Mini- Me Reads (2)

Yay! It's time for Mini-Me Reads again here at Alluring Reads. I am having so much fun finding new books to feature in this meme and I hope you are enjoying it as well! This week it's all about Pete The Cat!

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes

Story by Eric Litwin | Created & Illustrated by James Dean

published July 26th 2011 by HarperCollins

Pete the Cat is back--and this time he's rocking in his school shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunchroom, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. And no matter where he goes, Pete never stops moving and grooving and singing his song . . . because it's all good.

One thing that I absolutely love about my daughter being in Kindergarten is that she comes home from school and talks about all the books they read in class that she wants to get for home.  One of the first ones that she became enamoured with was the Pete the Cat series.  I had never heard of them before so off to Chapters we went! Upon coming home and reading them, I can see why she is a fan!  Rocking in My School Shoes is an adorable little story that is loads of fun to read.

Pete is a musical little cat and he gets through a day at school by putting whatever he is doing into his Rocking in My School Shoes song.  What I found most endearing about this book (beside the cute song the kids and I sang along to) is that every setting Pete goes to is introduced in the form of a riddle leaving time for the kids to figure out where he is and shout out the answer.  We had so much fun solving where Pete was headed next and it made for a great interactive read.  I also let the kids put the new action the cat got up to in the song by themselves before I sang the one in the book.

I'm not too sure how the rest of this series is but at this point I can say that I really enjoy how interactive and musical it is! I also like the grungey cute vibe the illustrations have.  I will say that I wish Pete had a mouth because you can never tell if he's happy or not!  We will be delving into more Pete the Cat for sure.

The Harpercollins Childrens website has a great interactive section just for Pete the Cat and it features a read-a-long song of Rocking in My School Shoes.

Check out the read-a-long here!

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

Story by Eric Litwin | Created & Illustrated by James Dean

published September 25th 2012 by HarperCollins

'Twas the day before Christmas and Santa was ill.

In the cold winter wind he had caught a bad chill.

Will Christmas be canceled? Will it come to that?

"Never!" cried Santa. "Let's call Pete the Cat!"

In this rockin' new spin on the traditional tale "The Night Before Christmas," Pete the Cat proves that giving your all in the spirit of Christmas is the totally groovy thing to do.

We had a lot of fun reading this one! After exploring the Pete the Cat section on Harper's website we decided that instead of reading this one we would listen along to the .mp3 file on there!  What a great idea, the kids (especially my 5 year old daughter, Sloane) had such a blast singing along to the song and boogying as well!  Check out how into it she got:

As for the story here, it's a cute tale of Santa getting ill and our beloved Pete stepping in to get the gifts out to the children of the world.  While I found Rocking in My School Shoes to be a fun read and loved the interactive element in it, this one didn't excite me as much. Yes, there was the song to sing along to but this one came with more of a message about giving your all and being your best.  But the addition of the little riddles in School Shoes was missing here and we had so much fun with that.

Once again, I love the lazy, grungey look of the illustrations and I'm still yearning for Pete to get a mouth! There are a few other books in this series and we will definitely be grabbing them, so be sure to come back the next time we feature Pete the Cat!

Click here to listen to the Pete the Cat Saves Christmas song!

Cover Reveal: Desolate City by Racquel Jones

Desolate City (Albertos Series #1)
by Racquel Jones
to be published January 10, 2013

After being invited to a party, Seiren never dreamed of being haunted by the Haydens--supernatural beings--of her city. She was suppose to forget about how they watched her every move days before. She was suppose to forget how everything went downhill after meeting a certain white eyed Hayden. But that would be too simple...

Ereshkigal, a group of powerful beings that all Haydens resent, have their sights on Seiren and Haydens from every corner of Black Phoenix will do everything in their power to stop them.

With the help of the gun-toting agent Luann and Hayden guardian Julius, Seiren must figure out her place in all of this and why she is literally running for her life.

Racquel's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Racquel Jones has been a Michigander for 22 years now. She has a love for all things fantasy, art and the history behind it and comic book heroes. Since she was able to talk, she told stories to her friends rather it be fan fiction or her own original ideas. Right now, she is looking to one day expand her horizons into writing for comics and owning a branch of unique cafes/bookstores.

Possession & Surrender Blog Tour Stop (Interview/Giveaway)

Today I am excited to be a part of the Possession and Surrender blog tour for author Elana Johnson! My stop on the tour features an interview with the author as well as some great opportunities to win.  First here's a little more about the books:

Possession (Possession #1)
by Elana Johnson
published June 7th 2011 by Simon & Schuster

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Surrender (Possession #2)

by Elana Johnson

published June 5th 2012 by Simon Pulse

Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque....

