Skeleton Creek
Patrick Carman
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545075664
This is a prereview( my final review is here). That is, it is a review before a book comes out or even before I have read it. You might be asking how can I do that? There are two ways. First I have read 7 of the 9 books by the author and they are all excellent. Second this book is a brand new form of art. This book is not just a book, it is a book linked to a series of sites and interactive media. The media has started now and is available at skeletoncreekisreal.com. The book comes out early next year. The concept is that as you read the book you will be given codes to specific websites.
Now some might say that books linked to websites are nothing new, especially, John Twelve Hawks' fourth realm trilogy, starting with The Traveler. Or The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins which has supporting fan sites. But that is completely different; that book only hid sites that were created for organizations in the book. In this case the Skeleton Creek sites are designed as part of the book. It is created as an alternate reality experience in which someone has discovered hidden secret files on a website (you can do it also if you follow the instructions in video #2). Those hidden files lead the narrator to believe that the Skeleton Creek story is based on real world events. And apparently there is no end of depth to these interactive sites. The narrator will never break character, so it feels very possible that everything he's saying could be true. Stay with it and pretty soon his own story will spin way out of control.
Author Patrick Carman states: "Now the fun part....there are clues to what's going on hidden in the videos, the file folders, on websites you'll find access to, even wikipedia sites. If you follow along you'll know about certain events almost no one else will be aware of. For example, if you pay attention, you'll be at the right place and the right time for live, once-only web casts of me giving additional information - and you might even get a chance to meet me in person or discover a hidden book in your area." The concept for this book is just so cool. How can it not be a great hit?
This book will be fantastic so check out the websites and get the book when it comes out. It is geared for the net generation, and the mixed media format will attract students, and students of all ages. As you read the book you get codes to watch the video's. The two combined tell the ghost story and should almost make it seem real.
Other Supporting Websites:
www.enterskeletoncreek.com
www.skeletoncreekisreal.com
www.haunteddredges.com
A couple of more links added:
Discussion Forum
Link found on Discussion Forum
Other of Patrick Carman Books:
The Dark Hills Divide - The Land of Elyon Book 1
Beyond the Valley of Thorns - The Land of Elyon Book 2
The Tenth City - The Land of Elyon Book 3
Into The Mist - The Land of Elyon Prequel
Stargazer - The Land of Elyon Book 4
The House of Power - Atherton Book 1
Rivers of Fire - Atherton, Book 2
The Dark Planet - Atherron Book 3
Saving Mr Nibbles - Elliot's Park Book 1
Haunted Hike - Elliot's Park Book 2
The Walnut Cup - Elliot's Park Book 3
A Windy Tale - Elliot's Park Book 4
Skeleton Creek - Skeleton Creek Book 1 - A Prereview.
Ghost in the Machine - Skeleton Creek Book 2
Crossbones - Skeleton Creek Book 3
The Raven - Skeleton Creek Book 4
The Black Circle - 39 Clues Book 5
Trackers #1
Thirteen Days to Midnight
It's that time of year nominations are up for a number of blog awards at this time. So Go nominate the blogs you like, the one's you read ...
or
and if you feel inclined to vote for me so be it.
Signs & Mysteries:
Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols
Mike Aquilina
Lea Marie Ravotti (Illustrator)
Our Sunday Visitor
ISBN 9781592764501
Signs and Mysteries-Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols by Mike Aquilina and Lea Marie Ravotti is a great new book. It examines the signs and symbols of the Christian tradition from three perspectives - the historical archeological perspective, a theological perspective and from the view of what they can mean to us today. The book is written for the casual student of church history to the most devoted practitioner of the Catholic faith and the full range in between. The book is fantastically illustrated so that the images will have an original feel rather than look like photos from an art history book.
This book will cover a great breadth. The chapters of the book are:
The Background
The Fish
The Orant
The Shepherd
The Vine
The Philosopher
The Phoenix
The Dolphin
The Peacock
Milk
The Lamp
Moses
The Plow
Vessels
The Lamb
The Dove
Bread and Sheaves
The Crown
The Banquet
The Lighthouse
The Ankh
The Cross
The Anchor
Ships and Boats
The Labarum (Chi-Rho)
Alpha and Omega
Through the process of examining these symbols, a believer will encounter deeper meaning in elements of the tradition with which they are already familiar and will encounter new symbols that can bring deeper meaning into their faith and worship life. The book can even be used for a series of meditations as you read about each sign, learn about it, meditate upon its meaning and how it can impact your faith. What does the peacock (usually associated with pride or vanity) have to do with Catholicism? What does the Ankh, usually a Goth symbol of death, mean to early Christians and what can it mean to us? Many of these signs have corrupted or perverted representations in general culture. Now we can reclaim these items and when we see them misused know their true meaning (and maybe use it as a tool to pray for those people.)
