Just finished reading Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham and loved it! Max, a boy scout, finds himself in the woods and doesn't know how he got there.  After meeting a talking badger, bear and cat, Max and his new friends travel across the land in search of answers to where they are and how they got there.  Of course, every good adventure story has an evil force which in this case is the Blue Cutters, people who have powerful swords that can cut people and alter their personalities. The characters in this engaging and suspenseful mystery are well-developed and will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat! 

I was excited to hear that Walter Dean Myers was sworn in today at the Library-of-Congress as the Ambassador for Young People's literature.  This is quite an honor and a post that Mr. Myers will hold for two years.  He chose the theme Reading is Not Optional,  stating that "the problem is very often books are looked upon as a wonderful adjunct to our lives. It's so nice. Books can take you to faraway places and this sort of thing. But then it all sounds as if it's something nice but not really necessary. And during my lifetime things have changed so drastically. You can't do well in life if you don't read well."

Click here to read and listen to his whole interview: Walter Dean Myers interview on NPR