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HAIKU FOR YOU A collection of simple haikus for early readers.
Poetry and poetics often take a back seat in books for young readers. That is a missed opportunity. When children encounter poetry early, appreciation tends to grow naturally over time. This effect becomes even stronger when the focus is clear and approachable. Haiku, with its compact form and playful precision, is an ideal place to begin.
This book introduces young readers to haiku in a way that feels inviting rather than instructional. Children explore the form through a delightful collection of poems centered on penguins bursting with personality. Each poem feels lively and expressive. The result is a charming blend of structure and storytelling. Narrative skills are quietly reinforced, and vocabulary expands along the way, all while readers spend time with these curious, endearing birds.
Haiku for You by Anthony J. D’Amato is a children’s book devoted entirely to haiku. It is especially well-suited for ages three to seven, given the tone and subject matter. Still, anyone interested in a quick and enjoyable introduction to haiku will find something to enjoy here.
Haikus are sometimes seen as intimidating due to their strict rules. Yet those same constraints are what give the form its striking elegance. This collection makes that point clearly. Many of the poems are lighthearted, even silly at times, but they remain beautifully crafted. The contrast works well and keeps the reading experience fresh.
This is very much a learn-as-you-read book. Educational value is woven throughout, never feeling forced. Just as important, the author’s enjoyment of language is evident on every page. That sense of fun is contagious. It recalls the spirit of Dr. Seuss, where playful experimentation lifts the entire experience. The joy behind these haikus becomes clearer the longer you linger with them.
Both children and adults will enjoy watching this penguin cast move through their world in neat, poetic lines. There is warmth here, along with wit and imagination.
Haiku for You offers knowledge, creativity, and visual appeal in equal measure. The engaging illustrations and D’Amato’s confident command of haiku make this a pleasure to read. It has all the makings of a bedtime favorite, one that families return to again and again.
Pages: 36 | ASIN : B0F4PXF1CZ
The Eternal Bridge
The Eternal Bridge is a fantasy parable about a world healed on the surface yet still aching inside. The story begins three years after Geshriel becomes a living bridge that joins two once-hostile shores. People trade, marry, feast, and rebuild, and life looks whole again. Then small tremors shake the land, crops wither, and feasts feel thinner, and the community senses a deeper break between earth and heaven that no wooden span can fix. The book follows families like Fidel and Verita, Liberta and Dathan, and many others as they wrestle with grief, restlessness, and hope while they wait for Geshriel to return and complete the work he began. In the final movement, the bridge turns into a vertical path of light, the dead are raised, a radiant city descends, and the people find their true home in the presence of the Lamb and the Maker, in a union that feels final and yet ever deepening.
I felt pulled in first by the tenderness of the relationships. The marriages and families feel warm and lived in, and I cared about them very quickly. The scenes of simple daily life on the bridge, the artisan work, the trade, the shared meals, all carry a quiet glow. When the cracks appear in that paradise, the emotional punch hits hard, because the book has already convinced me that this community matters. The later reunions with lost children, spouses, and elders hit an even deeper nerve. The big theological ideas turn very personal there, because the hope of resurrection shows up not as an abstract promise but as a mother getting her baby back, or a couple finally freed from decades of guilt.
The prose leans lyrical and earnest, and sometimes it worked for me. The symbols are very clear, and the story rarely hides what it wants to say. The bridge, the orchard, the feast, the tremors, every image points to a spiritual theme. That clarity will comfort some readers. The early chapters linger on peaceful life on the bridge, and a few of those sections felt long, while the cosmic finale races by in a rush of visions, reunions, and worship. I enjoyed that ending.
I would recommend The Eternal Bridge to readers who love clear, heartfelt Christian allegory and who enjoy stories in the vein of C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce or classic devotional fiction. If you are hungry for a story that talks openly about loss, longing, reunion, and eternal hope, and if you like the idea of seeing big doctrinal themes lived out in ordinary families, this novel will likely move you.
Pages: 223 | ASIN : B0G4NYKT9J
Fun and Realistic Education
Dali & Banksy’s Brave Bite Adventure follows two young explorers on a cozy, confidence-boosting quest that turns tasting new foods into an upbeat, family-filled adventure. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The Inspiration for the story was that I was teaching nutrition in the Flint Public Schools, and I was not happy with the book I had to read so I wanted one that was fun, realistic, and encouraged children to try new fruits and veggies.
