Lost in Lexicon: A Great Tool for Teachers

We've been talking a lot lately about Penny Noyce's newest book, The Ice Castle: An Adventure in Music, but we don't want to forget the first book in the Lexicon Adventure series, Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers, which we published in 2011. In fact, Lost in Lexicon is such a great book and tool for teachers to use in the classroom that the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics reviewed it this month in their Teaching Children Mathematics magazine. Now the bad news is that you need a subscription to read the entire magazine, but fortunately we've posted the review here for you:

"Two thirteen-year-old cousins travel through an imaginary land called Lexicon, searching for clues to help them locate and return children who have gone missing from their villages. As the cousins, Ivan and Daphne, use a compass and Cartesian plane to make their way across Lexicon, they encounter a village overrun by punctuation, are joined by a four-legged thesaurus, and use mathematical formulas to help repair a town. In their travels, the cousins use words and numbers to gather clues that eventually lead them to the location of the missing children. Here they call on their growing confidence and knowledge of language and mathematics to rescue the children and help them return to villages.
Noyce’s imaginative, playful use of words and numbers keeps readers engaged throughout the story. Most tween and teen students will likely recognize an underlying message about the dangers of mindlessly watching television and playing video games. This book also answers the age-old question asked by students: “When will I ever use this in real life?” The charming story, along with the focus questions and extension activities at the end of the book, make this an entertaining selection for student-led reading discussions at the upper elementary and intermediate level."
—Jennifer Geoffroy, D.C. Public Schools, Washington, D.C.

A big thank you to Jennifer and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics for saying such great things about Lost in Lexicon.
And if you're a teacher or educator, we want to know, what do you look for when picking books to use in your classroom?

Wonderful Reviews for Knives on the Cutting Edge

When we have great books, like Bob Macdonald's Knives on the Cutting Edge: The Great Chefs' Dining Revolution, we can't help but be proud of them. And when other people love them, well that's even better. So we just wanted to briefly share the great reviews we've received so far.

From Foreword Reviews:
"Highly innovative gourmet meals and the exquisitely selected wines to accompany them may be as intricate as a symphony, and as tricky to explain, but here the author has taken an orderly approach to describing the hunt for culinary perfection....Yet, just when one eating tale seems like another, MacDonald lets loose with an unexpected account, often brimming with intrigue, that puts a reader in mind of the ultimate dining compliment: 'I’ll have what he’s having.' At least, in a vicarious way, his hungry readers can." Read the rest here.

From Jesse Kornbluth on Huffington Post Food, and on his website (Headbutler.com):

What keeps him human -- what keeps this book from a wallow in meals that read like NC-17 movies -- is his lack of snobbery about his good fortune. 'Our meals in local bistros and even picnics with fresh French bread and favorites such as pork rillettes, sliced sausages and hams, celery remoulade and Comte cheese could be just as memorable.'
...You get the idea: the Macdonalds have had decades of the kind of experiences that are unrealized dreams for most foodies. For those dreamers, as for me, this is armchair dining, and at the highest level." Read the rest of the article here.

Reviews for The Ice Castle

The official release date of Pendred Noyce's newest Lexicon Adventures book was only yesterday, but already the praise is piling up! We're so excited that everyone is loving this book as much as we do that we thought we would just highlight some of the lovely things people have had to say.



In a 4-star review, Marilyn at Compass Book Ratings said:
"THE ICE CASTLE, the second book in the Lexicon Adventures series, has many necessary ingredients that would entice young readers, i.e. adventure, fantasy, family member who don't get along, social commentary and a unique emphasis on music....Young adults will recognize that it reflects the real world they live in and will be able to see the social implications." Read the rest of the review here.

***** Teresa Bateman from Keen Readers said:
"There are puzzles to solve, traitors to catch, and friendships to forge. This is a well-written, thoughtful fantasy book that addresses issues of equality while providing interesting musical insights. Besides, it’s a great adventure!" You can read the rest of the review here.

***** And Denise LeBlanc, Director of Learning Experiences at The Discovery Museums called The Ice Castle:
"a beautiful symphony in which Ivan, Daphne, and Lila face various challenges and come to learn about themselves, one another, and human nature. This beautifully orchestrated book will delight and captivate readers of all ages."

You can find The Ice Castle: An Adventure in Music on Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, or through your favorite independent bookstore on IndieBound. Happy reading!

Bad Jokes & Great Reviews - Long Live The Litigators!

A librarian, book reviewer, and legal historian all walk into a bar, and the bartender asks, "Now how much did all of you love The Litigators?"

Ok, sorry! Bad joke. I've been watching a lot of romantic comedies lately, where bad jokes are king. But seriously, a librarian, book reviewer, and legal historian did walk into a room, and they all had wonderful things to say about The Litigators.

To give a little background on the book, it's one we're especially proud of! Why, you ask? Because The Litigators was the first book we published here at Scarletta, and book publishers will tell you, you never forget the first book you help publish. The Litigators was published in 2005 and was written by lawyer Lindsay Arthur. The book takes place in Minnesota, and it exposes the truths and failures in today’s court system.

