Here is a quick plot summary:

Tia lives with her mom in a high-risk neighborhood in New Orleans and loves singing gospel in the Rainbow Choir with Keisha, her boisterous and assertive best friend. Tia’s dream is to change the world with her voice; and by all accounts, she might be talented enough. But when a fatal carjacking in her neighborhood takes the life of an infant, she finds she can’t sing anymore. From the gossip ignited in her community, she learns the truth about her own father: His life-sentence prison conviction was not just for a robbery, as her mother always told her. The shock of finding out what really happened prompts Tia to start asking the people in her community hard questions—questions everyone has always been too afraid to ask.

And please don’t worry about typos – we’ll make them too!

Hi Kelly;

Thanks for joining us!

Our moderator is Lisa Von Drasek, curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota, one of the world’s largest collections of children’s literature manuscripts and original. Before that, she was the Children's Librarian of the Bank Street College of Education. She’s also served on many awards committees including the Newbery, the National Book Awards for Young People's Literature and American Library Association's Notable Children's Books

Here's the link to Kelly's site for visits:

http://klgoing.com/visits/

Thanks, Kelly for alll your insights. It's been a lot of fun.

The next book in our series is

The Wild Ones

C. Alexander London

When a country raccoon used to a soft life winds up all alone in the big city, there’s no telling what he’ll do to survive—and to save his fellow wild animals in the process. Redwall meets Gangs of New York in this action-adventure animal fantasy.

Sign up for the program here.

In case you need a refresher on the plot, below is a summary from the publisher:

When Joey is bitten by an elderly rat, he goes from aspiring seventh-grader to three-inch tall rodent. At first, Joey is amazed by his new rat self. The city streets call to him at night. Smells that would have repelled him before are suddenly tantalizing. (A chicken bone? Yes! A squashed cockroach? Like perfume!) And wow, the freedom! But when a bout of hunger leads Joey to pull the spork from the scone, he finds himself at the center of a longtime rat prophecy. Joey has unwittingly unlocked Ratscalibur; and now, it is up to him to protect his new rat friends from the evil crows who seek to destroy their peaceful kingdom. But what does an eleven-year-old know about actual swordplay? And what happens when Joey no longer wants to be a rat?

Reviews have started coming in:

Publishers Weekly – "…playful retelling of the legend of Excalibur … a charming take on an old favorite about overcoming lifeas twists and finding strength inside oneself."

Kirkus -- "A crowd-pleasing mix of quick action, true valor, clever wordplay, and gross bits"

Booklist -- "Full of clever dialogue and hilarious puns, this is a delightful homage to Brian Jacques' Redwall series, Lord of the Rings, and Arthurian legend."

Our moderator is Lisa Von Drasek will join us shortly.

In addition to being EarlyWord’s Kids Correspondent, she is the curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota, one of the world’s largest collections of children’s literature manuscripts and original. Before that, she was the Children's Librarian of the Bank Street College of Education. She’s served on many awards committees including the Newbery, the National Book Awards for Young People's Literature and American Library Association's Notable Children's Books.

I see chat participants gathering!

You can send your questions through at any time. They'll go into a queue, and we'll submit as many of them as we can to the author before the end of the chat.

Don’t worry about typos – we’ll make them too!

Paricipants -- say hello to Josh!