Gram and Pepere add such comforting energy. Were they based on people from your own life?
Gram and Pepere are myself and my husband (Pepere is French Canadian). This is what Dali and Banksy call us.
The illustrations feel soft and welcoming. What guidance did you give the illustrator to achieve that mood?
The illustrations were perfect! Banksy knew who everyone was, and the illustrator was given pictures, and I just shared my vision for the book, most importantly, I wanted it to be kid-friendly and grab the attention of children and parents.
Do you imagine more Brave Bites Quests or other adventures for Dali and Banksy in future books?
Yes, the second book is currently in illustration, and it is about medically compromised children and helping them be brave.
Author Links: Facebook | Website
Dali and Banksy’s Brave Bite Adventure is a heartwarming, fun-filled story about two curious siblings who discover that trying something new isn’t so scary after all!
When Dali and Banksy are invited to try a new food, they aren’t too sure. What if it tastes weird? What if they don’t like it? With a little courage, a lot of imagination, and the support of each other, they take a brave bite, and learn that stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to tasty surprises and big life lessons.
Inspired by real-life siblings, this playful picture book encourages kids to be open-minded, adventurous, and kind. It’s perfect for children ages 3–8 and families who love stories about growing together, one small step (or bite!) at a time.
Great for: Picky eaters, new experiences, sibling bonding, courage-building, and shared family reading.
Protecting Friends
Facing Revenge follows a group of high school friends who are dealing with normal teen life till two boys decide to take revenge on classmates, leading to a kidnapping. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Cali and Sky made Clair Ransom’s acquaintance back in seventh grade when Cali saw some boys harassing Clair but she was not sure why they were doing the bullying. When she confronted Clair, she discovered that Clair had Tourette’s and was being mocked by other students who were clueless about the malady. She involved Sky with helping Clair deal with his Tourette symptoms and with his lack of confidence because of his malady. As they got to know Clair better, Sky and Cali found that he was intelligent, creative, and had a dry sense of humor that made developing a meaningful friendship with Clair worth their time. Sky and his wrestling and football buddies also developed a brotherly relationship with Clair. Sky, Cali, and their friends have been protective of Clair ever since those early days in junior high.
Now when Cali, Sky, and their ninth-grade friends enter senior high school, students who are not familiar with Clair’s Tourette symptoms, his strange tics, again initiate bullying behavior. Sky and his football friends are prepared to be protective of Clair and when an incident occurs during an early-in-the-school-year lunchroom, Clair’s friends quickly come to his aid. The incident of clueless bullying is typical of modern high school drama. In this instance, when Sky and friends intervene on Clair’s behalf, their protective act humiliates the bullies and a sequence of events then occurs where the bullies want revenge but their choice of revenge escalates to a high level.
While Skyler and Cali keep finding themselves in situations involving trouble and crime, that is not all that shapes who they are as teens. What were some of the trials that you felt were important to highlight the character’s development?
Cali and Sky continue to deal with their difficulty, their confusion about their sexual desires. Part of their psyche knows that sexual desires are normal, but part of their decision making in this area continues to be influenced by several factors: of the influence of cultural expectations; and of their knowledge that becoming sexually involved could make their future relationship difficult and taxing. What if they break up? What if they fall in love with someone else? How will they feel when they must go separate ways after high school but have had an intense sexual relationship? These concerns will continue to influence their relationship as they approach their 12th grade-year and their eventual graduation from high school.
What is your background and experience, and how did it help you write this story?
