More than fifty million of us are stocking up on peanut butter and jelly and flashlight batteries this weekend, preparing for the arrival of a monster fall storm. If predictions for power outages come true,  we’ll all need something to read by flashlight or candlelight tomorrow night. Here are some timely suggestions…

I’ve gotten more than a few emails and social media message this week, accusing me of being somehow psychic when I wrote this book…

EYE OF THE STORM is set in a future world where climate change has led to severe and widespread catastrophic storms. (Frankenstorm, anyone?) In this novel for readers ten and up, Jaden Meggs goes to spend the summer with her meteorologist dad in his company’s “Storm-Safe” compound in the heart of tornado country. When she enrolls in an elite science camp for gifted kids, Jaden teams up with a boy from across the river to study the strange paths some tornadoes are taking…and discovers a terrifying secret about her own father.

NINTH WARD by Jewell Parker Rhodes is another great storm story. In this book, twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. She doesn’t have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya’s visions show a powerful hurricane–Katrina–fast approaching, it’s up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm. Ninth Ward is a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family–as only love can define it. This one is great for middle grade readers.

Paul Volponi’s HURRICANE SONG tells the story of Katrina for older teens, leaving out no harrowing detail of the storm and the struggles of those who sought shelter in the SuperDome in the days that followed. It’s action-packed, and many scenes in this one are tough to take, but it paints a realistic picture and will be a draw for older reluctant readers.

And finally…since this October storm will bring snow for some…

Michael Northrop’s TRAPPED is another great storm read for ages 12 and up. This one features a blizzard. The day it started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in the storm’s path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. . . . Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn’t seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision. . .

Stay safe, everyone. Stay warm. And I hope you have plenty of batteries and books to see you through the storm!

Most of my school author visits this fall have involved airplanes and multiple days away from my family, so it was lovely to visit a school closer to home today. When I pulled into the parking lot at AuSable Valley Elementary School, I saw this trailer…

…and thought, “Oh, dear.”  I’ve been told that I give a pretty entertaining presentation, but there’s no way I can compete with miniature donkeys. But it turns out the donkeys were here for their own event, a special presentation arranged for one of the third grade classrooms that had been reading about therapy dogs. These are therapy donkeys, and I got to visit them to say hello.

After the donkeys went home, the third graders headed to the gym for our author visit. Both groups I worked with today — the K-2 students and the 3rd-6th grade crew — were just fantastic. I can always tell when kids are enthusiastic readers and writers because of the great questions they ask.  After my first presentation to the younger group, one of the boys came running back to the gym a few minutes later. “This is for you,” he said.

I asked him to tell me about his picture. “That’s you,” he said, pointing. “You’re the pink one, and you’re walking in the woods. And those are animal tracks.”  They were from a desert animal, he told me, maybe a frog or a prairie dog. This is one of the reasons I love school visits so much!

Thanks, Kobe, for your illustration, and thanks to everyone at AuSable Valley Elementary for a magical, story-filled morning!

My second day of Missouri school visits this week brought me to the fantastic readers of Henry Elementary School, who had  warm welcome waiting outside the library!

My first two hours of the day were dedicated to a marathon book signing that claimed the life of a brand new Sharpie.

This book especially made me smile…

I love when a student drops off a book to be signed & there’s already a bookmark in the middle!

After the book signing, I gave presentations to the K-1st, 2nd-3rd, and 4th-5th grade groups. They were all amazing listeners, readers, and writers – and near the end of the afternoon, as the kids were leaving the library, I heard one of the best things an author can possible hear after a talk. A girl turned to her teacher and said, “Can we go write now?!” It made my whole day.  And so did these smiling faces…

Thanks, staff and students of Henry Elementary School – I loved spending my Tuesday with you!

I’m in Missouri this week for two days of author visits. Today, I spent the day at Bellerive Elementary School just outside St. Louis, talking books, reading, and writing with some amazing readers and writers.  And boy, does this school ever know how to make an author feel welcome. Check out the artwork that greeted me everywhere I turned.

It’s so much fun to see my characters brought to life in kids’ artwork!

Cassie even created Gianna’s leaf-mobile from THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.

School librarian Melissa Biehl organized this whole extravaganza – what an amazing woman!

She also introduced me to Jerome.

He’s the official bearded dragon of the Bellerive Elementary Library. I even got to hold him for a bit while the students cleaned out his cage.

Jerome was very friendly, if a little prickly.

After school, I got to spend time with district teachers, giving a “Real Revision” workshop. They were great sports – and enthusiastic writers even after a long day of teaching!

Thanks so much to EVERYONE  at Bellerive Elementary School for a great visit! What an amazing group of readers and writers!

I’ve been busier than usual with Skype author visits to classrooms this fall. I’m delighted that so many teachers have chosen to share CAPTURE THE FLAG as a first read-aloud of the school year, and it’s been great fun to answer kids’ questions about the book and the series. One question that always comes up is this:

Is there going to be a sequel?

The answer is YES!  It’s called HIDE AND SEEK, and here’s the cover:

José, Anna, and Henry are junior members of the secret Silver Jaguar Society, sworn to protect the world’s most important artifacts. When they discover that the society’s treasured Jaguar Cup has been replaced with a counterfeit, the trio and their families rush to the rain forests of Costa Rica in search of the real chalice. But when the trail runs dry, new mysteries emerge: Who can they trust? Is there a traitor in their midst? With danger at every turn, it will take more than they realize for José and his friends to recover the cup before it falls into the wrong hands.

HIDE AND SEEK was so much fun to write, not only because I’m madly in love with these characters but also because this book meant traveling to Costa Rica’s rain forest for research.  You can bet that many of the animals I blogged about after that trip have crawled, flown, climbed, and slithered their way into the story, too.

HIDE AND SEEK comes out April 1st from Scholastic – and it’s already on GoodReads if you’d like to add to your to-read list. It’s available for pre-order, too, at your local indie bookstore or wherever you like to buy books.