Wednesday, May 8, 2013

'A Monster Lives in My Closet' by Stacy Fleetwood


Just released! A brand new picture book by Stacy Fleetwood!

Who's been playing with Caleb's toys and making a mess of his room? Find out through the story and colorful illustrations of this cute little book.
 
Perfect for children ages 4-8.

~~Buy it on Amazon~~

Author Bio-

Stacy Fleetwood was a book lover as a child and often escaped the real world through the magic of fairy tales and books that encouraged the use of imagination.

As a writer, she could not wait to create such works. Her stories are of fantasy and magic and are meant to take children on an imaginary adventure.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

'Joy: A Treasure Protector Story' by Julian T. Nicholas


Anna is excited about turning nine and getting her birthday wish. What she does not expect is to have a dream where she meets a real live princess. Anna goes to sleep and wakes up in a new world where she meets the one trusted to protect one of the world's most precious treasures.

Travel with Anna through her dreams as she meets the Treasure Protectors. With each meeting, Anna gets closer and closer to her true destiny. Joy is her first encounter.


 ~~Buy links: Amazon \ Smashwords~~

Julian T. Nichols is an avid reader and lover of books who lives in Florida with the inspiration for his Treasure Protector Series, his two children. Joy: A Treasure Protector Story is his first children's story.

Follow Julian T. Nichols:

http://www.litevi.com/p/treasure-protectors.html
http://www.litevi.com/2013/04/litevi-entertainment-to-publish-new.html
https://www.facebook.com/JulianTNichols
https://twitter.com/JulianTNichols
  

Friday, May 3, 2013

'Veggie's Bully' by C. JoVan Williams

Veggie's BullyVeggie's Bully

A Book Encouraging Self Esteem for Readers Young and Old

A book inspiring lessons about self love, Veggie Bunnie learns something that all readers need to know.... Love yourself, no matter what others may say! Filled with colorful illustrations, this book follows Veggie's relationship with her friends Carb Monkey and his Uncle Bear. Throughout the book, 'Carb' wants to get even with the bully that is bothering Veggie, whereas 'Uncle Bear' wants her to take a different approach. This book encourages readers to be the best person they can be, regardless of how people may act around them.


**My thoughts**

A frequent discussion these days between my fellow teachers and I is how disrespectful children are becoming, and how mean they specifically are to each other. The problem is happening at younger and younger ages, especially in the springtime, I think. Not only are they being mean to each other, but also seeking revenge instead of handling the situation in a positive way.

The conversations being had in these book happen on a daily basis in our schools and homes. One child's feelings are being hurt. Another child wants to extract revenge by giving the bully a taste of his own medicine. I just hope that all children have someone as wonderful as Uncle Bear, who guides them along a more appropriate path. He emphasizes how wonderful Veggie actually is and how seeking retaliation merely makes you as bad as the bully. It never solves the problem. Instead, you need to look to yourself to be the bigger person and to focus on what makes you unique and special and wonderful. 

Uncle Bear also acknowledges the anger and frustration that Veggie is feeling. It is important to help a child learn how to label her feelings, and why she is feeling that way, so that she can better understand them.

This book is also easy to read through its rhyming verse. Complemented by vibrant pictures, it is going to be attractive to young children. This is one I would like to use in my classroom as a part of our peace curriculum. I am also interested in seeing more of the series.
      

Purchase Veggie's Bully: Kindle | Paperback
 

C. JoVan WilliamsAbout Author C JoVan Williams

Clarice Williams was born and raised in Chicago, IL, but now resides in New Jersey as an Air Force spouse, with a blended family of six. A freelance writer as seen in Military Spouse Magazine, with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, she tries to find cost effective family friendly ways to entertain her loved ones. Her self-published works include children's book that are available on Amazon under the pen name, C. JoVan Williams.

Follow Author C. JoVan Williams: Website | Facebook | Twitter


Follow the Tour
The author is giving away a Basket filled with promotional goodies, which include Uncle Bear, Carb, The next book in the series & The Little Chefs Cookbook, an inspirational coffee mug, & fruit candle, and a $25 Amazon GC!

Fill out the form below to Enter!
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

'Savannah's Story' by Jodi Stone


Book blurb:

All Savannah wants is for someone to play with her. When she asks her older sisters to play, they both turn her down. It's at that very moment when Savannah makes a wish that leads her on a magical journey...one that will lead her on a trip through her favorite dollhouse and floating on a cloud of bubbles. Follow along with Savannah as she realizes the true meaning of friendship and family.

**My thoughts**

Kids can relate to the story of a little sister whose siblings don't want to play with her. So, she makes a magical wish and ends up going on an adventure in her favorite place: her dollhouse. She ends up having a lot of fun, but then realizes how much she still misses her family. She heads back home, only to discover that she can keep the magic alive. 

It's a sweet story with cute illustrations done by the author. I can almost envision her sitting side by side with her children while working on this book. The rhyming story flows well and doesn't feel forced as some rhyming stories can be. This is one that the kids in my class also enjoyed.



Saturday, April 27, 2013

'Little Minds: Silly Children's Poems' by Star Brown


Book blurb:

Five silly poems that make kids wonder: When will pigs fly? Why won't the last piece of the puzzle fit? Why is an orange an orange? Does anyone have a loose tooth? Who is that other boy?

~~Buy it on Amazon~~

Author information:

Star is a mother of two and a wife of one very awesome man! She was born in 1980 on the tropical island of Okinawa Japan. Ever since the age of six, Star loved writing stories. While Star loves writing material that makes children laugh, she is currently working on her first young adult horror story. Star lives in Florida and would like to hear comments and new story ideas from her fans.

