Release Day Party The Hippity Dippity Witch

hippityrelease

About the Book

cover7Title: The Hippity Dippity Witch

Author: Lorraine O’Byrne

Genre: Children’s Books

Eight-year-old Jenny Connolly skips school to visit her friends in an enchanted wood. When she arrives, it’s a scene of total devastation. The creatures of the wood cower in terror. There is a cruel magic at hand here. She goes by the name of Marigold Dimple, a feisty, ten-year-old witch from Elderwood. Marigold is a witch with a vengeance, determined to have her own way and create havoc wherever she goes. When Jenny and Marigold’s paths collide, nothing will ever be the same again…

Author Bio

Lorraine O’Byrne was born in county Limerick, Ireland. Following two and a half years in Dublin on a City & Guilds course in photography, she went on to teach English in Colombia then spent a further six months in France as part of her European Studies degree. Lorraine loved writing at a very young age and felt that this was where her true passion lay. She underwent an intensive creative writing course before embarking on her first novel “The Wrath of Voodoo” (adult fiction) published in 2004 but since then has turned to writing children’s books. Her love of children’s stories comes from the active imagination she had as a child, Walt Disney Movies and the animals on her farm.

Links

Twitter

Website

Amazon (Kindle)

Amazon (Paperback)

B&N

Book Review: Earclaw and Eddie by Daniel Jude Miller

CoverTitle: Earclaw and Eddie

Author: Daniel Jude Miller

Genre: Children’s Books

Age Group: Children (although this could be useful for adults too)

Rating: 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Review copy provided by Encahnted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Eddie is just a regular guy trying to get by in his boring life, when out of nowhere he finds himself underneath a very unwelcome visitor. Earclaw is the unwelcome visitor and exists as nothing more than a crushing weight on Eddie’s head. Faced with this permanent guest, Eddie must learn to endure, accept and possibly trick Earclaw in leaving once and for all.

In Earclaw and Eddie, Eddie is just a regular guy until one day, he gets a visit from Earclaw, a purple, huge monster that nestles around his ears and won’t let go. No matter what Eddie does, Earclaw is there. At work, during dates, while brushing his teeth, even while he’s trying to get to sleep.

Earclaw is not just a monster – as we learn throughout the book. He also stands for emotional pain, and in a way that hardly any children’s book I’ve read manages to do, this book shows the reader an actual message: sometimes, we have emotional pain, and no matter what we do we can’t let go of it. We have to learn to live with it. We have to learn to live with the monsters.

This book is unique. In a whimsical, charming way, with gorgeous illustrations (seriously, I couldn’t stop looking at them over and over again) author Daniel Jude Miller tells his young and old readers alike a very important message.

Book Tours: Starter Day Party for Earclaw and Eddie

earclawandeddiebanner

I’m hosting the starter day party today for the book tour for children’s picture book “Earclaw and Eddie”. The tour runs from May 25 to June 25.

I’ll review the book on June 12. Stay tuned for the review and, in the mean time, visit the other tour stops.

Tour Schedule

May 25th: Starter Day Party @ I Heart Reading

May 26th: Promo Post @ Indy Book Fairy

May 28th: Promo Post @ Domestic Chanteuse

May 30th: Promo Post @ Nat’s Book Nook

June 2nd: Author Interview @ Majanka’s Blog

June 4th: Promo Post @ Editor Charlene’s Blog

June 6th: Promo Post @ I’m an Eclectic Reader

June 8th: Author Interview @ Bedazzled Reading

June 10th: Promo Post @ The Single Librarian

June 12th: Book Review @ I Heart Reading

June 14th: Promo Post @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog

June 16th: Promo Post @ Bookworm for Kids

June 18th: Book Review and Author Interview @ A Virtual Hobby Store and Coffee Haus

June 20th: Book Review @ Parakeet Reviews

June 22nd: Promo Post @ 365 Days of Reading

June 23rd: Author Interview @ You Interviewed

June 25th: Book Review @ Books, Books and More Books

About the Book

CoverTitle: Earclaw and Eddie

Author: Daniel Jude Miller

Genre: Children’s Books

Eddie is just a regular guy trying to get by in his boring life, when out of nowhere he finds himself underneath a very unwelcome visitor. Earclaw is the unwelcome visitor and exists as nothing more than a crushing weight on Eddie’s head. Faced with this permanent guest, Eddie must learn to endure, accept and possibly trick Earclaw in leaving once and for all.

