Monday, September 01, 2014

My Book Trailers and Other Videos


Here are links to a number of videos you might find of interest concerning the action-adventures and mysteries I write for middle grade readers.

Max Elliot Anderson

Author Video - 

The Accidental Adventures Series - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHjJX7IYlqw

Guys, Read A Book - 

Imagine - 

North Woods Poachers - 

Lost Island Smugglers - 

Legend of The White Wolf - 

Captain Jack’s Treasure - 

River Rampage - 

Barney and The Runaway - 

When The Lights Go Out - 

Monday, August 25, 2014

(AR) - Accelerated Reader and Middle Grade Mysteries & Adventures


AR
An Open Letter to Teachers, Librarians, Parents, and Students about Middle Grade Mysteries & Adventures and Accelerated Reader
I grew up hating to read in spite of the fact my father was the author of over 70 books during his lifetime. Some of these were books for children. Since we lose many of our young readers after middle grade, I’m focusing my attention on mysteries and adventures for these readers.
Accelerated Reader – With school just starting again, you already understand the affect this point system has on young readers. Several of my early books received AR tests so students who read them could earn points.
Early on, some of my books were included in the AR system. Then the publisher went bankrupt during the economic turndown. Since then, some of those books have been republished.
My 2 Books That Currently Have AR Tests Available:
 

Newspaper Caper
Anderson, Max Elliot
AR Quiz No. 108918 EN Fiction
 IL: MG - BL: 4.0 - AR Pts: 3.0
 AR Quiz Types: RP
 Rating: 
Tom Stevens convinces his friends to get in shape for football by delivering newspapers, but they may wind up front-page news in the very paper they 
North Woods Poachers
Anderson, Max Elliot
AR Quiz No. 108919 EN Fiction
 IL: MG - BL: 4.0 - AR Pts: 4.0
 AR Quiz Types: RP
 Rating: 
Andy Washburn is tired of taking the same old vacation every summer and vows to make this summer different. In the end, Andy learns the concepts of family tradition and that God loves justice while He hates injustice.

A Previous Book That Has an AR Test: This book could use a new test connected with the new ISBN, or simply have the old test moved to the new ISBN.
TITLE                                    OLD ISBN                    NEW ISBN
Legend of the White Wolf        9780975288030            9781936695690
Can You Help? Here is a list of books that have not received their AR tests. I understand that test questions can be developed by teachers, libraries, parents, and students and it would be greatly appreciated if you could help in this area.
New Titles That Need AR Tests Developed
TITLE                                                                                               ISBN

Lost Island Smugglers – Sam Cooper series 1             9781935600022

Captain Jack’s Treasure – Sam Cooper series 2                   9781935600145

River Rampage – Sam Cooper 3                                 9781935600152

Terror at Wolf Lake                                                     9781936695966

Barney and the Runaway                                            9780984559848

When The Lights Go Out      (A 9/11 story)               9781936695478

The Scarecrow                                                              9781478301301 

More Books Coming Soon: At the present time, I have contracts for 13 more middle grade action-adventures and mysteries.

-         6 books from education publisher Chestnut Publishing in Toronto.

o   Third House on the Left          Bullies

o   Midnight Shadows                            Alcohol awareness

o   The House Next Door             Drug awareness - hydroponics

o   Rail Yard Bandits                             Stealing

o   The Secret Tunnel                             Honor, importance of a good name

o   Forest of Fear                          Environment

-         The Accidental Adventures of Kurt Benson and His Friends Riley and Jordan. This is an open-ended series from Elk Lake Publishing

o   The Cat Burglars

o   Funny Money Mystery

o   The Secret of Grandmother’s Grandfather Clock

o   Summer Camp Troubles

o   More titles to follow

-         3 books from Comfort Publishing

o   Mysterious Cabin

o   The Great Cave Caper

o   Mischief After Midnight
In any case, I want to thank everyone who has purchased, recommended, read, or otherwise gotten a copy of one or more of my books. And I want to thank each of you who will do so in the future. But I also hope that, if you’re in a position to do it, you’ll help in getting my books into the AR system. Following are some additional links about my work.
Thank you,
Max Elliot Anderson
Contact mander8813@aol.com                                                                              Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Max-Elliot-Anderson/e/B002BLP3EE
Blog http://booksandboys.blogspot.com
Author Video http://youtu.be/48nLqzNFBWg
My Youtube Videos http://www.youtube.com/user/Maxbooks100?feature=watch

Wednesday, August 06, 2014

This Blog Just Voted BLOG OF THE MONTH at Book Fun Magazine

BLOG OF THE MONTH!

