A Cross Post from Robyn Wright of RobynsOnlineWorld.com for our Back To School Connection Campaign.
I am very happy to be stop #8 on the 39 Clues Blog Tour. This is a wonderful series of books from Scholastic that really involves the readers on so many levels. With back-to-school season here this is a great series to start the kids on reading for just fun reading on their own – something that is not assignment related at school. I know Taylor doesn’t always enjoy his assigned reading at school and I want to keep him reading so series of books like this are a great way to do that (he is a little beyond this series now – but the same principal applies). Proudly, I present you with a guest post by the author of The 39 Clues books #2 and #8, Gordon Korman:
When you’re a 39 CLUES author, you’re also kind of a travel agent. The story is about Amy and Dan Cahill, two orphans who discover that they’re related to the most powerful family in human history. To uncover the source of their family’s power, Amy and Dan must find 39 Clues scattered around the world. This means that a large part of our job, as writers, involves sending Amy, Dan, and the other Cahills to a series of exotic locations. Sometimes these are places we’ve been to ourselves. For example, Book 2: ONE FALSE NOTE centers on Mozart, so it was a no-brainer to set part of the story in Vienna, Austria, where Mozart lived and worked. Best of all, I’ve been to Vienna, so it was easy for me to picture Amy, Dan, their au pair Nellie, and their cat Saladin walking the same streets I remember from my own travels there. But Cahills are relentless globe-trotters. Not even a great city like Vienna can contain an entire 39 CLUES novel. The series is flat-out bigger than that – an amazing race from A to B to Z and beyond, with nothing less than world domination on the line. Inevitably, ONE FALSE NOTE had to move on – from Vienna to Salzburg, Mozart’s birthplace, and then to Venice, one of the many stops on young Wolfgang Mozart’s endless European performance tours. Since I’ve never been to Salzburg or Venice, I had to replace personal experience with research.
All seven 39 CLUES authors agree on one thing: Research is the most fun part of the creative process for this series. More important, it has saved me more than once. Case in point: I had planned this elaborate Venice car chase for ONE FALSE NOTE. But when I hit the library, to my dismay I learned that cars aren’t allowed in central Venice at all. Turns out the city is built on more than a hundred small islands, separated by canals. The best way to get around is actually by boat! So I lose my car chase, but I gain an awesome boat chase, with Amy and Dan racing through the canals of Venice pursued by Jonah Wizard and half the Janus leadership. It never could have happened without research.
Yet the place where the research truly exploded for me was in BOOK 8: THE EMPEROR’S CODE. China is the world’s most populous country, one of the largest, and also one of the richest in culture and history. The Great Wall alone could stretch from New York to LA, and hang a right all the way up to Portland, Oregon. The Shaolin Temple is the cradle of all martial arts. Most fascinating of all, China is connected to Tibet, and Tibet’s border traces over what I consider to be the most amazing place on the face of the earth – the summit of Mount Everest.
I’m a full-fledged Everest fanatic. I first researched the world’s highest mountain several years ago for my EVEREST adventure series, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to bring the climax of THE EMPEROR’S CODE to the world’s loftiest peak, nearly six full miles above sea level. It was cool to revisit the research I did for my old series, but a lot has changed since my books were published. For one thing, modern science has developed a super-ultra-light helicopter capable of reaching the roof of the world, a machine so experimental, so revolutionary, so unique that it’s beyond the reach of practically everybody – except the most powerful family in human history.
A secret stronghold carved into solid rock deep beneath the islands of Venice; an ancient temple hidden in China’s Songshan mountain range; a deadly showdown on Earth’s pinnacle. Travel-agenting – and getting kids excited about what an amazing place our world is – has never been so exciting.
Just don’t ask for frequent flyer miles.
I originally shared with you all about The 39 Clues back in March of this year and I have heard nothing but positive feedback from my readers and others since I first learned about the series back then. Just a refresher though, The 39 Clues is a multi-media adventures series for kids ages 8-12 (or about) that not only includes books to read, but collectible cards and an online game that allows the readers to play a part in the story and compete for prizes! Adding to that, the movie rights for The 39 Clues have been acquired by DreamWorks Studio with Steven Spielberg eyeing to direct. And hey, what good is it if it doesn’t have an app for that? The 39 Clues Madrigal Maze app, launched in September 2009, is a Top 100 Paid Kids Game in the App Store. A great place to start your tweens off with this series is by visiting The 39 Clues Online Game where they can start learning about the story, getting clues, and find out the latest – then you can go to your local bookstore or library (or order online) and pick up the actual books and they can enjoy it completely!
This multi-media approach I think is brilliant for encouraging readers, especially boys. Here in our home we have always tried to take a multi-dimensional track in learning regularly. When we were homeschooling this was such a fun way to learn for Taylor. Even when he is attending a public school though, we are able to still find multiple ways to reinforce what he is learning at school as well as introduce new concepts, ideas, and build on interests outside of school to keep learning a part of everyday for Taylor and for Hubby and I. We are all much more likely to remember more of an experience when it has multiple layers rather than just being flat.
Thanks again to Gordon for the great guest post and to Scholastic for allowing me to be a part of The 39 Clues Blog Tour. I would love to hear your thoughts about The 39 Clues series and keep reading for your chance to win!
The Giveaway:Â One lucky reader will win books 1-8 of The 39 Clues, PLUS book #8 will be signed by author Gordon Korman!
Please note – Entries are only accepted at Robyn’s giveaway post.
