NEW Harry Potter Illustrator Kazu Kibuishi

NEW Harry Potter Illustrator Kazu Kibuishi

Meet Kazu Kibuishi, the illustrator of the new Harry Potter book covers coming out in September 2013. If you have read his Amulet series, then you know he is an awesome artist. If you have never heard of him before, you might be worried about his credentials. Is he worthy of the epic task of illustrating the book covers to the ultimate series of all time??

Click here to see the first new Harry Potter cover.

I had the chance to interview him a few years ago and he is so, so nice! For those Harry Potter fans who are worried about the new Harry Potter covers, I can assure you we are in good hands with this illustrator!

Watch my interview with him where he talks about being an artist.

And this interview where he shows us his real live, actual sketchbook!

He seems super-cool, right?  Leave a Comment to tell us what you think of the new Harry Potter covers!

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Author Trivia Quiz Answers

Beyond the Book Author Trivia Quiz Answers!

Last week we posted a super-exclusive Author Trivia Quiz with . . .

• R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, HorrorLand)
• Nancy Krulik (How I Survived Middle School, Katie Kazoo)
• Gordon Korman (The 39 Clues, Swindle)
• Anthony Horowitz (The Gatekeepers, Alex Rider)

From their biggest phobias to favorite books – we got the scoop. How many did you guess correctly? Answers are below!

Author Trivia Quiz

Beyond the Book Author Trivia Quiz!

We nabbed some amazing authors for this week's Trivia Tuesday. We're talking . . .

• R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, HorrorLand)
• Nancy Krulik (How I Survived Middle School, Katie Kazoo)
• Gordon Korman (The 39 Clues, Swindle)
• Anthony Horowitz (The Gatekeepers, Alex Rider)

How well do you know these authors? Can you guess the answers to this Author Trivia Quiz? All the answers will be one of the authors above. Ready? GO!

Who Said It? Author Trivia Quiz Answers

Who Said It? Author Trivia Quiz

I hope you enjoyed last week's Author Trivia Quiz. Did you guess which authors said these quotes? Read on for the answers.

Who Said It? Author Trivia Quiz

Who Said It? Author Trivia Quiz

I know you guys love your authors, and many of you will probably grow up to be authors. But when they are not writing books, what do authors say in real life? You know your favorite books inside out and backwards, but can you guess which authors said these quotes?

Answer choices are E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series, and Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Match each author with the correct quote below.

R.L. Stine Web Chat Cancelled

Boo! Due to the severity of hurricane Sandy and the power outages affecting millions of people along the East Coast, we’ve decided to cancel the chat with R.L. Stine. Our STACKS team and R.L. Stine are disappointed. We were truly looking forward to this event! Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this storm.

You can still go to the Goosebumps website and play spooky games, read about the newest Goosebumps books, and watch Goosebumps videos.

Stay safe and have a happy Halloween!

J.K. Rowling Harry Potter Webcast

J.K. Rowling Webcast: Beyond the Page

Thursday, October 11, 2012. It's noon at the STACKS office. STACKS Staffer Karen is proudly wearing her Hufflepuff pin, and we have cupcakes because this is a party! Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling will be speaking live from Scotland, and I am hoping, hoping, hoping that she will talk about what book she is writing next.

R.L. Stine Halloween Web Chat!

R.L. Stine Halloween Web Chat!

UPDATE 10/31: Boo! Due to the severity of hurricane Sandy and the power outages affecting millions of people along the East Coast, we’ve decided to cancel the chat with R.L. Stine. Our STACKS team and R.L. Stine are disappointed. We were truly looking forward to this event! Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this storm. You can still go to the Goosebumps website and play spooky games, read about the newest Goosebumps books, and watch Goosebumps videos. Stay safe and have a happy Halloween!

Goosebumps fans, I have good news, bad news, and more good news.

First the good news. It's almost Halloween! To celebrate, Goosebumps author R.L. Stine will be hosting a Scholastic web chat on October 31 from 1-3 PM EST.