From the very beginning, this blog has intended to reach out to young, middle grade readers, especially boys, in the hope of encouraging them to read. As part of that goal, I sat at my computer and, over the space of three years, wrote thirty-six action adventure and mystery manuscripts for this age group. So it’s an honor to have my Books For Boys blog voted as the best this month by people who love to read.























Book Fun Magazine now reaches nearly 400,000 readers. And subscriptions are FREE if you’re interested. 
In the August issue, you’ll find a feature article/interview about my work, written by Karen Whiting www.karenwhiting.com www.homefrontcourage.com
The article and interview can be found on pages 48 - 53 at this link http://www.bookfunmagazine.com/i/357221
At the present time, I have contracts for 13 more adventure and mystery books. One of those contracts is with Elk Lake Publishing. The series title is
“The Accidental Adventures of Kurt Benson and His Friends, Riley and Jordan.” The first three titles in the series are, 
The Cat Burglars
Funny Money Mystery, and 
The Secret of Grandmother’s Grandfather Clock.
They’ll be coming soon, and more books are planned for this exciting series.

My thanks to all who voted for this blog. Winning Blog of the Month just proves there continues to be a strong interest in books that parents, teachers, librarians, and other adults can trust for kids.
Book Trailer for the Accidental Advenures series
Amazon Author Page
 http://youtu.be/48nLqzNFBWg

One of the magazine’s missions is to bring authors and readers together. They accomplish this in various ways which you’ll learn about if you click on their link. And remember, your subscription is FREE 
http://www.bookfun.org/group/book-fun-magazine

The article and interview can be found on pages 48 - 53 at this link http://www.bookfunmagazine.com/i/357221

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Church Bookstores Are On The Front Lines To Get Kids Interested In Reading


How can church bookstores help to get middle grade readers, especially boys, interested in reading?

Bookstore managers will likely agree that they stand on the front lines of this issue and are in the perfect position to reach out to children in their congregations. I would challenge managers and bookstore staff to take multiple steps to encourage boys to read.
 
·         Stock the kinds of books kids like to read. Many churches today can be tempted to focus on adult books. This alone discourages young boys from visiting the bookstore. Churches should actively combat this current trend because churches are in the perfect position to impact young readers.

·         Bookstore managers can also begin a reading tutoring program in order to help children who are at risk.

·         Encourage dads in the church to be obvious about reading in front of their children.

·         Create a brief presentation to give to the adult classes and small groups in the church about the importance of reading. This presentation should be given to the young parents and older adults alike, as grandparents can help to influence their grandchildren the same as parents, aunts, and uncles. Such a presentation could also be tailored for use in reaching out to young readers in their own Sunday school classes.

·         Add a quarterly notice in the bulletin which targets young readers.
Amazon Author Page

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Does your church have a library and/or bookstore?

It's an honor to have my middle grade mysteries and adventures profiled in a feature article in the summer issue of Church Libraries. If we want adult readers in the future, we have to hook them when they're younger.
 
If you have an opportunity to mention this to the people in charge at your church it would be appreciated.
 
Thank you.

Max Elliot Anderson

Sunday, July 06, 2014

Are shorter books better books for kids?


Is shorter better for young readers? 
 
This article explores the best book length for kids, especially middle grade readers. Find it in the July issue of Book Fun Magazine, http://www.bookfunmagazine.com/i/340364 page 164.

Monday, June 30, 2014

The Secret of Gradmother'sGrandfather Clock

Book # 3 in a brand new series, The Accidental Adventures of Kurt Benson and His Fiends, Riley and Jordan, has been sent to the publisher, Elk Lake Publishing.

It's called,                                                            The Secret of Grandmother's Grandfather Clock.