Author Bio

Dan’s story is a simple story. He grew up in a rugged logging camp of the great northwest. His father wished him to be a skilled tree-splitter but Dan didn’t have the stomach for it. Instead he headed east at age 9 with a pad of paper and 12,000 fresh, wooden pencils. The next 30 some odd years were mostly uneventful, filled with family, growth and other uninteresting stuff. Then, recently, those 12,000 pencils finally started getting put to good use.

Links

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/djudemiller

Website: www.djudemiller.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/djudemiller

Release Day Party A Manual for Marco

marcorelease

About the Book

ManualForMarco_coverAn 8-year old girl decides to make a list of all the things she likes and dislikes about dealing with her autistic brother, and in doing so realizes that she has created A Manual for Marco.

“In a story inspired by a real-life family, Abdullah, who tackled cerebral palsy in My Friend Suhana, discusses life with an autistic sibling, as described by a girl named Sofia. Endnotes provide additional tips and information about interacting with those on the autism spectrum.”
–Publishers Weekly

“Through her genuine and caring accounts about growing up with an older, autistic brother, this 8-year-old also shows her love for her sibling who is special but sometimes does things that are not-so-special. I highly recommend this book written with sensitivity and beautifully illustrated.”
–Lorna d’Entremont, M.Ed., Special Needs Book Review

Book Excerpt

I walk into a house full of screams. It is not the first time.

Mom is struggling to get my brother Marco out of his favorite red jacket. Together they look like football players on separate teams. He’s not making it easy for her, but Mom is not giving up.

“Hi, Mom,” I say. She grunts in response.

I quietly put my backpack down and walk inside the kitchen to grab an apple.

In a short while, Marco walks away—with his jacket still on. Mom sighs. I hand her the remaining half of my apple and give her a hug.

My mom is no football player. Neither is Marco into sports. He has autism. It is a condition that makes it very hard for him to do things the normal way. He is one of those children who should have come with a manual. You know, those handbooks that tell you how something (or in this case somebody) works.

I didn’t come with a manual either, but Mom says I do things by the book. She says she means it in a good way. She is a doctor so I have to believe her. And although I can swim, dance, and do many special things, Mom insists that Marco is the special one.

About the Author

Shaila_AbdullahShaila Abdullah is an award-winning author and designer based in Austin, Texas. She has written five books: Saffron Dreams, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, My Friend Suhana, Rani in Search of a Rainbow, and A Manual for Marco. The author has received several awards for her work including the Golden Quill Award and Patras Bukhari Award for English Language. Several academic institutions have adopted her books as course study or recommended reading, including the University of California, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University, Boston University, California State University, and George Washington University. Learn more about the author at www.ShailaAbdullah.com

Links

Website: http://shailaabdullah.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaila-Abdullah-Author/140181920333

Blog: http://shailaabdullah.com/blog/

Book Review: The Monster on Top of the Bed by Alan H. Jordan

51Yy-NLOynLTitle: The Monster on Top of the Bed & My Monster on Top of the Bed
Author: Alan H. Jordan
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Age Group: Children
Rating: 5 stars
Buy: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Suzy, who used to jump up and down on her bed having just a great time. This scared a young critter named Karrit who lived under Suzy’s bed and he wanted her to be his friend. Still, Suzy ate strange things like cakes made out of pans (pancakes) and the toes of toemays (tomatoes) and—he couldn’t believe it—he heard her talk about eating something truly horrendous.

One day Karrit heard Suzy tell her mother that she was lonely and needed a friend. Because of that Karrit decided to visit Suzy. At first Suzy was afraid of Karrit, who had red, scaly legs, and a blue nose. But Suzy noticed that Karrit seemed scared of her too. So, Suzy treated Karrit the way that she would want to be treated if she had gone to his house.

As they grew to know each other, Suzy figured out why Karrit was afraid of her, and she was sorry to have scared him. She showed him a hotdog (she didn’t eat dogs that were hot) a tomato (she didn’t eat the toes of matoes) and a carrot (she definitely didn’t eat Karrits).

