Where ARE those chicks?

No, we're not hiding from you. We're still here, just not HERE...

on Blogger that is.

Due to our busy schedules creating new books for kids, as well as visiting dozens of schools and libraries around Illinois and beyond, we are no longer able to review books on this blog. Yes, we are sad about this.

However! We do hope you will join our Facebook community (see the sidebar for a link), where we will be regularly posting news and updates and other silly stuff, including occasional shout-outs about what's new in the world of funny books for kids. We hope to see you there.

If you are a teacher, librarian, or other wonderful person who works with kids, we would love to visit your school or organization. All three chicks offer a variety of presentations and workshops designed to inspire kids to read, write, and laugh. For more information, click on our names below to check out our author visit information:

Andrea Beaty Julia Durango Carolyn Crimi

We silly chicks love hanging out together, so let us know if you'd like 2 of us or even all 3 of us to visit your school or organization. (Heck, we might even throw in a discount and some Three Silly Chicks swag to sweeten the deal!)

See you on Facebook!

Busting our buttons!!!!!

Well bust our buttons! It's time to do the Braggy Pants Dance!

Our wondrous Silly Chick, Julia Durango has just won the Golden Kite Award for Fiction for her amazing novel, Sea of the Dead!

Bravo Julia!!! We're crowing from the rooftops!

Chick out the news!

Thanks, USBBY!

The chicks had a fabulous time at the Illinois Authors' Roundtable this week-end at the Where Worlds Meet conference sponsored by the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY). Many thanks to Natalie Ziarnik and crew for organizing a great reception! We saw many friends there, made several new ones, and generally had a blast, even though Andrea looks like she's about to give someone a knuckle sandwich. (She's just silly that way!)

Crazed Pirate Chicks... ARGH!

(Andrea, Fiona, Julia, Carolyn)

A huge THANK YOU to Angela and the wonderful peeps at 57th Street Books as well as all the sponsors of the 57th Street Children's Book Fair in Chicago for a great afternoon last Sunday. Not only did they let us take the stage and be silly pirate chicks with our special guest chiclet, Fiona, but they gave away our books for FREE to kids at the Fair. Oh, happy day!

Thanks also to Rick Kogan, who interviewed us on WGN Radio to help promote the Fair. You can listen to our interview here:



So now tell us who your favorite independent bookseller is. Curious chicks wanna know!

We're Back!

The Chicks are back and ready for the new school year! In addition to nice, shiny school supplies, our backpacks are loaded with fabulous new books and other silly stuff to share with you in the months ahead. And we're starting things off with a bang!


Need a new totebag to schlep around your favorite snacks? Need some new books to read while you munch on those snacks? We thought so! That's why we're giving away a fabulous Three Silly Chicks totebag filled with our latest books! All you have to do is become a Three Silly Chicks fan on Facebook and leave a comment by 9:00 am on Saturday, Sept. 19th. A random winner will be chosen from all comments. What could be easier?

But what's that we hear some of you muttering?

Dahlings, I absolutely loathe social networking; must I really join FaceBook to have some Three Silly Chicks fun?

Heck no! Just tune your radio dial to WGN this Sunday (9/13) at 7:30 am to hear our dulcet bockings as we visit with Chicago's finest, funniest journalist Rick Kogan.



But chicks, you insist, what if I want to bask in your feathered glory and join you for a round or two of the Chicken Dance?

No problemo, we've got you covered! Come join us at the 57th Street Book Fair in Chicago this Sunday afternoon (9/13). We'll be on stage at 1:30 and signing books at 2:00. Come cut a rug with us! Whisper the secret password* in our ear and we'll give you a silly treat!

Now that's more like it. But how shall I pass the long hours in the meantime?

Check out this new blog called Hit the Ground Running, a treasure trove of tips and inspiration for "new and high-spirited" educators written by Esmé Raji Codell, one of our favorite chicks on the planet!


Happy reading, friends! We're glad to be back!

* Eggs Benedict. Shhh, it's a secret!

Going Fishin'

Well, we don't know how it happened, but August has rolled around yet again and we Silly Chicks find ourselves ready to fly the coop for just a bit.

We hate to leave you, but we heard about a wonderful new spa that offers bean dip facials and guacamole wraps and thought we should check it out. Though now that we think about it, we're not sure if the guacamole wraps are for lunch or our thighs. Either way, they sound deeeelish. We'll be back after school starts with lots of new reviews, interviews, and other fun stuff including our new Chicks' Picks reviews.

