Thursday, April 1, 2010

April Fool's Day Giveaway and Review: A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole

The giveaway is not an April Fool's joke, nor is our review of this sweet book:


Cole, the illustrator of books such as "Little Bo" by Julie Andrews, is now trying his hand at authorship. We would have to declare his attempt a success. Celeste is a sweet little mouse looking for a home. She becomes friends with a young man named Joseph, who is apprenticed to James Audubon. Along with the story of her search for a home, we have Joseph's growing reluctance to kill birds just to paint them. This is a quick read, interspersed with wonderful drawings of the characters. We would give this to fans of Charlotte's Web or Avi's Poppy and Rye books.

Harper Collins sent us two review copies, so we are offering the second as a giveaway - and here is where April Fool's Day comes in. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment with your favorite April Fool's prank, either one you played yourself, one that was played on you, or just one you heard about. What does this have to do with the book? Nothing. We just like stealing ideas from others.

Miss Ami's brother takes the prize so far this year (although the day is still young!) He announced his engagement this morning on his Facebook page. Since he has been dating the same lovely young lady for approximately 87 years, everyone was thrilled...until they realized what day it is. Fortunately, the young lady was in on the joke, or he might be finding himself in a heap of trouble right now!

We will let the staff here vote on their favorite prank, and the winner will receive their own copy of the book. We will keep this contest open until midnight April 8, so you have a full week to poll your friends for good stories. Good luck!

4 comments:

  1. We had one planned for today-- to change the name of my children's school on the main gateway from Henry Barnard to Henry BarnYard, but alas, because of flooding school was closed today, so no joy.

    And this does sound like a very sweet book--I've been wanting to take a look at it!

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  2. Here is the prank I wrote about on my blog today, a joke played on my husband a few years back by co-workers:
    Years ago, my husband oversaw a project on a heating plant stack. The smokestack needed some brick work done and they hired a contractor to perform the repairs. One April morning in the middle of the job, a few of the heating plant employees called up my husband and let him know that bricks were falling off the top of the stack, endangering those passing by. When my husband arrived at the plant he noticed several bricks scattered all over the ground beneath the stack. Before he became too concerned, one of the employees whispered, "April Fool's!" He didn't suspect that they were playing a joke on him at all, so he was pretty surprised.

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  3. Here was a fun one I pulled in fourth grade. You will need a spool of thread (color to match your outfit), a needle, and a jacket. Put the spool of thread in the jacket pocket. Using the needle, poke the thread through someplace you might have trouble reaching. Remove the needle and put it someplace safe. Put on the jacket. Ask someone to pull the "loose" thread. See how much they pull out before they get the joke.

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  4. My son plays the piano. In 4th grade, I secretly placed black jelly beans on top of the black keys of the piano. So when he got up in the morning and went over to play the piano, he heard a clacking noise. Jelly beans $.99. His face: priceless.

    Laura Evans
    all things poetry

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