Max Schneider Interview

A lot of you saw the movie Rags and said it was one of your favorite movies ever. We interviewed the beautiful Keke Palmer, and now we have an interview with Max Schneider who plays Charlie in the movie, and also plays Zander in How to Rock.

Nancy Drew Readalikes

You know when you find an amazing book, and you never want it to end? How do you find another book to read after that? Our answer: Readalikes to the rescue! We hope our Readalikes will rescue you from the what-to-read-next question, and help you find lots of new amazing books.

Today's Readalikes are for the classic mystery detective Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene. 18-year-old Nancy Drew is beautiful, bold, intelligent, wealthy, and can pretty much solve any mystery that gets thrown at her. Even though these books were first published in the 1930s, Nancy Drew is still the ultimate teen detective.

There are a bunch of books in that series, as well as the movie Nancy Drew. But once you've finished all those, what to read next? Try these other mysteries with super-smart detectives. Click on the book cover below to see a whole bunch of other Nancy Drew Readalike books you might also love.

 Hope you enjoy our Readalikes!

—Amanda, Scholastic Booktalker

Trivia: Leap Second

Trivia: Leap Second . . . & Leap of Faith!

On February 29, we posted Leap Year Trivia Quiz because 2012 is a Leap Year. Did you also know that 2012 has a Leap Second? A leap second is one second added to clocks worldwide to compensate for the slowing of Earth's rotation.

Believe it or not, there is an International Earth Rotation and Reference System Service, or IERS for short. (Wow! I wonder how I get a job with them?!) They determine when to add a leap second. Since 1972, a total of 24 seconds have been added to the clock. And the next one will be added on the last day of June. So on June 30th, 2012, there will be 86,401 seconds instead of 86,400!

In honor of cosmic leaps, we have some wacky Leap Second Trivia for you. Imagine if there were other things you could leap. For instance . . .

1. Leap Class! What class would you create, if you had to have an extra class in the school day?
2. Leap Grade! Which school grade would you choose to repeat if you had to do it all over again? Or what new school grade would you create to add on?
3. Leap Meal! What meal would you choose or invent if you had to have an extra meal each day?
4. Leap Sibling! Would you pick an extra brother or sister?
5. Leap Birthday! Which birthday party or year would you love to repeat? Or what would you do for your extra birthday this year?
6. Leap Gift! What one extra gift do you wish you could get?
7. Leap Vacation! An extra vacation anywhere in the world – where would you go?
8. Leap of Faith! If you could cure or fix one thing in the world, what would it be?

Let us know your Leap Answers and any other wacky Leap Questions you can think of in the Comments below.

Don't forget there's one extra second on June 30th. Spend it wisely. Myself, I think I’m going to use it to eat an extra Hershey's Kiss . . .

— Ratha, STACKS Writer

Million-Dollar Writing Prompt

Million-Dollar Writing Prompt

Today's Write On Writing Prompt comes to us from WhiteBlack7 who challenges us with a question I would looooove to have to answer some day.

What would you do if you were rich?

Maybe you would give money to charity? Or buy lots of new stuff? Bling out your wardrobe? Help your family? Or a specific cause? The sky's the limit. We can always dream!

Give a shout out to WhiteBlack7 in the Comments below with your answer. Inquiring minds want to know!

— Ratha, STACKS Writer