Before we leave, we want to mention a fantastic campaign from one of our favorite organizations, First Book. First Book wants to get a book into the hands of every kid in America. What could be better than that? Their new campaign is called, "What Book Got You Hooked?" Chick it out today and help kids get reading!

Of course, we can't leave you without letting you know about our brand-spanking new books! All of us have new titles this August. We hope enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them!

For adventure seekers, there's Julia's amazing novel, Sea of the Dead.

Sea of the Dead
by Julia Durango
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN-13: 9781416957782

Full of high-seas adventure and excitement, Sea of the Dead is the story of Kehl who is the son of the Warrior Prince. Kehl hates pirates who, according to his father, were responsible for his mother's death. When he is kidnapped by the Pirate King, Kehl begins to question what his father had told him, and realizes his past is linked to the future of the new world he's mapping.

It's exciting! It's adventurous! It's simply FANTASTIC!!!!

And if you need more pirate action, you can turn to Carolyn's newest . . .

Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates
by Carolyn Crimi
Illustrated by John Manders
Candlewick Press ISBN-13: 9780763636012

It's got pirates. It's got chickens. It's got Pirate Chickens. And they're crazed!!! What more could you ask?

.

Hush, Baby Ghostling

by Andrea Beaty

Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN-13: 9781416925453

After battling so many pirates, you're kids (and you) will be plum tuckered out. Time for a bedtime book.

Mama Ghost is trying to get her baby ghostling to sleep. Of course, that's easier said than done when there are spooky noises in the room, Mr. Skeleton goes missing, and the light is so scary. But don't worry, Mama Ghost is there to make things right!

Happy Fishing, everybody! Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer and we'll catch you on the flip side!!!!

Fun and Games at ALA & FB

As you can see, the chicks had a BLAST at this year's American Library Assocation annual conference. We think Andrea looks like a natural with that heavy blaster rifle, and Julia and Carolyn have decided to attend all future conferences as a Gamorrean guard and Sandtrooper, respectively.

We loved seeing old friends and meeting new ones, and we've brought back armloads of funny books to share with you in the months ahead. We also met some incredibly fun and charming authors (like him and her) who graciously agreed to visit the coop and answer silly questions for us in the future. Be sure to check back often, or better yet, subscribe.

And in other news, you can now see our smiling beaks over at Facebook. We'd love to see you there!

Happy Birthday Julia!

We Silly Chicks pride ourselves on being refined and literary poultry. But when one of us has a birthday, we throw out the Thoreau, ditch the Dostoyevsky, and say "What the Dickens, Let's party!" This week is Julia Durango's birthday and she has been working very hard. So, join us in wishing our dear chickie a very Happy Birthday!

Here's a little birthday song for you, Miss Julia! And because the only thing funnier than singing chickens is singing monkeys, here's another and yet another! And because we have no idea what this thing is, here's one more!

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday and many, many more!!!!!!! Love ya!

Illinois ASCD Statewide Conference

Howdy!

We want to give a great big shout out to all the friends we made today at the 28th Annual Illinois ASCD Statewide Conference for Pre-Kindergarten & Kindergarten Educators!

We had a blast presenting a collection of our favorite funny books to share with preschoolers and kinders. Special thanks to the fabulous volunteers who helped our sessions run so smoothly and to Donald Kachur, Bev Taylor and all the wonderful folks at Illinois ASCD for having us!

As promised, here's a list of the titles we presented:

365 Penguins
by Jean-Luc Fromental
Illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet
Abrams
ISBN-13: 978-0810944602




Cha-Cha Chimps
by Julia Durango
Illustrated by Eleanor Taylor
Simon & Schuster
ISBN-13: 978-0689864568
Teacher's Guide



Doctor Ted
by Andrea Beaty
Illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre
Margaret K. McElderry
ISBN-10: 1416928200
Teacher's Guide

The Doghouse
by Jan Thomas
Harcourt
ISBN-13: 978-0152065331




Ducks Don't Wear Socks
by John Nedwidek
Viking
ISBN-10: 0670061360





I Love My New Toy!
by Mo Willems
Hyperion
ISBN-13: 978-1423109617







My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks
by Hanoch Piven
Scwartz & Wade
ISBN-13: 978-0375840524





New Socks
by Bob Shea
Little Brown
ISBN-13: 978-0316013574




Not a Box
by Antoinette Portis
HarperCollins
ISBN-13: 978-0061123221




Where's My Mummy?
by Carolyn Crimi
Illustrated by John Manders
Candlewick
ISBN-13: 978-0763631963
Teacher's Guide

Happy Birthday Carolyn Crimi!

