Matthew Janson views himself as a superhero. During a conversation with Charleen, he says, “Every comic book superhero has special powers and a weakness and usually a secret identity.” There are many online sites that list superheroes and their powers … Continue reading
In Smart Kid, Chapter 11, Matt and Charleen listen to “Blue Moon” sung by Elvis. “Blue Moon”‘s first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley in 1956. His cover version of the song was included on his … Continue reading
From The Smart Kid: Next to the box, stood a book: Handcuff Secrets by Harry Houdini. Matthew Janson has an interest in magic tricks. He’s already demonstrated a coin trick to the counselor. When she enters his bedroom, she sees … Continue reading
From The Smart Kid: Charleen studied the framed issue of a comic book, Whiz Comics #5, dated June 1940. The front cover had a picture of Captain Marvel pulling a submarine out of the water with a chain. From the … Continue reading
Philosophies: Characters in novels say and do many different things. Authors may or may not have the same values as the characters they create. There may be a character that most reflects the author’s own philosophies but doesn’t entirely demonstrate … Continue reading
In chapter 8 of The Smart Kid, Matthew Janson performs a coin trick for the counselor, and then he explains how to do it. If you read carefully, you may learn how to do a cool coin trick. It will … Continue reading
Announcing! The Smart Kid is available for pre-order from Amazon Kindle Direct. Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BNA6JNC Everyone who pre-orders The Smart Kid for Kindle will get these bonuses: – Favorite Quotes search page. Find and check off 36 of the … Continue reading
In chapter 8 of The Smart Kid, the counselor and Matthew Janson are sitting down for some lemonade. The counselor must bust loose some ice cubes from a metal ice cube tray. The metal tray with the lever-release was invented … Continue reading
In chapter 8 of The Smart Kid, the school counselor and The Smart Kid go for a ride in her 1973 Oldsmobile Coupe, which has a front bench seat. This type of seating was common for several decades. The second … Continue reading
In chapter 7 of The Smart Kid, a student is telling another about Skatin’ Place, the roller skating rink in St. Cloud. I think that it opened some time in the 1970s. I used to skate there a lot when … Continue reading