Suzy made Karrit feel that she liked him, and that she wanted him to be happy. Because of that, they kept getting to know each other better until one day they both realized that they didn’t have to be afraid of each other, and that it was a mistake for each of them to think of the other as a “monster.” Suzy and Karrit became best friends, and neither was afraid of monsters again.

The Monster on Top of the Bed is an adorable, cute book about Suzy, a little girl, and the monster living under her bed. The monster’s name is Karrit, and he’s actually not all that bad. When he overhears Suzy telling her Mom she’s lonely, Karrit decides to pay her a visit. At first, Suzy is scared of the monster, but Karrit is just as scared of her – after all, she eats the craziest things! Like cakes made of pans, toes of toemays and something even worse than all that! She even ate carrots, which sounds suspiciously like Karrit!

When Suzy figures out Karrit is afraid of her, she shows him all the things he’s supposedly so afraid of, and the two of them become great friends. The ending is heart-warming. The illustrations are colorful and lovely, and they fit the theme. The book also allows kids for the option to come up with a story of their own, which is a great addition.

Book Review Rani in Search of a Rainbow

RISR-cover-hrTitle: Rani in Search of a Rainbow
Author: Shaila Abdullah
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Age Group: Children
Rating: 4,5 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Displaced by the Pakistan floods, Rani’s family has taken refuge at a relief camp where they are doing their part to help other flood victims. Eight-year old Rani wants to assist but doesn’t know how. Heeding the advice of her father to help in a way only children can, Rani embarks on a journey to bring true joy to a dear friend on the occasion of Eid.

In Rani in Search of a Rainbow, Rani and her family have taken refuge at a relif camp after hiding from the Pakistan floods. Her family helps out the other flood victims, but Rani feels like there’s nothing for her to do. She wants to help others, but whenever she offers, she gets turned down by the members of her family, until she comes up with an unique way to help, and bring happiness to a friend she made at the refuge camp.

This is an inspiring story about courage, friendship and being there for one another when in need. The story talks about Rani and her family, life in the refugee camp, the Pakistan floods and the influence it has on communities. The book also features adorable illustrations with bright colors. Kids will love it, and they’ll learn things from it as well, about the values of friendship and helping others, for instance.

Book Tours: Starter Day Party for Fluffy the Bird

fluffythebirdbanner
I’m hosting the starter day party for the book tour for children’s book “Fluffy the Bird” today. I will review the book on December 29, and you can win an autographed copy of the book!

Tour Schedule

December 5th: Starter Day Party @ I Heart Reading

December 5th: Promo Post @ Undercover Book Reviews

December 7th: Book Excerpt @ Books are Forever

December 9th: Promo Post @ Bookish Madness

December 10th: Book Excerpt @ Hollow Readers

December 11th: Author Interview @ Majanka’s Blog

December 13th: Promo Post @ I’m an Eclectic Reader

December 15th: Guest Post @ Bedazzled Reading

December 17th: Book Excerpt @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog

December 18th: Book Review @ Books are Forever

December 19th: Promo Post @ The Book Daily

December 21st: Book Review, Excerpt and Author Interview @ Virtual Coffee Haus

December 23rd: Promo Post @ The Book Gazette

December 24th: Book Review @ I’m an Eclectic Rader

December 25th: Author Interview @ The Single Librarian

December 26th: Book Review @ The Book Daily

December 27th: Guest Post @ Editor Charlene’s Blog

December 28th: Promo Post @ 365 Days of Reading

December 29th: Book Review @ I Heart Reading

December 31st: Book Excerpt @ The Reading Guru

January 2nd: Author Interview @ Bookaholic Ramblings

January 3rd: Book Review @ PRATR

About The Book

destraworldbookcoverTitle: Fluffy the Bird

Author: Ronald Destra and Juanita Destra

Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Children’s Picture Book

New Children  Book ‘Fluffy the Bird’ Teaches Children About Following Their Purpose in Life.

Fluffy the Bird sang the most beautiful music, everyone who had the pleasure of hearing him was delighted. He truly had a gift!

Was this what Fluffy was meant to do? Did he have a purpose? Was his voice a way to make the world a brighter place?

