Book Flap: Dahl, DiCamillo, Snicket, & Silverstein

This week, Book Flap (your every-other-Friday book news column) has all the latest news about books becoming movies, new series by favorite authors, and all the book news you need to know! It's all part of our first Summer on the Splot!

Roald Dahl Month and Mr. Fox at the Movies

 September is Roald Dahl month. Why September? Well, the late author of such favorites as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and The Witches, among others, was born September 13, 1916. The Roald Dahl website, http://www.roalddahl.com/, has plenty of games and printables to celebrate with. And, what better way to celebrate than by picking up one of his books to read?

And while it's not quite September yet, you can also get excited about his books by getting excited for the upcoming Fantastic Mr. Fox movie. The stop-motion movie, based on Dahl's book of the same title, will be in theaters November 13. The movie is chock-full of famous voices, including George Clooney as the voice of Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep as the voice of Mrs. Fox, and even Michael Gambon (Dumbledore!) as Franklin Bean.


Kate DiCamillo Writes Another Big Screen Book

The past few years have seen Kate DiCamillo's novels make a big splash on the big screen. Because of Winn-Dixie led the way in 2005, and The Tale of Despereaux followed in 2008. Now, DiCamillo's upcoming book, The Magician's Elephant is next in line. Fox will be making it into a feature film. The book doesn't come out until September, but you can get a sneak peek at the first chapter on DiCamillo's website, www.katedicamillo.com.

Snicket's Second Series

Not much news on it yet, but I'm excited to report that Lemony Snicket is working on a new series. Snicket's first series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, told the story of the three Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. As for the new series, Snicket had this to say: “I can neither confirm nor deny that I have begun research into a new case, and I can neither confirm nor deny that the results are as dreadful and unnerving as A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

More Light From Shel Silverstein

You've probably already read Shel Silverstein's book of poems, A Light in the Attic (and if you haven't, why not?!? You so should!). But as of next month, you won't have read all of it. A new special edition is being released with 12 never before published poems and 10 never before seen drawings.

There will be new content on his site, http://www.shelsilverstein.com to go along with the special edition.

And I'll leave you with a fun fact (because who doesn't love fun facts?)—A Light in the Attic was the first children's book to make it to the New York Times bestseller list.

—Carly H., STACKS Staffer

Book Flap: Wimpy Kid & Rats of NIMH Movies & more!

This week, Book Flap (your every-other-Friday book news column) has all the latest news about upcoming books, books becoming movies, and more! It's all part of our first Summer on the Splot!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie & Series Update

Back in February, we brought you the news that Jeff Kinney's best selling series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was being made into a movie. Well now I've got one better—the stars of the movie!

The main character and diary-keeper, Greg Heffley, will be played by Zachary Gordon, who's previously acted in movies like National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and played the voice of Baby Melman in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Rachel Harris will play Greg's mom.

But you don't need to wait for the movie to get your next Diary of a Wimpy Kid fix. The fourth book in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, comes out October 12th. To get ready for the book's release while everyone is still enjoying the dog days of summer, there will be a Diary of a Wimpy Kid-themed Ice Cream Truck visiting libraries across the country in the Summer Reading Coast-to-Coast Ice Cream Truck Tour. To see if it's stopping near you, check out the Wimpy Kid website.

Rats of NIMH Scurrying to the Movies

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH might be the next classic children's book to make its way to Hollywood. Paramount is in development of a movie based on Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 book. The book tells the story of Mrs. Frisby, a mouse who works to save her home in the field from being destroyed by a plowing farmer, with help from escaped laboratory rats. The story was already adapted to film in 1982 as an animated movie called The Secret of NIMH. But there's no word yet about what the new movie will be like.

What would you rather see—animation or live action?

He Speaks for the Trees on the Big Screen

Dr. Seuss fans know it's the Lorax that speaks for the trees in the environmentally minded book, The Lorax. And now the Lorax is taking his message to the movies. Universal and Illumination Entertainment, the people who brought you the Horton Hears a Who movie, are making The Lorax adaptation, with plans for it to hit theaters March 2, 2012. Why that date? It would have been Dr. Seuss's 108th birthday!

