It’s no secret that we love dogs. Pretty pups, bad doggies, and those that need a little training to bring out their best–by which we mean all of them. And now we’re welcoming a new breed into the mix: My Dog! A Kids’ Guide to Keeping a Happy and Healthy Pet. It’s the ultimate family owner’s manual that teaches everything you need to know about your pet, from choosing a family dog to training, care, feeding, games, and more.

So, what’s the first step? Figuring out what breed might be right for your family. Let’s turn to the expert, author Michael J. Rosen, who breaks it down in a handy little video to help you learn about different breeds for different needs.

Unless you DO plan on asking your dog to herd reindeer or rescue you from a snow drift, any well-trained dog should fit perfectly in your family! Now go out there and adopt the large/tiny/fuzzy/hairless/regal/smush-faced pup you’ve always wanted!

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For even more tips, crafts, recipes, and games, check out the official My Dog! website. And make sure to like the My Dog! Facebook page and follow Michael J. Rosen on Twitter (@fidosopher) to keep up on all the latest My Dog! news.

Gah! Scary.

Happy Month of Halloween! We here at Workman love a good costume just as much as we love our Papertoy Monsters, so we thought, “Hey, why not create a Papertoy Monster COSTUME?!” Genius, if we do say so ourselves. Simply click, select one of three monstrous masks, print, cut, and then go out and scare your fiends friends!

Want to win a free Papertoy Monster?* Head on over to the Papertoy Monsters tumblr and submit a picture of yourself, your kid, a friend, a pet, an arch-nemesis, or whoever wearing one of the spooky monster masks. Easy as papertoy monster-shaped pie. (And what monster doesn’t dream of having a mini-me monster of one’s own?)

* While supplies last!

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For more news (and monster pics), check out the book by Castleforte, visit the Papertoy Monsters tumblr, and “like” the Papertoy Monsters Facebook page.

Don’t look now, but there’s a Papertoy Monster behind you.

Scarleah likes your flowers.

I said not to look! And I meant the other direction.

Wolfman Joe can see you.

Wait — there’s another! Right under your desk . . .

Papertoy monsters do not like being thrown in the trash. Next time, try the recycling bin.

They’re everywhere! The Papertoy Monsters book is back in stock with its second printing, and the power-hungry creatures inside are preparing for a serious invasion. Remember the last time?! Better watch your back. Things could get a bit . . . fiendish . . . around here. Not all of these monsters like pop music and the so-awesome-I-want-to-try-it hobby of sled-singing.

Nom Nom wants to eat your town.

Scorpion Robot thinks your world is puny.

See what I mean?

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For more news (and monster pics), visit the Papertoy Monsters tumblr and “like” the Papertoy Monsters Facebook page.

When I was a kid, my parents’ idea of a fun vacation was piling the family in the Volvo and taking a road trip from our home in Connecticut to visit our grandparents in exotic…Long Island.

Don’t get me wrong: It was—and still is—wonderful to visit them! (They have a pool, and they always stock the pantry with Froot Loops—among other reasons.) Yes, hanging out with G-mom and Pop-pop was great, but the drive…ohh, the drive. Somehow my sisters and I, three otherwise very well-behaved girls who enjoyed each other’s company, were absolutely transformed upon entering the back seat. All civility flew out the window (onto the highway, no doubt) and suddenly none of us could stand to be touched or spoken to or even looked at by any of the others. Everything bugged us, from the inevitable heat to the meager snack offerings. And adding an enormous, smelly German Shepherd-mix who was prone to carsickness and heavy drooling only served to exacerbate the situation. If those three hours were horrible for us kids, I can only imagine how our parents felt.

Luckily we’ve long since outgrown those days of car-induced crankiness, and family trips are now quite pleasant. One summer the whole clan, including the dog, drove 12 hours to our new home in Tennessee, and although I wasn’t there for the ride (I was working as a counselor at a sleep-away camp, thinking I’d dodged a major bullet), I later heard that everyone made it through the journey unscathed.

Thinking back, it’s kind of funny: We were good kids, but the car made us bonkers! That’s why I wish we’d had a copy of All-American Car-i-oke, David Schiller’s answer to the sometime-trauma of a long road trip. Below is one of my favorite songs from the book, a reinterpretation of Harry “Haywire Mac” McClintock’s classic hobo ballad “The Big Rock Candy Mountains.” Pop in the CD or just break it down a cappella-style—whatever it takes to get everyone rockin’. A few verses of this fun tune and before you know it you’ll be on Long Island—or wherever your station wagon may take you. Happy trails!

THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAINS
Words and music by Harry McClintock, new lyrics by David Schiller.

Intro:
On a summer’s day in the month of May,
A third-grader come a-boarding,
Coasting along that lonesome road
To a place much more rewarding.
He said, “I’m headed for a land that’s far away,
Beside them crystal fountains—
So come with me
We’ll go and see
The Big Rock Candy Mountains.”

First verse:
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
You never change your socks,
And little streams of Mountain Dew
Come a-trickling down the rocks.
You’re stoked on all the banks and ramps,
And life is one big jam.
There’s a Slurpy lake with nachos, too,
You can paddle all around ‘em in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

Second verse:
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
There’s a land that’s fair and bright,
Where the Gameboys grow on bushes
And you hang out every night;
Where little brothers stay out of your way
And little sisters too.
Oh, I’m bound to go
Where I can catch any show,
The alarm never rings
And my father never sings,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

Third verse:
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
Classrooms are made of tin
And you can bust right out again
As soon as they put you in;
The teachers show up just once a week
To hand out nothing but A’s.
Oh, I’m going to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they jammed the jerk
Who invented homework
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

Fourth verse:
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
You can burp right after you eat,
And you never have to brush your teeth,
And forget about being neat;
You can throw your clothes all over the floor,
Eat candy in your bed.
Oh, that’s the life for me,
Completely parent-free,
Where your only job
Is to act like a slob,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

Finale:
And so now my song is over,
I’m lacing up my Vans,
I’m pointing my board
To the open road
Where the bluebirds sing
And kids are king
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains!

How cool is this?! The awesome librarians at Ida Rupp Public Library in Port Clinton, Ohio threw a “Create Your Own Papertoy Monsters” event in June that brought in a total of about 30 local,  glue-stick-wielding kids. According to Jennifer Buch (Ida Rupp’s Youth Services Librarian and monster mastermind of the event) many, many new friends fiends were made that day and everyone had loads of fun.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny...Monster!

Just punch out the templates and glue the tabs together!

Fasten your seatbelts, folks, The Blob is about to come to life!

We at Workman couldn’t be happier to welcome these new little monsters into the world! Rawr! The monsters will be displayed at the library until the end of July, when their skillful creators can collect them and take them to their new monster homes.

Cover Monster Icy Huggy is flanked by OctoPup, Hoorgue, and The Gloomy Pack.

The event was so much fun and such a success that Ida Rupp Public Library will have another Papertoy Monsters event this August – which means Port Clinton, OH will be overrun with cute little monsters! Watch out, Ohio, you’ll have to start installing “Monster Crossing” roadsigns!

Halloweeny leads the Papertoy Monster parade (along with a very literary giraffe!).

For more information on Ida Rupp Public Library’s upcoming events, including the August Papertoy Monsters event, visit Ida Rupp’s website and/or visit the Ida Rupp Public Library Facebook page. And for more news and the always-entertaining monster pics, visit the Papertoy Monsters tumblr page and “like” the Papertoy Monsters Facebook page.

Okay, it’s officially summer, and the livin’ is easy: We’re spending our first weekends at the beach, lazy afternoons in the park, maybe the sprinkler’s on in the backyard–and ooh–playtime! I grew up with lots of siblings who like to play games and have been fortunate to continue to grow up around lots of little ones who also like to play. Here are three no-fail outdoor games for every age from Bobbi Conner’s Unplugged Play: No batteries. No plugs. Pure fun.

Toddlers (age 1-2):

Water Painter (page 72 , in case you happen to be following along in your books) is an activity that’s simple to set up and even easier to clean up. Gather together some small plastic buckets (and a paint tray if you have one), fill them about 2 inches with water, and gather up paint brushes and rollers. Bathing suits optional!

Toddlers love to “paint” the deck, sidewalk, patio, railings, or deck furniture. And they’re very persistent–even when the designs evaporate quickly in the sun. The no-fail element is that this one works wherever there’s a relatively smooth outdoor surface to paint on–whether they’re painting the paved suburban sidewalk or the steps of a city brownstone.

