 abandoned children on a plane. The weird thing is, there are no adults, no pilots, and no one knows how the plane got there in the first place. Weird . . .

Meet Jonah and Chip 13 years later — they're two of the surviving kids from plane. Both were adopted into wonderful families, and both strangely end up in the same town. Is this a coincidence or pre-determined fate? One may think it's just some bizarre occurrence, but when Jonah and Chip both start receiving the same strange, unmarked letters, they begin seeing things that are unexplainable to the human eye. And then both end up at an adoption convention, along with the other 34 children from the mysterious flight! At this point, questions will be raised not only by Jonah and Chip, but the readers as well.

Found will leave you asking: what would happen if I were to go back in time and change one little event, or if I were to affect the actions of a prominent figure? How would that change the future? Would how we live today be any different if one person's life were changed in any way?

These are exactly the kind of questions you'll be asking when you're finished. Fortunately, in August 2009 Haddix will bring readers one step closer to answering these questions in the second book of the series, Sent. I'll certainly be visiting the library or nearest bookstore. What about you?

— Carly M., STACKS Staffer

ICE AGE 3 is DINO-MITE!

If you loved the first two Ice Age movies, wait till you see the third flick in the animated series. Not only are all your favorite characters back, but as the title (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) suggests, there are lots of other prehistoric creatures in this one.

When Sid finds a trio of dino eggs and gets snatched up by their mama T-Rex, his buddies go off on a rescue mission that takes them to a lost world under the ice.

“All kinds of perilous things happen that we have to run from and escape from and save each other from,” says Queen Latifah, who voices Ellie the Mammoth. As for the acorn-chasing Scrat, “he finds a girlfriend in this one,” says Ray Romano, the voice of Manny the Mammoth.

Adding to the fun, the visuals really pop because it's in 3D. The movie hits theaters July 1st.

Check out what the stars of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' told me about the movie in these exclusive on-the-SPLOT videos:

PLUS, Queen Latifah explains why she loves to read — check out the exclusive video!

— Gerri Miller, for the Ink Splot 26 Celeb Beat

Queen Latifah photo © Kevin Estrada

THE FIVE: Best Books about Camp!

Ratha's post about the Camp Confidential series got me thinking about my own camp experiences. I've only been to cheerleading camp, which I don't consider “real” camp because instead of spending all day taking swimming lessons in a lake or making arts & crafts, I was stuck in a gym, practicing back handsprings and losing my voice. In other words, my camp experience was nothing like what I imagined!

Luckily, I got my fill of sleep-away camp thanks to reading. (And really, isn't that the coolest part of reading? That you can travel to places you've never been, without even leaving your house?) So, if you're like me and you love reading books set at camps, check out my list of THE FIVE best books about camp!

5. There's a Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger
After reading this one, I reconsidered my dreams of sleep-away camp. Because, bats?! IN MY BUNK? No, thank you! In this book, Marcy gets to be a junior counselor at a creative arts camp, and she's psyched about spending the summer away from her family and reinventing herself. The problems begin when she meets her charges in bunk five. Can she handle them and all the challenges they bring?

4. Camp Nowhere (The Nightmare Room #9) by R. L. Stine
Haunted camps are the best! In this book by uber-scary author R. L. Stine, Russell is a senior camper and is ready to make his mark. The canoe trip over the legendary Forbidden Falls is just the place to do it . . . or is it? Russell must overcome his fear, or put up with his co-campers' teasing for the rest of the summer!

3. The Big Camp Secret (Sweet Valley Twins Super Edition) by Francine Pascal
Speaking of haunted camps, this one is by far my favorite Sweet Valley Twins book! Elizabeth and Jessica are away for two weeks at sleep-away camp, and they waste no time diving into all the fun. But a mysterious light at an abandoned house near the camp draws their attention, and camp lore has them wondering if the grounds are haunted! The twist in this book happens pretty quickly, but the twins spend the rest of their time in camp trying to keep their big secret. 

