Thanks for joining me for a book club discussion featuring BLACK BEAUTY, The Autobiography of a Horse by Anna Sewell. In the first book of my new series, RUBY STARR (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), Ruby’s book club is reading Black Beauty’s story. Ruby is a big fan of classics, and so am I. BLACK BEAUTY was first published in 1877 and became one of the best-selling novels of all time. It was also the first book written from an animal’s point of view. BLACK BEAUTY is the story of one horse’s life as he moves from home to home. Some owners are kind to the horse and some are cruel. By showing us the world through Black Beauty’s eyes, Ms. Sewell encourages compassion for horses and animals of all kinds.

Here are some discussion questions to get you started:

1. The first sentence of a book is the most important one because it takes readers into the time and place of the story. Where does the first sentence of BLACK BEAUTY take you? How would you write the first sentence of this book?
2. How can you tell right away that this story is told through the eyes of a horse? What do you notice about the author’s writing style?
3. How did you feel when Black Beauty leaves his mother to live with Squire Gordon? How do you think Black Beauty feels?
4. Black Beauty’s friend Ginger has not had an easy life. How does learning about Ginger’s past help us to understand her character? Can you think of a similar character in another book you have read?
5. The story describes all of Black Beauty’s different homes and owners. Which one of Black Beauty’s owners do you think he loves most? Why?
6. Jerry takes very special care of his horse. What are some examples of kindnesses given to Black Beauty by Jerry?
7. One of my favorite parts in the book is when Black Beauty carries John to get the Doctor for Mrs. Gordon. It shows Black Beauty’s courage and loyalty. What is your favorite part of the book? Why?
8. Which of Black Beauty’s jobs do you think is the hardest for him? Which job do you think is the easiest?
9. Did reading Black Beauty’s tale change the way you see horses? How?
10. If you were to write a story from the perspective of an animal, what story would you write?

Thanks for sharing a book club discussion with me today!

I am so happy to share my book trailer for THE FANTASTIC LIBRARY RESCUE AND OTHER MAJOR PLOTS TWISTS with a sneak peek at Ruby Starr’s latest adventure and Jeanine Murch’s fantastic illustrations!

I hope you like it:)

THE FANTASTIC LIBRARY RESCUE AND OTHER MAJOR PLOT TWISTS is available for pre-order! Book 2 in the Ruby Starr series is all about Ruby’s mission to save the school library. If you pre-order a copy of THE FANTASTIC LIBRARY RESCUE AND OTHER MAJOR PLOT TWISTS (Sourcebooks) before April 30, I will send you a set of Ruby Starr bookmarks, stickers, and exclusive trading cards as a thank you gift. Just email me at www.deborahlytton.com with your mailing address. Available until April 30, 2018.

 

Thanks for joining me for a book club discussion featuring Jen Calonita’s fantasy novel, TRICKED (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), the latest release in the FAIRY TALE REFORM SCHOOL series.

This series is about a reform school for fairy tale characters who live in the kingdom of Enchantasia where adventures occur. There is a pirate, a fairy, an evil stepsister, a royal, an ogre, and the main character, Gilly Cobbler, the shoemaker’s daughter. Only in this new third book in the series, the school has been taken over by the trickster Rumpelstiltskin. The main characters have to go on a quest to save their school and find themselves in the process. Here are some questions to get you started:

1. Ruby would love this book for its fairy tale characters and Gilly, the brave and loyal main character, who is most like her because she doesn’t give up. Which character in the book is the most like you, and why?
2. I love the Magical Fairy Pets class. Ruby would like to be chosen by a unicorn. I would like to be chosen by a phoenix. What magical animal would you like to choose you?
3. Gilly returns to FTRS to save her sister Anna, but Anna doesn’t want to be saved. Have you ever tried to help someone who didn’t want helping? What did you do? What could Gilly have done differently to help her sister?
4. On the quest, the students have to pass three tests to prove their strength, courage and their intelligence. Which test do you think was the most difficult and why?
5. Gilly realizes that she can’t be a hero without help from her friends. Why do you think the author wrote the story this way? Do you agree with Gilly?
6. FTRS is filled with characters from many fairy tales and nursery rhymes only sometimes the characters are very different from what we expect. Which character surprised you the most and why?
7. I laughed many times while I was reading this book. I laughed the most when Gilly first sees Stiltskin on the mantle. What part of the book made you laugh the most?
8. Gilly doesn’t want to become a cobbler even though her parents expect it of her and this is one of the reasons she wants to be at FTRS. Why do you think she doesn’t tell her parents how she feels? Have you ever felt like Gilly? What did you do about it?
9. The book ends with another adventure. What do you think will happen in the next book?

Thanks for being part of our book club today. Hope to see you again soon!

 

I am so excited and proud to reveal the cover of Ruby’s next adventure, THE FANTASTIC LIBRARY RESCUE AND OTHER MAJOR PLOT TWISTS coming from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in May, 2018! Thank you so much to the incredible Sourcebooks team and to my very talented illustrator Jeanine Murch!

I am so excited to share this RUBY STARR review I just received from my new friend Grace who is ten.

“I think that Ruby Starr is a great book because it felt so real and that’s what I loved about the book. It was easy to read because I was so into it.  I got to the end of the book so fast because it was very interesting. I also felt really attached to the character Ruby. She has a love of books and she has a big imagination just like me. I got lost in the book and read it whenever I had free time. I really enjoyed all of the chapters — they were very well written. I loved this book, and I thought it was wonderful!”

Thank you, Grace, for reading RUBY STARR and for your fantastic review. I’m so happy you liked the book and Ruby!

I’ll be at Barnes & Noble in Thousand Oaks, CA on August 5 to sign copies of my new release, RUBY STARR.  Hope to see you there:)

160 S. Westlake Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
805-446-2820

So excited to share my new book trailer for RUBY STARR. Thanks to my daughters for creating it:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTXQp4KOYHg

Hope you like it!

 

For our second book club meeting in honor of my upcoming MG series RUBY STARR, we will be discussing JUST LIKE ME by the gifted Nancy J. Cavanaugh. JUST LIKE ME is a touching story about eleven year old Julia’s experience at summer camp where she learns to embrace herself and makes some good friends in the process. I chose JUST LIKE ME because it’s a book Ruby would love to read. Confession: I cried at least three times while reading this book and laughed more times than I can count.

Here are some questions to get your book club discussion started:

1. Writing in the journal from Ms. Marcia helps Julia sort through her emotions about her own past. Have you ever written in a journal before? What was the experience like for you?
2. Julia writes to Ms. Marcia about her blue baby blanket. What does this tell us about Julia?
3. Vanessa says hurtful things to the other White Oak campers. What would you do if you were in her cabin?
4. Why do you think Julia hides her adoption photo and doesn’t add it to her life collage? Why do Avery and Becca put their photos right in the middle of their collages?
5. Gina is very open with Julia about her own life story. Do you think this helps Julia to share her own story? Why or why not?
6. Which camp activity sounds like the most fun to you? What does this tell you about yourself?
7. If you were Avery, would you forgive Julia for reading your journal?
8. The girls tell Julia about times they pretend just like Julia pretends about her baby blanket. How does this change Julia’s views? Have you ever pretended about something important?
9. If you were in the White Oak cabin, which camper would you be most like: Julia, Becca, Avery, Gina, Vanessa, or Meredith?
10. Do you think Julia is peaceful when she leaves camp? Why?

Thank you for sharing! See you next month:)

 

CALIFORNIA – August 5

I’ll be signing copies of RUBY STARR on August 5 starting at 12:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362.

Hope to see you there!