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Brian Williams’s Extinct Birds print set features extinct birds drawn wearing clothes from the year in which they became extinct.

In a spooktacular, ghoulicious episode of “5 Things You Need to Know This Week,” we count down our five favorite Halloween costumes. With special appearances by Beyoncé, Blake Lively, Brian Williams, and Brian Williams.

For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: February 1, 2011

Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.

Caldecott Winners, 2011

Winter Books: Snow, Hibernation, and More

Review: Sleepy Kittens (Despicable Me)

Where to Find Free eBooks for Children Online

Best Kids’ Picture Books, 2010

THE NEW RELEASES

The most coveted books that release this month:

Silverlicious

by Victoria Kann

(Ages 5-8)

When I Grow Up

by Al Yankovic

(Ages 4-8)

Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel

by James Patterson

(Young Adult)

Closer (Tunnels)

by Brian Williams

(Ages 12 and up)

I Broke My Trunk!

by Mo Willems

(Ages 4-8)

Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party

by Melanie Watt

(Ages 4-8)

THE BEST SELLERS

The best selling children’s books this month:

PICTURE BOOKS

What a story. Seriously, while reading Deeper, I sometimes had to just take a step back and think about how awesome a story it was. Who THINKS of this stuff???

Deeper is the 2nd book in the series by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, which began with Tunnels. It picks up pretty much immediately where Tunnels left off, with Will, his best friend Chester, and his little brother Cal trying to find his archeologist father in the depths of the Earth. Who knew such sinister beings lay below the surface? The threesome have suffered being beaten, almost killed several times, and chased by crazy creatures, and are really just fighting for survival their entire time underground.

In this edition, Will and Cal's biological mother begins to play a pivotal role, as do some new characters that pop up. Will and Chester's relationship grows and gets a more in-depth look and lots of plot points from Tunnels are further explained upon. Though much darker than its predecessor, I enjoyed Deeper a lot more than Tunnels, simply for its character development and true thrills and adventure. I didn't want to stop reading and that's always a good sign.

My one criticism is the length. At almost 700 pages long, some kids really just don't pick up these books because of their sheer size, especially if it's not a hugely popular series like Harry Potter or Twilight. I felt a bit of trimming could have been done in places, bringing the page count down a bit, which might make it more appealing to those reluctant to read in the first place.

Highly recommended for those that enjoyed Tunnels and for those that haven't yet started the series...START!

I read this for the Spring Reading Thing challenge.

To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

Deeper
Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
656 pages
Middle Grade fiction
The Chicken House
9780439871785
February 2009

Hello all in the Land of Blog,



Well we have some exciting things on today's blog, the first being another video with our good friend Crocodile Bill. In this web cast he talks to us all about the dangers of wild bear attacks!!!! Let's check it out shall we:





Crocodile Bill, Episode 3: When Bears Attack

Now for some cool book reviews by the one, the only, the dastardly Darth Bill:


Deeper by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams - Wow man, I just finished reading the sequel to Tunnels and it really rocked!!!! This story picks up with Will, Cal and Chester escaping deeper into the subterranean world surface dwellers have no idea exists and searching for Will's adopted father Dr. Borrows (an archaeologist). Will's sister Rebecca is very much in pursuit of Will and his friends and has recruited the most unlikely person to head the hunt. Will's real mother Sarah, the woman famous in the underground lands for escaping. This story is full of adventure and is a real page turner. In the badland areas of this underground world known as the Deeps, Will and his friends make new friends in the the rebels Drake and Elliot. If staying alive were not enough of a challenge, all the good guys must figure a way out to stop Rebecca's and the Styx's plan to wipe out all topsoilers by unleashing a deadly virus. This book is a fun ride with lots of twist and turns that will leave the reader eagerly awaiting the third book in the series Freefall!!!!!!!




Green Day: Keeping Their Edge by Matt Doeden - Green Day has been one of my favorite bands since the early 90's. The band made up of Billie Joe Armstong (lead vocals and guitar), Micheal Dirnt (Bass) and Tre' Cool (Drums) is the best punk band ever. I remember buying their breakout album Dookie and thought it was the bomb. Their latest album American Idiot is in my opinion one of the finest albums put out period. This book is the true story of how the group started out as young kids playing punk rock (heavily influenced by such groups as The Dead Kennedys, The Replacements, The Sex Pistols and Th Ramones). This book takes a look at the behind the scenes of the ups and downs of this great band. These guys are shown as real people just like you and me. This book is a really well done biography that I highly recommend. As stated by the great AC/CD: "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution. Rock and is Just a Rock n' Roll!"

Whelp until next time mates,

Peace Out,

Bill