Dig into Kidsreads.com this month! Along with our regular features --- Interviews, Cool New Books, Reviews and Series Updates --- we have a special Thanksgiving Day Roundup that's bound to fill you up.

If you like movies based on books, this month offers two very special treats --- Zathura, based on the picture book by Chris Van Allsburg, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth fantastical and action-packed Harry Potter movie. Check out our Books into Movies feature for all the details on these two wild and magical tales. And be sure to check out our roundup of Zathura movie tie-in books --- including ZATHURA THE MOVIE: STICKER BOOK, which features removable stickers, and ZATHURA SHADOW BOOK: An Intergalactic Shadow-Casting Adventure, which shows you how to use a flashlight to project amazing scenes onto your wall. You'll be swept away by Zathura, the movie AND the books!

This week we're featuring interviews with Ron Barrett, author of THE NUTTY NEWS, and Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, co-authors of ARTHUR SPIDERWICK'S FIELD GUIDE TO THE FANTASTICAL WORLD AROUND YOU. Ron Barrett offers advice for aspiring artists and writers; Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black talk about writing and working with your good friend and reveal the most memorable letter they ever received from a reader.

Congratulations to the winners of the LIONBOY contest on Kidsreads.com! Our Grand Prize Winner, Amanda from Gilbert, AZ, has won personally signed copies of the first three books in the series --- LIONBOY, LIONBOY: THE CHASE and LIONBOY: THE TRUTH. Our runners up are: Aysia from New Castle, DE; Brandon from North Plains, OR; Brittany from Clifton Park, NY; Jarelle from Hinesville, GA; Kristina from Louisville, KY; Lewis from Ellicott City, MD; Magen from Hayden, ID; Sidney from Oil City, PA; Spencer from Newtown, PA; and Trent from Thornhill, Ontario. Each runner up has won a signed copy of LIONBOY: THE TRUTH and a cool bookmark that features all the titles in the series.

November 14-20 is Children's Book Week and this year's theme is Imagine. We have all the details in the newsletter, and you can check out the website here. Talk with your teachers or librarian to see if your school is celebrating Children's Book Week; if they're not, tell them about it!

November is a time to give thanks for family and friends, good food and good books. It's also time to start thinking about gifts for the holidays. At Kidsreads.com we love this time of year --- winter vacation is just around the corner and we love thinking about what to give the people we love. So even though it hasn't started snowing yet, we know that winter is coming and it's wonderful!

Carol Fitzgerald for Kidsreads.com

Ron Barrett, best known for the picture book CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, tries his hand at both writing and drawing with THE NUTTY NEWS. He recently spoke with Kidsreads.com reviewer Bob Oksner about his first childhood art lessons and how he chooses to view himself as an "idea maker" rather than just a "writer" or an "illustrator." Barrett also shares amusing anecdotes concerning his history with the newspaper business, and dispenses humorous but helpful words of wisdom to future authors and artists. 

THE NUTTY NEWS by Ron Barrett
If you've been reading newspapers lately and saddened by all the bad news, then we have some good news for you: THE NUTTY NEWS is here! This crazy newspaper is filled with nothing but hilarious news, features and advertisements. They include such headlines as "One-Minute-a-Day School Opens," an interview with New York's first teddy bear cab driver, a weather forecast prepared by the United States Bureau of Guessing, Your Horoscope, and other items that will make you laugh out loud. Reviewed by Robert Oksner.

Click here to look inside the book.

THE PENULTIMATE PERIL: A Series of Unfortunate Events #12 by Lemony Snicket
The unfortunate Baudelaire orphans set sail for uncharted territory in the latest (and next-to-last) installment of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now that they've reached the Hotel Denouement, the hapless siblings must pose as concierges and discern the true motives and identities of the hotel's many mysterious guests. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

Play our new Series of Unfortunate Events Trivia Game and Word Scramble.

Click here to read an excerpt from THE PENULTIMATE PERIL.

Kidsreads.com contributing writer Marya Jansen-Gruber interviewed close friends and joint collaborators Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black about ARTHUR SPIDERWICK'S FIELD GUIDE TO THE FANTASTICAL WORLD AROUND YOU. Tony and Holly discuss the amount of time, effort and research they each put into this long-awaited companion to The Spiderwick Chronicles, and describe the working dynamic that has made their projects so successful. They also cite the authors and illustrators who mutually have influenced their work, as well as share stories about their readers who have had plenty of fantastical observations of their own.

ARTHUR SPIDERWICK'S FIELD GUIDE TO THE FANTASTICAL WORLD AROUND YOU by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
At long last the world gets to see Arthur Spiderwick's famous Field Guide, and we will finally understand why the creatures who live in the invisible world of faerie had wanted to keep it hidden from human eyes for so many years. Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber.

The leaves are turning, a chill is in the air, and Thanksgiving is so close you can almost smell the warm pumpkin pie. Just the thought of it makes our mouths water here at Kidsreads.com, so we've cooked up a list of holiday books that will whet your appetite for our version of Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings --- a generous helping of gratitude and a side of historical trivia, topped off with an enormous slice of laughter á la mode to sweeten the palate. Dig in!