2. Letters from Camp by Kate Klise
Camp Harmony is supposed to be a place for sparring brothers and sisters to learn how to get along. But this summer's batch of campers finds the whole thing to be just plain weird: strange uniforms, gross food, and chores all day long! Told through letters, memos, menus, and other documents, you'll discover just what's behind the wacky Camp Harmony!

1. Help! I'm Trapped in the First Day of Summer Camp by Todd Strasser
Jake's first day of camp turns out pretty rotten. But tomorrow's another day, right? Wrong! Jake keeps waking up to relive the same awful day over and over again. He's sure he just needs to figure out what he's doing wrong in order to break the cycle. But at camp, it's not so easy to tell right from wrong! (Interestingly, the dilemma of the repeating day is also central to the book 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass, which I reviewed for Ink Splot a while back. Do I detect a pattern in my favorite stories?)

So, what sorts of camps do you readers go to? Leave a comment and let me know!

— Morgan, Scholastic Staffer

Create a Caption: Monkey on THE STACKS

Sometimes I think I should work a little less and make a few more friends -- because I find myself talking to my stuffed animal friend, Monkey, a lot.

I guess Monkey was thinking the same, because one day I came home and found him working on a webpage for THE STACKS! I can't imagine what he was thinking -- can you?

Photo Credit: Davin Cheng

Leave a comment telling me what you think Monkey was thinking — or what he said after I saw him!

— Nancy, STACKS Staffer

POP-Corn: 10 Things I Hate About You, Selena, & More!

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!)

THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

You're sure to recognize the two stars of the new ABC Family series 10 Things I Hate About You — Lindsey Shaw was Moze in Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and Meaghan Jette Martin played Tess in Camp Rock. Now they're playing very different sisters Kat (Katerina) and Bianca Stratford in the TV adaptation of the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, which was itself based on Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. Meaghan has been reading the original play, and says, “It's interesting to see how Shakespeare portrayed the characters because they're so similar to the movie and TV show. It's the same plotline and a great structure to build on.”

Kat, the older sister, “is tough and independent and has an outside view on things, always kind of looking in,” describes Lindsey. “She often gets caught up in her strive for justice and fairness and misses the small things that are going on around her in high school.” Lindsey relates to Kat a lot, even though she has no siblings in real life. “I was always on the outside looking in at things I thought were silly, or I did not fit into, or wanted to fit into so badly but didn't,” adds Lindsey, who thinks Kat is a great role model. “She gives girls the opportunity to see somebody who is completely independent, intelligent, and speaks her mind. I hope they see somebody they want to be.”

After Camp Rock, Meaghan is thrilled to play a sweet, though popularity-obsessed, girl. “Finally I get to be nice and intelligent and a good human being,” she laughs. “The popularity shallowness isn't so great, but it's okay because she's learning from her mistakes.” As the team mascot, “I get to wear a penguin suit a lot on the show,” says Meaghan, who was a “drama nerd” when she was in high school. She has one older sister who's in medical school, and like Kat and Bianca, they fight. “But in the end we love each other,” confides Meaghan, who'll film Camp Rock 2 at the end of the summer.

Ethan Peck, the grandson of Hollywood legend Gregory Peck, plays bad boy Patrick Verona, who has a love-hate relationship with Kat. In his high school days, Ethan claims he was “a dork, really shy and insecure and nervous, and on the outside because of that.” Also in the cast is Nicholas Braun as Cameron, who has a crush on Bianca — he's a veteran of the Disney Channel movies Minutemen (airing July 4th at noon) and the new Princess Protection Program.

10 Things I Hate About You premieres on ABC Family on July 7th at 8 p.m.

CATCHING UP WITH SELENA GOMEZ

Yesterday, in an exclusive interview with Scholastic, Selena Gomez talked about her new Disney Channel movie Princess Protection Program and working on it with BFF Demi Lovato. I got the chance to catch up with Selena, and got a few more tasty scoops for you!