Star Brown
PO Box 950845
Lake Mary, FL 32795

Friday, April 19, 2013

'Titanic A to Z, The Story of the World's Most Famous Shipwreck' by Judy Nichols

This is a paid promotional post through my Featured Fiverrs. All opinions are my own, though.

This week marks 101 years since the famous sinking of the Titanic. Commemorate this historical event by downloading a book that teaches you all about it.

 
Book blurb:

Titanic A to Z, the Story of the World's Most Famous Shipwreck, is a children's picture book that takes young readers, ages 5-9, through the alphabet to learn about the sinking of the Titanic. Authentic photos from 1912 make the true facts come alive as young readers learn about the Titanic without dwelling on the gloomy aspects.

Details seldom found in other Titanic books will answer such questions as: Did kids help build the Titanic? What did kids do for fun when on board the ship the first four days? Who brought their pets along? Why did the kids like the Titanic barbershop? Who saw the iceberg first? How did the Captain of the rescue ship find out the Titanic was sinking? What scared the survivors as they waited for the rescue ship to take them on board? How were the kids who survived carried on board the rescue ship?

The introduction tells the story of the Titanic, followed by interesting details added in an alphabetic sequence. Suitable to read aloud to younger children while boys and girls who read at 2nd or 3rd grade reading level can enjoy reading it to themselves.


Biography 

Judy Nichols loves to write for children and teenagers and has a special interest in historical subjects like the Titanic. Her writing reflects the years she spent as a librarian, reading specialist, and classroom teacher in K-12 schools. She is also the author of "Titanic Dog to the Rescue" on iPhone and iPad; "Barnyard Santa" on Android and iPhone; and "Teaching in Tough Times", published by Baker Book House. Her poems for children have appeared in Fun for Kidz, Pockets, and Hopscotch magazines. She has published many articles in magazines and newspapers featuring historical subjects and creative teaching projects and continues to write more books that help kids enjoy reading and learning.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Check out 'Oliver and Jumpy: Bedtime Stories' on YouTube

This is a paid post, via my Featured Fiverrs. Click on the page above to find more about these kinds of posts.
Children like to watch animated versions of their favorite stories, just as much as they like to read them in books. Werner Stejskal has created a series of stories about Oliver and Jumpy, a cat and a kangaroo, who are friends who have all kinds of adventures.

Eventually there will be at least 40 stories available to viewers on YouTube. Right now, four are available to watch on YouTube. Werner is looking to eventually convert the stories into books and hopes to create an app.

Werner narrates each story himself. You can also read along below each YouTube video if you watch directly on the site. Check out the first story:



Here is a message from Werner Stejskal:

 There are lots of fairy tales and bedtime stories around and many of them quite violent. This made me decide to try writing something different. On a flight from Europe to Australia I watched the movie Magic on Belle Island with Morgan Freeman, where he teaches a little girl to have imagination and write her first story. This inspired me as well and in the following sleepless nights because of the West to East flight, which somehow always seems to have this effect on us, the first stories with my two characters Oliver the cat and Jumpy the kangaroo made their appearance. I have written over 40 stories by now. There is no violence worth talking about but enough adventure to keep them interesting. These are 1000 word short stories and would suit pre-schoolers to primary school. I had incredible luck to find a great young artist who is illustrating my stories successively. There are three stories available on Youtube now and the fourth will come on presently. Depending on the illustrator, I will publish further stories in intervals of about three weeks. I hope very much that many children will find access to my videos. Please enjoy and let others know about my videos. God bless! Regards Werner 

Visit the website here  

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

#AtoZChallenge 1959 & 1980 Caledcott Winner Barbara Cooney

Illustrator Barbara Cooney won the Caldecott Medal in 1959 for her book 'Chanticleer and the Fox,' an adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Nun Priest's Tale.' 

It is the story of a fox who dupes the king of the barnyard, and threatens the barnyard kingdom. The book also won the Kerlan award in 1992, and is included in the ALA's list of Notable Books of its time. The illustrations are quite reminiscent of their time. Hand drawn pictures such as these always leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling.


In 1980, Barbara Cooney again won the Caldecott Medal. This time it was for 'Ox-Cart Man' by Donald Hall. This book was based on a poem he had written about a farming family who use an ox-cart to travel to market to sell their goods. He specifically chose her to illustrate his book.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

#AtoZChallenge 1991 Caldecott Winner 'Black & White' by David Macauley

In 1991, David Macauley won the Caldecott Award for his book Black and White. It's like four simultaneous stories all rolled into one. However, that isn't readily apparent the first time you look through it. The book challenges you to look at it again and again, to see how stories can depend on both the illustrations and the written word. I have a feeling its value is lost if viewing on a Kindle, though.



David Macauley also won the Caldecott Honor in 1974 for his book Cathedral and in 1978 for Castle. Both of these books have amazingly detailed illustrations of each structure, along with the history and construction of each. 


Monday, April 1, 2013

#AtoZChallenge 1977 Caldecott Winner: 'Ashanti to Zulu: African Tradtitions'

Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions by Margaret Musgrove won the Caldecott Medal in 1977 for the illustrations done by Leo and Diane Dillon. The stunningly detailed illustrations beautifully capture the information provided by Musgrove. Her meticulous research is evident, as she has managed to profile 26 different African tribes, from A to Z.

People have all kinds of preconceived notions about Africa, and don't take into account that more than one culture exists there. It's a rich continent that is full of life and tradition. This book is a great way to explore it and really speaks to children and adults. They are easily captivated by its illustrations and want to read more of it. 

This is a book I have had in my personal collection for years and believe belongs on all children's bookshelves.

Buy links: Amazon \ Barnes & Noble