I spent twenty years as a high school counselor in a public high school. Teen sexual dilemmas and bullying far outweighed academic concerns that kids would present to me during personal counseling sessions. Also paramount in teen life was the contrast in how parents would deal with their teen child especially in the areas of self esteem and dating complexities.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Forced Apart is now available. A typical situation in the life of a teen occurs. Parents have the opportunity to further their careers but to seize the opportunity means moving to a new city. Cali and Sky are forced to live apart and their separation presents new challenges with which the two teens must cope. How will they handle the separation? And what about that teen’s parents? Will the relocation present challenges for the parents also? Will the teen who must relocate be able to develop new and meaningful friendships? Will the teen left behind find a new romance? And what if a new danger develops to put one of them at risk? Will friends, new and old, be once again instrumental in helping Sky and Cali cope with the challenges of not attending the same high school and not in daily contact with one another? Forced Apart will fit with the preceding novels as these two modern day teens cope with challenges that often do arise in adolescent life in America.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
These situations are typical for current high school students until two boys, ruminating on a public embarrassment, decide to take revenge to a dangerous level. Maybe the remainder of their freshman year at Parkington North won’t be as manageable as Sky and Cali expected.
Quests & Queries
Quests & Queries follows Query, a young Devil leaving her home in Hell for the Dalton Adventuring Academy for Monsters. The story blends coming-of-age nerves, queer self-discovery, explicit desire, and creeping supernatural dread as Query wrestles with a seductive aura she can’t control and a nightmare creature that seems to have followed her into the mortal world. The book mixes cozy moments, raw vulnerability, messy hookups, strange magic, and a big, warm cast of monsters who fill every scene with energy and charm.
I was pulled in by the tone most of all. The writing swings between funny, tender, anxious, and sensual. It feels alive in a way that made me grin one moment and wince the next. The voice is confident and conversational. It jumps from casual jokes to heavy emotional beats without losing its footing. Some scenes ran hot enough to fog up my glasses, and others punched me right in the gut. I liked how boldly it sat with uncomfortable feelings, especially Query’s mix of shame, desire, and fear. The pacing is quick most of the time. I enjoyed being tossed around by it.
Query’s aura, which makes nearly everyone want her, could have stayed a simple erotic device. Instead, it carries weight. It shapes her loneliness, her guilt, her longing for connection that isn’t warped by magic. The book leans into that ache, and it made me care about her. I also felt something real in the way the academy welcomes her with open arms and sudden chaos. The crush of new people, the confusing attention, the tiny disasters piling up. It reminded me of how starting college feels. Big and scary and exciting. The worldbuilding is vibrant and wild, but the emotional heart is surprisingly grounded.
By the last pages, I realized how much the book aims to blend comfort with danger. Cute friendships sit right next to unsettling hauntings. Steamy encounters overlap with moments of deep insecurity. It’s a mix that works.
I’d recommend Quests & Queries to readers who enjoy queer fantasy with spice, humor, and a lot of emotional honesty. It’s perfect for anyone who likes character-driven stories packed with magic and heat and who doesn’t mind things getting messy. If you want a book that feels playful and cozy and sometimes downright chaotic, this one will hit the spot.
Pages: 337 | ASIN : B0G1D4BHNY
The Work in Between: A Memoir About Stepping Out of My Shadows
The Work in Between is a memoir that follows Gretchen Holmes through decades of illness, loss, trauma, and self-reinvention. She writes about her three rounds with thyroid cancer, her struggles with obesity and diabetes, a childhood marked by alcoholism and chaos, and the long climb toward emotional healing. The story moves through her early years in Michigan, her leap to New York University, her complicated family relationships, and the slow, steady work of understanding who she is and what she deserves in life. It is a book about survival, but also about learning how to live with intention instead of fear.
This is an emotionally stirring memoir. The writing feels honest. I found myself pausing and thinking about how she described fear and shame and the habit of keeping secrets. The scenes from her childhood hit hard. Her memories of her father’s drinking and the “dreads” that sat in her stomach felt painfully real. At the same time, the warmth of her family, especially her mother, shines through and softens the edges. I appreciated how she tells the truth without turning her story into a pity party. She owns her choices. She admits the messy parts. I liked that the book didn’t pretend healing happens neatly or quickly.
The parts about her medical journey brought out a different kind of emotion in me. The dismissal she faced from doctors, the exhaustion, and the way she pushed through school while barely able to swallow or breathe. I caught myself feeling frustrated for her. I also felt a weird sort of awe at her stubborn determination. When she talked about chaos being her comfort zone, I understood it more than I expected. The writing in these chapters has a steady rhythm that mirrors her resilience. Even when she writes about falling back into old patterns, I felt hopeful because she keeps showing up for herself. The mix of vulnerability and grit makes the book stick with you.
The Work in Between is not just a memoir about cancer or addiction or trauma. It is a memoir about the space between those moments and the quiet, uncomfortable work of changing your life from the inside out. I would recommend this book to anyone who has lived through hard stuff and is still trying to figure out what to do with it. It is also a good fit for readers who like personal stories that feel real and unpolished and full of heart.
Pages: 186 | ASIN : B0CZSHSJCL
The Winds of War
The Winds of War opens with a sweeping fantasy world marked by old grudges, broken continents, and horrors that crawl out of black oceans. It follows several threads at once. A historian condemned to a gruesome fate. A chieftainess defends her people as a hostile empire closes in. A dragonrider racing against time. A soldier wrestling with his worth. Their stories twist through war, myth, and rising dread, and the early passages make clear that the world is on the edge of something catastrophic. The tone is harsh, grim, sometimes tender, and always huge in scope.
As I read, I kept stopping just to feel the weight of the writing. The author paints with bold strokes. The violence is raw, and the quiet moments hit even harder because of it. I found myself getting swept up in the grit of the battles and the soft warmth of family scenes. I loved how the prose moved, sometimes sharp, sometimes lyrical, always sure of itself. The intensity kept ramping up, which actually left me excited for the next wild twist.
I loved the ideas this story explores. The way faith is twisted into cruelty. The way people cling to hope even when the ocean itself seems hungry for them. The book digs into power, sacrifice, and the awful choices leaders face. I kept thinking about how everyone tries to do right in their own way. Even when those ways collide. The ambition of the story and the world thrilled me. It felt like standing in the wind of something huge.
I would recommend The Winds of War to readers who enjoy dark fantasy with heart. Folks who like big worlds, messy heroes, and stories that don’t hold your hand. It reminded me of the sweeping grit of A Song of Ice and Fire and the wild, creature-soaked tension of The Witcher books, only this story hits with its own sharper bite and a faster heartbeat.
Pages: 526 | ASIN : B0F9SCV4CJ
The Hedgewitch’s Charm
The Hedgewitch’s Charm is a fantasy novel that follows a spreading, deadly illness sweeping through Colonodona and the people who are desperate to stop it. We meet Gwendolyn, a young hedgewitch trying and failing to save those brought to her door, and Ipsinki, a duke haunted by the suffering of his people as he races to bring news of the mysterious plague to the king. Their paths eventually converge as both realize this sickness may not be natural at all, but something crafted with intent. The story blends magic, politics, and personal grief into a quest to uncover the living force behind the dying.
I kept pausing at moments where the writing leans into the rawness of helplessness, especially in scenes where Ipsinki stays at a dying friend’s bedside or when Gwendolyn works in suffocating heat, hoping for a miracle that never comes. The author’s choice to place us so close to the emotional burden of failure brings a kind of intimacy to the narrative. It hits harder than expected for a fantasy novel, which usually leans more on adventure than emotional weight. Here, the emotion is the adventure, and I found myself sinking into that more than the worldbuilding at times.
The ideas in the book feel grounded in very human fears: disease you can’t stop, the panic of not knowing the cause, and the sudden realization that the danger might not be random at all. When Gwendolyn senses the illness’s true nature, the tension spikes. It’s the moment where the genre shifts from comforting folk-magic fantasy into something more ominous, and the book seems to say: this world is lovely, yes, but it’s not safe. Still, the writing keeps a warmth to it. There’s grief, but also friendship; fear, but also stubborn hope. The rhythm of the storytelling reflects that. Some sentences snap quick like sparks. Others roll out slowly, the way a person talks when they’re trying to make sense of something that still hurts.
I think the book sits in that space between cozy fantasy and dark fantasy. It’s magic, mystery, and emotional stakes all woven together. I’d recommend The Hedgewitch’s Charm to readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy, especially those who like stories where magic comes with consequences and the heroes are driven less by glory and more by compassion. If you like fantasy that feels personal rather than epic, you’ll enjoy this one.
Pages: 221 | ASIN: B0G67H73RH
LITERARY TITAN 