Hey! When did authors go from being faceless loners to self-promoting public figures with state-of-the-art websites, publicists, blogs, twitter, billboards, and (coming soon, no doubt) skywriting? Maybe it all started with Mark Twain, but things have gotten a lot more intense in recent years, and this may well be the source of my identity crisis.
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Coming September 11th
OTHERWOOD received a STARRED REVIEW from Publishers Weekly:
Otherwood
Pete Hautman. Candlewick, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7636-9071-7
An isolated boy witnesses a strange, terrible event in the wood near his house in this haunting novel by Hautman (Eden West). No other children live in Stuey’s neighborhood, so he has relied on his grandfather for companionship. After Gramps perishes during a storm, Stuey feels empty and alone but finds a kindred spirit in Elly Rose, who lives on the other side of the wood and, he finds out, shares a piece of his family history: their great-grandfathers—one a bootlegger, one a district attorney—were enemies who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the very area where the children usually play. When Stuey tells Elly Rose of their connection, she vanishes as mysteriously as their ancestors. Only Stuey knows what happened to her, but no one will believe his version of the story. As evocative as a David Almond novel, and as infused with heartache and affirmation, Stuey’s story will set imaginations spinning with possibilities about other worlds, ancient sins, and the power of truth. Ages 8–12.
...and another STAR from Kirkus Reviews:
Otherwood
Pete Hautman. Candlewick, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7636-9071-7
Stuey and his best friend, Elly Rose, both 9, share a birthday and love of the wild woods until a discovery rips them apart, landing each in a world from which the other has disappeared. Before he died, Gramps, Stuey's grandfather, showed him where the woods have overgrown the swanky, country-club golf course Stuey's white great-grandfather, a former bootlegger, built. He disappeared there long ago, while embroiled in an argument with the Jewish district attorney investigating him, their mutual hatred fueled by anti-Semitism and class bias. Stuey lives in the old family home with his artist mother, who's opposed to selling the woods to a developer. He meets Elly Rose when her family, new arrivals, invites them over. Like Stuey, she's explored the woods, discovering a hollow clump of dead trees, the deadfall, where each has heard voices whispering. The two steal away to the woods, spin stories, and grow a unique friendship. They're soul mates. But when Stuey shares an ugly secret that touches both families, Elly Rose vanishes and his world changes: Once allies, her bereaved parents now support leveling the woods. Without Stuey, Elly Rose's world changes for the worse, too. Each longs to reconnect, but how? Shy Stuey and just-short-of-bossy Elly Rose are likable, their friendship believable and moving. Infused with the magic of the unknown, the eerie wilderness entices them, and readers, inside. An intensely atmospheric ghost story and elegy for a vanished world: spellbinding. (author's note) (Paranormal adventure. 8-12)
Click here for more reviews.
Click here for book trailer.
OTHERWOOD received a STARRED REVIEW from Publishers Weekly:
Otherwood
Pete Hautman. Candlewick, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7636-9071-7
An isolated boy witnesses a strange, terrible event in the wood near his house in this haunting novel by Hautman (Eden West). No other children live in Stuey’s neighborhood, so he has relied on his grandfather for companionship. After Gramps perishes during a storm, Stuey feels empty and alone but finds a kindred spirit in Elly Rose, who lives on the other side of the wood and, he finds out, shares a piece of his family history: their great-grandfathers—one a bootlegger, one a district attorney—were enemies who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the very area where the children usually play. When Stuey tells Elly Rose of their connection, she vanishes as mysteriously as their ancestors. Only Stuey knows what happened to her, but no one will believe his version of the story. As evocative as a David Almond novel, and as infused with heartache and affirmation, Stuey’s story will set imaginations spinning with possibilities about other worlds, ancient sins, and the power of truth. Ages 8–12.
...and another STAR from Kirkus Reviews:
Otherwood
Pete Hautman. Candlewick, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7636-9071-7
Stuey and his best friend, Elly Rose, both 9, share a birthday and love of the wild woods until a discovery rips them apart, landing each in a world from which the other has disappeared. Before he died, Gramps, Stuey's grandfather, showed him where the woods have overgrown the swanky, country-club golf course Stuey's white great-grandfather, a former bootlegger, built. He disappeared there long ago, while embroiled in an argument with the Jewish district attorney investigating him, their mutual hatred fueled by anti-Semitism and class bias. Stuey lives in the old family home with his artist mother, who's opposed to selling the woods to a developer. He meets Elly Rose when her family, new arrivals, invites them over. Like Stuey, she's explored the woods, discovering a hollow clump of dead trees, the deadfall, where each has heard voices whispering. The two steal away to the woods, spin stories, and grow a unique friendship. They're soul mates. But when Stuey shares an ugly secret that touches both families, Elly Rose vanishes and his world changes: Once allies, her bereaved parents now support leveling the woods. Without Stuey, Elly Rose's world changes for the worse, too. Each longs to reconnect, but how? Shy Stuey and just-short-of-bossy Elly Rose are likable, their friendship believable and moving. Infused with the magic of the unknown, the eerie wilderness entices them, and readers, inside. An intensely atmospheric ghost story and elegy for a vanished world: spellbinding. (author's note) (Paranormal adventure. 8-12)
Click here for more reviews.
Click here for book trailer.
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Slider: Still Delicious!
Selected for the 2018-2019 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List
Click here to read SLIDER reviews.
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LA Times
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GINGER IS BACK! Ginger Crump and her fiancé-to-be Billy are back in another near-future (tomorrow!) adventure set in Flinkwater, Iowa, home of the world’s largest robot manufacturer. Ginger is fourteen now, and she figures she can handle anything. After all, she’s dealt with sasquatches, zombies, talking monkeys, computer-induced comas, and other everyday oddities. So when folks in Flinkwater begin to lose their memories she figures it’s no big deal…until her own boyfriend forgets who she is. To make matters worse, a mysterious censor has hacked every single digital copy of Charlotte’s Web by taking out all the talking animals and replacing them with human characters—and Ginger is only halfway done with the book! Will Ginger be forced to read a book printed on pulverized dead trees? And where will she find such a thing in futuristic, digitalized Flinkwater? Will Billy ever remember her? Will she ever find out what happens to Charlotte and Wilbur? What will happen when Ginger herself comes face to face with the Forgetting Machine? Click here for the BEST BOOK VIDEO EVER! I am not kidding. This is great! ________________________________________________________
Check out these starred reviews from
School Library Journal and Booklist. Read sample chapters here. Buy the book. Below is an unboxing video the like of which you've never seen before. My publisher has a wicked sense of humor. Fortunately, I had a chainsaw.
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School Visits & SkypesYes, I do school visits, in person or via Skype. Lots of them. If I didnt, how would I meet my readers?
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO. Yes, I Tweet...
...occasionally.
...where I talk about things like cooking, writing, and mushrooms. Click!
This is Gaston
And this is Baudelaire
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