Selena thinks she "looked 12" in the movie, but had fun working on it with Demi. Selena's favorite scene? The montage when they tried on lots of fancy dresses.

Her character Carter's dad owns a bait shop, but Selena didn't mind working with the slimy-looking bait. "It was fake,” she reveals. “It smelled more like plastic than anything. It was no big deal!"

Selena, who'll start shooting the third season of Wizards of Waverly Place in early July, went to Puerto Rico to shoot the Wizards of Waverly Place Movie, which will air on Disney Channel in August. “I think you're going to see a lot of more serious sides to all of our characters in it,” she says.

Selena loves to get lost in romantic novels. "I love that you can kind of just put yourself into that place for a moment and nothing else around matters," she explains. She's thrilled about starring in the movie version of Ramona and Beezus because she read Beverly Cleary's books in the third grade. "What's really neat is kids are now reading it over again or for the first time because of the movie," she says.

Selena and Demi host the premiere of Princess Protection Program on Disney Channel on June 26th at 8 p.m., giving sneak peaks at the Wizards movie and their music video for "One and the Same," which is included on the Princess Protection Program DVD (out June 30th). A new Wizards episode follows the movie at 9 p.m. on Friday, and Princess will air again June 27th at 8 p.m. and June 28th at 7 p.m.

WHAT TO WATCH & HEAR

Brooke Shields and Cody Linley guest star on a new episode of Hannah Montana on July 5th at 8 p.m. on Disney Channel, following a Hannah Montana marathon starting at 1 p.m. Every day between June 29th and July 3rd, a new video from the Season 3 soundtrack of Hannah Montana will premiere, and all five vids will air after the 8 p.m. episode on July 5th. The soundtrack hits stores July 7th. Miley is currently in Savannah, Georgia, shooting the movie The Last Song for release next year.

American Idol winner and runner-up Kris Allen and Adam Lambert both signed record deals with 19 Entertainment and will release albums this fall. You can catch them on the American Idol summer tour, kicking off July 5th in Portland, Oregon.

That's it for this edition of POP-Corn! Don't forget to check back July 10th for more celebrity scoop!

— Gerri Miller, for the Ink Splot 26 Celeb Beat

Lindsey, Ethan, Meghan © ABC/ADAM LARKEY
Demi & Selena at premiere © DISNEY CHANNEL/JOHN MEDLAND

Selena Gomez on the Princess Protection Program

Tomorrow (June 26th) is the premiere of Princess Protection Program on the Disney Channel! Here's the scoop:

Princess Rosalinda is about to become the Queen of Costa Luna when her country was invaded by an evil dictator. In order to protect her, she is placed in the Princess Protection Program to keep her identity hidden. Now known as Rosie, she moves in with Carter's family in rural Louisiana. Carter teaches Rosie how to act like a normal American teenager, and Rosie teaches Carter how to be a princess.

Did you know that Rosie and Carter are friends in real life though? Yep, you may recognize these famous BFFs — Demi Lovato (Sunny with a Chance) slips into Rosalinda's royal slippers, and Carter's sneakers are filled by Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place). Read our exclusive interview with Selena and see what it's like to be best friends with your co-star — plus some inside dish on her upcoming album and how she deals with all the craziness that comes with fame!

Was it fun working with Demi on Princess Protection Program? Were there any pros and cons of working with a really good friend?
Selena: I really don't think I could find anything that was wrong with working with Demi. We've known each other for almost 10 years now, so there isn't really anything we can surprise each other with. It is kind of odd trying to pretend like I don’t know who this person is in the movie, in the beginning, so that was fun. Being able to work with someone you're comfortable with is always nice because it’s not the awkward, "Hi, nice to meet you. We have to pretend to be best friends." So all the stuff that's genuine in the movie is actual.

