Erin Soderberg Downing


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The Quirks Series



A most unusual family just moved in down the block...have you met the Quirks?
CLICK HERE to hear author Erin Soderberg Downing read the first chapter of each book in the QUIRKS series aloud!


Buy The Quirks from your favorite indie Bookseller!



The Quirks: Welcome to Normal





Molly and her family have moved around for years. Every time they think they've found a home, one of the Quirks slips up and sends them packing - because the Quirk family is a bit, well, quirky. Each family member has a magical power that makes them unique, and highly unusual.

Mom can control minds Grandpa twists time Penelope has an all-too-real imagination and Finn is the pesky kid brother who happens to be invisible. Then there's Molly, the most unusual Quirk of all—because she is completely, utterly normal. Molly's greatest desire is to fit in, and she's pretty sure she's found the perfect spot: Normal, Michigan. With its cookie cutter houses, welcoming committees, and all-town competitions, it seems like just the place for an ordinary new life.

But the Quirks aren't known for fitting in - especially in a place like Normal...



FIRST CHAPTER Read an Outtake Contact Red Balloon Bookshop

If you need copies of The Quirks for your classroom or library and can't find it at your usual bookstore, please get in touch with me or Red Balloon Bookshop. We have plenty of signed copies on hand and can help you out!



The Quirks in Circus QUirkus






Ladies & Gentlemen! Boys & Girls! Children of All Ages!

Just as the Quirk family was settling into Normal - ta da! - the circus comes to town! At school, Molly, Penelope, and Finn are all learning new circus tricks in gym class. Meanwhile at home, they - and their monster, Niblet - are putting their new skills to good use it takes fancy footwork and sneaky detective work to keep their nosy neighbor from snooping around and uncovering the Quirk family secrets.

Each day in their new town makes one thing very clear: Life in Normal is a high-flying adventure!





FIRST CHAPTER

The Quirks and the Quirkalicious Birthday






Things get a little (okay, a lot) quirky in the week leading up to Molly and Penelope's tenth birthday!


It all starts with Grandpa Quill's annual birthday scavenger hunt. Gramps hides mini-presents for the girls to find leading up to a SUPER-special big present. This year they're hoping for a new family pet. But the girls can't agree on what kind of pet, and soon they're fighting non-stop about everything.


It's always been the Quirks vs. the World . . . but what happens when it's Quirk vs. Quirk? Will the girls learn how to get along in time for a truly magical birthday?




FIRST CHAPTER

The Quirks and the Freaky Field Trip





The fourth grade class field trip to a monster museum turns spooky when Quirky magic comes out of hiding.


It's a big week for the Quirks as twins Molly and Pen prepare for an exciting field trip to a local monster museum. Whichever fourth grade team creates the spookiest monster design wins an unusually fun prize. Meanwhile at home, everyone is ready for a visit from a certain Scottish guest: their Uncle Cork! He hasn't seen the kids since they were babies.


At first, Uncle Cork seems totally magic-less, and Molly wonders if maybe she's not the only one in her family without a Quirk. But every time invisible Finn starts to make mischief, Uncle Cork is there to stop him. Molly can't believe it. What Quirk is kooky Uncle Cork hiding?


FIRST CHAPTER

Did you know?



Did you know that the Quirk family monster, Niblet, didn't always look like he does now? In fact, I'd originally imagined that Niblet was big and fluffy, with long arms and legs (but super-teensy toes). But when U.S. illustrator Kelly Light drew him for the first time, she made him look like a frozen corn niblet!



Did You know?



Did you know the covers of the QUIRKS books look really different in England? But they're just as cute!


The Quirks have also been translated into Korean!



Did You know?



Did you know that Molly Quirk wasn't always a twin? When I first started writing the Quirks, Molly and Finn were the only kids in the family. But because I have twins, I'm fascinated by them - how very different two people born at the same time and raised together can be. I thought it might be fun to have one twin who was magic-less, and one who was full-to-bursting with magic. So Penelope poof!-ed into existence and made writing that next draft of the book so much more fun.



Love Your Quirks



In The Quirks: Welcome to Normal, the Quirk family gets to take part in Normal Night - a fun event where the people of Normal, Michigan, work together to try to break a very abnormal record. Did you know there are towns all over the world who have some quirky claim to fame? Here are a few:


#1: The WORLD'S LARGEST BALL OF TWINE, made by Francis A. Johnson in the town of Darwin, MN. Mr. Johnson began rolling his fabulous twine ball in March 1950, and rolled for four hours every day for 29 years!


#2: Hayward, WI, is proud to be the home of: THE WORLD'S LARGEST FIBERGLASS FISH! Random...quirky... and fabulous.


#3: Le Mars, IA is: THE ICE CREAM CAPITAL OF THE WORLD! More ice cream is produced by a single company than in any other city in the world.


#4: This one is not a Quirky claim-to-fame, but rather a celebration of TOWNS WITH CRAZY-QUIRKY NAMES: Boring, OR, Uncertain, TX, Odd, WV, Ordinary, KY, Why, AZ, No Name, CO, Peculiar, MS, Nimrod, MN, What Cheer, IA, Santa Claus, PA, Truth or Consequences, NM, Burnt Corn, AL, Loveladies, NJ


#5: This Quirky destination just happens to be a perfect fit with the first QUIRKS book: SEATTLE'S GUM WALL! This amazing "art" runs for about 50 feet along Post Alley, and apparently it's one of the germiest tourist attractions on earth. The people of Normal, MI, would probably love to send their ABC gum-ball to Seattle for display in Post Alley!


#6: WHAT'S YOUR QUIRK? Come on...everyone's got one. Think about it. What makes you special and unique and totally YOU?


ART CREDITS:
Great Peach Experiment Design/Art: Michelle Cunningham
Controlled Burn: Oriol Vidal
Quirks Illustrations Kelly Light & Colin Jack
Puppy Pirates Covers: Luz Tapia
Puppy Pirates Interiors: Russ Cox
Daring Dreamers Club: Anoosha Syed
Close This Book Tight: Lesley Vamos
Moon Shadow: Julia Blattman