Happy book birthday to SIDEKICKED!

Happy book birthday to SIDEKICKED! We're celebrating by giving away a Nook HD Tablet loaded Andrew Bean's favorite books for your summer reading pleasure! Scroll down for entry information (this is a Twitter giveaway) and the e-books included with your prize.

Read SIDEKICKED.

Buy the Book!  

Meet the Author! 

How to Enter:

This is a Twitter giveaway. It begins at noon ET on Tuesday, June 25th and ends at noon ET on Thursday, June 27th. To enter tweet the following message including "RT" and our Twitter handle. It should fit the 140 character limit: 

RT @WaldenPondPress Happy book birthday to #SIDEKICKED! To celebrate enter to win a Nook HD & more! RT 2 Enter: http://ow.ly/mcoUz

To follow our Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/waldenpondpress 

One winner will be chosen at random from all entrants on Thursday, June 27th at noon ET and contacted via direct message or @reply on Twitter. The prize will then be send to the winner provided he/she meets all the eligibility requirements. Please note, following @WaldenPondPress is strongly recommended as it will make it much easier for us to contact you in the event you win! U.S. Residents only, please! Scroll down for official rules.

Part of your prize: Andrew Bean's favorite books (in electronic form)!

Sidekicked by John David Anderson (okay, we know, but don't you want to read the book now that you've won?) 

Powerless by Matthew Cody 
Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks 
The Hero Revealed (Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy) by William Boniface 
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy (not superheroes, but Drew would appreciate it's philosophical exploration of what makes for a hero and what doesn't)

OFFICIAL RULES:

Sidekicked TWEETSTAKES -- Official Rules

SPONSOR

This promotion (the "Sweepstakes") is sponsored by Walden Media, LLC ("Walden Media"),

1888 Century Park East 14th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

ELIGIBILITY

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

To enter, using your Twitter account

1) Tweet or retweet the approved message. The entire message, including exact link, hashtags, and @reply, must be included to qualify. LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. Multiple entries from one Twitter account and single entries from multiple Twitter accounts held by the entrant are automatically disqualified.  Automated means of entry and entries by any means which subvert the entry process are prohibited and all such entries will be void.

The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia eighteen (18) years of age and older, excluding employees and immediate family members of HarperCollins or Walden Media, LLC, and its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, assigns, advertising, promotional and fulfillment agents, attorneys, and other representatives and the persons with whom each of the above are domiciled. Offer void wherever prohibited or restricted by law.

Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful holder the Twitter account. In the event of a

dispute concerning the identity of the holder of the Twitter account, the holder will be deemed to

be the person who owns the email address that was used to register the Twitter account. The

Twitter account must be opened prior to the commencement of the Sweepstakes. 

ENTRY PERIOD

The Sweepstakes will commence on Tuesday, June 25^th, 2013 at 12:00 noon (ET).The last entry will be accepted Thursday, June 27^th, 2013 at 12:00 noon (ET).

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNER

One potential winner will be selected by a random drawing from among the eligible entries. Winner will be chosen by no later than four (4) days following the end date above. The potential winner will be notified by Direct Message or @ Reply via Twitter. If the potential winner does not respond to the notification within three (3) days of delivery, an alternate winner will be chosen. The potential winner will be required to complete, sign, return and have notarized an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release, and where imposing such condition is legal, a Publicity Release (the “Prize Claim Documents”).  If a selected potential winner fails to return the signed Prize Claim Documents within five (5) days of the receipt of the Prize Claim Documents, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner may be selected.

PRIZES

There will be one (1) grand prize winner who will receive: One (1) 7 inch - Nook HD 8 GB Tablet and six (6) e-books chosen by Walden Media. E-books will be delivered to winner’s email address.  Estimated retail value (“ERV”) of prize is $189.00. The prize is non-transferable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. 

CONDITIONS

By participating, entrants affirm that they have read these Official Rules, agree to be bound by

them and the selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity

in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities arising

from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of the prize

constitutes permission to use the winner's name, tweet, likeness, biography, and prize won for

purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation, except where

prohibited or restricted by law.

The entrants release, discharge, and hold harmless Walden Media and its parent, affiliates,

subsidiaries, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and

fulfillment agencies, from any and all liability or damages arising from the administration of the

Sweepstakes and the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, and (iii) any damage to the entrant's computer, related equipment, data files,

and software resulting from entrant's downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or

participation in the Sweepstakes.

Walden Media reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend this

Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem or other causes beyond Walden Media's control corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Sweepstakes. Walden Media may prohibit you from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that you are attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Walden Media.

ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR

UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF

CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, WALDEN MEDIA RESERVES THE

RIGHT TO PURSUE ITS REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY'S

FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

Any dispute arising from the Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of

California, without reference to its conflict of laws principles, and the entrants consent to the

personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State of California

over them and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

THE ODDS OF WINNING DEPEND UPON THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES AND THE RATE AT

WHICH THEY ARE RECEIVED.