Twilight Cast Change

No Book Flap would be complete without an update on what is happening in Twilight World. Planning for the third movie is underway. Eclipse, based on the third book in the series for ages 12 and up by Stephenie Meyer,  brings with it a cast change for Victoria, the nomadic vampire with a grudge against Bella. Rachelle Lefevre who played Victoria in Twilight and New Moon will be replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard in Eclipse.

Check back on August 14th for another edition of Book Flap!

—Carly H., STACKS Staffer

Book Flap: Harry Potter Paperback, Jeopardy & more

This week, Book Flap (your every-other-Friday book news column) has all the latest news about books becoming movies, TV shows becoming books, and even a book-based Broadway play! It's all part of our first Summer on the Splot!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Now in Paperback!

This Tuesday, the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became a little bit lighter to carry around in your backpack, because it came out in paperback! The Scholastic Store honored the event with a magic celebration! You can get the whole scoop on the party right here on Ink Splot 26.

Jeopardy! Warrior

In a three-episode run, from Friday, June 26th to Tuesday June 30th, children's book author Tui Sutherland raked in the big bucks on Jeopardy! Tui Sutherland is one of the authors who writes the Warriors series under the pen name Erin Hunter, and most recently started a series called Pet Trouble about dogs that just don't behave.

A lifelong fan of the show, Tui took the online test to be a contestant in January 2008. She did well enough that she moved to the next round of casting, participating in a rehearsal game for the producers of the show. It took almost a whole year to hear back, but in February of this year she got the call; she would be on the show! Tui taped her episodes in March and had to keep the results a secret until they aired at the end of June.

For two days, Tui won. Then on her third day, she came in second behind a school librarian.

And if you're asking for proof that her stint on Jeopardy! was a dream come true? The fourth book in Pet Trouble: Smarty Pants Shelty coming out in 2010, features a dog named Jeopardy. If you can't wait to read about Jeopardy the dog, check out the first three books in the series: Runaway Retriever, Loudest Beagle on the Block, and Mud-Puddle Poodle.

More Dancing Dogs

Last Book Flap, I talked about how Because of Winn Dixie is being made into a Broadway show and now more dogs are hitting the stage, 101 more dogs to be exact. 101 Dalmations is going to Broadway. The story of Cruella de Vil's Dalmatian dognapping started life as a novel by Dodie Smith in 1957. It became a Disney animated film in 1961 and then a live action film in 1996. And soon you'll be able to see 101 Dalmatians: The Musical.

Check back on July 31^st for another edition of Book Flap!

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer

Book Flap: Watch Your Favorite Books!

This week, Book Flap (your every-other-Friday book news column) has all the latest news about books becoming movies, TV shows becoming books, and even a book-based Broadway play! It's all part of our first Summer on the Splot!

Alice in Wonderland

Last week, the first look at the newest live action Alice in Wonderland movie was released to USA Today.

Lewis Carroll's classic book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, has been adapted for film over 20 times since the first silent film in 1903. The most famous of the adaptations is probably the Disney animated movie from 1951. This latest version is directed by Tim Burton, who lent his trademark surreal style to another classic children's book adaptation, Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in 2005.

The upcoming movie will star Johnny Depp (whom you might know as Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean) as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter (Belatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) as the Red Queen, and Anne Hathaway (Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries) as the White Queen.

Looks like a great cast! The only downside is the wait — Burton's Alice in Wonderland doesn't hit theaters until March 2010. But at least we can look at some early artwork and photos! Let me know what you think!

Because of Winn-Dixie

A singing and dancing dog?! It's not as crazy as it sounds. Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie is being adapted as a Broadway musical. And a real dog is going to be playing the title character!

We had trouble teaching my dog not to eat out of the garbage, so I'm sure that will be some sight to see! Do any of you have any star-worthy (or particularly troublesome) pets?