Now the bad news. You will probably be in school at that time, and it's on Facebook and Twitter which do not allow kids under 13.

But there's more good news! You can still participate! If you leave a Comment with your questions for R.L. Stine, I will send him your questions. He won't be able to answer them all, but you never know - he may pick YOUR question to answer during the chat. I'll post the answers and a recap of the chat right here on Ink Splot 26.

ALSO, if you happen to be free at that time on Halloween from 1-3 PM Eastern Time, I will be posting live updates from the chat on the Reading Buzz Board so you can join us there for our live Goosebumps Halloween R.L. Stine celebration!

Leave your questions for R.L. Stine in the Comments, and I'll see you on Halloween! (Virtually, of course. I can't actually "see" you from my computer. That would be really freaky!)

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Happy Birthday, Clifford!

Happy Birthday, Clifford!

He's big, he's red, and he's oh, so loveable! It's Clifford, of course. Clifford the Big Red Dog is just as much a part of our childhoods as balloons and ice cream sundaes. Whether you grew up reading the books or watching the TV show, it's hard not to smile when you think about Clifford. This year, Clifford's celebrating a very BIG milestone, his 50th birthday! 50 years ago Norman Bridwell painted a picture of a little girl and her big red dog. Little did he know at the time that it would spawn one of the most beloved children's literary characters of all time!

While Clifford's birthday is in February, he's kicking off a birthday party this week that lasts all school-year long! And you know what Clifford wants more than anything for his birthday? A birthday card from YOU! Send Clifford a birthday card and share your personal birthday greetings!

You can also enter Clifford's BIG Birthday Sweepstakes for a chance to win a party in your hometown for you and up to 50 of your friends on or around Clifford's birthday on February 14, 2013. It's sure to be BIG!

We want to hear from you! Tell us your fondest memories of Clifford in the Comments below!

—Amabel, Scholastic Media

U.S.A. Women's Olympic Gymnastics Team

Today's post is written by Donna Freitas, author of Gold Medal Summer.

 In Gold Medal Summer, Joey Jordan's best events are Beam and Floor. In order to fulfill her dream of winning gold, Joey has to find routines on both events that play to her strengths, not just what her coach values, and that means valuing artistry over tumbling, at times. 

Dogs of the Drowned City: The Storm

Dogs of the Drowned City, Book #1: The Storm . . . a blog post brought to you by the author Dayna Lorentz!

Writing from the dog's point of view was not that strange for me. Growing up, my family would often speak from the point of view of our dogs—"Benny, what do you think of dinner?" "Dinner?! I would love some dinner, thank you." This habit persists with my own pets, Kerry and Peter the dogs, and Oscar the cat.

Even though it felt natural to think from a dog's point of view, once I started outlining what would become Dogs of the Drowned City, I wanted to really get into the head of my main character, Shep the German shepherd.

Drawing from Memory by Allen Say

Drawing From Memory by Allen Say

Have you ever wondered how people become artists? How they decide their paths? Who helps them; who hurts them? Award-winning children's book illustrator Allen Say knew from a very young age that when he was drawing, he was happy.

Growing up in Japan during World War II wasn't easy. To make matters worse, Allen's parents divorced, and no one in his family wanted him to be an artist. But all that Allen wanted was to be an artist. He spent as much time as he could drawing things he saw, things he imagined, and drawing other people's drawings.

When Allen was just about 13, he read a curious story in the newspaper. A boy, only 3 years older than Allen, had walked 350 miles to Tokyo to ask for a cartoonist job at a local newspaper. Noro Shinpei, the most famous cartoonist in Japan (and Allen's favorite), was so impressed that he made the young man his student. After reading that article, all Allen could think of was whether Shinpei would take him on as a student. Allen had to find out. Shinpei's answer could decide Allen's future as an artist - the only future he had ever wanted.

Read this autobiography to find out Allen Say's path to becoming the world-famous artist he is today.

--Emily, Scholastic Booktalker