         This book will soon join the first two installments of the series, The Cat Burglars and Funny MoneyMystery, which have not yet been published.
The Story
          Kurt loved to visit his grandparents’ farm. But, not this time. A simple phone call changed everything. His grandfather had been a bomber pilot and, together, they’d built models. When the phone rang, Kurt was nearly finished building the first one that could actually fly.

            His grandparents lived a long distance away. When the family finally got there, Kurt and his sister Olivia found out that their grandfather had died. But the biggest shock was that someone may have been responsible for it.

            So, Kurt, Olivia, and their cousins set out to discover the truth. What they find is someone had been threatening the old man and now they were trying to scare Kurt’s grandmother.

            His grandfather had left some clues, but they didn’t make sense to Kurt until he noticed a mirror. He also found out someone in the county office had been tampering with property records and several people had already lost their farms…but why?
More information about this NEW series will be coming soon.

Series Video Trailer: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHjJX7IYlqw

Amazon Author Page:
 http://www.amazon.com/Max-Elliot-Anderson/e/B002BLP3EE           

Monday, June 23, 2014

Just An Ordinary Tent, Right? Feed the Imagination in Children.




Looks like nothing more than a simple tent in the back yard, right? Well, this is no ordinary tent. A few days ago, I did set it up in the back yard, but first let me tell you a little more about this tent.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to shoot a feature film in New Guinea. We moved right out into the jungle and set up our campsite next to the people living along the Sepik River...big mistake! We should have paid more attention to the fact that all the village people built their houses high up on stilts.

Then the rains came late in the middle of our first night.
Next morning, here's what my tent looked like.


So we did what the locals do. We put all of our tents on stilts, too. 

Much smarter idea.

Fast forward to the backyard tent again. I was taking care of my nearly two year-old granddaughter, Olivia. I'd promised her a ten all week. So I went to the basement, found my tent, and set it up with pads, a pillow chair for each of us, and a few other things I knew she'd like. All I can say is, she liked it!

Notice we included a bunch of books out there, too. Why do I tell you this? There's sill a lot of summer left in front of us. And adventure doesn't necessarily have to mean a trip someplace like New Guinea. You can provide your own adventure, right in your back yard. Don't have a real tent? Just put some old sheets together over a rope tied between two trees or something like that. And make sure your tent adventure includes lots of books, too. After all, some of the greatest adventures can be found in books.

: ))



Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Max-Elliot-Anderson/e/B002BLP3EE




Tuesday, June 17, 2014



REVIEW

Books for Middle Grade Boys Who Don’t Like to Read

My son and I just finished a book called Newspaper Caper by Max Elliot Anderson. Jacob has had a hard time reading since he started school. Mr. Anderson has determined to write books not just for every reader, but intentionally for boys who have a hard time reading; whether it's boredom with reading or struggling with it academically. 

This was an easy book to read. I was even captivated with the fast pace of the book and was bummed every time Jacob was ready to be done with reading time! I didn't read ahead, but stayed at the same pace. Jacob has a hard time putting his thoughts into words, but I wanted to know what his opinion of the book was once we finished. What I got from him was, “I really liked it." I tried to ask him what he liked about it and he wasn't sure. I knew I could ask him all kinds of questions, but wanted him to come up with reasons of his own. I think because of the age of the 3 boys in this book, he was able to relate to them on some level. Mr. Anderson certainly understands boys and what they like: bikes, sports, and mysteries.

I want to make it clear that Mr. Anderson's books aren’t only for boys who have reading problems. Girls would definitely enjoy the adventure and excitement. http://www.maxbooks.9k.com/index_1.html . Here is a link to his blog as well: http://booksandboys.blogspot.com/                                                                                        Amazon Author Page 

I would like to thank Mr. Anderson for filling a gap in the writing world…boys who have a hard time reading. I never understood how hard it could be to get a boy to read. I have 2 teenage girls who have walked around with books in their hands since they were 5 yrs old. I didn’t understand how to get a boy to read a book, but I think finding the right book is a huge accomplishment. Jacob has found an interest in adventure and mystery series. So, Newspaper Caper was a great adventure for the both of us.