The Secret Saturdays

The Cartoon Network cartoon series, The Secret Saturdays, is making the jump from your television onto the pages of a book. This August, everything you've ever wanted to know about yetis, chupachabras, and tons of other cryptids will be right at your fingertips with the release of The Official Cryptid Field Guide, a Secret Saturdays' encyclopedia. And this fall, you can join Doc, Drew, and Zak Saturday on their cryptozoology missions in a brand new graphic novel series.

My favorite cryptid's always been the Loch Ness Monster. What's yours?

LEGO® Star Wars™: The Visual Dictionary

This October, get ready for a new visual dictionary . . . and a possible Storm Trooper invasion! On October 5th, Star Wars fans and LEGO enthusiasts alike can get their hands on LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary by Simon Beecroft. The book will be chock full of photos and facts on everything from the characters and accessories to the manufacturing and construction of the figurines.

And across the country, people will be celebrating the book's release with in-store parties in both book stores and LEGO stores — complete with trivia contests, giveaways, raffle prizes (including the limited-edition LEGO Star Wars Chrome Darth Vader figure), and visits by the 501st Legion (the world's definitive volunteer Imperial — aka Star Wars bad guys — costuming organization).

The book will come with an exclusive, never-before-released LEGO Star Wars figure. The character for the mini-figure will be announced this July — give me your best guess who it will be in the comments!

Go Mutants!

Sometimes a book sounds so cool, it gets optioned for a movie even before it's come out. That's what's happened with Larry Doyle's upcoming book, Go Mutants! The book, which Doyle is writing this summer along side the movie script, will ask the what-if question we are all dying to know: What if all the aliens and monsters in 1950s horror movies really did invade Earth in the 1950s? Doyle's answer to the question: Of course, all of those aliens would have gotten married and had half-monster-half-human kids who have regular lives and go to regular boring school and are just like you or me . . . just a little more monster-ish.

Since the book won't be out until next summer, tell me what you think: do monsters make good classmates?

And that's how you can watch your favorite books! Check back on July 17th for another edition of Book Flap!

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer

Book Flap: The 39 Clues, Lunch Lady, & New Books

Welcome to the third 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!

The 39 Clues News

Amy and Dan followed the clues to Egypt in The 39 Clues Book 4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson. But no one knows where they're headed next. Sounds like a job for investigative reporter and news anchor William Michaels! In a series of newscasts on the39clues.com, he'll uncomver evidence leading to Amy and Dan's next destination. His first hint came from an interview with author Jude Watson. Check it out:

You can see all the news that William Michaels unearths at: http://www.the39clues.com/wherenext

And don't forget to join the hunt yourself! Throughout the summer, five new FREE digital cards will be released to help you on your search. Who knows? You might even be the first to catch up to Amy and Dan in their secret location!You can find out if your sleuthing took you to the right place on August 11th, when Book 5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman comes out.

'Lunch Lady' and Other Books to Hit the Big Screen

The graphic novels aren't out yet (they hit bookshelves on July 28th), but Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s new series, Lunch Lady, has already been picked up by Universal Studios to be made into a movie.

The humorous series will kick off with two books: In Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, the mystery-solving Lunch Lady notices something weird about the librarians. Instead of their usually friendly selves, they've turned mean and secretive. Lunch Lady is going to find out what dark forces are at work! In Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, it's a strange substitute teacher that spikes Lunch Lady's creepiness meter.

The Lunch Lady movie, set for a 2010 release date, will star the hilarious Amy Poehler (Blades of Glory, Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation).

Another book series heading to the movies is Ian Beck's The Secret History of Tom Trueheart trilogy. No director or stars are attached to the live-action feature film yet, but keep your eye out for the movie in mid-2010.