Does the friendship in the movie mirror real life?
Selena: Yeah, I think the parts where we're laughing and being goofballs is absolutely one hundred percent us. Half the time, they’d keep the cameras rolling because we’d keep going and going and sit there and talk and laugh until we couldn’t breathe anymore. It was pretty much all genuine.

In terms of the casting, are you similar to Carter and was Demi similar to Rosalinda?
Selena: Yes. Demi grew up in pageants, so back home in Texas, she was always poised and grew up that way. And I was a tomboy growing up. So it was back to our childhoods just for a little bit while we were shooting the movie.

How did you guys first meet?
Selena: In line, auditioning for Barney. We were in line with 1,400 kids, and she asked me to color with her, and I sat down on the ground and colored with her. We ended up booking the series together. Ten years later, we're working for the same network, and we're getting to grow and go through all of this together.

Has your friendship with Demi ever been tested?

Writing The 39 Clues: A Jude Watson Exclusive

People always ask me if I have a writing routine. I do -- every morning I get up right before sunrise, and I go right to the computer. It's dark and quiet. Even the birds are still asleep. I like the feeling that I'm the only one awake in the whole world.

Until The 39 Clues came along, that is. Didn't I mention in my previous blog entry that things got complicated?

It happened like this: I grabbed a mug of tea, like I always do. Opened the file marked "39 CLUES #4." Stared at what I'd written so far after a grueling day of work the day before:

CHAPTER ONE

Brilliant, right?

That morning, I thought I heard a footstep outside. I held my breath. No, just the leaves skittering on the porch, I told myself. We'd been warned by our editors to be careful, but there was no need to get spooked. I started to type.

If Amy Cahill had to list what was wrong with eleven-year-old brothers, their habit of disappearing would be . . .

Another noise. Definitely not leaves on the porch this time. Definitely . . . footsteps. I got up and went to the front hallway. Slowly, something was being pushed under the frame of the door.

I bent down and picked up a plain brown envelope.

JUDE WATSON
39 CLUES

No return address.

I flung open the door. The porch was empty. I stepped out. Nobody there. Nobody on the street, nobody walking away. Spooky.

Book Review: My Sister the Vampire #1: Switched!

If the Twilight series (for ages 12 and up) is too old or too dark for you, there are other options to get your vampire on!

I picked up Book 1 of the My Sister the Vampire series because the premise sounded funny and ripe with intrigue: identical twin sisters who were separated at birth end up at the same middle school and quickly realize they're related. But there's a BIG twist . . .

At first, Olivia, the new girl in town, thinks she and her newfound twin, Ivy, are only different on the outside: Olivia wears lots of pink and can't wait to try out for the cheerleading team, while Ivy is one of the town Goths, always dressed in black and rarely breaking into a smile. Eventually we discover their real difference lies within: Ivy is a vampire!

But the twins are so busy switching places (Olivia pretends to be Ivy for a mysterious meeting, for example) and immersing themselves in middle school that they don't have time to think about why they were separated at birth, how they could be so different, or what it means for their future.

While Olivia is surely a charming character, I really liked reading about Ivy's exploits. From her creepy house overlooking the town to her tense relationship with her best friend and her new boyfriend, Ivy always kept me entertained.

Pick up this book (and its sequels!) if you want to read about vampires, sisters, and friendships — without all the drama of Twilight!

— Morgan, Scholastic Staffer

UP and James and the Giant Peach

Have you seen the new movie UP yet? Because I have, and it is a-maz-ing!

As you can see from the trailer, the film features a house floating through the sky, held aloft by a bunch of balloons. Which reminded me of one of my favorite books by Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach. Check out some of the similarities I noticed:

	James and the Giant Peach	The movie UP
The "Old" Dude	The Old Green Grasshopper	Carl Fredricksen
The Little Boy	James Henry Trotter	Russell
Unconventional Mode of Flight	Giant Peach, by way of seagulls	A House, by way of balloons
Deceased :*(	James' parents	Carl Fredricksen's darling, Ellie
There's a scary pack of . . .	Sharks	Dogs
You'll be surprised when you start chatting up . . .	A centipede, earthworm, ladybug, and more . . .	Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and more . . .
One of the antagonists is . . .	The Cloud Man	Ha! I can't give everything away!
So go and . . .	Pick up a copy of James and the Giant Peach!	Watch the movie UP!
P.S.	James and the Giant Peach was made into a movie too. Rent it!	Can you think of other similarities?

