What's the Mafia doing in Middle School?

The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander has been named the 2012 winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor, a yearly award granted by The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s (SCBWI).

Why'd it win? Picture the mafia, the Godfather, and folks saying, “I’m gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse.” Now pictures those folks, the mafioso, as sixth-graders with names like iBully, Prep School, and Kitten!  THE FOURTH STALL is hilarious (hence the award), but it’s also a clever tale about a kid who uses mafia-ish tactics to help schoolmates solve their problems. And just like in The Godfather, this story has intrigue, betrayal, and a level of mystery that would make Francis Ford Coppola smile. You’ll guess and re-guess about the twists until the end.

RATING: 5 out of 5 lollipops

If you want to buy a great book for a boy or a girl, THE FOURTH STALL is a sure bet. (And in case you're still wondering, it earns a five out of five lollipop rating).

The Triumvirate

Author:  Chris Rylander

Editor:  Jordan Brown

Chris Rylander receiving award

Agent:  Steven Malk (Writers House)

Reading level: Ages 8 and up Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Walden Pond Press (February 8, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0061994960 ISBN-13: 978-0061994968

Past Sid Fleischman Award  Winners:

Year*	Winner	Book Title	Publisher
2011	Alan Silberberg	Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze	Aladdin
2010	Allen Zadoff	Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have	Egmont USA
2009	Donna Gephart	As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough My Mother is Running for President!	Delacorte Press
2008	No award given.
2007	Sara Pennypacker	Clementine	Hyperion
2006	David LaRochelle	Absolutely Positively Not	Arthur A. Levine Books
2005	Gennifer Choldenko	Al Capone Does My Shirts	G.P. Putnam's Sons
2004	Lisa Yee	Millicent Min, Girl Genius	Arthur A. Levine Books
2003	Sid Fleischman

JUNIPER BERRY a book review

The cover art for M.P. Kozlowsky's debut book JUNIPER BERRY  promises "A tale of terror and temptation." Kozlowsky delivers the trepedation in spades.

Imagine you're an only child and your parents are comprised of the best parts of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt--loving, kind, famous and beautiful. They are dream parents who adore you until something inexplicable and horrible changes everything. How would you solve what went wrong and what would you trade to get your world back?

JUNIPER BERRY is a middle grade mystery complete with famous parents, a monocular, a barking Kitty, and the very odd boy next door. But more than that, it's a Tim Burtonesque tale that offers up balloons with fright and whispers distant echos that remind readers of books like Neil Gaiman's Coraline.

JUNIPER BERRY
author M.P. Kozlowsky drawings by Erwin Madrid
Middle Grade Fiction ages 8 and up
Walden Pond Press (an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers) April 26, 2011
ISBN 10 0061998699
ISBN 13 978-0061998690
List Price: $15.99

RATING: 5 out of 5 lollipop rating

Buying links:

TATTERED COVER BOOK STORE (On shelves now)
Boulder Bookstore
Barnes and Noble
The Strand