If you haven’t yet listened to this week’s podcast you might not know we are big BIG fans of the 39 Clues series. So we’re thrilled to be stop #4 in a 39-day countdown to the release of the newest book in the series coming out at the end of August.
We even have a giveaway to celebrate! One lucky Manic Mommies fan will win books 1, 2, 3 and 4 (#4 will be signed by author Jude Watson). To enter, please leave a comment at the end of this post and tell me how you encourage your kids to read.
This post below is exclusive to Manic Mommies and written by Jude Watson. To hear more from her, be sure to listen to this week’s podcast. You can also check out the next stop on the countdown, HighTechDad.com where he’ll be posting a video interview with book #5 author Patrick Carman.
Mary Janes and Stickball Bats
by Jude Watson
I was a tomboy growing up. Whatever the boys were doing seemed incredibly cool to me. I wanted to play baseball and draw thick black stripes under my eyes to keep out the glare. When I got whacked in the head with a stickball bat by a blow that almost crossed my eyes permanently I prided myself on the fact that I didn’t cry. The purple hues of my shiner were better than a Girl Scout badge, a testament to courage under fire.
My daughter is the same way. Funny how that happens. I never talked to her about being a tomboy, or hating those patent leather Mary Janes that swallowed socks. But my nine-year-old lives in jeans and sneakers, and when I can’t find her, she’s usually up a tree.
So when I walked into the very first meeting of 39 Clues authors and saw Gordon Korman and Peter Lerangis and heard that Rick Riordan had already signed on for the first book in the series, my inner ten year old pumped a fist in the air. I was going to mix it up with the big boys.
I got to write adventure with twists, turns, things blowing up, jokes, and snacks. And then, midway through the series, I got the extreme thrill of visiting schools and meeting our readers— kids who roared their approval and came up with stacks of books for us to sign. And there I was, the only girl with Rick, Peter, Gordon, and Pat Carman. Awesome.
Seeing those kids– that was a gift. But a more personal gift was being able to hand my book to my daughter. I got the secret thrill of watching her dive in and not come up for air, even when I announced that it was time to hit the table for taco night.
Look, being the daughter of a writer is no picnic. If she wants to crawl into my lap, there’s usually a computer on it. I’m horribly distracted. I forget, sometimes, to listen, because there’s another voice in my head, the voice of the book I’m writing. But this time, I was writing a book I knew she’d love.
For once in my life, I exhibited Smart Mom behavior. I involved her in the process from the get-go. We went together to the library to check out research materials. Together we learned about the Cairo market, the Australian outback, and what it’s like to sail around Java. We sat on the couch, surrounded by biographies of Amelia Earhart, and talked about what courage was. How it meant going forward even though you were scared. Flying solo around the world suddenly shrank down to everyday stuff—math quizzes and school presentations. A piano recital became just another adventure.
It turns out that the cool factor of the 39 Clues gives me some street cred with my own daughter. Now she knows in a concrete way that when I say “I just have to finish this chapter” that a chapter is connected to a deadline that is connected to an actual book. A book that she can’t put down.
“How’d you do that, Mommy?” she asks, closing the book. “How’d you think of all that stuff?”
And I say, “It all started with a stickball bat…”
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72 Responses to 39 Clues Book Tour and a Giveaway
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So far it’s been easy to get my oldest to read – she’s 7, and has recently discovered the joy of chapter books! She was even reading during a boat ride last night. I have a feeling my middle child, a boy, might require a little more prodding. These 39 clues books look awesome!
We encourage the kids in the usual ways like reading regularly ourselves, giving books for lots of occasions, doing summer reading programs, etc. The most important part for my step son (6)–and let’s face it, my DH too-is to read what topics THEY like. Sure my step-daughter will read Ramona and Beezus books like I did, but reading books about bugs to Tyler has taken getting used to. I cringe at the parts where it talks about paralyzing and eating its prey and somehow DH always finishes his turn reading right before the section on reproduction. But to see the excitement in his eyes when it is story time is priceless
I encourage my kids to read by showing them how much I enjoy reading. I am never without a book or a magazine or even the free books on the iphone. My son is starting kindergarten but is already reading words with long vowels and is always looking for an opportunity to show off his reading skills. I love taking them to the library and sharing books that I used to love as a child or I love to read to children like the Courduroy series. I hope that my daughter also learns to love reading because I can’t wait to share with her my love of Ramona, The babysitter’s club and the Little House books.
