Wordful Wednesday ~ Meeting Jeff Kinney

This past weekend I took my daughter on a surprise trip and it took everything that I had to keep from telling her too! She spent more than half the trip asking where are we going, when are we going to get there, why did I have to bring this book, are we doing this.. are we doing that.. why can’t you tell me… and so on.

Before to long though were had arrived and within minutes she had figured out what we were doing.

We were meeting the Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney! To say that she was excited was an understatement.

Diary of a wimpy kid bus Diary of a wimpy kid bus

I have to say that I was really impressed with the bus! It was covered from front to back and both sides promoting the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book… the Third Wheel.hanging with friends

signing rodericks door DOWK tattoo DOWK drawing
The event was so much fun for the kids! They really went all out and made sure that there was always something to do while waiting their turn to meet Jeff Kinney and get their book signed. A dj played fun dance music all night while running dance contests, there was a photo booth, a tattoo station, a drawing contest, and of course since it was in a book store there were books & magazine to check out just in case you got really bored!

The big event of the night though was getting to talk to Jeff Kinney after all the other kids had left… more on that in another post!

Lauren & Jeff Kinney

Stay tuned for a review of the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book The Third Wheel and a great giveaway!

As always since it’s Wednesday I’m linking up with Seven Clown Circus and Parenting by Dummies for Wordful Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

Socialpunk Preview!

I have this great opportunity to review a new book, Socialpunk, and today I’m sharing an excerpt with you before I post my review as well as a great giveaway!

Socialpunk cover

And now for the good part! This excerpt is the prologue from Socialpunk.

After playing God for six years with the world he created, he couldn’t control any of his subjects, none at all. Over the years, he had watched them evolve and become the sum of their own choices rather than the sum of his; and for that, he regretted ever giving them life.

A small, blinking red light from just inside his eyelid reminded him of the news they sent him earlier that morning. The company had cancelled his funding and would shut down his project within three months. According to them, the project cost too much and took up too much space, and the inconclusive results couldn’t be published reputably, now or in the future.

Six years of his work, tens of thousands of lives at stake—and he could do nothing to save any of it. He bowed his head, letting his chin rest on the rim of his breakfast smoothie. The smoothie reeked of powder—crushed pills—but he supposed he had better get used to it. He wouldn’t be able to afford the luxury of real food after they canned him.

He closed his eyes and called up the camera view of one of his favorites, number 3281. She fascinated him; he couldn’t deny it. When he had designed her, her pre-teen rebelliousness lit fire in her eyes. A survivor, he’d thought. He’d meant for her to have it all—to grow up, to get married to the love of her life, and to have a beautiful family of her own someday.

But he had only given her sadness so far. Instead of creating a strict father, he had given her an abusive one. Instead of creating a loving boyfriend, he had given her a friend who could never love her. And instead of creating a strong, proud mother, he had given her a meek one, who watched the whole thing unfold and did nothing about it.

He looked at his last and final creation sitting in the chair across from him—his own son, not awakened yet. The law forbade him to have any children of his own, so this boy would substitute.

But he had done the unthinkable with this creation—he had bestowed on it his own thoughts, emotions, and decision-making processes. He’d given the boy his own mind, his own physical characteristics, his own wants and desires.

He had never done so with any of the others because of the dangers of investing too heavily in any one of his subjects. But who could he kid? He had not stayed objective thus far, watching some of his subjects more closely than others, wishing for the happiness of some at the expense of others. He had become an abomination, a monster of his own doing, who had created subjects only to watch them suffer.

He couldn’t forgive himself; not now, not ever. His eyes lingered on the vial that sat next to his breakfast smoothie, that he’d stowed away for the day when they destroyed all his work, his entire world. He would save it, tuck it away for now, for as long as he could protect them. When things spun out of his control, he would drink it and end himself the way he had ended them.

In the ancient stories, gods frequently gave their sons as gifts. Now, he would give his son as a gift to her, number 3281. So she could be happy in her last months on earth, before they destroyed her with the rest of them.

About the author of Socialpunk.

Monica Leonelle is a well-known digital media strategist and the author of three novels. She blogs at Prose on Fire (http://proseonfire.com) and shares her writing and social media knowledge with other bloggers and authors through her Free Writer Toolkit (http://proseonfire.com/free-writer-toolkit).

Readers Night

 

Once a month one of the local schools hosts a program called Readers from Birth which focuses on introducing books and reading to kids.

I had heard about the program before but thought that maybe Andrew was to young to go even though it is for kids from birth. This week I gave in and took him along with my grandmother in law, cousin in law and her 2 year old daughter.

I have to say that I was a little concerned because Andrew doesn’t sit still for anything…. ever. And on top of that when we’ve taken him to the mall and let him run around the play area with other kids he’s had the tendency to get a little.. rough. Like full on shoving and that is usually our cue to leave before I become one of those moms. I didn’t want to go to an event and have him run around like a crazy kid or start pushing people around.

We went and it was pretty neat that they had everything all set up for a craft…. I think it was more for the parents since my cousin and I ended up doing most everything aside from a little of the coloring from the kids. Although, Andrew did like helping with the glue stick.

Readers NightI love how the event is run by pre-school teachers who were great with the kids and seemed to really enjoy what they were doing even after spending the entire day with little kids.

The teachers believe in reading and starting from a young age is important so once a month they put on this program and share reading with all the kids.

They simply didn’t read the books to the kids. They made it fun and interactive with felt boards, songs, dancing, and puppets. The music and dancing with the puppets was one of Andrew’s favorite parts of the night as you can tell by the blurry picture.

Dancing at Readers NightSomething that came as a surprise to me was that he actually sat down for a couple minutes and almost paid attention to the story! I think that it was more because all the other kids sat down and listened first, but as I suspected it didn’t take long for him to give up on that sitting still thing and get up to run around.

Once all the stories & songs were done they passed out juice and cookies for all the kids. My kid… the odd one… wouldn’t eat the cookie covered in frosting and sprinkles. A Lofthouse cookie to be exact! It’s okay… I didn’t let it go to waste.

Readers Night - snack and a new bookWhat a better way to spend the evening than playing with kids your own age (one of them being your cousin), drinking juice, and reading the new book that they gave everyone!

I think that he had fun and it’s a great way to introduce kids to books and reading. Next month we’ll be going again!

Do you take your little ones to reading night or a similar event?