The Book Gryffin

Most of you will of heard of ‘The Megs Series”. There are four books to date, written by Neil Montagnana-Wallace and Mark Schwarzer. Published by Bounce Books, there is a wonderful supporting website for the series which can be found here http://www.megsmorrison.com/index.php

As a Librarian “The Megs Series” was a wish granted. Finally a series of books that could engage boys and girls alike.  I applaud Neil Montagnana-Wallace and Mark Schwarzer’s dedication to creating strong female and male protagonists.

Megs is not simply another sporting hero gallivanting through pages that serve only to extol his sporting prowess. Megs is a wonderfully full character immersed in his sport but also enduring and experiencing the many ups and downs of any other child his age.

The Megs Series offer young readers a unique reading experience. They are able to relate to and empathise with Meg and his cast of rich characters. The subject matter covered in each book is diverse and refreshing. Readers are able to explore themes of racial and religious diversity, school issues, change, love and loss. Things they encounter in their own lives.

It is rare to see any of the Megs books on the shelf in the Library and we often have multiple reserves on our duplicate copies. Book Five is much anticipated at Manor Lakes College.

9780141326085 United Book Distributors 04 Jan 2010

“But all I could see was a beautiful girl in a long gray dress, under a white track jacket with the word Munich sewn on it, and beat-up black Converse peeking out underneath. A girl who wore a long silver chain around her neck, with tons of stuff  dangling from it- a plastic ring from a bubblegum machine, a safety pin, and a bunch of other junk I was too far away to see. A girl who didnt look like she belonged in Gaitlin. I couldnt take my eyes off her.” Page 32 Beautiful Creatures

“Maybe it was the way she wore that crazy necklace with all that junk on it, as if every single thing she touched could matter or did matter to her.” Page 53 Beautiful Creatures.

Anyone who has spent mere minutes in my prescence is aware of my passion for Beautiful Creatures- Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.This book is in fact one of the great literary loves of my life.

As a reader little details are what help me ‘feel’ a book. One of the details I loved the most was Lena’s Necklace. It fascinated me.

Now dear book lovers, YOU have a chance to OWN Lenas Necklace!!!

The amazingly talented and generous authors of Beautiful Creatures, Kami and Margaret alongside their friend Gabriel Paul, have devised a marvellous scavenger hunt competition so that YOU have a chance to win Lena’s Necklace. Handmade by the AUTHORS no less!!

Waste no time!!! Simply click on the Cover Image above to go to the Beautiful Creatures Blog and get the details!! Good Luck

Baskin, Nora Raleigh 9781416995005 United Book Distributors 01 Jun 2010

Jason Blake is an autistic 12-year-old living in a neurotypical world. Most days it’s just a matter of time before something goes wrong. But Jason finds a glimmer of understanding when he comes across PhoenixBird, who posts stories to the same online site as he does.

Jason can be himself when he writes and he thinks that PhoneixBird-her name is Rebecca-could be his first real friend. But as desperate as Jason is to meet her, he’s terrified that if they do meet, Rebecca will only see his autism and not who Jason really is. Text taken from Simon amd Schuster Website.

Have you ever wondered what a thought process might sound like/look like/feel like for an Autistic person? Has it ever occurred to you that what you as a neurotypical person see as a harmless and easy to understand phrase or gesture may seem intrusive and or offensive to a person with Autism?

Anything But Typical- Nora Raleigh Baskin is a magical book that allows the sparest of glimpses into the mind of  an Autistic boy. It will make you laugh and make you cry. It is beautiful. A privilege to read and a book you will never forget.

ISBN 978-0689858000 THIS TITLE NOT AVAIL IN AUSTRALIA AS YET. ASK BOOKSEELERS TO SPECIAL ORDER.

Sonja of The Uncommon Nonsense Book Blog fame had recommended this title to me some time ago but it was not till I was on holidays that I found time to read it. I was thankful to have been on holidays because it meant I could read it all in one sitting. Fortuitous that I had the time to do so because I could not put it down.

Hard hitting and fantastically written; Shattering Glass- Gail Giles will shatter any and all disillusions you may have had that only girls bully with evil intent and a twisted plan. The malevolence and cunning displayed by MC Rob left me stunned.

Giles ability to build tension is truly masterful. I loved this book despite the fact it left me somewhat sickened. The last page is like a swift slap in the face.