With a bright future and so much potential ahead of them, encouraging children to uncover their natural talents and skill is vital in their development. Take a journey with Fluffy as he discovers his purpose in life– discovering his talent and opening up a world of possibilities for children.

Author Bio

Ronald Destra

pikRonald Destra is an aspiring children author, illustrator, publisher, entrepreneur and husband. He resides in Florida. Mr. Ronald  Destra is the author, co-author and illustrator of four (4) children books, Hoppy the Frog, Fluffy the Bird, Scrappy the Dog & Tommy the Giraffe.

Ronald Destra is the co-founder of Destra World Books Publishing.

His purpose in life is to help young children learn that they do have a purpose in life and to never give up no matter what life throws at them.

More about Ronald Destra and his books, please visit his site.  http://www.ronalddestra.com

Juanita Destra

workCEO of Destra World Books Publishing which provides professional literary services to authors and business owners.

Co-author of Fluffy the Bird & Scrappy the Dog. Aside from her publishing expertise, Juanita Destra has been employed in the medical field for many years which she strives to provide high quality patient care.

More about Juanita Destra and her books, please visit her site.  http://www.juanitadestra.com

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tours: Starter Day Party for The Monster on Top of the Bed

monsteronbedbanner

I’m hosting the starter day party today for children’s book / kids book “The Monster on Top of the Bed”. The tour runs from December 2 to January 2, and I’m reviewing the book on December 30. Stay tuned for the review, and enjoy visiting the other tour stops in the mean time.

Tour Schedule

December 2nd: Starter Day Party @ I Heart Reading

December 4th: Book Excerpt @ The Single Librarian

December 6th: Guest Post @ Editor Charlene’s Blog

December 8th: Book Excerpt @ Hollow Readers

December 9th: Author Interview @  Majanka’s Blog

December 10th: Book Excerpt @ Domestic Chanteuse

December 12th: Character Interview @ The Book Daily

December 14th: Book Excerpt @ Bookish Madness

December 16th: Guest Post @ Bedazzled Reading

December 17th: Book Excerpt @ Bookaholic Ramblings

December 18th: Book Review @ Books, Books and More Books

December 20th: Book Excerpt @ Books are Forever

December 22nd: Book Review @ Historical Fiction

December 23rd: Book Excerpt @ I’m an Eclectic Reder

December 24th: Book Review @ PRATR

December 26th: Book Excerpt @ 365 Days of Reading

December 28th: Author Interview @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog

December 30th: Book Review @ I Heart Reading

January 2nd: Book Excerpt @ The Book Gazette

About The Book

51Yy-NLOynLTitle: The Monster on Top of the Bed & My Monster on Top of the Bed

Author: Alan H. Jordan

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Suzy, who used to jump up and down on her bed having just a great time. This scared a young critter named Karrit who lived under Suzy’s bed and he wanted her to be his friend. Still, Suzy ate strange things like cakes made out of pans (pancakes) and the toes of toemays (tomatoes) and—he couldn’t believe it—he heard her talk about eating something truly horrendous.

One day Karrit heard Suzy tell her mother that she was lonely and needed a friend. Because of that Karrit decided to visit Suzy. At first Suzy was afraid of Karrit, who had red, scaly legs, and a blue nose. But Suzy noticed that Karrit seemed scared of her too. So, Suzy treated Karrit the way that she would want to be treated if she had gone to his house.

As they grew to know each other, Suzy figured out why Karrit was afraid of her, and she was sorry to have scared him. She showed him a hotdog (she didn’t eat dogs that were hot) a tomato (she didn’t eat the toes of matoes) and a carrot (she definitely didn’t eat Karrits).

Suzy made Karrit feel that she liked him, and that she wanted him to be happy. Because of that, they kept getting to know each other better until one day they both realized that they didn’t have to be afraid of each other, and that it was a mistake for each of them to think of the other as a “monster.” Suzy and Karrit became best friends, and neither was afraid of monsters again.

Author Bio

Alan Jordan writes poetry, spiritual books, self-help books, childrens’ books and business books.  He’s working on a comic mystery  and a thriller that are scheduled for release in 2016. His Kindle books , I Am Here, Dad; Can You Feel Me, Mom?; and Zoey’s Letter to a Soul, contain full color photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory with hyperlinks  so that when you click on the links you go right to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) web page that provides full details about the picture.