— Nancy, STACKS Staffer

Drawing Phineas and Ferb with Swampy and Dan

Hey, Splotters! I hope you're taking Dan and Swampy's advice from last week and having an awesome and creative summer (unless, of course, your school hasn't let out for the summer yet, in which case I'll take it on good faith that your summer will rock once it starts).

But if you're busy saying "Dan and Swampy? Who are they? I clicked on the link because of Phineas and Ferb," let me fill you in. Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh are the creators of Phineas and Ferb, the Disney cartoon which follows two stepbrothers in their quest to have the best summer ever. (In fact, you can see Phineas and Ferb's latest exploits TONIGHT in a new episode of Phineas And Ferb on Disney XD.)

Swampy and Dan invented the characters, write the stories, and come up with all the crazy tunes that accompany Phineas and Ferb's inventions and adventures. And now Swampy and Dan are challenging you to use your imagination this summer to invent, draw, write, create, and have fun.

If you need a little help getting your creative juices going, Swampy and Dan have something for that too. Check out these step-by-step instructions for how to draw Phineas and Ferb. Ferb's up first:

 

Now instructions for Phineas:

Book Review: Camp Confidential Series

Attention, Summer Campers!

Summertime. To me, it used to mean long days at the pool, drippy ice cream cones with sprinkles, and riding my bike up and down the street with my BFF, Nicole. Oh yeah, and one 4th grade summer — after begging, pleading, and bargaining with my mom — I went to gymnastics camp. Finally! It was going to be going to my very first sleepaway camp. With one condition — my mom was a chaperone. Ahh, yes. Well, that’s a story for another time . . .

Anyhow, in this great new series I recently discovered, Camp Confidential by Melissa J. Morgan, I got to flashback to my days at gymnastics camp. But this time, the stories are totally better!

I just finished the first book, Natalie’s Dilemma (which you can read online right here!). In it, Natalie is an 11 year-old NYC city chick who is more interested in fresh sushi than fresh air. She can’t believe her mom has sentenced her to Camp Lakeview (aka Camp Lake-Puke) in the middle of nowhere, where she has to exist alongside disgusting bugs, not to mention clean toilets as a daily chore. (Yech!) However, she meets some pretty cool girls and has some equally cool experiences, really bonding with her bunkmates. But then we find out she has a secret she’s been hiding from everyone.

SPOILER ALERT: Close your eyes and skip down to the spoiler-free zone if you don’t want to know Natalie’s secret!

It turns out her dad is a famous Hollywood action-movie star! (Hello — not the worst secret in the world!)

SPOILER-FREE ZONE RESUMES HERE: I really liked this book, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Each book (there are 20) is told from a different character’s point of view. So Book #1 is about Natalie, #2 is about Jenna, #3 is about Grace, and so on. It kind of reminds me of The Baby-sitters Club series (by Ann M. Martin), how they rotate characters throughout the books. It also reminds me of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (a YA series by Ann Brashares), because the girls go their separate ways during the school year, but always come back together at camp.

Some of the online reviews had me laughing too. I especially liked:
“this book rocks my socks!”
and
“OMG I totally luved this book so much. Best series ever!”

Have you read this series? If so, let me know what you think. Also — I’m dying to hear any juicy camp stories! Are you going to summer camp this year? What’s been your worst camp experience ever? What are the most popular types of summer camp? And what’s your DREAM summer camp? (Not sure about that last one: check out this summer camp personality quiz on our Allie Finkle site!)

Happy camping! (Okay, I’ll stop now.)

— Ratha, STACKS Writer