This review for THE BIG BOOK OF GROSS STUFF...

...sounds about right!

Do I like reader reviews?

You bet!

GROSS STUFF sighting!

Looks like I landed on the "Books Blog" of The Guardian.
(Luckily, my face isn't visible...)

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!

Via the inimitable Jill Corcoran.

Grab Bag!

Have the day off? Read something! For starters, try this kind review of The Big Book of Gross Stuff that comes with a nice reminder at the end.

For any writers out there, you may want to consider using a pen name or pseudonym . . . like the guy who wrote How to Make Money in Your Spare Time.

Finally, here's a funny shop sign I saw the other day when I was riding my bike.

Photo links.)

A reminder for your shopping list:

Most major U.S. cities have alternative weeklies. Here in Portland, it's the Willamette Week. It doesn't ordinarily cover kids books, because not many 11-year olds read alternative weeklies . . . which is why I was triply pleased to see that WW included my favorite bookstore, A Children's Place, in its Holiday Gift Guide.

Bonus: Didja see how it recommended The Big Book of Gross Stuff? Huh? Huh?

KidsGuide has my kind of stuff!

KidsGuide has a special issue out devoted to good stuff. This is literally my kind of stuff, as the magazine shares good bits from some of my books. Hit the link above, and if you're in southern California, be sure to pick up an issue!

Amazon Reviews

I'm always interested in reading reviews of my books...and not only was I pleased to read this Amazon review, but it cracked me up, too. Thank you, anonymous Kid Reviewer!

First, I want you to know that I am a girl and I want everyone to know about this great book. I am a middle school student so I love gross stuff. One day I brought The Big Book of Gross Stuff to my English class. When my class saw the title they wanted to read the book.

One of my favorite chapters was "Everyone Poops." Here are some reasons. Number one, it made me want to barf. Number two, on page 105 in the chapter there was a chart about human poop. I have referred to it a few times. Number three, it really talks about poop facts so you can entertain your friends while you are reading the book.

This is a book that kids will want to finish because it is way more interesting and relevant than some of the things they teach at school. I have only one question for the author, did you really go hiking in Switzerland in only your underwear?

Answer: Of course not! Wait, what was the question? This review had so many funny lines ("I have referred to it a few times"), I forgot what we were talking about. :)

The Bob and Tom Show!

I was on The Bob and Tom Show this morning.


Yes!

We talked about The Big Book of Gross Stuff and delved into the disgusting. You can hear the audio at the show's website (link above) or watch the TV version of the show on WGN this Tuesday night!

I Have Good News and Bad News

GOOD NEWS! New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof recommended that every boy in the U.S. read The Big Book of Gross Stuff! In his column “The Boys Have Fallen Behind” in yesterday’s edition, Kristof wrote:

“One remedy [for poor reading skills] may be to encourage lowbrow, adventure or even gross-out books that disproportionately appeal to boys.”

(Okay, so he ALMOST recommended it!)

BAD NEWS! An article on Gross Stuff that ran in the Oregonian yesterday ended with this unfortunate line:

“King, in all his grossness, lives in Portland.”

What the what? I’m not gross at all! You see, as this book’s author, I face a unique danger. People might link ME with the disgusting things I’m writing about!

Not wanting to be contaminated in this way, I’ve taken special steps to ensure that I myself am in no way gross. So during the writing of Gross Stuff, I stopped making:

• mucus
• dandruff
• tweets from my Twitter

Furthermore, I showered twice daily. This process included exfoliation, defoliation, and deforestation. (Plus, I scrubbed between my toes!)

Finally, before sitting down to write, I looked at pictures of kittens, flowers, and puppies. This helped purify and protect my mind from the horrible topics that my cruel editor forced me to research.

So there!

Just TRY to Keep a Dry Eye

The good people at Raincoast Books recently gave away a copy of The Big Book of Gross Stuff to an unlucky father from Waterloo, Ontario. He back wrote to Raincoast:

“[My 8-year-old son] has barely put the book down, and has read to me the same sections at least two or three times with a laugh that brings a smile to all parents' faces. The Big Book of Gross Stuff has brought a lot of laughter into our house over the weekend and it has a little boy reading it over and over.”

That IS pretty awesome. Many thanks for sharing this! Now, before we all get choked up, let me tell you that the father added, “I am now convinced that putting the word 'FART' in any book will get boys to read.”

Rats, he discovered my secret!

My Many Moods

I appeared on AM Northwest today to talk about The Big Book of Gross Stuff. Watching the video, I was amazed at how many different moods I can create with just an expression and a gesture. Observe!

"I guess I'm just a starry-eyed optimist."

"I'm a duck. Listen! 'Quack, quack.'"

"What do you mean when you say I look 'sinister'?"

"Hang on, I just coughed up my gall bladder."

"For this interview, I wore a SHIRT!"

"Remember when I said I was a duck? I lied! 
I'm a TURTLE!! (I like turtles.)"

Would You Like a Side-Order of Slime?

Over at ParentMap.com's "Raves" column, The Big Book of Gross Stuff just picked up a nice notice that goes a little something like this:

The Portland [author] who really “gets” kids brings it again, this time with a side of slime. The book is full of tween-boy appeal, with info like “World’s Most Disgusting Jobs” (whale feces researcher?), a gross quiz and loads more. Even if you don’t buy the book, visit King’s Web site (ultragross.blogspot.com); it’s a treasure trove o’ grossness. Fascinating fun!

I Made a Video!

It's for The Big Book of Gross Stuff.