Nalah and the Pink Tiger Book Review & Giveaway

Nalah and the Pink Tiger just received its first review from a mommy blogger! Here's what she had to say:

"We have read this book a couple of times now and my oldest loves it. It's not wordy at all, so even my 13 month old will sit through it."

"The book is so cute and my oldest thinks it is really funny. And it even gave me a few giggles."

"I think this is a great book for kids, and one that parents will enjoy reading more than once as well. :)"

We'd like to thank the Open Hands blog for such a sweet review! You can read the rest of it here.

And DON'T FORGET to sign up for the book giveaway by Friday, April 13, 2012!

A Rave Review for Yankee Invasion

History professor, Linda Wagner recently reviewed Yankee Invasion and had some great things to say:

"Ignacio Solares has written a riveting tale about the events surrounding the Mexico City invasion during the 1800s. Written as if part memoir, part discussions, this historical fiction novel captures the essence of the time period, along with the documented facts of the era."

"Although a fictional tale, Yankee Invasion captures the trueness of the war, the experience by Mexican soldiers and the effect it had on the lives of those living in Mexico."

To read this review in its entirety, check out the press release here.

A Celtic Childhood is a fun romp

You know a book is good when it receives a glowing review from Squeaky Clean Reads, despite the following content review:
PROFANITY: Excessive throughout
VIOLENCE: Some Mild instances
SEXUAL CONTENT: Some Mild and a few Moderate instances
MATURE THEMES: Moderate
And yet they couldn't stop complementing A Celtic Childhood, saying things like:
"A Celtic Childhood is a lovely memoir that reads as if you’re sitting at the feet of a grandfather full of stories! This book is full of charming vignettes and hilarious antics" and "Young Bill’s views are hilarious"
So if you're look for a "fun romp" of a book, A Celtic Childhood should definitely be at the top of your list. And you can find the rest of the review here!

"Hassie Calhoun is the perfect protagonist"

Have you checked out the Nevada Review lately? Well you should. And not just because they wrote a lovely review about Hassie Calhoun (though we're quite excited about that!), but because through our relationship with them, we've come to find that they write incredibly thorough and thoughtful reviews. Here's what they had to say about Hassie Calhoun:

"Author Pamela Cory delivers the perfect cocktail of hope and devastation in her latest novel, Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence. With one hand, Cory offers her readers untarnished hopes of the young and uninitiated, and with the other she delivers the inescapable realities of the real world and the people who live there."

"In the back of the book, author Pamela Cory provides a list of questions for readers to ponder. The first on the list begins by asking, 'How badly do you want to slap Hassie?' Although this question may seem too dismissive for a character who ultimately lives a relatively complex and successful life chasing her dream of stardom, it does in fact get to the heart of Cory’s development of Hassie’s character. Like Vegas offering the duality of hopes and exploitation, Hassie’s character offers a frustrating duality of innocence and stubborn arrogance that leads to so many of her painful choices. Perhaps more important to the question, though, is that Cory develops this excellent character and story so well that the reader will indeed want to slap Hassie."

You can find the rest of the review at the Nevada Review's website. And look for it in print in the spring issue of the Nevada Review as well!

"Immensely readable and thoroughly enjoyable"

Undiscovered Scotland loved Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish saying:

"But the way Bill Watkins carries us with him through his adventures and misadventures is enthralling, often amusing, sometimes emotional, and always extremely well written. This is one of those rare books which keep you turning the page not through plot devices, but simply by keeping the reader engaged."

Thanks so much Ken Lussey! We're glad Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish is giving people one more reason to head to Scotland! And head to their website to check out the rest of the review!

"It’s always an interesting experience to read a novel from the point of view of someone who is borderline insane."

Yankee Invasion by Ignacio Solares recently received a lovely review from Squeaky Clean Reads. They write: "It clearly shows the feelings, frustrations and fears of the impotent citizen—while the ‘powers that be’ play their political games with the citizens as their pawns. Yankee Invasion has a lot to offer in terms of painting a vivid picture and creating an impression that lasts." You can read the rest of the review on their website.

Tips: How to help out your favorite Authors!

At Scarletta Press, we can't help but push for you to love our authors. And we know there is a lot of love out there, but can you show it. Sometimes, that's all an author needs! Thanks to Lindsay Buroker, here are a few things you can do to help our authors, or any of your favorite authors!

Helping out on Amazon

Amazon is the big kahuna of book sellers, especially when it comes to ebooks, so helping an author “get found” on there can give them a big boost. You can certainly do these things on other bookstore sites as well (nothing against copying and pasting a review, for example), but Amazon tends to have more cool features to help an author get found.

Here’s the list (any one of these things can help):

Too Much Good News?? No such thing!

There was already no doubt about it... Lost in Lexicon is a hit. But just because we can... Here's some more great reviews and interviews! Check 'em out!

Elle Strauss interviews Pendred Noyce
http://ellestraussbooks.blogspot.com/2011/02/self-publishing-success-story.html

Andrea from Online With Andrea interviews and reviews
http://andreasonlineblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/lost-in-lexicon-by-pendred-noyce.html
...and then it went global...

