In an effort to support independent booksellers and spread some book love, I’ve decided to do a fun giveaway for my newsletter subscribers. Every newsletter will feature a different independent bookstore and a few books I think Book Scavenger readers might enjoy. There will be a simple challenge to complete (the challenge for September is making up a caption for a funny photo of one of my cats), and everyone who participates is entered to win a book of their choice from my selection. I’ll order the book for the winner from the featured bookstore and have it shipped direct to you. (At this time, only United States addresses will be eligible to win as shipping costs are currently too high outside the US. I’m sorry!)

This month, the bookstore I’m spotlighting is Book People in Austin, TX. Book People is an amazing multistoried store, the kind of space I could easily spend hours browsing. I was lucky enough to visit Book People twice on my book tours. (That’s me in the photo below–they had those cutouts for an event for The Legend of Rock, Paper, and Scissors by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Adam Rex, a book that my son and I love reading aloud, so I had to take a picture for him.)

Here are the books I’m recommending this month (click on the titles to learn more about them or purchase through Book People):

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat. I was blown away by this book! My favorite read of the year. Just read it. It’s amazing.

Keep it Together, Keiko Carter! by Debbi Michiko Florence. This one is next up on my To Read pile and I can’t wait! Three friends are starting 7th grade with big goals for themselves, but some drama comes into play and soon Keiko’s best friends aren’t talking and she’s caught in the middle.

The Vanderbeekers: Lost and Found by Karina Yan Glaser. The fourth Vanderbeekers is here!! I love this family and their many pets and reading about their adventures living in Harlem.

The Artifact Hunters by Janet Fox. This one is great for readers who like their stories a little scary. It’s suspenseful and beautifully blends fantasy into a realistic World War II setting. This is also a follow-up to the novel Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle, but I don’t feel like you need to read the books in order. (But definitely read Charmed Children, too, if you like spooky stories. It’s goooood.)

Clean Getaway by Nic Stone.  If you like the way my Book Scavenger series incorporates historical nuggets into an adventurous story, then I’d definitely check this one out. Funny moments, fast-paced–a great read.

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley. A very fun, well-paced mystery that reminded me a lot of my favorite board game Clue! Loved it.

Sound like fun? I hope so! If you are not already a newsletter subscriber, you can sign up here and look for my next newsletter to arrive in October.

Of course you don’t have to enter the giveaway or subscribe to my newsletter, but I do hope you’ll check out these wonderful books by borrowing them from your library or purchasing them from Book People or anywhere books are sold.

Last week I had the pleasure of virtually meeting these three fifth-grade readers who earned the reward of having a sleepover in their school library, organized by their teacher librarian. And this was no simple sleepover either–there was a nighttime scavenger hunt to find books, they solved puzzles with a Breakout EDU box, ate tacos . . . this would have been a dream-come-true for me when I was in the fifth grade. It was a lot of fun to get to talk with them in a video call. How lucky is this school to have a teacher librarian like Ms. Boerman who creates reading experiences like this for her students? SO lucky!!

finding one of the hidden books

Holding the books they found. I think this photo would be a cool cover for a book in itself!

Check out this video made by members of a book club that’s currently reading Book Scavenger! They hid books in their community and around their school and explain how to play the game. Great job, Book Scavengers!

Sunday, June 2, marks four years since Book Scavenger has been published!

Want to help celebrate Book Scavenger’s birthday? Here’s something easy you can do: Hide a book!

Any children’s book—it doesn’t have to be part of the Book Scavenger series. Chose a book you’d like to share with others!

Here’s what you do:

Once you’ve chosen the book you’d like to hide . . .

1. Print out a game plate here.
2. Get a tracking number for your book here.
3. Write the tracking number on the game plate and secure that to your book.
4. Put the book in a plastic bag to protect it.
5. Pick a public hiding spot and hide your book.
6. Submit a Hidden Book form.

That’s it! If your hiding spot is some place where people not playing the game might find the book, leave a friendly note asking for the book to be left alone unless they want to play the game. Something like this:

“Hi! This book is part of a game called Book Scavenger. Please leave me here if you don’t want to play the game. Someone will find me soon!”

When your hidden book post is on the Book Scavenger website, share it with others to celebrate Book Scavenger! Examples:

Happy birthday, Book Scavenger! To celebrate, I hid The Train of Lost Things by Ammi-Joan Paquette.

Book Scavenger is turning 4! To celebrate, I hid Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbi Michiko Florence.

If a book is hidden near you, go see if you can find it! If you do, fill out a “Found a Book” form so we can update the Hidden Book post.

Also, if you’ll be in the San Francisco Bay Area on June 9, please come celebrate Book Scavenger in person at Books Inc. in Palo Alto at 2:30! There will be games like Pin the Cowlick on James, you can pose as Emily and James in a Book Scavenger photo booth, and there will be more fun and games too!