It's an Author Invasion at the Chenery Winter Book Festival, Belmont, MA, 12/6

So excited to share info about this exciting upcoming event! I get to hang out with some *very* cool people. Come join us and we'll all be cool together. :)

Presenting the first annual             

Chenery Winter Book Festival!

Thursday, December 6, 4:30-6 pm @ Chenery Middle School Library, Belmont, MA

Introducing five local authors and the books they’ll be signing at the Chenery Book Fair. Signed books make great holiday gifts, and proceeds from the book fair support the library.

Meet Erin Dionne

Erin Dionne writes funny books that feature models, cookies, Shakespeare, crazy families, music, marching band, and the trials of middle school. She lives in Framingham with her husband, two kids, and a very demanding dog. She teaches English at Montserrat College of Art, in Beverly.

Website: www.ErinDionne.com

Blog:  livejournal.com/bostonerin

NOTES FROM AN ACCIDENTAL BAND GEEK: Elsie Wyatt is a born French horn player, just like her father and her grandfather before her. In order to qualify for the prestigious summer music camp of her dreams, she must expand her musical horizons and join--gasp!--the marching band. There are no French horns in marching band, but there are some very cute boys. Elsie is not so sure she'll survive, but the new friends she's making and the actual fun she's having force her to question her dad's expectations and her own musical priorities.

THE TOTAL TRAGEDY OF A GIRL NAMED HAMLET: All Hamlet Kennedy wants is to be a normal eighth grader. But with parents like hers - Shakespearean scholars who actually dress in Elizabethan regalia . . . in public! - it's not that easy. As if they weren't strange enough, her genius seven-year-old sister will be attending her middle school, and is named the new math tutor. Then, when the Shakespeare Project is announced, Hamlet reveals herself to be an amazing actress. Even though she wants to be average, Hamlet can no longer hide from the fact that she- like her family - is anything but ordinary.

 

MODELS DON’T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES: Thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris is no string bean, but comfy sweatpants and a daily chocolate cookie suit her just fine. Her under-the-radar lifestyle could have continued too, if her aunt hadn’t entered her in the HuskyPeach Modeling Challenge. To get out of it, she’s forced to launch Operation Skinny Celeste, because, after all, a thin girl can’t be a fat model! What Celeste never imagined was that losing weight would help her gain a backbone . . . or that all she needed to shine was a spotlight.
Meet Erin E. Moulton

Erin E. Moulton is the author of Flutter, Tracing Stars and two forthcoming novels.  She is the teen librarian at the Derry Public Library.  She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two rascally dogs, Cali and Remington.  She likes to read, carve pumpkins, eat pomegranate seeds and learn new things. 

Find Erin online at www.ErinEMoulton.com.

TRACING STARS:  Indie Lee Chickory is the fish freak of Plumtown. She's an expert at making fish faces and has a pet, The Lobster Monty Cola. When Indie accidentally brings Monty to school, to disastrous results, her sister Bebe almost dies of embarrassment. Indie is left with no friends, no sister, and no lobster.  One night, Indie wishes on her favorite star. She wants to find her lobster and be a better Chickory so Bebe will like her again. She searches for Monty by building a boat up in a tree with Owen Stone, who works in the props shop. Everything goes well--until Bebe and her gang make it clear that being friends with Owen is a ticket straight to loserville. Can Indie keep her friendship with Owen a secret? And will doing so make her a better Chickory--or a worse one?

FLUTTER, THE STORY OF FOUR SISTERS AND AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY: Big things are about to happen at Maple's house. Mama's going to have a baby, which means now there will be four Rittle sisters instead of just three. But when baby Lily is born too early and can't come home from the hospital, Maple knows it's up to her to save her sister. So she and sister Dawn, armed with a map and some leftover dinner, head off down a river and up a mountain to find the Wise Woman, who guards a pool with miraculous powers. But the dangers Maple and Dawn encounter on their journey make them realize a thing or two about miracles--and about each other.

Meet Diana Renn

Diana Renn writes contemporary mysteries for young adults. TOKYO HEIST (Viking/Penguin, 2012) is her first novel, and her next two YA mysteries will also feature globetrotting sleuths and international intrigue. She grew up in Seattle and now lives in Belmont with her husband and son. When she's not writing, she enjoys taiko drumming and bicycling, though has not yet figured out how to do both of those things at once.

Website: www.dianarennbooks.com 

Blog: http://sleuthsspiesandalibis.blogspot.com  

TOKYO HEIST: When sixteen-year-old Violet agrees to spend the summer with her father, an up-and-coming artist in Seattle, she has no idea what she's walking into. Her father's newest clients, the Yamada family, are the victims of a high-profile art robbery: van Gogh sketches have been stolen from their home, and, until they can produce the corresponding painting, everyone's lives are in danger--including Violet's and her father's.

Violet's search for the missing van Gogh takes her from the Seattle Art Museum, to the yakuza-infested streets of Tokyo, to a secluded inn in Kyoto. As the mystery thickens, Violet's not sure whom she can trust. But she knows one thing: she has to solve the mystery--before it's too late.