His children’s book The Monster on Top of the Bed  was written to pass on his strongest beliefs and values to a grandchild, just in case he should pass away before my daughter got pregnant and had a child.

 

Links

http://www.Monbed.com
http://www.alanhjordan.com

Watch some videos that explain the advantages of “The Monster n Top of the Bed”: http://monbed30.max-opp.com/videos/for-kids-and-parents/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yYtf4lk5A

Book Review: A Different Kind of Safari by Helen C. Hipp

bookcover_smallTitle: A Different Kind of Safari
Author: Helen Hipp
Genre: Children’s Books
Age Group: Children
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Has a book ever changed your life? Not just inspired you but helped you to see you’re life differently? In a tale that celebrates differences “A Different Kind of Safari”  addressing the many questions life asks by offering up lighthearted, ever-changing perspectives that transform personal challenges into opportunities. Engaging and fun young children begin to figure out how they are the same and different from other people, and how they feel about the differences. Full of fun and enjoyable teachable moments that move children and allow them to make personal connections with the characters handling of similar fears, interests, and concerns that they experience.

A Different Kind of Safari is certainly, like the title suggests, quite different. Ray is a young boy who is on safari with his family, visiting Africa, when he runs into a pink hippo named Rosie. The hippo tells him a few things about herself, like how she always used to cover herself up, and how she wasn’t happy with herself, things that Ray can easily relate to. Ray doesn’t look different, but he is. He has trouble talking to other kids his age. Sometimes he feels lonely and sad.

Rosie decides to help him, and together they travel the Mara River, while they search for a way to make Ray happy. Along the way, Ray learns more about the other animals through stories and through meeting them, and at the same time, he learns more about life.

This isn’t just a kids book. It is, in fact, a great and inspiring read about a young boy who struggles to be happy – something all, or most of us, can relate to. It’s told through stories with animals in a way that kids can easily understand, but the message is an important one, and not always easy to get across, although this book manages just fine.

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, and that alone would make it worth reading. It offers slightly more than other children’s books, providing insight in difficult themes in a light-hearted way instead of just telling a story.

Mini-Review: Deviant, Misfit, Huber Hill and the Dead Man’s Treasure

minireview

Time for some mini-reviews! What are mini-reviews, you ask? As the title suggests, these are short reviews, consisting of one paragraph tops, about a book. It’s a way to catch up on the books I’ve read a while ago, but never got around to reviewing.

Deviant

Title: Deviant

Author: Adrian McKinty

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: 3 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Danny Lopez is new in town. He made a mistake back home in Las Vegas, and now he has landed at an experimental school in Colorado for “tough cases.” At the Cobalt Charter School, everything is scripted—what the teachers say, what the students reply—and no other speaking is allowed. This supercontrolled environment gives kids a second chance to make something of themselves. But with few freedoms, the students become sitting ducks for a killer determined to “clean up” Colorado Springs.

Review: The story is at its best when we get into the mind of the serial killer. The story jumps around at first, and the characters are a bit bland. It’s more about Danny trying to fit in rather than anything else. Writing isn’t spectacular either.

Misfit

Title: Misfit

Author: Jon Skovron

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy

Rating: 3,5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

Review: Dark and riveting, this is an intriguing book that offered several unexpected surprises. It brings a whole new spin of demons, the bible and the underworld. The writing is solid, and it was an enjoyable book.

Huber Hill and the Dead Man’s Treasure

Title: Huber Hill and the Dead Man’s Treasure

Author: B.K. Bostick

Genre: Middle Grace, Fantasy, Children’s Books

Rating: 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Huber’s life goes from bad to terrible when his grandfather dies—until he opens Grandpa Nick’s mysterious box. An old gold coin and a treasure map rocket him and his friends into a mind-blowing adventure, but he’s not the only one on the hunt. Filled with dangerous animals and cryptic puzzles, this book will have you on the edge of your seat until the last page.

Review: This was a delightful, quirky, fun adventure that kept me on the edge of my seat from the start to end. The villain is deliciously creepy, and the clues are puzzling and entertaining.