Kids are wild about reading down in the Sooner State. I recently returned from a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma where I spoke at the Young Author’s Conference, the Tulsa Reading Council, and made a few school visits. On Saturday, the young authors surprised me. Whether in first grade or fifth grade, they all liked scary stories! And they all loved graphic novels. I showed the artwork and read from my Library of Doom series. They wanted more! After the workshops, the conference sold books written by the participating authors. Kids snapped up 5 or 6 books apiece of the Doom books. “Which one’s the scariest?” they would ask.
On Monday night, before the Reading Council dinner, I spoke with a number of educators and librarians whose students had been at the conference Saturday. One woman told me that one of her boys, Justin, who was not a reader at all, had his nose buried in a book at the back of her class. It was one of the Library of Doom books, The Book That Dripped Blood. He was supposed to be writing in his journal. So when the teacher walked over to his desk to remind him, Justin looked up, pleading, and said, “But I just have to finish this first!” And she let him.
As an author, that’s about the best praise I can get—the knowledge that my books have done just what I (and the rest of the staff at Stone Arch) intended them to. They’re not just creating spooky atmospheres—they’re creating environments of reading success.
--Michael Dahl
Editorial Director, Stone Arch Books
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Kids Against Hunger
This season, we worked on a book about a really special organization, Kids Against Hunger. Kids Against Hunger (KAH), which works to eliminate starvation worldwide, was featured on the Minneapolis ABC affiliate last night (May 11). You can watch the story here. In this powerful, moving segment, Emmy Award-winning reporter Jason Davis travels to a KAH feeding site in Haiti with KAH founder Richard Proudfit and the director of KAH's Mankato, MN division, Tim Stromer.
Stone Arch Books will publish Kids Against Hunger in Fall ‘08. The book, part of our “We Are Heroes” series, is one of six new books that focus on kids making a difference in their communities. Stone Arch Books will donate the profits from the sale of our Kids Against Hunger book to the organization.
Keep an eye on our website and this blog for more information. We’ll tell you more about our Kids Against Hunger book and the other books in the "We Are Heroes" series when the books are available in August.
Stone Arch Books will publish Kids Against Hunger in Fall ‘08. The book, part of our “We Are Heroes” series, is one of six new books that focus on kids making a difference in their communities. Stone Arch Books will donate the profits from the sale of our Kids Against Hunger book to the organization.
Keep an eye on our website and this blog for more information. We’ll tell you more about our Kids Against Hunger book and the other books in the "We Are Heroes" series when the books are available in August.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
SAB at IRA
We’re at the International Reading Association’s national conference in Atlanta this week! Stop by the Red Brick Learning booth (#2817) to see the new products we’re working on with Red Brick Learning.
We’re launching our new Reader’s Theater at IRA. We are also doing a special punch card. Attendees can hear about our four featured products (one of which is Reader’s Theater) and enter to win a complete set of products of their choosing. We hope we’ll see you there!
We’re launching our new Reader’s Theater at IRA. We are also doing a special punch card. Attendees can hear about our four featured products (one of which is Reader’s Theater) and enter to win a complete set of products of their choosing. We hope we’ll see you there!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Our SUPER news
It's been incredibly hard to not tell everyone we know this news, but now we can: Stone Arch Books and DC Comics are teaming up!
Here's the press release. We're so excited!
DC Comics, Stone Arch Books Announce New & Easy Super Hero Chapter Books
DC Comics and Stone Arch Books are teaming up with a new set of easy chapter books based around DC Comics’ iconic characters Batman and Superman. The new DC Super Heroes will premiere with 12 titles in Spring 2009.
The full offering will include a total of 48 titles released over four seasons. The second season will add Wonder Woman, the world’s most famous female super hero.
“We are excited to provide young readers with books that will be appropriate for our safety and readability concerns, but will also stay consistent with the dynamic storytelling and thrilling characters that have made the DC super heroes so popular,” says Heather Kindseth, Stone Arch Creative Director.
