Free tie-in activity kit

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Happy National Fossil Day!

Celebrate by entering to win one of five author-signed copies of Chronal Engine by Greg Leitich Smith, illustrated by Blake Henry (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 2012)(ages 10-up). From the promotional copy:

When Max, Emma, and Kyle are sent to live with their reclusive grandfather for the summer, they’re dismayed to learn he thinks there’s a time machine in the basement.


But when Grandpa Pierson predicts the exact time of his own heart attack, and when Emma is kidnapped by what can only be a time traveler, they realize he was telling the truth about the Chronal Engine.  And if they want their sister back, they’ll have to do it themselves.


So Max and Kyle, together with their new friend Petra, pack up their grandpa’s VW and follow Emma and the kidnapper back in time, to Late Cretaceous Texas, where the sauropods and tyrannosaurs roam. 

Can the trio find Emma and survive the hazards of the Age of Dinosaurs, or are they, too, destined to become part of the fossil record?

Author sponsored. Eligibility: North America (U.S./Canada). Bonus
entries for those who comment on the trailer and/or share it via
blogs/social networks/list servs, etc. If you share, please detail your efforts (with
relevant links) in a comment. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Cynsational Notes

Chronal Engine video teaser by Owen Ziegler, teenage son of author Jennifer Ziegler, of Austin, Texas.

Chronal Engine is a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Check out the free online Chronal Engine Activity Kit. See also Greg Leitich Smith on How to Plan a Launch Party with pics from the Chronal Engine launch.

Visit Greg Leitich Smith

“Who has time to be indulging in a lot of teen angst when you’re running from a T. rex? The short length, breathless pace, and graphic-novel-esque, full-page illustrations might make this one appealing to reluctant readers.” – School Library Journal

“[T]his is exactly the book young dino fans would write themselves, crammed with sandbox-style action and positively packed with words like Nanotyrannus and Parasaurolophus. Great back matter clarifies fact from speculation, while Henry’s manga-inspired illustrations provide a good sense of the monsters’ scary scale.” – Booklist

“Dinosaurs, time travel, mystery and adventure—this novel for teens has it all…The characters are believable and likable, and the story carries itself quickly along. Black and white illustrations effectively give the reader a nice visual of the happenings as well.”  – Children’s Literature