Preschoolers (age 3-5):

Bucket-Head (page 195) requires a little bit of setup, but it’s worth it. Once you have the “bucket head,” the game is pretty irresistible, even for the adults with a silly side (yes, I’ve been known to not only play, but excel at Bucket-Head from time to time). For each bucket head, you need a plastic headband, some sticky Velcro tabs, and a clean 8-oz plastic container (like a Cool Whip tub). Remove the lid from the container and attach a few Velcro tabs in a line on the outside bottom. Then stick the corresponding tabs along the top of the headband. Attach the container to the headband, put on the headband–congratulations, you’re a bucket head! Gather up some small sponge or Nerf balls, or ping-pong balls, and start playing. To avoid getting hit in the face, the bucket head can turn with his or her back to the tosser, but the idea is to get the ball into the bucket. Fair warning: once the bucket heads are on, there’s no telling what new game might be invented. Can you scoop the ball off the grass with your bucket head? Can you toss the ball from your bucket head? No-fail because who doesn’t love a Bucket-Head?!

Gradeschoolers (6-10):

Beanbag Target Toss (page 271) is a combination of two classics: Beanbag Toss and Darts. Grab some sidewalk chalk and draw a circular target split into pie pieces with a bull’s eye in the middle. Assign each section a number of points and draw a “pitching line” several feet away. If there’s a group, simply take turns to see who can score 50 points first. Or, if your kid wants to go solo, add a timer–see if he or she can reach a score of 50 before the buzzer sounds! No-fail because it’s competitive and they get to add (see, you can still brush up on your math skillz even when school’s out for summer!).

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And lest we leave anyone out, here’s a suggestion for the older set (kids at heart and all that–or those who want to mix some cocktails with their play)–check out The Games Bible by Leigh Anderson (I’m especially partial to “Get Down, Mr. President!” on page 310). No-fail element: the tackle. Need I say more?

When plans to escape the city fell through on a sunny Saturday, my friends and I did what any backyard-deficient New Yorker would do and headed to Central Park. Packed in our bags were the essential staples of a summer afternoon—a frisbee; a baseball and gloves; salads of the egg, fruit, and potato variety—and the bible of the season, Suzanne Brown’s Summer: A User’s Guide, a book packed with tips for making the most of a warm afternoon.

Like Ms. Brown, I am madly in love with summer—the smell of Coppertone is enough to get my heart racing—so in honor of the first day of the season, I bring you one of her tips for living life to the fullest in the upcoming months:

How to Play Beach Volleyball

Scout out a quiet place away from the water and sunbathers, then draw lines in the sand that measure approximately 30 feet wide by 60 feet long.

The serving player must hit the ball over the net and inside the court lines within three attempts. If the server fails to successfully place the ball within three serves, the opposing team gains control.

Players rotate positions clockwise whenever their team gains control of the ball (Thus, each team has a new server at that time.)

Once the ball is hit over the net to the opposing team, a player cannot contact the   ball twice in a row unless the first touch is off a block at the net. A player cannot grab the ball, allow it to come to rest in his hand, or touch the net. If he does so, he forfeits the ball to the opposing team.

A point is earned when the serving team wins a rally, or an ace is served.

The first team to reach 15 points wins. A match is played in sets of three or five games.

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This summer (which officially starts TODAY!), before you head off to your beach bungalow, pack a picnic for the park, or spend a day in the shade, pick up Summer: A User’s Guide and make the best of this short and sweet season.

Welcome to another installment of Inside the Author’s Studio, where we give you a peek into the minds and studios of your favorite Workman authors.

Today, in anticipation of the release of Green Lantern: The Movie tomorrow (or tonight at midnight, in select locations, for the truly committed)–we venture into the studio of Randall Lotowycz, author of DC Comics Super Heroes and Villains Fandex for a little Q&A, speed-round err…speeding bullet-style.

Recent book you loved/learned from

So you’re going to throw me some softball questions? I think I’ll be able to cut and paste these answers directly from my OkCupid profile. So let’s begin. Recent book: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I know I’m about six years late to the party, but, wow, that book was amazing and devastating, as well as infuriating in the best way possible. It’s a particularly wonderful thing when a book about people who (sorta spoiler alert) may not have souls can remind you that you still have one. You know your soul is there because it hurts so much after you’ve read the book.

Favorite bookstore

I’d never want to play favorites, but Harleysville Books in Harleysville, PA, did host a great little event for me, so perhaps I should go with them (yes, I’m susceptible to bribes). Given the reason I’m doing this Q&A, I should also point out comic book shops. My childhood store, J.C. Comics in North Plainfield, NJ, is a fantastic family-run shop. And though it’s no longer around in its original form, the Brooklyn Monster Factory in Park Slope, Brooklyn was one of the best kinds of comic stores around.

Hidden talent

It’s not modesty, I’ll tell you that. I’m fairly good at measuring time without a watch. I’m not reading the sun or anything, but I can usually give a pretty close estimate of the time without having to refer to my cell phone. And I have an impressive memory when it comes to the year a film was released. Test me.

