We Know Jake Maddox!

Last Wednesday, we were calmly perusing the blogosphere when a familiar name caught our eye. "Do you know Jake Maddox?" the blog post's headline asked. Of course we know Jake Maddox, the figurehead of our wildly popular series of sports and adventure chapter books! Upon reading further, we found that Tennessee librarian Diane Chen had a lot of great things to say about good ol' Jake. We already knew that librarians loved the Jake Maddox books, and we've gotten multiple letters from kids who love them too--but it's always nice to hear it again, and it's even nicer that someone felt strongly enough about our books to tell the whole Internet. Thanks, Diane!

(And we're glad to oblige: we've got 12 new Jake Maddox books headed to libraries in December, bringing the series total to 46. As always, we'll let our blog readers be the first to know when they're available!)

Stone Arch Books on TV!

Our very own Michael Dahl was interviewed for a CBS news story on getting boys to read. The story aired Monday night on CBS in Austin, Texas.

You can read an article and see part of the interview here!

And let us know: how do YOU get boys to read?

Heroes for every day

Alison Morris of PW's Shelf Talker blog recently asked writers and publishers to think about creating books in which characters perform community service. A customer had requested such a book. She and her 5th grader were about to start volunteering, and they wanted books to read about other kids doing good work. Alison and her colleagues found a great book to recommend, but perhaps if they'd been aware of our We Are Heroes series, she'd have recommended them, too!

We've talked about the We Are Heroes series before on this blog, but now that school is back in session it's a great time to remind our loyal readers about this set of books. One of Capstone Publishers' owners, Jim Coughlan, sent out a mandate to his staff a while ago: create books in which kids are everyday heroes, doing work that helps others.

Jim's children participated in the Kids Against Hunger (KAH) organization, a group that packages a nutritious meal that can be sent to starving children. (Read about two SAB staffers helping at a school working with KAH here.) That inspired us at SAB to create the first book in We Are Heroes, Kids Against Hunger. Five other books followed, about normal, run-of-the mill kids doing such things as taking care of animals in the aftermath of a storm, participating in a bike ride to help a homeless shelter, building a house with Habitat for Humanity, and more.

We wanted to show readers that some heroes are made by doing good to help others. Oh, and we wanted to tell some good stories, too!

Check out all six of the We Are Heroes books here.

Welcome Sam!

Missed us? The brains behind the blog was having a baby!

Beth and Steve Brezenoff welcomed Samuel to their family on August 20. "He's 6 pounds 10 ounces and nineteen inches of pure perfection," boast the proud parents.

We're so happy for Beth and Steve, but that doesn't mean we don't miss her around the SAB office.

Regular posts will resume as soon as we can find someone to fill Beth's shoes. But keep watching and reading, as we will keep you notified of other cool stuff happening here at Stone Arch Books before Beth gets back!

Good Books or Gross Books?

An article in the Wall Street Journal recently claimed that to get boys to read, you’ve gotta give them blood and guts. Here at Stone Arch Books, we understand the balance between what boys want and what kids want. Our (proven, kid-tested) method of getting boys to read simply consists of publishing books that contain elements boy readers are looking for—action, sports, humor, adventure, and just a pinch of irreverence. At the same time, we’re publishing books that librarians and teachers and parents can be comfortable with.

In the WSJ article, Jan Harp Domene, the president of the PTA, asks why boys won’t read the classics, like Tom Sawyer and books written by Jules Verne and stories from Greek mythology. Our answer: they will, if the package is cool, the format is right, and the book is presented to them as something fun—not something they’re being forced to read. Our Graphic Revolve books (which include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, two Jules Verne sci-fi classics, and next season, will include stories from Greek mythology) combine a format boys love (graphic novels) with content teachers, parents, and librarians can feel confident about.

Do we have to publish “gross” books to appeal to kids? Of course not—but sometimes it’s fun, like our Jimmy Sniffles books about a boy with a super-powered schnozz, our retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the sure-to-be-classic Boy Who Burped Too Much. But even these books are safe—not gory. Boys, however, won’t even notice the lack of blood . . . they’ll be too busy reading. And that’s the point.