Clippings

From teacher Holly Atkins’ June 23rd St. Petersburg Times article on Hot Reads for a Cool Summer:
Reader Profile – If you are:

A male or female age 8 and up

And you like poking around in your grandmother’s look-but-don’t-touch sitting room

And you think – make that know – you’ve got the most boring life with the most boring parents who serve you the most boring food

Then “Hot Reads for a Cool Summer” recommends:
Coraline by Neil Gaiman, read by the author. The CD version of this novel, a 2003 Audie Award finalist, is soooooo cool! Same creepy cover as the book, plus awesome graphics on each CD and original music by the Gothic Archies. Graphic novelist Gaiman’s deep-toned British accent wraps around your head and pulls you into a world that young Coraline discovers behind the parlor door.

The button-eyed “other” mother with her disgustingly long fingernails tap, tap, tapping on the table will creep you out like you won’t believe! Warning: This may not be the best choice to help lull you to sleep at night.

Got a younger brother or sister at home? Gaiman paired up with illustrator Dave McKean to create The Day I Swapped My Dad for 2 Goldfish. This ultracool, quirky graphic short story for 4- to 8-year-olds (ah, heck, this is great for everyone with a sense of humor) will end up being the most begged-for bedtime book on the shelf.

Older teens and adults should check out Gaiman’s graphic novels (yeah, they look like comic books, but they’re so much more; definitely not for the younger set). The Sandman series is one of Gaiman’s most popular.

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The American Gods hardcover is now at the very affordable price of $6.99 from Amazon

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This may have been posted previously; it’s from This Week magazine for March 7, 2003.
Best Books … chosen by Neil Gaiman

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On the June 23rd Talk of the Nation from National Public Radio, American Gods was a listener suggestion for summer reading; host Neal Conan mentioned Neil would be on the program in August.

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From a July 2003 article for Better Homes and Gardens on summer activities:
HAVE A BOOK PARTY…
…Here are a few ways to create a springboard for lots of activities.

Pick one book … Children’s books are usually short enough to read during your meeting. Because reading ability varies widely among kids, let the adults have a little fun. Neil Gaiman, award-winning fantasy writer and author of the forthcoming The Wolves in the Walls, still reads to daughter Maddy (even though the 8-year-old can certainly read on her own, thank you very much). Take turns reading pages using your best funny voices and accents, or you can each pick a character and read just those quotes. “Act. Be a ham,” says Gaiman. “You’ll have an appreciative audience.”

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Michael Sangiacomo has coverage of the History Channel special in his Cleveland Plain Dealer column, and Mark Hughes Cobb reported on Rock City in the June 21st Tuscaloosa News.