Blog Archives
Veronica: A Musketeer’s Story
![Veronica: A Musketeer's Story by [Jody Studdard]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51kdIVUDDVL.jpg)
Veronica by Jody Studdard is an adventure story about the eponymous character’s unexpected life events. Born in Añolina, a beautiful country with Spanish-like features, the protagonist has been trained by her father to be a bullfighter since her childhood, despite the outside world’s prejudice against women in this vocation. But when things don’t go exactly as planned at Veronica’s debut as a bullfighter, she rapidly runs away to encounter exciting adventures in a brand new country, Ançaisia, as part of the revered Kings guard, the Musketeers.
The premise of the riveting children’s fantasy story is quite interesting and the fictional countries are clearly based on real-world ones, such as Spain, France, and Italy, but they are filled with fantastical elements. Veronica often references magical concepts and creatures as well as different humanoid species. This makes the story exciting and the solid worldbuilding adds an extra layer of depth to the story and the creatures.
The characters are well developed, making it easy for readers to relate to them. The main villain’s character is well defined, which is surprising because children’s stories often have one dimensional antagonists but here we get a character that obviously has some thought behind it. But even with this I still found myself rooting for the good guy.
Events unfold one after the other keeping the reader engaged throughout the story and making them want to read more. I felt the use of a very convenient magical artifact made things a little too easy for the characters, but I was still enjoyed in the story.
Veronica: A Musketeer’s Story takes readers on an imaginative sword and sorcery journey that was fun from start to finish.
Pages: 376 | ASIN: B09FH43HV2
Hickory Doc’S Tales
![Hickory Doc’S Tales: The Pack: First Generation by [Linda Harkey]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51urbwIZusL._SY346_.jpg)
This bucolic children’s book contains a collection of humorous stories following the adventures and misadventures at The Lazy Dog Hacienda kennels in Oklahoma.
Hickory Doc’s Tales is a cute story about a family of hunting dogs. Zeke is easily my favorite character because he is the misunderstood uncle and sort of the black sheep of the family. Zeke considers himself better than his brother and family. Eventually he becomes humble and children will learn a good lesson along the way as well. Newt is my second favorite character because he is loyal and even though he is a different breed of dog, they still consider him family, this sends a wonderful message of diversity and inclusion to young readers. He is a little insecure, but quickly realizes his differences are positive and helpful. It’s cute to see how close this family of dogs are, the lengths they go through for one another and the adventures they share. There is also a delightful variety of colorful side characters that appear throughout the book.
Now, even though the characters were lovely I wasn’t fond of the author’s writing style. I felt like that held back the story a bit. It was well edited, but some of the wording felt almost robotic.
This is a book for young readers that are transitioning to chapter books. The book was well edited, but I wanted there to be more of a flow to the language so that the writing matched the easy flow of life in the book.
I loved the illustrations! They were very well done and added life and dimension to the story. The illustrations were placed perfectly throughout the book giving you a better feel for what happened in that chapter. The chapters are very short. The book itself is perfect for an elementary student from grades four to six. I found it interesting that the author is a hunting dog owner and wondered about all the sources of inspiration she must have had!
Hickory Doc’S Tales is such a cute story that young readers will absolutely adore.
Pages: 116 | ASIN: B0796623SZ
Bobby the Bear and His Missing Dinner
![Bobby the Bear and His Missing Dinner by [Ryan O'Connor, Xiang Manke]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51u6Hr9NquL._SX260_.jpg)
This delightful children’s book follows a good-natured but hungry little bear on his way down to the lake to catch dinner. After catching his dinner and getting ready to take a bite, one of his friends comes by and distracts him. Just then his dinner goes missing. Luckily, several of his friends are around to help him find where the fish went. The answer to this charming mystery is abolueltey adorable.
This children’s book is filled with colorful illustrations with a soft scheme and cute pictures that will surely capture young children’s attention. I could not get over how adorable Bobby was throughout the story. He is a fun character to follow and also sends a strong message to readers at the end of the story to share with your friends.
Bobby the Bear and His Missing Dinner is a fantastic picture book to read to kindergarteners or first graders as it teaches a wonderful lesson, but also has some very entertaining scenes and wonderful pictures to keep eager children glued to the pages. This wonderful story reminds me of children’s cartoons such as Peppa Pig or Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood as they also tell a simple but entertaining story with a good lesson at the end.
Pages: 26 | ASIN: B08KSY9XVT
The True Spirit Of Christmas
“Entre Duendes y Ratones” is an enchanting Christmas story for young readers. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
“Entre Duendes Y Ratones” came about in South America, back in 1999. One of my sisters needed to put on a Christmas play with her elementary school students, and she asked me to come up with a storyline. At the time, we printed a few booklets mostly to complement the performance, after which the adventures of my elves and mice were sort of forgotten. But now that, Benjamin, Pablo, and company, have been spruced up and refreshed with new artwork, I’m excited to formally introduce them to a wider new audience.
The illustrations in this book are beautiful. What was the art development process like for this picture book?
I was thrilled to connect with CenkiStudios to refresh “Entre Duendes Y Ratones.” They were a pleasure to work with—only a handful of virtual meetings were needed to discuss the scenes in the book I wanted to bring to life, and this very talented and receptive group delivered in no time!
CenkiStudios was founded in November of 2020 by Whimcifer, a digital artist, animator, and voice actor. Under his direction, the team works on an assortment of projects, including books, comics, and graphic novels. Each member of the team specializes in different creative work, such as illustration, graphic design, animation, voice acting, composing music, and 3D modeling. https://www.cenkistudios.com/
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
At the heart of this whimsical story is a desire to highlight the warmth of home and family while restating the true spirit of Christmas.