“The books will showcase brand-new, original stories featuring popular DC Comics characters,” says Michael Dahl, Stone Arch Editorial Director. “The stories will be appealing to both new readers and those already fans of the super heroes.”
The books will be illustrated by veteran DC Comics artists. Stone Arch will handle development, design, and distribution to the school and public library markets.
“These easy chapter books are just one more way to hook a reluctant or struggling reader,” says Joan Berge, President of Stone Arch Books. “The DC characters are well-known and of high interest to the striving young reader, and we hope they will spark a growing interest in reading."
About Stone Arch Books
Stone Arch Books publishes safe graphic novels and chapter books for the striving reader. Stone Arch is part of the Capstone Publishers group based in Mankato, MN, with offices in Bloomington, MN and San Diego, CA. Stone Arch Books' Web site is located at www.stonearchbooks.com.
About DC Comics
DC Comics, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world and home to such iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman. These DC super heroes and others have starred in comic books, movies, television series (both animated and live-action) and cyberspace, thrilling audiences of all ages for generations. DC Comics’ Web site is located at www.dccomics.com.
Here's the press release. We're so excited!
DC Comics, Stone Arch Books Announce New & Easy Super Hero Chapter Books
DC Comics and Stone Arch Books are teaming up with a new set of easy chapter books based around DC Comics’ iconic characters Batman and Superman. The new DC Super Heroes will premiere with 12 titles in Spring 2009.
The full offering will include a total of 48 titles released over four seasons. The second season will add Wonder Woman, the world’s most famous female super hero.
“We are excited to provide young readers with books that will be appropriate for our safety and readability concerns, but will also stay consistent with the dynamic storytelling and thrilling characters that have made the DC super heroes so popular,” says Heather Kindseth, Stone Arch Creative Director.
“The books will showcase brand-new, original stories featuring popular DC Comics characters,” says Michael Dahl, Stone Arch Editorial Director. “The stories will be appealing to both new readers and those already fans of the super heroes.”
The books will be illustrated by veteran DC Comics artists. Stone Arch will handle development, design, and distribution to the school and public library markets.
“These easy chapter books are just one more way to hook a reluctant or struggling reader,” says Joan Berge, President of Stone Arch Books. “The DC characters are well-known and of high interest to the striving young reader, and we hope they will spark a growing interest in reading."
About Stone Arch Books
Stone Arch Books publishes safe graphic novels and chapter books for the striving reader. Stone Arch is part of the Capstone Publishers group based in Mankato, MN, with offices in Bloomington, MN and San Diego, CA. Stone Arch Books' Web site is located at www.stonearchbooks.com.
About DC Comics
DC Comics, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world and home to such iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman. These DC super heroes and others have starred in comic books, movies, television series (both animated and live-action) and cyberspace, thrilling audiences of all ages for generations. DC Comics’ Web site is located at www.dccomics.com.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Books kids fight for.
Librarians and teachers, warn your principals! We’ve heard more than one report lately of renegade groups of students refusing to leave their principals’ offices unless the administrations agree to fund the purchase of the entire Stone Arch Books catalog. We’re working on our Fall 2008 catalog now, so there’s not much time before there’s a whole new collection of books that students will fight for!
In the meantime, you can direct your kids to www.stonearchbooks.com (where, if you’re not currently receiving our catalog, you can also sign up to get on our mailing list). Consider this your fair warning—let that catalog (or any of our high-interest, kid-friendly books) slip into your students’ hands, and you can’t be held responsible for the results!
We love hearing anecdotes about kid reactions to our books—please comment if you have any! And if your students need a better way to communicate their feelings about books than storming administration offices, we’re always looking for kid reviewers—click here for more information.
In the meantime, you can direct your kids to www.stonearchbooks.com (where, if you’re not currently receiving our catalog, you can also sign up to get on our mailing list). Consider this your fair warning—let that catalog (or any of our high-interest, kid-friendly books) slip into your students’ hands, and you can’t be held responsible for the results!
We love hearing anecdotes about kid reactions to our books—please comment if you have any! And if your students need a better way to communicate their feelings about books than storming administration offices, we’re always looking for kid reviewers—click here for more information.
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