Choosing Lexicon

Check out these links for reviews and fun stuff about Lexicon in the news:

An article about Penny and Lost in Lexicon by Carolyn Ellis in the Wellesley Weston Magazine
http://wellesleywestonmagazine.com/spring11/dept_books.htm

Reviews for mathematics and writing on a gifted child website
http://www.icanbeanything.ca/Site/Book_Selections.html

Laurie Hertzel mentions Scarletta's contract with Penny
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/115219944.html

Hassie hits the news...

According to a Publisher's Weekly review, "Nostalgia takes it on the chin in Cory's over-dramatic but atmospherically pleasing debut, the beginning of a projected trilogy about Hassie Calhoun, a 17-year-old Texas rose who arrives in 1960s Las Vegas with a big dream of becoming the next Peggy Lee..."

Well we're pretty excited about this nice, short but sweet, review and you should be too! You should also be excited to read the novel when it hits shelves this June 1 because "Cory's alternately gritty and sudsy depiction of early '60s Sin City transports the reader back to a time when the Rat Pack ethos ruled..." You're gonna love it!

Read the rest of the review here.

The Terminator Twist

If you couldn't tell by now, Scarletta Press has started traveling in new directions. With our jump into the popular fiction genre, we've published an outrageously humorous read in Our Jewish Robot Future by Leonard Borman. It's a book that is slowly, but SURELY, garnering more and more attention.

One of the most recent reviews can be found on page 15 of the Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter (November/December 2010 issue).

"Do you remember the Terminator movies? An evil cyborg from the future comes back in time with the mission to kill the woman who would become the mother of the leader of the human resistance movement. In a twist on that theme, Borman creates a Jewish robot of the future who travels back in time to tell Alex and Margarita Haralson that they must convince their adult children to start reproducing in order for their many-times-great-grandchildren to ultimately develop the robots that would travel into space and preserve Judaism..." Read the rest here.

 Don't forget to pick up your copy today!

"The future can be a very strange place..."

Another great hit for Leonard Borman's Our Jewish Robot Future. Midwest Book Review calls this futuristic novel "highly entertaining and a very highly recommended read."

Read the review in Midwest Book Review's Small Press Watch for November. This review will appear in the Cengage Learning, Gale interactive CD ROM series "Book Review Index" published 4 times yearly for academic, corporate and public library systems as well as book review databases (LexixNexis and Goliath). This review will also be posted on amazon by Midwest Book Review.

Not to mention...

Once again, we love a little spotlight on Scarletta Press. Our Jewish Robot Future recently had a nice mention in the bookshelf section of Tablet Magazine, an online Jewish community magazine. Here's a small taste of what they had to say:

"If Jewish/vampire trysts and Orthodox dragonslayers sound too old-fashioned for you, you might prefer Leonard Borman’s Our Jewish Robot Future (Scarletta, October), which comes freighted with the illustrative subtitle “A Comedic Novel about the Garden of Eden and the Cyborgian Transformation of the Human Race.” If nothing else, the novel demonstrates how irresistible it is for some authors to insert Jewishness into their wild fantasies..."  Read the rest here.

This Just In: HASSIE CALHOUN

Hey readers! Who's excited about e-books? WE ARE! That's why we're offering the advanced reader's copy of Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence by Pamela Cory in a free electronic format.

If you're a reviewer, and are interested in a sexy, fiery novel that paints a portrait of an era, then contact me for more info.

Desiree Bussiere
Publicity Director
Scarletta Press
desiree@scarlettapress.com

A "Written" Review

Debbie White of Different Time, Different Place Book Reviews is the latest to give her take on Written on the Knee: A Diary from the Greek-Italian Front of WWII edited and translated by Helen Electrie Lindsay. Debbie writes:

"Written on the Knee is a war diary with related letters, photos, and maps included. There are also sections giving a brief history of the time before, during, and after the diary to put the diary in context. It's an interesting, personal look at what WWII was like on Greek-Italian front. Since it's a diary, he often writes a lot about some aspects (like the travel, finding food, finding ways to send letters, interpersonal relations, air raids) and less on others (actual patients and wounds treated and the fighting going on)."

Read the full review here: http://differenttimedifferentplace.blogspot.com/2009/07/written-on-knee-by-dr-theodore-electris.html

ForeWord Magazine's Review of the Day

A fantastic review of Yankee Invasion has just been posted on ForeWord Magazine's home page. Thank you to Lee Gooden for taking the time to share your thoughts on this novel of which we are very proud.

Gooden writes:

Yankee Invasion is historical fiction infused with an ontological and existential quest and a love story. There is no apparent loss of impact in Timothy G. Compton's English translation. Solares' prose contains a lyricism and a musicality that sings off the page. He writes, 'I turned toward the window, where the face of night pressed against the glass. Threads of frost were starting to form next to the window frames. In the distance I saw the vague, expressionless sky.'

Read the full review here: http://www.forewordmagazine.com/reviews/viewreviews.aspx?reviewid=4614&rssref=20090717