We read to our kids every night. The Easter bunny also only brings a small bit of candy but a ton of books.
I’m in avid reader myself, so my children naturally read alot because they see me doing it! We’re actually out in Oregon on vacation right now and my daughters can’t wait for us to go to a coffee shop, order frappucinos and read!
Reading before bed has been our night-time routine since the day each of our boys were born. My husband is a middle school language arts teacher, and I was always one to have my nose in a book all through the night… no sleep until the book was done! Reading is non-stop in our house. They just truly enjoy it, we all do. They play with foam letters in the bathtub, magnetic letters on the fridge. Writing is just as important. Our 5-year-old loves to write, and is so proud that he can spell out words without help. His pre-Kindergarten class included a weekly journal, and he really liked it, so we’re continuing it at home for the summer. He even asks to read to his little brother!
I’ve always loved to read. From the time my children were little I read to them. As they got older I encouraged them to read by taking them to the library and by buying them lots of books.
I am always trying to get my 10 year old son to read. 39 Clues and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are the only ones he will read! He says he’s not interested in reading the books I suggest, but he doesn’t pick any on his own, either!!
Our children just finished the summer library program which definitely helped to motivate them. My sons’s (age
favorite series is the “Capital Mysteries”.
Great giveaway! These books sound excellent. I try to encourage reading by bringing my kids to the library every week and talking about reading as a pleasure rather than a chore. I love to read too, so sometimes we have “book club” – we spend 30 minutes reading independently and then tell each other about what we are reading.
I enjoy reading a lot so when my husband and I had our daughter,3, it was very easy to get her into reading. She has tons of books and reads them throughout the day on her own and we just enjoy reading together. Then as part of bedtime ritual we read 2 or 3 books before bed. She’s even tries to read them herself by memorizing the words. I just recently got her a library card so now we go to the library once a week, exchanging 4 books each week. She loves reading!
It’s easy in the summer with all the reading programs that give rewards. The library gives out great coupons for reading so many books, and the book stores give out free books. Great podcast! Loved hearing one of the authors from 39 Clues!
Husband is an avid reader of books and introduced our kids to the 39 Clues books. Our daughter loves to read them to herself while our son loves to be read to while playing with trains.
We constantly visit bookstores and our library, we’ve made it part of our life
My kids are enticed this summer by the Barnes and Noble and the Borders Books summer book give-a-way programs. Knowing that they get a free book, and don’t have to pay mom or dad in the summer, and they don’t have to give it back, well, they understand money so they will read to get it free. Both kids, 5 and 7, enjoy reading. That’s how we keep them reading, and the whole reading=screen time really helps too.
I have to honest-I have to threaten my son and have to find the energy to read yet another princess, barbie, or animal book to my twin girls. Joking aside….I try very hard to get my kids to read 15 minutes a day. I love to read and hope they will too. My 8 year old son finally found the joys of reading this past school year, but this summmer has been a STRUGGLE. He complains he can’t focus on the story – and two minutes later is asleep. He is just totally worn out from camp. My twin girls love to be read to and I can’t wait until they are into the chapter book phase and can read to themselves. The books they can read are not very exciting at all. We did find a great series that BOTH girls love, Franny K Stien. I have a true girly girl and a tomboy (tomgirl is what she calls herself) so to find a book they both love is tough. For me to read 15 minutes to each of them – forget it.
We just bought the first 39 Clues book and went online to http://www.the39clues.com and had a really good time on the site. We will start the book this week. Loved the podcast featuring Jude. Thanks!
We read every night to the kids (ages 2 and 5). We also have started going to the library every other week or so. I have “always” loved to read and I’m very rarely caught without a book in my bag!
ENTRIES ARE CLOSED. We have notified our winner, Kathleen, by email.
I have a 10 year old boy and I find that magazine subscriptions are a great way to go, and there is nothing wrong with a graphic novel. The Bone series and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (novels are much better than movie) are good best for 8-11
we spend lots of time at the library and book stores. If they like a book we read the whole series
My kids are grown now but I bought them I CAN READ books and lots of Scholastic books. Now I have books here and I read them with my grand children. And of course they all know that Mom/Grandmom doesn’t go anywhere without a book.
Thanks for the giveaway.
We read every night! that way it’s just habit. I read a chapter book, then both of my kids take turns reading a book. It takes us close to an hour but it’s worth it!