Interview with Elana Johnson

Convince us to read the Possession series in 140 characters or less, Twitter style!
The Possession series is about choice. Why do you make the choices you do? Who do you listen to? Vi, Raine, & Gunn need to figure that out.

What book by a favourite author do you wish YOU had written?
I think the quintessential answer would be Harry Potter, right? I mean, I love those books, and the movies, and the theme park, and… yeah. I would’ve liked to have written that. But with more kissing. Ha!

I read that you were a 3rd grade teacher for 4 years, what was your favourite part of teaching elementary? Least favourite?
Oh, I still teach elementary school. I spent a few years as an upper grade music and art specialist, then moved into 3rd grade, and now I teach the whole school! Grades K-6 come and go every few minutes, and I basically teach typing and how to stay safe on the Internet. It’s a great job.

My favorite part of teaching is the interaction with the kids. They are so funny sometimes. My least favorite part is that I can never have a bad day. Sometimes I just want to sit at my desk and do my work, but teaching is so not like that. So I paste on my Jerry Seinfeld skin and I go entertain those kids!

Do you have a writing room? If so, what does it look like?
I wish! I have a little table pushed against the wall in my kitchen. It’s a huge mess, and I haven’t used it for a while, because it’s so piled with books and papers and bills and yeah. Thank goodness for my lap desk!

Being an author and putting your work out into the wild takes some pretty thick skin; do you have any advice for up & coming authors on how to deal with the ups & downs of the profession?
Write what you like to read, and recognize that reading is subjective.

This or That
Coffee or tea? Um, I don’t drink either of these. Hot chocolate?

High heels or flats? Flats, for sure. I can’t wear heels to save my life.

Comedy or horror? Comedy. I’m such a huge wimp! The last horror movie I watched was The Ring, and I sometimes still have nightmares.

Early morning or late riser? Late riser. I loooove sleeping in, or simply laying in bed.

Peeta or Gale? *sigh* This is such a hard question! For the first two books, I was total Team Gale. Childhood love and all that. Mockingjay swayed me toward Peeta, but in the end, I didn’t think Katniss was good enough for him. So yeah. I don’t know. Team Peeta? I guess.

Elana's Website | Twitter | Facebook

Elana wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult science fiction and fantasy.

Using her boring human powers, she graduated from Southern Utah University with Summa Cum Laude honors in Elementary Education with a minor in Mathematics. She started her teaching career as an upper grade music and art specialist. After a four-year stint in 3rd grade, she is currently the technology specialist.

 Now for the winning! There are three chances to win on this tour and you can enter using the Rafflecopters below!

Giveaway #1

Hardcover of Starcrossed, Witch Eyes, When We Broke Up and The Liar Society
Open to US/Canada only
Ends December 9, 2012
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #2

Hardcover of Surrender, a Possession paperback, an ecopy of Regret, bookmarks for both books, stickers for both books, and a Jag-inspired necklace
Open to US/Canada only
Ends December 9, 2012
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #3

Ebooks of Possession, Surrender and Regret
Open Internationally
Ends December 9, 2012

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Buzzers (11)

Hello!

This week us Buzzers are talking about what 2013 releases we are really looking forward to!  So watch on to see me ramble... and drink wine. 


So this week I want to know what 2013 you are the most excited about. And also, don't forget that we are always looking for topic suggestions!

Thank you for watching!

Stacking the Shelves (32)

Books mentioned (click title for Goodreads):
Derailed (Clayton Falls #1) by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Veer (Clayton Falls #2) by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter by Nikki Jefford
Back To You by Priscilla Glenn
Superstitions by Susan Oloier
Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz
Thing's I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3) by Miranda Kenneally
Rebel Heart (Dust Lands #2) by Moira Young
All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin
Dark Inside (Dark Inside #1) by Jeyn Roberts
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Bloggers mentioned:
Kat of The Aussie Zombie
Christina of A Reader of Fictions

Other mentions:
Xpresso Book Tours Sign up people!!

The biggest thanks this week to Priscilla Glenn, Susan Oloier, Simon & Schuster Canada, Nikki Jefford, Miranda Kenneally and Xpresso Book Tours!!

What did YOU get this week? Link me up!

In case you missed it, Canadian Readers, yesterday a great giveaway went up here on the blog in which you can win some ebooks and a KINDLE!! Make sure you enter here. 

And for international readers don't forget to enter The Cover Madness giveaway that's going on on the blog right now! Enter The Cover Madness Giveaway.