Hey Everybody! We hope you will join us in wishing our dear friend and silliest of chicks, Carolyn Crimi, a fine, fluffy and feathery birthday! And since the Coop is full of wonderful snacks and treats from so many Honorary Silly Chicks, it's time for us to have a party! Chicken Dancing for all!

It has been a great year in the Coop and we hope you've enjoyed hanging out with us. Thank you to everyone who took time to donate to Heifer International and made a difference! Here's to a wondrous New Year of Books and Bean Dip shared with Our Fine Feathered Friends everywhere!

Doing the Braggy Pants Dance

Get out your Braggy Pants! It's time to dance!

We're giving a great big shout out to Carolyn's Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies! It's the 2008 winner of the Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award AND the Texas Armadillo Children's Choice Award!!!!

And that ain't all! That crazy bunny is nominated for all of these state awards, too:

Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award

California Young Reader Award

Colorado Children's Book Award

Illinois Monarch K-3 Children's Choice Award

Kansas Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Awrd

Maryland Black-eyed Susan (Picture) Book

Missouri Show Me Readers (1-3) Award

North Dakota Flicker Tale Picture Book Award

New Hampshire Ladybug Picture Book

Nevada Young Readers' Award

Tennessee Volunteer State Award Nominee

Washington Children's Choice Picture Book

That is one busy rabbit!

Big shouts out to Julia for Cha-Cha Chimps, nominated for the following state lists:

Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award

Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award

Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award

Georgia Children's Picture Book Award

And congrats to Andrea for some super news about her two titles:

Cicada Summer

2008 National Parenting Publications Awards Gold Medal winner!

Anderson's Bookshop Mock Newbery title

Kansas City Star Noteworthy Books of 2008

Doctor Ted is also a 2008 National Parenting Publications Awards Gold Medal winner!

Illinois School Library Media Association

Howdy!!!!

We want to give a great big shout out to all the friends we made yesterday at the Illinois School Library Media Association Conference in Arlington Heights, Illinois!

We had a blast presenting a collection of our newest favorite funny books to a standing-room only audience!

Of course there were whoopie cushions, gummy chickens, and quite a few laughs, but we hope everyone left with some great information, too!

We had a lot of people ask us for the list of books we presented so we're including the titles here.

Special thanks to Christine who made our session run so smoothly and to Chris Graves and all the wonderful folks at ISLMA for inviting us!


Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things

by Lenore Look

Illustrated by Leuyen Pham

Schwartz & Wade

ISBN-13: 978-0375839146

Lazy Little Loafers

by Susan Orlean

illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Abrams Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 978-0810970274

I Love My New Toy!

by Mo Willems

Hyperion Books

ISBN-13: 978-1423109617



Chester’s Back

by Melanie Watt

Kids Can Press

ISBN-13: 9781554532872

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-you Note

by Peggy Gifford

Schwartz & Wade

ISBN-13: 978-0375842702

Natalie & Naughtily

by Vincent X. Kirsch

Bloomsbury USA

ISBN-13: 978-1599902692

Wild Boars Cook

by Meg Rosoff

illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Henry Holt & Co.

ISBN-13: 978-0805075236

Twelve Terrible Things

by Marty Kelley

Tricycle Press

ISBN-13: 978-1582462295

Katie Loves the Kittens

by John Himmelman

Henry Holt & Co.

ISBN-13: 978-0805086829

Millie In the Snow

by Alexander Steffensmeier Walker Boo ks for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 978-0802798008

Monkey with a Tool Belt

by Chris Monroe

Carolrhoda Books

ISBN-13: 978-0822576310

Ducks Don’t Wear Socks

by John Nedwidek

Viking ISBN-13: 978-0670061365

A Visitor for Bear
by Bonny Becker

illustrated by Katy MacDonald Denton

Candlewick ISBN-13: 978-0763628079

Adventures of Cow
by Lori Korchek
photographs by Marshall Taylor
Tricycle Press
ISBN-13: 978-1582461892

Doggone Dogs!

by Karen Beaumont
illustrated by David Catrow
ISBN-13: 978-0803731578

Rave Reviews for Carolyn's Newest BOO-k!

We are proud to announce that the newest book in the coop, Where's My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi, has garnered smashing reviews! (Well, with one exception, but he's as cranky as a Kirkus reviewer.) It's official--Where's My Mummy? is a hit!