Meet Jack Ferraiolo

Jack D. Ferraiolo is the author of the Edgar Award nominee The Big Splash, which the New York Times called “entertaining and thrilling” and Publishers Weekly called “ingenious junior high noir.” His second book, Sidekicks, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books for Kids 2011. His third book, The Quick Fix (a sequel to The Big Splash) released in October 2012. Jack is also the developer and Emmy Award-winning writer for the PBS show WordGirl. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two kids. Find him online at http://www.jackferraiolo.com/

THE BIG SPLASH: The treacherous, hormone-soaked hallways of Franklin Middle School are the setting for this sharp, funny noir novel about tough guys and even tougher girls. "The Frank"is in the clutches of a crime syndicate run by seventh-grader Vinny "Mr. Biggs" Biggio, who deals in forged hall passes and blackmarket candy. Double-cross him and your number is punched by one of his deadly water gun-toting assassins. One hit in the pants and you are in "the Outs" forever. Matt Stevens is a proud loner with his own code of justice. He's avoided being pulled into Vinny's organization until now: Mr. Biggs has offered him a job he can't resist, even if it means bringing down one of his oldest friends. Nominated for an Edgar Award in 2009, The Big Splash revitalizes the noir novel while delivering a terrific, addictive mystery that crackles with wit and excitement.

THE QUICK FIX: In this much-anticipated sequel to The Big Splash, junior high detective Matt Stevens is back on the case, bringing us another hilarious middle school noir. When the star of the basketball team is blackmailed, it’s up to Matt, the lone voice for justice in a morass of middle school corruption, to figure out who’s behind the scheme. Is it eighth-grade crime lord Vinny “Mr. Biggs” Biggio, who has made his name peddling forged hall passes and leading a crew of social assassins who send enemies to the Outs with a humiliating squirt-gun blast below the belt? Or is it his lieutenant and Matt’s former best friend, Kevin? Or a pair of scheming twins who sell Pixy Stix to sugar-addicted classmates? One thing’s for sure: There won’t be a quick fix for the trouble at this middle school.

SIDEKICKS: Batman has Robin, Wonder Woman has Wonder Girl, and Phantom Justice has Bright Boy, a.k.a. Scott Hutchinson, an ordinary schoolkid by day and a superfast, superstrong sidekick by night, fighting loyally next to his hero.But after an embarrassing incident involving his too-tight spandex costume, plus some signs that Phantom Justice may not be the good guy he pretends to be, Scott begins to question his role. With the help of a fellow sidekick, once his nemesis, Scott must decide if growing up means being loyal or stepping boldly to the center of things. Great for boys, comics fans, and anyone looking for a superhero tale that’s also an insightful look at adolescence.

  

Meet Julie Berry

Julie Berry grew up on a farm in western New York as the youngest of a family of seven book-loving kids. She now lives with her husband and four young sons – she’s gone from farm to funny farm. She writes books for young readers and teaches writing to schools nationwide. This year she’s working with Chenery’s fifth grade classes to teach writing, revision, and book blogging throughout the year.

Website: www.JulieBerryBooks.com

Blog: http://bookgargoyle.blogspot.com

SECONDHAND CHARM: In a secluded village, magic sparkles on the edges of the forest. There, a young girl named Evie possesses unusually strong powers as a healer. A gypsy's charms—no more than trinkets when worn by others—are remarkably potent when Evie ties them around her neck. Her talents, and charms, have not escaped the notice of the shy stonemason's apprentice. But Evie wants more than a quiet village and the boy next-door. When the young king's carriage arrives one day, Evie might just get her chance. . .

 

THE AMARANTH ENCHANTMENT: When a mysterious piece of jewelry and a strange visitor arrive in the jewelry shop where she works for her evil aunt, Lucinda's course takes a surprising turn. With the help of the Amaranth Witch, a young (and harmless) con-artist, and a prince, Lucinda uncovers secrets about her own royal past.

THE RAT BRAIN FIASCO: When Cody Mack is called to the principal’s office yet again, he finds something far worse than detention awaiting him: Splurch Academy, a frightfully sinister boarding school for disobedient children run by a group of monstrous teachers.

CURSE OF THE BIZARRO BEETLE: With Cody’s archnemesis, Headmaster Farley, banished from the school, Cody should be celebrating . . . but something is bothering him, eating at him . . . literally gnawing on him. Dark forces are on the rise at Splurch Academy and Cody Mack isn’t sure which side of the battle he’s on.

THE COLOSSAL FOSSIL FREAKOUT: Headmaster Farley's back and he's ready for revenge, but an unexpected visit from his estranged sister brings monstrous results as she takes over Splurch Academy. Forced to retreat to his laboratory, he hatches a plan to reclaim the school. Meanwhile, Cody Mack and the other boys are pitted against their new classmates-the girls of Priscilla Prim Academy for Precious and Proper Young Ladies.

THE TROUBLE WITH SQUIDS: It's a squid invasion! The boys uncover an old forgotten swimming pool hidden away below the floor of the school's gymnasium?-and below the surface they discover a whole undersea world that might just provide them with a way to finally escape from Splurch Academy. However, they soon realize that the pool is overflowing with evil monstrous squids.

*** And that's the lineup! It's going to be a happening winter book festival. Come on down to Chenery Middle School Thursday, December 6, from 4:30 to 6 pm, to meet the authors, get books signed, and wrap up your holiday shopping while supporting a fantastic middle school library!