This is a must read for parents, teachers, librarians and teens. Much like Courtney Summers incredible book Some Girls Are, Shattering Glass throws back the veil on a world adults rarely glimpse. On a world adults sometimes refuse to acknowledge.

When I posted the stories for THE GRIMM OFF 2009 I encouraged you all to vote for your favourite writer.

VOTE YOU DID!!!! As you are all aware our winning Author was the lovely Victoria Schwab for her story ‘John Avery’s Shoes’

The winning voter was Anna Moore!!! Anna is not only famous fo her wonderful blog- Book Nerds Net, she is also a wonderful and friendly personality on Twitter. Thank you Anna and CONGRATULATIONS on winning!!!!

What did she win you ask???? Mmmmmmmmmm. Well. Anna has won the following prizes…

A hardcover copy of The Annotated Classic Fairytales: possibly the BEST collection of fairytales EVER in my opinion! A hardcover copy of Nothing Like You- Lauren Strasnick, a Bull soft toy from Where The Wild Things Are, a Beautiful Creatures Wristband, a Yellow M&Ms character (my favourite) a box of Kitten chocolates and a tshirt designed by Moi to express my love for Rampant- Diana Peterfreund. Said Tshirt features a picture of a Zhi Unicorn with the slogan “My other Unicorn is a Bucephalus”.

I hope you like it Anna, look for the postman coming to your door very soon. Thank you so much to all who participated

So I have returned! I missed you all

My family trip to visit my Parents in Mackay, Queensland has come to an end and we have landed back in reality.

We climbed a mountain, water skied, spotted ‘Beautiful Creatures’ in the wild, ate mango’s in the sun, swam like otters, enjoyed afternoons by the pool, ate BBQ and marveled at how much our children had grown and changed. We laughed and enjoyed one another’s company. It was a wonderful holiday and it was very difficult to leave.

Yet here we are. I am happy to be home. And I will not ever forget the magical quality of each and every day I spent with those I love and miss so much already.

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let you all know that I have not abandoned you!!! Or the blog
I know I have to upload photos of prizes and randomly choose a Voter winner for the Grimm Off.
Stupidly, I believed that I would have plenty of time to do that whilst on holidays…
Yeah. Well, I got here and turns outs USB modems and IPhones do not work here!!!!
I am currently racing to type this in an Internet cafe
Please be patient with me beautiful readers and expect a plethora of posts on Jan 8th 2010.
Till then I hope you all had a great Christmas/Festive Season, stay safe and loved and have a magical New Year!

Love,
Tye xxx

And so it is over. The Grimm Off Competition 2009 has come to a close. Our talented Authors have had their brief moment in the sun and you the people have spoken. It was a tough call folks as both stories deserve to win. Both were spectacularly written. Both were terrifying in that way that only fairy tales can be. Both reminded me of the deliciousness of my childhood. I would like to call for a HIP HIP HOORAY for both authors and their bravery in letting us read their unedited original works of art!

May I take a brief moment to say a HUGE THANK YOU to those of you who took the time to vote. I would also like to say an ever BIGGER THANK YOU to our beautiful authors, without whom this would not be possible at all!!! They have shared with us their talent and their time and allowed me to publicize what began as a conversation between the two of them. For this, I cannot thank them enough!

Without further ado; THE WINNER OF THE GRIMM OFF 2009 IS….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~VICTORIA SCHWAB!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Victoria’s tale ‘John Avery’s Shoes’ was voted by you the reader as the best dark fairytale of 2009. What does Victoria win? Aside for basking in the glow of the adoration of her voters, she gets the following gifts…Enjoy your prizes lovely Miss Victoria. Lets hope they help your Edit Fairy entertain you Now ya’ll, go on over and congratulate the Lady! Victoria’s Blog

Stay tuned for the Wining Voter

WARNING! THIS POST IS EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL AND MORE THAN SOMEWHAT SAPPY! I DO NOT APOLOGIZE IN ANYWAY FOR THE GUSHINESS DISPLAYED HEREIN. YOU WERE WARNED!!! ~*~

I am blessed to know and call friend many wonderful people.

However. There are two very important people in my life that I wish to draw attention to today. Sonja and Nicole. We first met December 2nd 2003 when I began a new job at Collins Booksellers. Its a long story and a long road from there to here. Suffice to say, our friendship has grown over the years and Sonja and Nicole are two people whom I could not nor would not want to live without. They are incredible friends to have and I thank my lucky stars every day they love me back and make such an enormous effort to be there for me no matter what.