“Benjamin leaves his workshop at the South Pole to show his coworkers that humanity still believes in Christmas. But his hopes are dashed by the boy, Pablo, who at the age of ten thinks he knows everything. Never had Christmas Eve been in such peril, but thanks to elves and mice, everything turns out fine.”
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My publication project for 2022 is the translation into Spanish of “Faery Sight” book 1 of my Faerie Legacy Series. Look for it during the Spring Equinox!
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon | WaterBearer Press
La Nochebuena jamás corrió tanto peligro, pero, Entre Duendes Y Ratones, todo se arreglará a pedir de boca.
The Mask
The Mask can be considered a children’s picture book, but I think it is much more than that. It shares a profound message to never judge a person by their looks, but it does so through a dark fantasy story that is beautifully creepy, with a seductively ominous atmosphere and a gorgeously grotesque protagonist. This is an intelligent and philosophical story that can be read by children, but I think will truly be appreciated by adults, because of some of the adult themes found throughout the story, but mostly because of its avant-garde storytelling.
This book reminds me of Alvin Schwartz collection of short children’s stories “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”, but taken to a new level for middle grade readers. The art throughout this book is superb and does a fantastic job of setting the eerie atmosphere in the story that matches the feel of the book.
I found my self entranced with the story. Our protagonist, Mil, finds a mask that makes him beautiful but at a cost that is only found out later. I thought I knew where this story was going, but I was wrong. Not completely wrong, but wrong in that I could not have guessed what the mask could have wanted. The ending to the novel is…. well it leaves you on a cliff hanger, but it is absolutely perfect.
I’m glad I read this book towards the end of 2021 so that I could compare it to the rest of the books I have read this year and appropriately say that this is one of the most striking and thought-provoking children’s books I have read this year.
The Mask is a unique and thoughtful picture book with gorgeous illustrations that will leave you pondering long after you’ve closed the book.
Pages: 48 | ASIN: B09J16W8DR
Oscar the Osprey: The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights
![Oscar the Osprey: The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights by [Edward Martin Polansky, Jean Rosow]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41OnXT23zrS._SY346_.jpg)
Oscar the Osprey follows a year in the life of a newly hatched osprey. This wonderful children’s book takes readers through a full year of life following a young bird named Oscar, with each chapter taking up a season. Oscar is different, and other birds make fun of him for it, but he learns to adapt to his impairment and survives the winter in his own unique way.
This is a wonderfully educational book that will teach young readers many things about ospreys. This is an inspiring coming of age tale that I really enjoyed because Oscar was left to overcome his inequities on his own. This conveys a fantastic lesson on self-reliance that is not often taught in children’s books. Readers will learn many things about birds, and all the educational elements are delivered within a heartfelt story that follows Oscar’s journey. Readers will immediately connect with Oscar, not only because he’s the underdog, but because of his amazing outlook on life and his amiable personality. The illustrations were all black and white sketch art that was very fitting for the story and simply charming.
Author Edward Martin Polansky has written a children’s book that reminds me of classic children’s literature stories. This thoughtful and inspiring tale educates as well as it entertains and will surely delight young readers. This is perfect for readers moving on to chapter books, or a great story to read to your child at bed time.
Pages: 50 | ASIN: B0793PK7RT
I Was About To Lose A Tooth
Uncle Bill’s Missing Tooth takes readers on a fun rhyming journey to find out how uncle Bill lost his tooth. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
It literally came to me in the middle of the night! I suddenly woke up and the idea flashed into my mind, escaped through an ear but then luckily jumped back in. I thought it might be a sign I was about to lose a tooth, but fortunately I’ve managed to hold on to my entire set since then, despite a fondness for cake.
I loved the art in the book. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Lizzie Nelson?
It was wonderful, even though we were on opposite sides of the world. Lizzie is in the U.S. and I lived in Singapore then London during the book’s creation. I say wonderful mostly because Lizzie is lovely, funny and smart (we’ve known each other since school days) and came up with all the good visual ideas! I’m proud to be part of a publication that includes probably the first ever illustration of a tooth that breaks wind.
There were lots of humorous scenes in the book. What was your favorite scene from the book?
I enjoyed the idea of dastardly animal poachers getting their comeuppance. Instead of making off with an elephant’s giant tusk, they ended up with Bill’s piddly tooth. Lizzie’s beautiful safari illustrations were the icing on the cake. Did I mention that I like cake?
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Lizzie and I are almost done on another fun rhyming story called The Extra-Gifted Mr Fripp about a teacher who shocks his class by revealing a sixth finger on one hand. It’s an amusing look at how we daftly judge people based on appearances, so has something of an important message. I read it at a kids’ book festival in India and lots of people asked for a copy, which was a good sign. It certainly has more of a message than Uncle Bill’s Missing Tooth, although I feel it’s important to remind people who have a gap in their gums that they can save the effort of picking up drinks by using a very long straw.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
It’s a mystery that’s kept Lucy and Tom guessing for years: how did their uncle end up with that huge gap in his gums?
Did idiots steal it?
Did he pull it out to make drinking easier (he’s incredibly lazy)?
Literary Titan Book Awards November 2021
The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to books that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise and we are proud to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and imagination of these talented authors.
Gold Award Winners
Silver Award Winners
Entre Duendes y Ratones by Patricia Bossano
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
LITERARY TITAN 