Comments on: Un-Forgettable Friday: The Secrets of The Cheese Syndicate Book Give-away! http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/ Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:42:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Cath http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5877 Cath Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:13:00 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5877 That is just like me, arriving late to the party. But I enjoyed the discussion and Donna's suggestions for "boy books." (When I saw Anything by Andrew Clements and then AGAIN by Gary Paulsen, I thought, that's funny-two authors with the same title! By the third author, I got it ;-) That is just like me, arriving late to the party. But I enjoyed the discussion and Donna’s suggestions for “boy books.” (When I saw Anything by Andrew Clements and then AGAIN by Gary Paulsen, I thought, that’s funny-two authors with the same title! By the third author, I got it ;-)

]]> By: Administrator http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5868 Administrator Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:39:14 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5868 Thanks to everybody for all your thoughtful comments! We have a winner. Heidi S. is the winner of the free copy. I hope everyone will check out Donna's book. Donna, thank you so much for stopping by and answering our questions. Margo :) Thanks to everybody for all your thoughtful comments! We have a winner. Heidi S. is the winner of the free copy. I hope everyone will check out Donna’s book. Donna, thank you so much for stopping by and answering our questions.

Margo :)

]]> By: Donna http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5866 Donna Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:44:56 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5866 Good question, LuAnn! I loved all the classical mythological characters when I was a child, but I have many in this book that lesser known (and I made a few up to suit my purposes). It all boiled down to alot of research. Neptune/Poseidon is probably the most famous character in the story. He got into the story because I was searching for a lost civilization to use for this mystical cheese I had created. I knew I didn't want to use Atlantis or Shangri-la because they are pretty well known. So I hit the books - or actually the internet. What I found about Eliki was that it was an ancient city on the Greek coast that met its demise as the result of a powerful earthquake. It was rumored they had a Poseidon cult - complete with a giant statue of the god. After the earthquake, you supposedly could still see the tips of his trident in the harbor. That was all I needed to get my imagination going. For some of the other characters, I searched through a large number of mythology encyclopedias to find beasts and beings that I felt fit the role I was looking for. When I couldn't find an existing character, I made them up. I created a methodology for naming the ones I made up, but I'm not going to say what it is yet - I'm hoping some very interested kid figures it out. Lauren - Guardians of Ga'hoole is great - I noticed the girls like it just as much as the boys. Good question, LuAnn! I loved all the classical mythological characters when I was a child, but I have many in this book that lesser known (and I made a few up to suit my purposes). It all boiled down to alot of research. Neptune/Poseidon is probably the most famous character in the story. He got into the story because I was searching for a lost civilization to use for this mystical cheese I had created. I knew I didn’t want to use Atlantis or Shangri-la because they are pretty well known. So I hit the books – or actually the internet. What I found about Eliki was that it was an ancient city on the Greek coast that met its demise as the result of a powerful earthquake. It was rumored they had a Poseidon cult – complete with a giant statue of the god. After the earthquake, you supposedly could still see the tips of his trident in the harbor. That was all I needed to get my imagination going. For some of the other characters, I searched through a large number of mythology encyclopedias to find beasts and beings that I felt fit the role I was looking for. When I couldn’t find an existing character, I made them up. I created a methodology for naming the ones I made up, but I’m not going to say what it is yet – I’m hoping some very interested kid figures it out.

Lauren – Guardians of Ga’hoole is great – I noticed the girls like it just as much as the boys.

]]> By: Lauren http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5862 Lauren Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:20:30 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5862 My boys are 9 and 12, and I can't wait for them to read this book! They both loved Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl. The Guardians of Ga'hoole has been excellent, too. My boys are 9 and 12, and I can’t wait for them to read this book! They both loved Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl. The Guardians of Ga’hoole has been excellent, too.

]]> By: LuAnn http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5860 LuAnn Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:54:15 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5860 Donna, I like that mythology is introduced in the book. Combine that with humor and you have the perfect recipe to draw in readers. When I taught middle school English, I always found teaching and discussing mythology to be difficult mainly because of the scope of the subject. How did you decide what mythological characters to introduce in your novel? Thanks, LuAnn Donna,
I like that mythology is introduced in the book. Combine that with humor and you have the perfect recipe to draw in readers. When I taught middle school English, I always found teaching and discussing mythology to be difficult mainly because of the scope of the subject. How did you decide what mythological characters to introduce in your novel?

Thanks,
LuAnn

]]> By: Krista http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5858 Krista Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:19:07 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5858 Looking forward to sharing this with my fifth graders. Looking forward to sharing this with my fifth graders.

]]> By: MomofTwo http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5848 MomofTwo Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:45:16 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5848 Sounds like a winner! I'm always looking for a good read for my class of middle-schoolers - glad a friend tipped me off to your work! Sounds like a winner! I’m always looking for a good read for my class of middle-schoolers – glad a friend tipped me off to your work!

]]> By: Rosanne Parry http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5844 Rosanne Parry Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:55:53 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5844 I love the sound of this, Donna. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy. Another great boy series for 8-12 is the Spy Mice books by Heather Vogel Frederick. They are like James Bond for kids, and all the villains are rats named after cheeses. Fun! Congratulations Donna! I love the sound of this, Donna. Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

Another great boy series for 8-12 is the Spy Mice books by Heather Vogel Frederick. They are like James Bond for kids, and all the villains are rats named after cheeses. Fun!

Congratulations Donna!

]]> By: Ruth http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5841 Ruth Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:39:39 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5841 The book sounds so interesting!!! The book sounds so interesting!!!

]]> By: Natisha http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/comment-page-1/#comment-5840 Natisha Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:23:55 +0000 http://margodill.com/blog/2009/08/22/un-forgettable-friday-the-secrets-of-the-cheese-syndicate-book-give-away/#comment-5840 Great review, Margo. Don't forget about the puzzles and riddles in the book! My 9yr old is reading it, and he's loving the mythology, humor, and the puzzles. Great review, Margo. Don’t forget about the puzzles and riddles in the book! My 9yr old is reading it, and he’s loving the mythology, humor, and the puzzles.

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