"A scary, hairy treat! I howled with delight!"

Wolf Man


"I loved it!"

Dr. Jekyll


"I hated it!"

Mr. Hyde


"The kind of book you just want to sink your teeth into!"

Dracula


"I laughed my head off!"

Frankenstein


Interested in a signed copy? Drop by one of Carolyn's upcoming signings:

October 26th, Chicago Kids Bookstore, 3453 N. Southport, Chicago, 2:00-3:00

October 30th, Woburn Library, 46 Pleasant St, Woburn, MA, 3:30-4:30


Scare up some fun with this sweet bedtime story!

It's Back to School for the Chicks!

That's right: we've sharpened our pencils, polished our spectacles, fluffed our tail feathers and memorized our new locker combinations. The chicks are back to school! We spent all summer working hard (i.e. reading in hammocks, sipping fruity beverages) in order to bring you a brand new school year of eggcellent book reviews, eggcuberant interviews, eggciting contests, and other fowl entertainments for your reading pleasure.

Herewith, a short "get-to-know-your-chicks" segment for the newcomers:

CHICK #1: Carolyn Crimi
Favorite School Cafeteria Food: Anything that comes in a "stick" or "patty"
Favorite School Supply: Spiral notebooks
Favorite Back-to-School Book: Kindergarten Rocks! by Katie Davis

CHICK #2: Julia Durango
Favorite School Cafeteria Food: Tots
Favorite School Supply: Glue
Favorite Back-to-School Book: It's Time for School, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

CHICK #3: Andrea Beaty
Favorite School Cafeteria Food: The classic Ewing school lunch consisting of one cheese stick, a bowl of chili, and a peanut butter and caro syrup sandwich on white bread
Favorite School Supply: Box of 48
Favorite Back-to-School Book: First Grade Stinks by Mary Ann Rodman

Welcome to the coop!

Gone Fishin'!

It's summertime and the livin' is easy! It's time to break out the poles and the bean dip and go fishing!

We Chicks are taking off a little time so we can enjoy some great summer weather, do some writing, and maybe catch us some fishies (or more likely catch forty winks and some sun while we laze at the lake)! While we're gone, we hope you have a great summer and read some fantastic books.

But even though we have the bait and poles packed and the bean dip is strapped to the roof of the car, there's something we have to do before we sneak away for a few weeks. We have to let you know about our new books!

We have been very busy lately. And not just creating papier-mache art on the ceiling of the coop, though we are very talented in that area as well. (BTW, We think Charmin works best for this.) No, we have been busy writing and we each have new books to show for it!

So if you're looking for something funny to read, try Carolyn's new picture book called Where's My Mummy? illustrated by John Manders. (Yes, THE John Manders who also illustrated Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies!) Fun! Fun! Fun! Oh how we love it when these two make books!



And then there's Andrea's new picture book, Doctor Ted, illustrated by Pascal LeMaitre. It's just what the doctor ordered for kids with big ideas and anyone in need of a good laugh. You can find out more here.

"But Chicks!" you say, "What if I'm not in a funny mood? What if my funny bone is not feeling--well--funny? What if I want something more? What if I want books that will drop me down into someone else's life? Someone else's world? Stories that offer some drama or maybe some mystery and that will stay with me after I've finished reading? What then? What on Earth will I read?"

Never fear! We've got you covered! Both Julia and Andrea have written novels! Dramatic novels!

Julia makes her debut in The Walls of Cartagena which takes us into the life of Calepino, the young interpreter who helps Father Pedro take care of the slaves brought into port city of Cartagena. When he meets Mara and Tomi, a mother and son who remind him of his own past, Calepino tries to find a way to save them. Will this be his chance to change someone else's fortune, or will he put them all in more peril? A beautiful and powerful novel from a truly talented chick! The Walls of Cartagena will be published on July 29!


Andrea also makes her debut as a novelist this year with Cicada Summer, the tale of Lily Mathis and Tinny Bridges. Both are girls with secrets. Both are girls in danger. One from her past and a loss that threatens to devour her. The other from a stranger who comes to small town Olena. Lily has read every Nancy Drew book in the library, but will what she has learned help her find out what happened to Tinny? And can she do so without revealing her own secrets?

We hope you have a delightful summer! We will return in the fall with lots of new book reviews and interviews and some silliness! And if we're really lucky, we'll bring back lots of fish! Or a tan! Or some tan fish! Now THAT would be something to see!

Happy Reading!

The Chicks