Kudo Kids: The Mystery of the Masked Medalist by Maia Shibutani, Alex Shibutani, and Michelle Schusterman Comes Out Today, Sept. 8, 2020

[VGThuy]

The Shibs with veteran children's author Michelle Shusterman, have written a middle school-aged mystery book titled Kudo Kids: the Mystery of the Masked Medalist. It was originally set to come out in May of this year before the summer Olympics, but with the worldwide health issue, the schedule shifted somewhat.

From BN.com:

Andy and Mika are going to Tokyo!

The Kudo Kids have never been to Japan before, so they can't believe they get to attend the Summer Olympics there. The siblings plan to eat tons of delicious Japanese food, watch every event they can, and win a super-popular new game called OlympiFan.

Developed by a mysterious former medalist, OlympiFan brings players together from all over the world to search Tokyo for virtual medals and clues to the secretive creator's identity. Andy loves puzzles, and he's determined to crack this one, especially since the winning team will get to be beta testers for the Masked Medalist's future games!

Mika wants to find as many clues as she can, but she also has a secret goal of her own—one that could get her into big trouble. But when someone sabotages the game, the Kudo Kids have an even bigger mystery to solve than the Masked Medalist's identity. If they want to capture the gold, Mika and Andy have to figure out who's trying to stop their team before someone beats them to the grand prize!

An excerpt is available here:

Kudo Kids: The Mystery of the Masked Medalist|Hardcover

From two-time Olympic bronze medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani comes a fun-filled, fast-paced middle-grade mystery set at the Tokyo Olympics.Andy and Mika are going to Tokyo! The Kudo Kids have never been to Japan before, so they can't believe they get to attend the Summer...

www.barnesandnoble.com

Trailer:

https://twitter.com/ShibSibs/status/1303115687590678529?s=20

I think if this one is successful, it'll be a start of a new series.

I'm picking this up later today under the guise that it's for my son even though he's like 10-11 years too young for this book. Whatever.

 

[overedge]

I look forward to his review

 

[VGThuy]

I look forward to his review

It might sound like it was written by a woman in her thirties...for some reason.

 

[love skating]

On the Today Show they said the Shibs would be on the show tomorrow to talk about their new project.

 

[GloriaW]

They will be on the TODAY Show Wednesday during the third hour (9-10am ET)!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE5XelopOqK/

 

[VGThuy]

In case anyone was wondering, this book is 263 pages. For some reason l, I wasn’t paying attention to the book details, I thought it’d be a slighter read.

Shae-Lynn Bourne posted some congratulatory messages on Maia’s IG account and said she was going to read it with her son. Now I wish they had a program choreographed by her.

 

[once_upon]

They were fun on Today show this morning.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Smart of them to team with a co-writer who has done this before. I'm sure they learned a lot during this experience and if there are other books, they'll likely be even more involved in the process. It seems harder for pro skaters to make a living these days, so exploring other avenues like this to reach their young fans is a good idea. They may even be able to attract fans who don't know much about skating, but who enjoy the book. Good luck to them with this project.

 

[Sylvia]

They were fun on Today show this morning.

Their segment can be watched here:

Maia and Alex Shibutani discuss new book ‘Kudo Kids’

Olympic bronze medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani join TODAY’s Dylan Dreyer and Al Roker to talk about their new book, “Kudo Kids.” They say the book is aimed at middle school-aged readers as it tells the story of two siblings who get into an unexpected adventure as they travel to the summer...

www.today.com

SHIBUTANI SIBLINGS ADD “PUBLISHED AUTHORS” TO EXTENSIVE RESUME (Sept. 9, 2020): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2020/S...ngs-Add-published-Authors-To-Extensive-Resume

The publisher's page for their book:

Kudo Kids: The Mystery of the Masked Medalist by Maia Shibutani, Alex Shibutani, Michelle Schusterman: 9780593113752 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

From two-time Olympic bronze medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani comes a fun-filled, fast-paced middle-grade mystery set at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Andy and Mika are going to Tokyo! The Kudo Kids have...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

More about Razorbill (imprint of Penguin Randon House): https://www.penguin.com/publishers/razorbill/

 

[VGThuy]

Their first vlog in forever!

OUR FIRST BOOK! - ShibSibs #KudoKids

Kudo Kids: The Mystery of the Masked Medalist is the first book in our brand new series #KudoKids and it’s out NOW!!! 🥳📖 It’s a super fun, fast-paced middle-...

www.youtube.com

 

[kittyjake5]

I just ordered the book from Barnes and Noble as a birthday gift for a family member. She turns 13 at the
end of this month.

 

[Sylvia]

Awwww : https://www.instagram.com/p/CFDrT8nJHe9/

 

[Rukia]

I bought it for my 10 year old. I may borrow it...for reasons...haha.

 

[Lanie]

Very cute. I'm going to buy it for my 8 year old. He still harbors dreams of being an ice dancer with Tessa

 

[VGThuy]

Maia Shibutani will be in conversation with Chelsea Clinton on Wednesday, September 23 at 6:30pm PDT at a virtual event for the newest installment of the "She Persisted" series, SHE PERSISTED IN SPORTS: American Olympians Who Changed the Game.

https://www.changinghands.com/event/september2020/chelsea-clinton

 

[VGThuy]

On Instagram Live, Alex inadvertently and was later confirmed by Maia that the second installment was originally planned to be released in May of 2021. That probably will get pushed back as the first one was just published.

 

[Sylvia]

https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/1327297883964461056

Catch up with @MaiaShibutani and @AlexShibutani

Join a Zoom chat next Thursday [11/19/20] for a Q&A session that includes a copy of their book 𝙆𝙪𝙙𝙤 𝙆𝙞𝙙𝙨! All proceeds to benefit the Memorial Fund.

Link to register: https://fs12.formsite.com/USFSAIT/jpxibcqudt/index.html

ETA that there is a free virtual event tomorrow with Maia & Alex (Portland Book Festival on Nov. 14) that requires online registration: https://literary-arts.org/event/pbf-chhibber-shibutani/

 

[starbucks]

I read it, didn't love it. Michelle Shusterman is a competent writer for middle grade, but the book is very thin. Instead, I'd recommend E. L. Shen's The Comeback for young skaters on your gift list - it has real heart.

 

[VGThuy]

I read it, didn't love it. Michelle Shusterman is a competent writer for middle grade, but the book is very thin. Instead, I'd recommend E. L. Shen's The Comeback for young skaters on your gift list - it has real heart.

They seem like totally different books and genres so I’d think those books wouldn’t be a substitute for the other. But thanks for the recommendation. I’ll add it to the collection.