This book is an excellent addition to Catholic History and to your faith life. Pick it up and explore new elements of tradition, history and practical faith.
This is my first review for The Catholic Company. They have a new expanded reviewers program. So if you are Catholic and have a blog or website and are interested in reviewing products, stop by and check it out. Hat tip to Ebeth from A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars for putting me on to being a reviewer for The Catholic Company and here is a link to her review of this book.
Books by Mike Aquilina:
A Year with the Angels: Daily Meditations with the Messengers of God
A Year With The Church Fathers: Patristic Wisdom for Daily Living
Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Hosts
Companion Guide to Pope Benedict's 'The Fathers'
Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will
Fire of God's Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist
Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lessons
Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life
Ministers & Martyrs: The Ultimate Catholic Guide to the Apostolic Age
Praying in the Presence of Our Lord: With St. Thomas Aquinas
Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You
Sharing Christ's Priesthood: A Bible Study for Catholics
Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols
Sweet Gridlock: Selected Love Poems
Terms and Conditions: Assorted Poems
The Apostles and Their Times
The Church and the Roman Empire
The Fathers of the Church Bible
The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers
The Mass of the Early Christians
The Resilient Church: The Glory, the Shame, & the Hope for Tomorrow
The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
The Way of the Fathers: Praying With the Early Christians
The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church
Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Why Me? When Bad Things Happen
Yours Is the Church: How Catholicism Shapes Our World
Books co-written by Mike Aquilina:
A Pocket Catechism for Kids - Fr. Kris Stubna
Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth - Dion DiMucci
Keeping Mary Close: Devotion to Our Lady through the Ages - Fr. Frederick Gruber
Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians - Scott Hahn
Praying the Psalms the Early Christians - Christopher Bailey
Saint Monica and the Power of Persistent Prayer - Mark W. Sullivan
Seven Revolutions: How Christianity Changed the World and Can Change It Again - James Papandrea
Something More Pastoral: The Mission of Bishop, Archbishop, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl - Ann Rodgers
Take Five: Meditations John Henry Newman - Fr. Juan Velez
Take Five: Meditations Pope Benedict XVI - Fr. Kris Stubna
Take Five: On the Job Meditations With St. Ignatius - Fr. Kris Stubna
Talking to Youth About Sexuality: A Parents' Guide - Fr. Kris Stubna
The Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life Today - John Michael Talbot
The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Doubter's Novena: Nine Steps to Trust the Apostle Thomas - Christopher Bailey
The Feasts: How the Church Year Forms Us as Catholics - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The Grail Code: Quest for the Real Presence - Christopher Bailey
The Great Life: Essays on Doctrine and Holiness in Honor of Father Ronald Lawler, O.F.M. Cap. - Kenneth Ogorek
The Holy Land: A Guide for Pilgrims - Fr. Dave Halaiko
The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions - Regis J. Flaherty
The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition - Cardinal Donald Wuerl
The World's First Christmas: Jubilee 2000 - Regis J. Flaherty
Weapons of the Spirit: Selected Writings of Father John Hugo - David Scott
What Catholics Believe: A Pocket Catechism - Fr. Kris Stubna
I have been playing with different designs. Some of the followers of my blog will have noticed that it has gone through a few style changes lately. These pictures at the left are the history of the appearance. It started with a standard a variation of 'Rounders 2' by Douglas Bowman that I had modified a few years back to have 
the sidebar on the left and not the right.Then I decided to do away with the rounded edges and clear out the blogroll, sidebar buttons and other thinks to simplify the design and layout.
After that I Put my family tartan in the background did some more hacking to create a dropdown menu for the archive, for after 3 years it was over 36 entries and a long list.
Some further hacking has allowed me to add an image in the header and footer. I 
have played with a few different ones and have settles on the current for now. I have a friend custom drawing one that will hopefully appear sometime soon.
