Blog Archives
Surrounded by Ocean
Mangrove Sands takes four friends who all seemed destined for uncertain futures and sends them on a magical adventure. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
Once I retired, writing was a way of staying connected to the students who I missed terribly. My beautiful environment surrounded by ocean, marine animals and bushland full of native birds and wildlife added to my inspiration and development of fictional characters.
Your characters were wonderfully diverse and well developed. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Having worked with Primary school students for nearly a decade who were verified under the spectrum and watching them grow under my wing and transform from failing students to students who began to enjoy learning, were finally understood and given a new way of learning, definetley played a part in the development of my characters.
Each character has a small piece of character or personality from some of the children I worked with.
Many of these students have transitioned to highschool and beyond. One in the army, one studying law, another a graphic designer. They still stop for a chat or send me messages .
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Definetley for children facing hardship and adversity my book aims to encourage children to find the positive in even the worst situation and make every day count.
Other underlying themes touch on environmental awareness, empathy and kindness.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Both the sequel Mangrove Sands, The Enchanted SeaWorld & Beyond and The third book of the series, Mangrove Sands, The Epic Journey are currently in production in London.
It is hoped that the sequel will be released in 2021. This book includes an indigenous aboriginal character who teaches her friends about her language and culture.
The third book includes a Swedish character opening the doors and young minds to embrace multiculturalism, language and diverse cultures And of course, there are many more adventures in the Enchanted Seaworld.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
Based on an island in South East Queensland, Australia, four children, who attend the same island state school, are all miserable at home and school until Parlow, the pelican, comes knocking on Tommy’s window one night to offer him a better life. Tommy thinks he is dreaming as do his friends—Maria, Dino and Jake—who all have an out of body experience and are taken to an enchanted underwater sea world beneath Mangrove Sands, where they meet talking animals who have their own language and become the children’s tutors, mentors and friends.
Through an enchanting underwater sea world of magic, adventure and humour, Mangrove Sands aims to provide hope and inspiration to children around the globe facing adversity.
Amber Tambourine and the Land of Laugh-a-Lot
![Amber Tambourine and the Land of Laugh-a-Lot by [Aimee C Trafton]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51R0i3uJCPS.jpg)
Amber Tambourine and the Land of Laugh-a-Lot follows a little girl who takes her dogs for a walk in the woods after the rain stops. As they make their way through the woods Amber discovers a polka dotted rainbow that leads to the magical town of Laugh-a-Lot where everything is polka dotted and the people sing and dance all day.
This is a wonderfully imaginative children’s book that, like Alice in Wonderland, leads the main character and readers into a wonderous land where odd but fun things happen. The art is vivid and sharp and really accents the kaleidoscopic nature of Laugh-a-Lot. Children will have plenty of eye candy to enjoy in this book as Amber dances and sings the day away.
The story is easy to follow and understand, with some challenging words for young readers that will help build their vocabulary. When the fun ends and Amber returns home I was delighted to learn that her mother was in Laugh-a-Lot as a child too. This gives the story a fairy tale like quality with a deeper backstory than a simple child’s picture book often offers.
Amber Tambourine and the Land of Laugh-a-Lot is a delightful picture book that takes readers on a colorful journey to a land where having fun is easy.
Pages: 30 | ASIN: B095653NH6
A Stranger in the Clearing
![A Stranger in the Clearing: In the Woods Series by [Victoria Smith, Marcela Werkema]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51c-SejnNeL.jpg)
A Stranger in the Clearing is a wonderful children’s picture book that follows a golden retriever named Sequoia who comes across a Piebald Deer in a forest clearing. The young deer is hiding and doesn’t want to return home. After some investigation Sequoia realizes the deer ran away from home to keep her family safe because her unique look makes her stand out to hunters. They both soon realize that what makes the deer unique is not its color but its boundless courage.
The illustrations in this children’s book are absolutely phenomenal. Each page has a sprayed graphic art with a soft color palette and striking contrasts, giving each piece an artistic look but ensuring the faces of the many adorable creatures throughout the story are all emotive. This is a perfect children’s story for parents to read to their kids at night. It reminds me of classic pieces of fairy tale literature, poetic lines coupled with the beautiful art to deliver a sentimental but enchanting story.
The story conveys some very important lessons told in a direct and easy to understand manner. We learn that it is not what we look like that defines us, but our actions. Sequoia, ever welcoming and loving, encourages the young deer and ensures her that the animals in the forest will love her for who she is.
A Stranger in the Clearing is an inspiring and colorful children’s book that teaches a valuable lesson in an easy to understand and heartwarming story.
Pages: 38 | ASIN: B08PDQF2Q3
Mangrove Sands
![Mangrove Sands: The Enchanted Sea World by [L. J. Nilsson]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/518JA4SgG3L.jpg)
Imagine having a dream that included all of your closest friends. You are swooped away hearing promises of future adventures below the sea to worlds beyond your wildest imagination. Your dream is so very vivid and involved that you wake up recalling you were ultimately sworn to secrecy. Picture waking up from this most amazing and magical experience, rushing to tell your friends about it all the while believing that everything you saw, touched, and felt was a fantastic figment of your imagination. Now, imagine listening as your friends describe for you the same dream down to the very last detail.
Mangrove Sands: The Enchanted Sea World, by L.J. Nilsson, takes four friends who all seemed destined for uncertain futures and are living far less than ideal lives and gives them a most magical experience. This short fantasy adventure story is a quick read that hands young readers relatable characters for whom they will be more than happy to cheer.
Nilsson caught this elementary teacher in the first chapter with the detailed descriptions of each of the four children. It is not often young readers get to see four characters all having either disabilities or suffering from some type of tragedy or abuse. Many stories may feature one of this character type, but to see so many as main characters is refreshing and gives me hope. Children need to see themselves reflected in the books they read, and seeing children they essentially know in Tommy, Maria, Jake, and Dino is uplifting to say the least.
One of the most captivating aspects of Nilsson’s work is the joy clearly conveyed in each of the main characters. Their everyday lives are such a stark contrast to the pure unfettered delight the children feel as they take this new path. They deserve happiness in massive doses, and the reader is witness to all of their discoveries, their joyful outbursts, and the colorful way in which the author describes their eagerness for more adventures.
Nilsson has developed a beautiful adventure story that also spreads a message of hope to its readers. Mangrove Sands: The Enchanted Sea World builds on the curiosity of youth, the power of dreams, and contains a strong message of kindness. It is just what today’s young readers need to feel. As it will appeal to readers of mixed genres, I would recommend Nilsson’s work to any upper elementary teacher looking to add a touching and heartfelt adventure story to their library.
Pages: 108 | ASIN: B087N5QGDT
The Heath Cousins and the Ruby Lantern
Heath Cousins and The Ruby Lantern by Eileen Hobbs is an enchanting adventure tale where we are taken into a whimsical land with the main character Addie. B, a bright and imaginative child who with the help of a moonstone ring can translate other languages. Addie and her mother head out to do some shopping, during their adventure Addie spots an opening into another world, which she had visited before. In this world there is a garden of choice which leads them to Ambra, the main part of this other world. Addie enlists the help of her cousins, then they head off on a whirlwind adventure where they solve problems and discover clues that cause them to be riddled with curiosities and ensure many more visits to the garden of choice in the future.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this imaginative adventure novel by author Eileen Hobbs. This is a classic adventure story that took me back to my own childhood and filled with me the same sense of wonder that I had back then. Overall, I found the characters to be charming and a joy to follow through this adventure. I liked the author’s voice and enchanting atmosphere that she effortlessly creates in this novel.
While I heartily enjoyed the story, I felt that the child sometimes felt older than their age, hopping on planes and running off on their own. But how else would you find yourself into and out of these compelling adventures.
Heath Cousins and The Ruby Lantern is a book I can see myself reading as a child, curled up at night with a night light, reading until I fall asleep. This is a well crafted and fun sword and sorcery story that will appeal to anyone looking for a timeless children’s fantasy story.
Pages: 166 | ASIN: B08XTST3MZ
What’s So Great About Silent E?
What’s So Great About Silent E? is an entertaining children’s book that teaches readers about the importance of silent E and provides various fun examples of how silent E modifies words. Every amusing example shown throughout the book is accompanied by a brightly colored picture that hilariously shows how the modified word can alter the world.
This charming picture book is filled with hand drawn art that is colored in with markers and is very appealing and relatable to children. Talking about the English language to children can often be abstract, Author Deanna Thompson provides readers with a fantastic book that will literally show readers how silent E works to modify words. The silly imagery accompanying each example will certainly capture the attention of young readers and ensure the lesson is learned well. The combination of sketch art and fun lessons reminds me of the old children’s cartoon Schoolhouse Rock.
This is a fantastic addition to any parent or teachers reading comprehension lessons as it is filled with easy-to-understand words that will build a new readers comprehension skill. What’s So Great About Silent E? is a crazy fun book that teaches readers about the important of a single letter.
Pages: 28 | ISBN: 1449092748
The Rules of a Little Boss: A book of self-love
![The Rules of a Little Boss: A book of self-love (Big Boss Series) by [Haelee Moone, Arsalan Khalid, Dedrick Moone]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51u1EE0RYzS.jpg)
The Rules of a Little Boss helps readers accept who they are and provides the tools needed to be self-confident and stand up to bully’s and peer pressure. This vivid children’s book shows kids in various situations that they normally face in school and in life. The book shares positive messages about being who you are and never being ashamed of it.
I really loved the diverse cast of characters in this book and how the story shows that that is why we’re all special. The lessons in the book range from building self-confidence, to being nice, to avoiding drugs. All the lessons are delivered with colorful graphic art and emotive characters that will certainly keep the attention of any children reading along.
Every page of the book shares a new message about self-love and being kind and gives readers simple but powerful messages that will help motivate them to implement these ideas in their own life. As the introduction to the book states “you have to be willing to do the work”. This book serves as a fantastic guide for children to follow, and is a great book for parents and teachers to use as talking points about self-esteem.
The Rules of a Little Boss shares important messages that can improve children’s lives for years to come. This is a beautifully written children’s picture book that deals with a variety of personal and social issues in an easy-to-understand manner and truly embraces the values of diversity and inclusion.
Pages: 25 | ASIN: B097193LWG
A Sibling’s Guide To Autism
A Sibling’s Guide To Autism is an educational children’s book written in the form of an essay, or journal entry of sorts, where the author is explaining to her younger sibling what it is like to have an older sibling with autism. I don’t live with anyone that has autism so I, like her younger sibling, am learning about these things for the first time through this wonderfully illustrated book. This picture book is informative as well as enlightening and serves as a wonderful educational resource on the subject.
Author Irene Kim shares her experiences living with a sibling with autism. It sounds tough, but she also makes a point to say that it is rewarding in the end. The book uses a beautiful modern expressionist art style throughout the book to support the ideas presented on each page. Each piece of art and page is focused on an idea that takes on a different and more powerful meaning when you are living with someone with autism, like: pace, volume, people, and attachment. The section about ‘Attachment’ was the most impactful to me. I come to realize that living with someone with autism makes you mature and grow in ways that takes other people decades.
A Sibling’s Guide To Autism is a poignant children’s book that illuminates the up and downs that come with raising a child with autism. This is a fantastic picture book for teachers, parents, and children that are about to have someone with autism in their lives. This will be helpful in understanding that, while it will be difficult, it will also be rewarding, and author Irene Kim captures that in a brilliant way.
Pages: 17 | ASIN: B094HB7338
LITERARY TITAN 