For the names of the prize winners, e-mail your request to waldenpondpress@gmail.com no

earlier than Tuesday, July 2^nd, but no later than Tuesday July, 9^th. You may also send a self-addressed stamped envelope (postage not required from Vermont residents) to Walden Media, 17 New England Executive Park, Suite 305, Burlington, MA 01803 during the time period above.

This Sweepstakes is conducted solely by Walden Media, LLC and is not sponsored or otherwise

affiliated with Twitter, Inc.

Celebrating Dads

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! To celebrate, here is a quotation from our own "ode to fathers" - the book COSMIC by Frank Cottrell Boyce:

“Florida rang up to make sure I was watching. "Remember the surprise?" she said.

I'd completely forgotten about it. But I saw it now. Spelled out across the lunar surface, two words – ‘Hello, Dad!’…

My Dad looked across at me. He looked puzzled. Like he knew it had something to do with me. I said, ‘Hello, Dad.’ And he looked even more confused. When he hears this story maybe he’ll think I got them to write it there for him. And maybe he’ll be right. Maybe it was for both of us, and other dads too. For all the dads on Earth. And for all the dads not on Earth. And for their dads, outward in space and backward in time, all the way to Dad of the Universe.

And looking out into space, it sends a greeting from Earth to the Universe. Hello, Dad.”

- Frank Cottrell Boyce, COSMIC

Celebrate #IndieThursday with Kid's Ink!

It's #IndieThursday once again! This week we're celebrating a very special store: Kid's Ink in Indianapolis, IN. The owner, Shirley Mullin, kindly agreed to chat with us about the store she has run for over 25 years.

Welcome, Shirley! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us about your store. Can you start by telling us what makes Kid’s Ink unique?   I don’t think of Kids Ink as being especially unique.  We’re like many other children’s stores that emphasize quality literature with a dedicated staff of readers.    One thing does continually amaze me in that Kids Ink seems to have a place in the community that totally transcends my ownership.    I really like that many people do not know who owns the store but just seem to think it just is and always will be!

Give us a virtual tour—what do we see when we first walk in? Is there a certain section that jumps out at us?  You can take a virtual tour on ourwebsite.  We have two large Playmobil figures that greet our customers outside…one is outside the back door and one is at the front.   The Princess and the Pirate didn’t seem to like each other so now they each have their separate positions.  Kids Ink is thirty percent toys so walking though the front door one sees puppets first and a big wall that currently has recommendations from staff grandchildren…a grand total of 19.

And, no tour is complete without visiting our bathroom with walls covered with author signatures, notes, and drawings.  Lunch Lady is above the toilet saying “You better wash your hands!”

How do you match a child or a parent with a book? What questions do you ask?

We typically ask children what they’ve read that they really liked or what kind of books they like to hear.  If possible, we always try to have the conversation with the child.  Then it’s easy to begin with, “If you liked

that book, here is another one that you might like.”

What are your favorite titles to hand sell right now?

We’re really enjoying Grumbles from the Forest by Rebecca Dotlich and Jane Yolen.  It’s a very fresh take on fairy tales.

Does your bookstore coordinate school visits with authors? Or do you work with local teachers and librarians in some other way?

We coordinate many author visits with schools.  This spring we provided books for visits from Jarrett Krosoczka, Rebecca Dotlich, April Pulley Sayre, Matthew Cody, Claudia Mills, and Mike Mullin.  We also sold at a number of conferences.  One of our favorites was a conference for teens at the Anderson Public Library.  The speakers included Steve Shenkin, Mike Mullin, and Stephanie Bodeen.

One of the most personally rewarding events in the last two years has been hosting the launch parties for Ashfall and Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin.   Ashen Winter is simply dedicated “To Mom.”  I’m that mom…a very proud mom.

Why specialize in children’s books?  I’ve spent all of my life with children’s books!  I was an avid reader as a child with little access to books.  Through a 4-H publication, I found that I could order books from the Nebraska State Library.  One librarian helped me chose books via the mail.  I always wrote her notes about what I liked and didn’t like and she would respond with the next packet of books.  This was a free service and a life-line for an isolated farm kid.

So, it was a natural progression to become first a teacher and then go to library school and become a librarian and finally open a children’s bookstore 27 years ago.

Do you sell books on your website?   We just went to the IndieCommerce site so we could sell books on the site but it’s been slow to take off.  Need to work on that!

Why are independent bookstores so important to the future of reading and literacy?

Independent stores expand the choices for whatever you are purchasing.  We have books that are not found in big box stores.

Find Kid's Ink: 

Website: www.kidsinkbooks.com

Contact Information:

Shirley Mullin

317-255-2598

kidsink@indy.net

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kids-Ink-Childrens-Bookstore/84267983634?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KidsInk

 

This link is fun...we’re being featured in the Delta Sky Magazine!

http://deltaskymag.delta.com/Destinations/Indianapolis/Shopping/Kids-Ink-Children-s-Bookstore.aspx

Thanks so much for chatting with us, Shirley! 

Have an indie bookstore you want us to feature? Let us know!