Bookmark, dog-ear, or virtuality?

Dog-ear, all the way. I also like to underline favorite passages, and if I’m without a pen, I’ll scratch a line under the words with my fingernail. I don’t think that would be smart with an e-reader. But I still maintain that when all my favorite novels are available for download, I’ll pick one up, because it would be great to carry them all with me.

Book you are most ashamed never to have read

Where do I begin? Madame Bovary, Infinite Jest, Ulysses, Oliver Twist, Anna Karenina, Brideshead Revisited, What is the What. I can go on. Maybe I’ve spent too much time reading issues of the Legion of Super-Heroes. But for every traditional classic, I can cite some lesser known book that has left an indelible impression on me, so I’d like to think it all balances out.

Most frequent form of writerly procrastination

I’d say taking photos of myself with the laptop’s camera. It doesn’t require moving from the work I should be doing. I wouldn’t call myself vain, as I’m usually making weird and ugly contorted faces for the photos. It’s amusing and helps pass the time. Next to that, Facebook is probably the most frequent form of procrastination. And sometimes I upload those ugly photos.

Favorite childhood book

Very tough one, but I’m not going to give multiple titles. I’m confident in saying There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar. It has so much going on, and its impact on young me isn’t all that different than the impact of Never Let Me Go. It introduced me to emotions I hadn’t yet experienced and forced me to process them, shaping how I’d react when I did experience them in my own life.

Alternate ambition (i.e. If you weren’t a writer/sales director, you’d be…)

Oh, I’d want to be a small business owner. Number one choice would be to own a bar (those places seem recession proof). But I also entertain the thought of having a restaurant or some type of retail shop. I’d like my own niche in a community that would in turn foster others’ interest in the community. I know that sounds weird to say after claiming my first choice is a bar, but it’s the truth. And the right sort of bar can do a lot of good for people in the community.

Your perfect meal

Lamb vindaloo with garlic naan and ka-chori, followed by rice pudding for dessert. Just perfection. I particularly like ordering it from the same place multiple times and never having it be exactly the same twice. And I know it’s not Indian, but if you could throw some fried pickles in to start, I’d be in a state of bliss.

Big dream

I go back and forth between getting tattooed while skydiving and being punched in the face by a grizzly bear wearing a boxing glove. It’s going to be tough to make either of those happen, but you never know. Other than that, I’d like to create something that would affect someone the same way books like Never Let Me Go and There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom affected me. Who knows, maybe I’ve already written it and that person just hasn’t read it yet. But my dream is to create something of substance and worthy of praise, even if it’s just from one person.

Super power of choice

I’m going with invisibility, and not just for its seedier perks. Observation is powerful tool for an author, but as soon as you’re present to observe, your presence is already affecting the moment. To be invisible, to take yourself out of a moment, you can experience things you never would otherwise.

If you could leap into any single DC Comic book issue for a day, what would it be?

I’d want to leap into All-Star Superman #10 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. It’s one of my favorite single issues ever, capturing everything that makes Superman so great. The issue is inspiring, offering hope and encouragement to anyone who reads it. I could go on for pages and pages on this comic. Put as briefly as possible, this issue of Superman challenges readers to step back and see the great strength that is in each and everyone of us. We don’t need superpowers or to be from a distant planet in order to do good. We’re all strong enough to do good in our own way.

How many DC Comics characters do you have tattooed on your body?

Ha! Just two, Superman and Lois Lane in an airborne embrace. Though it lacks word balloons, it invokes the scene in Superman: The Movie, when Superman catches Lois and says, “Easy, miss, I’ve got you,” to which Lois replies, “You’ve got me? Who’s got you?!?”
I’ve considered a Green Lantern tattoo over the years, but never pulled the trigger. I love the character and the mythology in the stories, but I’ve never been able to narrow it down to one concrete image. I’ve also thought about a tattoo of the latest Robin, Damian Wayne, the illegimate son of Batman and Talia Al Ghul, the daughter of one of Batman’s greatest foes. Damian is a fairly new character, created in 2006, but he’s made a great impression. He was introduced as such an arrogant little brat, but has since grown into being an arrogant little hero. The image of him on the cover of Batman & Robin #1 perfectly captures his nature and I could see getting that image on my leg.

What Workman book would you like to receive as compensation for your involvement?

Well, it’s out of print and I think only one person in the office has a copy, but I’d really like Touch Me: The Poems of Suzanne Somers.  Yes, Workman published it and I want it. I’d also take a copy of True Grits: The Southern Foods Mail-Order Catalog.