Then last night I managed to split my sidebar and make it a three column template. It functions on a variety of 
browsers and platforms. I have tested it with Firefox 2, Firefox 3; Internet Explorer 6 and 7; Netscape 6,7,8 and 9; Seamonkey 1.11 and 1.12; Opera 8, 9.2, 9.5, 9.6; Google Chrome, Safari, the World, Konqueror and Flock. I have also done testing across platforms, (see Playing with multi-OS's or Unleashing the Inner Geek) I have done testing in XP, Vista, Win 2k3, Fedora 6,7,8; Suse 10 server and desktop, Mac OSX, and some other legacy OS's.
I like the new look and feel but would like some feedback. So use the comments and let me know what you think.
(Note: as of tonight I have added scroll bar link lists to limit the size of lists on the left hand side. Everyday learning something new. Or at least I hope so.)
Articles in this Series:
Saving Mister Nibbles!
Elliot's Park Book #1
Patrick Carman
Jim Madsen (Illustrated)
Orchard Books
ISBN 9780545019309
Patrick Carman created these stories for his daughter while visiting the real Pioneer Park in Walla Walla, Washington. This first book in the wonderful world of Elliot's Park, is about a great adventure for the squirrels of Elliot's Park. The vast cast of characters including: Elliot the book worm with glasses who loves collared shirts, wide ties and solving problems, Mister Nibbles who is a most unusual squirrel who is introduced in the 
adventure, Roscoe and Coconut the two dog's from the yellow house across the street who love to chase Elliot and his friends, Scratchy Spurs a former rodeo star squirrel with a cowboy hat, spurs and a stick cane, and Sparkle the stargazer who often gets into trouble with the Owls, and many many others. The book has a cast of characters in the back of the key players from the whole series.
In this story the squirrel's of Elliot's Park, are amazed and incensed when a child receives a squirrel as a present at a birthday party held in the park. Elliot and his friends decide that this squirrel must be liberated. So they have Crash the only flying squirrel in the park follow when the party pack's up. They discover that Mr. Nibbles has been taken to the yellow house across the street. The home of Roscoe and Coconut two ferocious squirrel chasing dogs. Elliot can not think of a way to save Mr. Nibbles, so he visits his friend Scratchy, and comes up with a plan. But can the squirrels of Elliot's Park, leave the park and rescue Mr. Nibbles. Read this story and find out!
These books will captivate children of all ages from 5 to 105. I even read it to my two year old and she stayed captivated by the story. The artwork by Jim Madsen is excellent, and children will love his representations of the adventures of the squirrell's. And as an added bonus there are exercises at the end of the book, to create fun for a family or class. In this book they include:
o Elliot and Chip's Trail Mix (GORP)
o Create Your Own Elliot's Park Adventure
o Sparkle's Starry Night
The book concludes with a preview chapter of the next book The Haunted Hike. Pick up this book by award winning author Patrick Carman for he has created a wonderful world for young readers and for the whole family in these books.
Other of Patrick Carman Books:
The Dark Hills Divide - The Land of Elyon Book 1
Beyond the Valley of Thorns - The Land of Elyon Book 2
The Tenth City - The Land of Elyon Book 3
Into The Mist - The Land of Elyon Prequel
Stargazer - The Land of Elyon Book 4
The House of Power - Atherton Book 1
Rivers of Fire - Atherton, Book 2
The Dark Planet - Atherron Book 3
Saving Mr Nibbles - Elliot's Park Book 1
Haunted Hike - Elliot's Park Book 2
The Walnut Cup - Elliot's Park Book 3
A Windy Tale - Elliot's Park Book 4
Skeleton Creek - Skeleton Creek Book 1 - A Prereview.
Ghost in the Machine - Skeleton Creek Book 2
Crossbones - Skeleton Creek Book 3
The Raven - Skeleton Creek Book 4
The Black Circle - 39 Clues Book 5
Trackers #1
Thirteen Days to Midnight
Skeleton Creek 
Author Patrick Carman states: "Now the fun part....there are clues to what's going on hidden in the videos, the file folders, on websites you'll find access to, even wikipedia sites. If you follow along you'll know about certain events almost no one else will be aware of. For example, if you pay attention, you'll be at the right place and the right time for live, once-only web casts of me giving additional information - and you might even get a chance to meet me in person or discover a hidden book in your area." The concept for this book is just so cool. How can it not be a great hit?
