Does anyone have any book rec for a 9 year old boy who likes to read non-fiction and books with pictures, but whose reading level is high in the science/nature etc areas. He was interested in finger printing and CSI sort of stuff, so I was thinking of getting him Encyclopedia Brown, but his mom says that there are not enough pictures, but he can read grown-up non fiction books as long as there are enough illustrations.

Oh, okay. That's true. But I imagine if you were a collector - the cause would be of less import than the stuff that is being auctioned.

Sophia -- do you have a Barnes and Noble close? I saw a TON of science related books with tons of illustrations and good writing in the clearance rack of the Kids section.

Can't remember specific names, but there were many.

Awesome, Erin! I have a reputation for giving good gifts, so I wANT TO KEEP IT UP!

But I imagine if you were a collector - the cause would be of less import than the stuff that is being auctioned.

In an auction? I care about where the money goes. What I'll spend at Powell's is different than what I'll spend for auction. I know who I am supporting at Powell's. I want to know the same for a "cause" so I can judge it on its own.

I want to know the same for a "cause" so I can judge it on its own.

Granted. Apparently Windling has long-term health issues but I don't know anything about the legal issues, and for family privacy concerns nobody's saying. So it really does come down to: do you trust the people who say it's a good cause?

I'm sure it's on the up-and-up, myself.

Given the other authors donating, I'd be pretty confident it was a decent cause, but it is a little weird not to be given any story outside of "health and legal issues".

So it really does come down to: do you trust the people who say it's a good cause?

True. I wasn't commenting even on this specific case. Honestly, I don't have an opinion on this one because this was the first I'd heard of it. Just that I understand wanting to know the cause before spending or supporting it.

All I know about the authors involved is that they're good authors. I don't know authors, in general, well enough to have an idea of their ethical compass unless they've done something notable in either direction. It's not my biz. The names I've seen so far don't mean anything to me morally.

ION, oh, I love watching curmudgeonly authors tell people in what order they should read their (mostly non-related) books, and then get cranky when people tell them "But I really loved your first book!". There are times when I really believe that Caitlin R. Kiernan wants to grow up to be Harlan Ellison.