So I guess that’s it! Thanks so much for having me on the blog!

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Randall Lotowycz, not to be confused with a bird or a plane,  is the author of DC Comics Super Heroes and Villains Fandex. He will be attending a midnight showing of Green Lantern.

Today is Flag Day! (Why’s that, you ask? Well, please see below.) It’s a perfect day to break out your Brain Quest America deck. But first, test your knowledge with this Flag Day Brain Quest Challenge! Then let us know how you did in the comments.

Questions

1. Flag Day is celebrated each year on June 14. What happened on this day in 1777?
2. Does the color red in the American flag stand for justice, purity, or courage?
3. On what national monument can you find these words: “I lift my lamp beside the golden door”?
4. Can you see a big grizzly bear on the state flag of California or West Virginia?
5: Find two names for our national flag: Old Glory, Stars and Bars, Stars and Stripes.
6. When asked to surrender, what naval hero of the Revolution said, “I have not yet begun to fight”?
7. Who gets the credit for sewing the first American flag with stars and stripes?
8. What antlered animal can you see on the state flag of Maine?
9. Which state originally flew a flag with only one star on it?
10. The time was midnight, and the year was 1775. Who rode on horseback to warn that the British were coming?
11. The 50 stars on our flag stand for the 50 states in the U.S. What do the 13 stripes stand for?

Answers

1. The Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States.
2. Courage. (Blue is for justice; white is for purity.)
3. The Statue of Liberty. (The words are part of a poem written by Emma Lazarus.
4. California. (The bear is a symbol of determination.)
5. Old Glory, Stars and Stripes. (Stars and Bars is a name for the Confederate flag.)
6. John Paul Jones (who forced the British to surrender as his own damaged ship sank).
7. Betsy Ross, in 1776. (She was an official flagmaker for the Pennsylvania navy.)
8. A moose.
9. Texas, after gaining independence from Mexico. (Texas is still known as “the Lone Star State.”)
10. Paul Revere. (He was accompanied by fellow patriot William Dawes.)
11. The 13 original colonies.

Mike Vago is the brilliant mind behind The Pocket Book of Pocket Billiards, an amazing package that amounts to an entire pool table, complete with balls, cue stick, and over 30 games—and is still small enough to fit in your dad’s briefcase (*ahem* Father’s Day!). Our own Craig Popelars chatted with the inspired designer—over a tiny game of billiards, naturally—about his favorite game, how he’s beating the competition, and, of course, MLK’s awesome trick shot.

Pools halls traditionally are tough places with shady characters like the one in the Michael Jackson “Bad” video. You seem to run a pretty clean establishment.
If the shadiest character in your pool hall is “Bad”-era MJ, it’s probably a pretty safe place to hang out. Worst case, you’ll get caught in the middle of a dance battle. The book is actually even less dangerous than that.

What’s the most difficult shot to execute?
In real pool, jumping the cue over another ball is probably the toughest trick shot. In book form, the toughest shot is sinking two balls at once while playing on a copy of Ulysses with holes drilled in the corners.

You’ve included over 30 games in this package; which one is your favorite?
Killer’s a lot of fun because you can play with any size group. And Impulse Killer’s even better, because the cue ball never stops moving. It’s tough to get four or five friends crowded around the book, passing the cue stick around quickly enough to keep things moving, but that just adds to the fun.

A brand-new pool table can cost $3,000. You’ve priced yours at $15.95. Are you concerned that Brunswick sees you as a serious threat to their market share?
I think we’re pretty much in direct competition. Massive piece of furniture for your game room? Novelty book that fits in your coat pocket? Let’s face it—you’re either buying one or the other, and I’m offering the much better deal.

If you could invite three famous people over to your house for beer and a rousing night of pool, who would they be?
First and foremost, Paul Newman. No one did more to popularize the game in the 20th century. Plus, he’s just one of the all-around coolest guys of all time. Second, Martin Luther King. You don’t think about him just hanging out and shooting some pool, but we found a great photo we couldn’t make room for in the book of MLK doing a behind-the-back shot, playing against some friends. Third, Mark Twain. There’s a photo of him in the book in his billiards room; it was his writing room by day, and then at night he’d have his friends over to drink and shoot pool. In fact, let’s invite everyone over to his house! I’d love to say I accidentally got chalk on the original manuscript for Tom Sawyer!

Mike Vago is also the creator and author of the bestselling The Miniature Book of Miniature Golf. He’s a graphic designer who has also written for New York Press, The Stranger, and Artvoice. He lives with his family in New Jersey.