Next in the Series: New Books Coming Next Month

This July, a lot of your favorite series will have new books. Keep your eyes out for the following:

July 1
Candy Apple: Accidentally Friends by Lisa Papademetriou
Dinosaur Cove: Saving the Stegosaurus by Rex Stone
Goosebumps HorrorLand #12: Streets of Panic Park by R.L. Stine
Pet Trouble: Mud-Puddle Poodle by Tui T. Sutherland

(If you're pumped for the new Pet Trouble, check out our Summer Series Sweepstakes, where you can enter for a chance to win this and other great books!)

July 14
Camp Rock: Second Session: Stage Fright
Hannah Montana On Tour: Ciao from Rome! by Helen Perelman
Hannah Montana On Tour: G’day, Sydney! by M.C. King
JONAS: Keeping It Real by Lara Bergen
JONAS: Wild Hearts by Catherine Hapka

July 23
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Captured by Rob Valois

July 28
Warriors Super Edition: Bluestar’s Prophecy by Erin Hunter

And that's what's shaking in the book world right now! On June 26th, you can catch POP-Corn right here for all your celebrity and entertainment news. And then check back on July 3rd for another edition of Book Flap. Until then, happy reading!

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer

Book Flap: American Girl, Black Belt Club, & More

Welcome to the second 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!

Meet the New American Girl: Rebecca Rubin

 Last December, I was crushed to find out they were retiring my favorite American Girl doll: Samantha Parkington, the rich orphan from 1904, who lived with her grandmother and was friends with the factory worker/servant girl next door. Well, now that I'm an adult, I have the means to right all the failed birthday presents from my parents growing up, so I immediately had to go buy Samantha for myself before she was gone forever. I thought that would be it.

But now there's a new girl in the American Girl ranks. On May 31st, Rebecca Rubin joined Kaya, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Kid, Molly, and Julie as the newest historical doll in the American Girl collection. Rebecca is 9 years old in 1914, when her story is set (fun fact: all the dolls are from years that end in 4).

Rebecca lives on New York City's Lower East Side with her siblings and Russian-Jewish immigrant parents and grandma, who is called Bubbie (the Yiddish word for Grandmother). Rebecca loves movies and wants to be an actress, but her parents don't approve. The books that accompany the doll deal with Rebecca balancing her dreams with the cultural and religious values of her family. The six books in Rebecca's story arc are written by Jacqueline Dembar Greene.

The Black Belt Club to Become a Cartoon

For all the boys out there who couldn't care less about dolls, here's something for you: The Black Belt Club series by real-life third-degree black belt Dawn Barnes is being made into an animated TV show!

The book series straddles the divide between traditional books and comics, with illustrations by Bernard Chang on virtually every page. The story follows four karate students — Max, Maia, Antonio, and Jamie — who are invited to be part of an elite group (surprise, surprise, it's called the Black Belt Club). Together, they are transported to a magical land filled with mythical heroes and monsters, but it's the Black Belt Club who are charged with saving the day.

On board to work on the show is John Drdek, a writer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Yu-Gi-Oh!, plus the animation production studio Curious Pictures, who did Codename: Kids Next Door. The show will be hitting airwaves in 2010, at the same time the 4th book hits stores. In the meantime, you can get ready by checking out The Black Belt Club website and the first three books: #1: Seven Wheels of Power, #2: Night on the Mountain of Fear, and #3: Beware of the Haunted Eye.

Book Expo America

Last weekend was Book Expo America, a huge yearly gathering where authors, publishers, librarians, and anyone who has anything to do with books congregate in New York City to meet up and talk about what's coming up this year. I wasn't there (*tear*), but I've been following along, and two big items of children's book news caught my attention . . .

First, book-game-online-reading-writing-participating-multimedia extravaganzas are the way of the future. As all you Splot readers know, The 39 Clues is the first of this kind. In the ten-book series, you can follow the adventures of Amy and Dan Cahill as they search for the secret behind their family's power. And just this past Tuesday (June 2nd), the fourth book in the series, Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson, came out. After reading the books (or before, it doesn't actually matter), you can go on The39Clues.com and join the hunt yourself.

Summer on The Splot: Book Flap, 5/22 Edition

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).

Until then, happy reading!

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer