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Marco Pablo & Olivia Story One Fútbol Tryouts
It’s not easy moving to a new neighborhood, especially at a young age. It can cause a lot of stress and worry. Although, it’s a lot easier when you have your siblings by your side. Marco Pablo & Olivia Fútbol Tryouts, by Ana Cortes follows an Ecuadorian family, moving into a new city. When the three siblings, Marco Olivia and Pablo, see the inside of their new house, they begin to grow excited at the idea of decorating their own rooms. As they look around, their mom brings them the news that there is a fútbol field nearby! Marco immediately wants to take his siblings to go see it, and when they go they discover that there are soccer tryouts coming up. But, when they talk to the team, they find that one member doesn’t want Marco on the team. He insults him and tries to convince him not to come to tryouts, but Marco is determined. Now, the siblings are left with the task of helping Marco complete the tryouts and making it onto the team!
Not only does this story show readers Ecuadorian culture, but it also covers multiple other important lessons for children to learn. The author writes about moving into a new city, which everyone knows can be difficult and worrying. The author brings to light that moving can also bring positivity and new opportunities.
The story also covers the topic of bullying very well as it shows how to stop a bully, and how to continue to follow your dreams, despite what they may say. It’s important to stay true to yourself and continue to do what makes you happy.
The comic book style of this story really brings it to life as it is full of color and all the characters are emotive. The scenery is drawn with a lot of detail, helping the reader to immerse themselves in the scenes. Overall, the story delivers an incredible message while still entertaining the audience with wonderful writing and drawings.
Marco Pablo & Olivia Fútbol Tryouts, by Ana Cortes is entertaining while also being educational. It teaches children how to balance a new life, and get through any barriers they may run into. The illustrations are drawn with an amazing amount of skill and detail, making the book captivating. This charming children’s book is useful for any child to have, so they can understand that these challenges are only temporary, and there’s always a way to get through.
ASIN: B09QQ2QC9M
Time Travelers of the Caribbean
Time Travelers of the Caribbean is a fun time travel adventure story that combines sci-fi elements with historical fantasy. The book centers around two orphans, 12-year-old Johnny and 9-year-old Ella, living under the oppressive roof of Regina. The kids team up with Regina’s introverted brother Shawn, who happens to have built a time machine with a mind of its own. This tenacious team travels three centuries back to 1699, a period known as the golden age of piracy. Here, they encounter the most vicious of the pirates, Caine Karver. Armed with Ella’s bravery, Johnny’s wisdom, and Shawn’s handy inventions, the trio strive to navigate the ruthless world of pirates, making unlikely allies along the way.
Alan Frost certainly knows how to keep kids entertained. This lively fantasy novel is kid-appropriate and suitable for middle-grade children. However, parents and guardians should be mindful of mild explicit words that are not unexpected in a world of pirates. Beyond this, the book is quite enlightening. Kids and adults have so much to learn from the fascinating facts about ships, pirates’ attitudes, and rules. Alan Frost also shatters the myths surrounding pirates and their qualities.
I was surprised by how quickly this story flew by. I was swept away by the inherent adventure found within the story. The author keeps a consistently high level of intrigue throughout the story that will keep young readers coming back. There are also many lessons and historical facts to be learned throughout the story, which serves to educate as well as entertain readers.
Time Travelers of the Caribbean is a spirited adventure story that follows a spunky trio who are fun to follow. I look forward to more historical adventures the mysterious time machine has for the trio in the next edition of the Shawn From the Shed series.
Pages: 180 | ASIN: B09YSSS27Y
The Things Most People Fear Are Foolish
Where’s My Monster follows a young girl that is not afraid of the monsters in the dark because she brings them into the light and shows them friendship and love. What was the inspiration for your story?
The inspiration for Where’s My Monster? started with my belief that many of the things that we fear have power over us only because we fear them. That thought can be summed up with a quote I made as a teenager, namely, “Only a fool does not know fear, but the things most people fear are foolish.”
The art in this book is fantastic I loved Aurora the most. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Yulia Popova?
I fell in love with Yulia’s artwork the first time I came across it on Internet. I especially love how adorable the children and monsters are in the book. I gave her rough draft of the images and she transformed that draft into something that I had not even imagined; Aurora and her five pink bows are one of the countless surprised that Yulia created.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The Martin Luther King Jr. quote at the back of the book encapsulates the main theme of the book for me:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only LIGHT can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only LOVE can do that.”
Another intended theme is that LIGHT is much more powerful than DARKNESS; bring DARK into a lit room and it does nothing but bring LIGHT into a DARK room and it will light up the whole room.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I’m very excited about my third book. I have the whole concept organized on paper and now I just have to start to write the storyline. Yulia has said that she will be available to illustrate it at the end of summer 2022. It won’t be part of the Where’s My? series but rather for a bit older reader. I know this will sound strange but it is influenced by my first degree in Computer Science. Stay tuned and this influence will make sense.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Instagram
Readers are having fun activity where they can look for items such as a Lighthouse Calendar, crystal and other treasures throughout the book. As well, there is a question sheet at the end of the book to probe the theme of the book further.
“Where’s My Monster is a well-crafted picture book combining a meaningful message and remarkable illustrations. The combination makes this a perfect book for teachers, schools, and caregivers. With a secular approach, it is sure to be a welcome addition to help teach kindness and compassion.”
***** Literary Titan Review
Lessons I had to learn the hard way!
SOS Champion Captain follows the school’s most competitive student as she has to learn how to work in a group and the value of teamwork. What was the inspiration for your story?
I remember being in the final year of elementary school. Just like Nora I was fortunate to be elected school captain. During rehearsals for our end of year play I ran out of patience with some of the students who weren’t taking their parts seriously. My frustration didn’t help the situation. In fact, the students became less willing to cooperate. The lessons Nora learns in SOS Champion Captain were the lessons I had to learn the hard way! I hoped the story would help the perfectionists and high achievers and who struggle to work with others. Kindness and humility can go a long way when it comes to being a great captain.
Nora wants to win every completion but struggles with working with others. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Nora Nibblesworth shares many character traits with my eldest daughter, including her competitive streak and the desire to be in control. Yes, she inherited this from me! Nora has previously starred in my Scallywags series, but this was the first time I wrote her at the main character in a story. I thought it was good for readers to see some of the character flaws that come with such a driven individual. My daughter even suggested some of Nora’s lines. Nora’s teammates were partly inspired by my other daughters (who love hots chips) and are a little more relaxed when it comes to completing projects.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Teamwork, diversity, and the respect of classmates’ opinions were central to this story. Nora learns the hard way that she can’t always have her way, and that to succeed she needs to rely on her friends.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
After completing the ten books in the SOS series I am working on several adventure novels in my Pie Rats series. The first will be called Traitor’s Tail. The release date will be late 2023.
Author Links: GoodReads | Instagram | Facebook | Website
Welcome to the School of Scallywags, a boarding school for young pirates. At SOS, students live at school during the term and go home for the holidays. Each night is one big sleepover with their friends! Each new day is an adventure waiting to happen.
The students at SOS don’t always get things right. But with a little encouragement from their friends and teachers, they learn that even the biggest disasters can be turned around.
Each story in the SOS series focuses on a different student and explores the personal and social challenges they face. Themes for Champion Captain include demonstrating unity through tolerance and acceptance.
SOS stories are designed for developing readers in lower to middle primary school. Books in the series include both male and female protagonists. Each book has seven or eight short chapters with illustrations on every page. Readers can move up to the award-winning Scallywags series which feature the same characters in extended adventures.
Becoming The Main Characters
James’ Ragtag Adventure in Questworld follows a group of friends trapped in a video game who release the Goblin Queen and must stop her from destroying the world. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I’d have to say a lot of my inspiration comes from the many years spent playing Dungeons and Dragons and just derailing our DM’s campaigns by attempting the most ridiculous but awesome looking plans to handle whatever situations our characters found themselves in.
That and my love of anime are pretty much the biggest inspirations for this series. I enjoy a lot of the isekai (trapped in another world) type anime and having that as the backdrop provided me with a somewhat believable way to explain the main characters abilities to use flashy, over the top attacks, which in turn allows me to depict all the epic, flashy fights and encounters that I imagine in my head.
Did you create an outline for the characters in the story before you started writing or did the characters personalities grow organically as you were writing?
I had a pretty good idea of the types of characters I wanted, such as the brains, the muscle, the sarcastic one, the shy one, and the leader. Conveniently enough, a few friends and family, including my niece and nephew, fit those character types to a T, so they basically ended up becoming the main characters of the story.
Since I’m a pantser, and usually start a story with little more than a sentence or two of an overall plot or idea, and have the characters tell me where the story is going. So having the characters based on people I knew extremely well made this process incredibly fast and easy, and I think I finished this book in about 2 weeks, give or take.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Friendship and having each other’s backs is the biggest theme in this series. I personally only have a handful of people I’d call friends and if they ever need me, I’m there, and vice versa, So that’s something that just naturally weaved its way into the story without me giving any real thought to it.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Right now I am working on two projects. First is 5th book in this series, titled Rise of the God King, which is about 95% finished at this point. The second project I’m working on is for the 2nd book of a spin off series called Antoinette: Monster Vet, which follows the adventures of one of the side characters from the James’s Ragtag Adventures series.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
God’s Greatest Miracle
God’s Greatest Miracle is the book you need to feel closer to God and connect with him. In the book, Jean-Michel Polyakov, through different tales, shares the actions of God and how he reveals himself through his people. God’s Greatest Miracle is a straightforward book and fun to read. The language in the book is simple, and the text is streamlined for young readers. Every sentence or phrase is precise and can be understood after the first read. I love how unambiguous the author made the text. Jean-Michel Polyakov’s simplicity with words inspires even kindergarten kids to embrace a reading culture.
In God’s Greatest Miracle: A Tale of Two Little Angels, we follow the story of a traveler who gets transported to a new country. This traveler meets an old man, and later a prince and princess. I loved the transition between the traveler’s transportation and his encounter with the prince ad princess. Jean-Michel Polyakov is a smooth writer, and every time a new character is introduced in the story, the reader feels like they have already bonded. The traveler is given tasks, one of them being sharing the tale of God’s Greatest Miracle. This is where it gets intriguing as the narration becomes more easy-flowing. The reader feels like they are part of the story thanks to the engaging nature of the writing.
The story of God’s Greatest Miracle was fascinating to follow and had dozens of lessons. The story of the two angels was touching. As a reader, you feel a shift in your thinking and get to be reintroduced to the love of God, knowing self, being kind, and living righteously. As you keep reading, you reflect on your life and resonate with the teachings. My favorite teaching in the story was about choosing good versus evil. Through this book, the reader can find pride in living morally and virtuously and ask for God’s guidance. I like that the author helped me connect with my inner child. In a way, the story of God’s Greatest Miracle makes the reader view everything with innocence and purity.
The concept of having a story within a story was genius. This helped with the comprehension and made the reading experience such a delight. I would recommend God’s Greatest Miracle: A Tale of Two Little Angels to readers that enjoy spiritual stories and anyone that wants to become closer with God.
Pages: 60 | ASIN: B09WJWKW2H
The First UniBear
A brave bear cub loves to explore the forest he lives in. There are so many wonderful animals and things to see in nature. One day he follows a butterfly even into the dark part of the woods he hasn’t been into before. Continuing to follow the butterfly, he finds a clearing with shimmering light. Laying in the clearing is a horse that looks hurt, and Bear rushes over to help the horse. The horse is caught in a vine, and Bear is able to free him. He is rewarded with seeing the horse for his true self, a unicorn. Bears good deed starts a chain reaction of kindness and compassion through the woods, and soon the unicorn magic is spreading to all the animals in the forest.
The First UniBear, written by Kathleen J. Shields, started as a project when she was only ten years old. This beautifully written picturebook contains the messages of kindness, compassion, and faith. Bear’s pure heart and compassion for others allowed him to receive his horn. His good friend Bunny prayed for a chance to meet a unicorn and had faith that they existed even though she had never seen one. Once Bunny helps save a baby squirrel, she gains the ability to see a horn on Bear. Surprised, Bear and Bunny talk to Unicorn again and learn how kindness spreads and how showing compassion is contagious.
At critical moments in this story, there are references to scriptures. This is a great way to introduce the sometimes confusing concepts of scripture to young children. The whimsical rhyming style by Shields gives the story an excellent flow and makes it a joy to read aloud to children.
Complementing the touching storyline is the bold and colorful artwork of Aashay Utkarsh. The art style brings characters to life with expressive faces, and the scenery highlights the emotions that go along with the story on each page.
The First UniBear is a heartwarming picture book sharing the love of God with children and teaching them how they too can spread love and kindness to help make the world a better place.
Pages: 45 | ASIN : B09DM64V6F
We’re on a Dragon Quest
One cold winter day, a girl looks out the window and sees a dragon flying down the street and landing by the fishpond in her backyard. She tells her brother, and together they decide to go on a dragon quest to find the bright red dragon. To find the dragon, they follow a pixie, talk to a goblin, and get directions from an elf. Finally, following the dragon’s footsteps in the snow, they find Frazzle, the dragon hiding in their shed, and she gives a playful roar.
We’re on a Dragon Quest is an enchanting picture book written by Kathryn Hollingworth and illustrated by Felipe Calv. Young readers will be mesmerized by the colorful and whimsical drawings. The colors used to highlight key story elements make reading this more entertaining as children will be drawn to the words as much as the pictures. I really loved the rendering of Frazzle; she is funny and playful, a combination that will draw children right into this book.
The wonderful rhyming lines tell this imaginative story in a way that children will be excited to see what characters the brother and sister encounter next. The flow of the story keeps the action moving while also allowing children to imagine and guess what could happen next. It really does feel like going on a quest in the traditional sense as each new scene brings them new information, a new friend, and closer to the goal, finding the dragon! Each new character shows a unique personality and a friendly and helpful attitude. Bringing in classic fantasy character types is a great way to introduce this genre to children and entertain adults who love fantasy novels.
We’re on a Dragon Quest is a magical picture book that preschoolers and kindergarten children will love to read. With meaningful messages of helping others, friendship, and encouraging imaginative play, this children’s book would be a welcome addition to a home or classroom library.
Pages: 34 | ASIN : B09XKDKWZ2
LITERARY TITAN 