There are no two people on earth who love Christmas and Birthdays and GIVING more than these two. On my birthday not so long ago, the two of them gave me a signed first edition of Anne Rice’s- Memnoch The Devil. It is one of my very favorite books and I was astounded and very very touched. I may have cried. (Ok, I cried!) I told them it was the BEST GIFT EVER and nothing could beat that.

Turns out I was wrong. Because they did. BIG-TIME.

When I arrived at Sonjas last night for the revelry that was to precede a trip to see ‘New Moon’ I was confident that their threats that they had beaten my birthday gift with my Christmas gift were all talk. After-all, how on earth could you beat THAT!?!

Turns out Nicole had been emailing the beautiful, talented and generous Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl to arrange a truly SPECTACULAR Christmas gift. A SIGNED FIRST EDITION OF BEAUTIFUL CREATURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Here is where it gets really gushy) Not only that though folks. Hold your collective bated breath. Inside the book (breathtakingly magnificent that it is) was a print of the now infamous trailer photo taken by the lovely and incredibly talented Vania, an invitation to the debut for the book and a card from Kami and Margaret telling me how amazing Nicole was, how much they loved my review and how thrilled they were to have helped with the gift!!! At this point I thought I may indeed faint. BUT THERE WAS MORE!!!!!!

A box containing a whole swag of Beautiful Creatures goodies!!! Scout (a little voodoo person) Amma’s Red Hots, Link’s Playlist, Beautiful Creatures bracelets (which I vow to never take off and promptly gave one each to my amazing friends), a BC dog-tag necklace, stickers, Ridley’s cherry lollipop and some little lemon candies. CAN I GET AN OMG!!!!!! I wont lie, I was beside myself with emotion and cried like a baby I was so stunned!!!

I knew instantly how much time effort and coordination had gone into the arrangement of this gift. I know how incredibly busy Kami and Margie are and I know this was a huge effort for all concerned. The fact that these four people would go to so much effort time and trouble for me had me beyond tears of gratitude and appreciation. There is no way I can ever thank you guys enough for this.

Kami, Margie, Nicole and Sonja… thank you for my STUNNING Christmas gift. There are no words. I am still now tearing up as I type this badly written and grammatically incorrect post. But I dont care. I am literally bursting inside trying desperately to find a word that says so much more than Thank you. It does not seem enough. It will never seem enough. I love that you did this for me. I am touched beyond belief. I love you guys…

THANK-YOU SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

The Book Gryffin is proud to present “GRIMM OFF 2009″ The Competition.

You, Dear Reader, are invited to enjoy 2 original dark fairy tales, never before published. Written by the incredibly talented Authors, Scott Tracey and Victoria Schwab. Once you have read the fairy tales, please do leave a comment on the post containing the fairy tale you choose to vote for.

Why bother? Firstly, it is rude to enjoy such beautifully crafted stories and not leave a comment for the Author responsible. Secondly, there are PRIZES to be had!! The prize swag is not yet complete, but I can tell you, it contains Books, a t-shirt, a soft toy relating to a book character, bookmarks and a DVD! Pictures will be posted very soon! This is an INTERNATIONAL competition people and to win, all you have to do is VOTE! The Winner will be drawn December 20th at random, so everyone has a chance to win

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO…YOUR AUTHORS.

~VICTORIA SCHWAB~ I’m the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, I say “tom-ah-toes,” “like,” and “y’all.” I also tell stories. I am represented by the awe-inspiring Amy Tipton of the Signature Literary Agency. My three main projects are THE SHADOW MILE, which is under revision, THE NEAR WITCH, which just sold, and ALL THINGS BETWEEN, which is in progress. I’m delighted to announce that THE NEAR WITCH will be coming out early 2011 with Disney*Hyperion”

~SCOTT TRACEY~ Scott wrote his autobiography (illustrated, no less) at age six.  Sadly, it’s been all downhill from there. He thinks writing biographical information in the third person makes him sound hella pretentious.  He went to Catholic school, traveled the country on a Greyhound, and has worked in exactly four jobs. I am represented by Colleen Lindsay at Fineprint Literary Management. My first novel WITCH EYES will be published by Flux in the Summer of 2011, with a sequel to follow.

Find their Fairy Tales below….