November's roundup of Cool New Books is rawther special, because Simon & Schuster is celebrating Eloise's 50th birthday with an anniversary edition that both longtime fans and newcomers to the series will treasure. This new release contains the original Eloise story --- in which Kay Thompson introduces readers to the precocious six-year-old who lives in the Plaza Hotel --- and a scrapbook with photos and drawings by Hilary Knight. Other featured titles this month include DAWN UNDERCOVER, about an "invisible" girl who transforms into the world's best spy, and the latest additions to the Andrew Lost and Nancy Drew series.

November is Turkey Time! At Kidsreads.com we're always grateful when the movie versions of the books we love are as good as the original. This month two very special films hit theaters, and we think both are worthy adaptations.

Everyone is talking about HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, the fourth Harry Potter movie, which reunites us with our favorite bespectacled hero as he battles the forces of good and evil in his fourth year at Hogwarts Academy. ZATHURA is another fantastical tale, based on the picture book by Chris Van Allsburg, about two brothers and a mysterious board game that gets more out-of-this-world with each roll of the dice. To celebrate the release of Zathura, Houghton Mifflin has made available a number of tie-in books that we know you'll devour!

So if you want a taste of adventure this month, you're in luck. There's no need to travel far --- simply head to your favorite movie theater and be whisked away to a land just beyond your imagination with these two mystical, magical tales.

From November 14-20, the Children's Book Council (CBC) is sponsoring its 86th annual Children's Book Week. This year's theme, Imagine, calls for readers to explore the multifaceted world beyond the scope of their own experiences through those found in books.   

Since its conception in 1919 by the CBC --- a nonprofit trade organization of publishers and packagers of trade books for children and young adults --- this yearly event aims to celebrate the written word and introduce young readers to new authors and ideas. The group works to support literacy, and advocates making reading a part of America's educational and social goals.

CINDERELLA: A POP-UP FAIRY TALE by Matthew Reinhart
For ages, people have been enchanted by the story of Cinderella. Told again and again throughout literary history by writers like Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney, this classic tale continually finds its way into the hearts and imaginations of children of all ages. In his latest work, illustrator and paper engineer extraordinaire Matthew Reinhart joins the ranks of these illustrious storytellers by breathing new life and a new kind of magic into a centuries-old story with CINDERELLA: A POP-UP FAIRY TALE.

DECEPTION: Lady Grace Mysteries #4 by Lady Grace Cavendish
Queen Elizabeth is furious at the production delays of her new coin. To escape her bad temper, Lady Grace and her fellow Maids of Honour skate down the frozen River Thames to the eagerly anticipated Frost Fair. But a gruesome discovery on the ice --- a dead man with coins covering his eyes --- interrupts their fun. As the Queen's Lady Pursuivant, Grace must unravel the mystery. Reviewed by Shannon McKenna.

A CHRISTMAS TALE: Geronimo Stilton Special Edition by Geronimo Stilton
It's Christmastime on Mouse Island, and Geronimo can't wait to celebrate with his friends and family. But then he discovers that they all will be out of town for the holidays, which means he'll be spending Christmas alone! Will this be Geronimo's loneliest Christmas ever? Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

BAD TIMES, BIG CRIMES: Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective #14, by Carolyn Keene
One minute Nancy Drew is sitting with Ned in a lecture, the next she's in a city hall meeting on how to get through the beginning of the Great Depression! And to make matters even more complicated, Nancy has a thief to track down --- someone is robbing local banks of what little money they have.

THE KING IN THE WINDOW by Adam Gopnik
One night, in the middle of a dark and freezing Paris January, Oliver puts on a gold paper crown that comes with an Epiphany cake, looks at himself in the window, and sees an amazing vision --- a boy at his window who seems to inhabit Oliver's reflection. Oliver's pursuit of the boy leads him to a terrifying secret. Reviewed by Robert Oksner.

THE SECRET APARTMENT by Natalie Fast
Poor Jillian moves to New York City from Pennsylvania where she must become accustomed to the city itself, a new stepfather, a horrid stepsister, and the indignities of summer day camp. Her life is miserable until a new friend and an irresistible mystery come along. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

THREE GOOD DEEDS by Vivian Vande Velde
If Howard had known the old hag was a witch, he never would have taunted her. But he did, and so he is now a goose. Howard must do three good deeds in order to be turned back into a boy again --- but how can you help others when you have webbed feet, wings for hands, and can't say anything but "Honk"? Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle.

A DOG'S LIFE: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin
When their mother is suddenly taken from them, Squirrel and her brother Bone are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing seasons. But when the two puppies become separated, Squirrel must fend for herself. Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman.

THE TRUTH COOKIE by Fiona Dunbar
Lulu Baker's dad is getting ready to marry his new girlfriend, Varaminta. Unfortunately, only Lulu knows how cruel and deceitful her stepmother-to-be and Varaminta's awful son actually are. Will a magical book of recipes help prevent her father from making the biggest mistake of his life? Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman.

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