worst-case scenario {blog tour}

Know a reluctant reader? This
book may be just the remedy.

Welcome to the first stop of Chronicle Books Worst-Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure Novels blog tour. I'm glad you're here. The challenge was to give the Worst-Case Scenario: Amazon by Hena Khan and David Borgenicht to a reluctant reader. When I read the challenge, I knew the perfect reader: Wesley, a third grader.

Wesley loves to read...when he can find a book that interests him. A few weeks ago he stopped to chat with me. "What are you reading?" I asked.

Wesley wrinkled his nose and said, "Nothing really. I can't find anything good in this place." He swept his arm around the library.

"What about in your classroom?"

Another nose-wrinkle. "Nah, I've already read everything good. There's really not much left. I think I'm out of books."

Long after he returned to his classroom, the conversation lingered with me. I began to wonder if I was talking to  a soon-to-be-reluctant reader.

When I gave him Worst-Case Scenario: Amazon, his eyes lit up and a smile grew on his face. As I explained the concept -- he chooses as he reads how the story will unfold -- he began thumbing through the book. "Look at this," Wesley said reading the back cover, "Twenty-two was to fail and only one way to survive. Awesome."

"Do you think you'll have time to read it? I have to blog about it in a week."

Wesley nodded, "Oh yeah, for this, I have time."

Later, when I talked to Wesley again, he had a list of friends he couldn't wait to share the book with. "The guys are going to love this!"

Wesley's mom reported that he kept reading the book long after "the end." If he came to an ending, he back tracked and tried another path. The reading keeps going long after the story "ends."

Books like this are saviors for readers like Wesley. It's a book that he can read and read again. So the next time he's "out of books," he can return to the Worst-Case Scenario books until he finds his next read. Wesley has me thinking about more books for kids like him. Kids who love to read, but feel like they are "out of books."

Here's to books like the Worst-Case Scenario that keep kids reading, even after the story ends.

Want a sneak peek into what Wesley is reading? Here is an excerpt from Worst-Case Scenario Amazon.

Chronicle Books is also sending Wesley the other books in the series. Check out Worst-Case Scenario Everest and Worst-Case Scenario Mars. Finally, this book trailer gets to the heart of the book...the video even ends with a life-threatening choice!

For the next stop on the tour, check out Where the Best Books Are tomorrow.