Blog Archives
Twinkle’s Starlight
![Twinkle's Starlight by [Rachael Higgins, Carole Higgins]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/519xuXNnSpL._SX260_.jpg)
Twinkle, once a brightly shining star high in the night sky, is now alone on a journey to find himself again. He is like no one else now but refuses to give up his mission to rejoin the other stars and illuminate all around him. As Twinkle searches for the light he has been promised exists for him, he encounters one planet after another. Each of the planets explains in no uncertain terms that they cannot give him what he seeks, but each directs him toward Sol, the sun. Twinkle’s journey is long, and he is persistent; the lesson he learns is an important one.
Twinkle’s Starlight, written by Rachael Higgins and illustrated by Carole Higgins, is a beautifully illustrated children’s science fiction book that perfectly balances fact and fantasy. The sweet story of Twinkle’s journey to find his light leaves readers with the distinct feeling of hope, motivating them to persist in all things. Though an unlikely character and one who is different from any other in a children’s science fiction story, Twinkle fits in nicely with this genre and provides young readers with an oddly lovable character to champion.
As an elementary teacher, I was pleasantly surprised at the mixture of fiction and nonfiction in Higgins’s work. From cover to cover, teachers will be able to use Twinkle’s Starlight to easily illustrate elements of both fiction works and nonfiction text. I can see Higgins’s book being used as part of a science curriculum or as an integral part of an interdisciplinary text set for ages 6-10. Twinkle’s Starlight makes for a fantastic classroom read aloud.
Carole Higgins has done a wonderful job of illustrating Twinkle’s adventure. The paintings are quite striking and add to the nonfiction feel of the tale. While colorful and appealing to the eye, they are true to the images students will most likely have seen in their science texts. The illustrator’s style and choice of color schemes make the illustrations especially eye-catching. Every other page has a beautiful canvas painting of stars, planets and space that are all one-of-a-kind.
The stunning illustrations and touching story will have young readers asking for more from Twinkle. The message throughout Twinkle’s Starlight is a strong one and definitely one that will resonate with elementary students.
Pages: 27 | ASIN: B08LT9HH4D
Using a Wheelchair as a Child
Squishy Sand follows three friends who go to the beach and run into a problem on the sand and must come up with a creative solution. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The inspiration was, of course, my late son Leigh. This little series will be based around the difficulties Leigh encountered using a wheelchair as a child.
The art in the book is beautiful, cute, and vibrant. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Caroline Keys?
Caroline was a gem to work with, very attentive to my brief and captured Leigh’s image and personality to a tee. She is an amazing artist.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Is was important to show how sometimes the smallest things are extremely difficult for others with different needs. And this will also be highlighted in Books 2 and 3.
This is book one in your Leigh’s Wheelie Adventures series. What can readers expect in book two?
As mentioned, Leigh struggled with numerous challenges as a child and Books 2 and 3 will explore individual problems he encountered when using a wheelchair. Problems, some may not consider or recognize as difficult. Hopefully, these little books will shed light on these issues.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon | Website
This engaging story also sheds light on the many obstacles children with different needs face in everyday life.
Based on the true story of Leigh who was born with a severe physical disability.
A beautifully illustrated story of friendship and determination.
Raise an Optimistic Nation
The Day Albert’s House Went Quiet follows a young boy who discovers his house is quieter than normal and learns how to deal with change throughout the story. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
My mother and her life-changing counsel given to families who were in crises.
Mum died following a protracted illness in 2020. She loved her family and took time to instill in us a love for people. She was an early childhood educator. I watched her good counsel transform families that cane to her for help. Often she was hired to run primary schools that were struggling. Any school she took over prospered as well. She taught me that perfect love drives out fear and that an unstable society is a harbinger of an unsafe home.
I also work with broken families. I look for ways to help people understand that change is possible if we all work together and try to get along by learning to understand each other rather then react negatively to what we hear. Children have a way of seeing things adult may overlook, and if we know to create a world where kids feel safe, nurtured and loved, we will invariable raise an optimistic nation. It starts at home. So no matter what stage we are in as a family, my mom taught me that we could reset our homes, our minds and our attitude for a better outcome. Everyone has a role to play in making the change successful
The art in this book is cute and emotive. What was the art collaboration process like with the illustrator?
I used Upwork services. The illustrator was easy to work with. I told him that it was a fun book and I would love it to have many colours because Albert is inquisitive but happy despite his circumstances. The illustrator used his creativity and added his ideas and thought to the pictures. We work well together.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Some of the themes I explored was the fact that family is an important institution, and we need to embrace it and learn to work together. I also touched on the aspect of peer groups and the impact that they have on children. Kids see the worked differently, and they need to be able to ask questions and made part of family discussions to help them learn how to deal with various life issues
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I have just published My Grandpa.
I will also be releasing another picture book Mr I don’t Know.
I have two other books I am writing, DoThinker – adventure series and my biography.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Squishy Sand
Squishy Sand, by Charlene McIver is an educational picture book about three friends who take a trip to the beach and run into a problem on the sand and must come up with a creative solution. They’re all playing together, enjoying ice cream as they walk along the boardwalk. As Cosmo begins to grow bored he suggests going into the water. But there’s an issue: the wheels on Leigh’s wheelchair get stuck in the sand! The three kids try and figure out how to bring Leigh into the sand, going through different ideas. As they begin to lose hope, Cosmo finds something amazing!
Author Charlene McIver does a fantastic job of showing the different issues people struggle with. She shows that even if someone is in a wheelchair, they’re still capable of having fun and doing the same things everyone else does. The story shows how empathetic and kind Leigh’s friends are, encouraging children to copy that behavior. This book provides fantastic opportunities to talk to children about these topics and also gives some great examples of how these ideas apply in the real world. The art in the book is a wonderfully vibrant blend of sketch and water color styles, and makes me think of something Bob Ross would paint. There are cute creates on every page!
Squishy Sand is an educational children’s story that teaches young readers valuable life lessons and problem solving using creativity, all wrapped up in a fun little beach adventure. This book shows that it’s important to be understanding and patient with people that struggle with a disability. The story is fun and entertaining for the audience. Overall, the book is a great read for children to learn about others, and how to help them!
Pages: 38 | ISBN: 0648417832
Let’s Talk! A Story of Autism and Friendship
Let’s Talk! A Story of Autism and Friendship, by Lisa Jacovsky is a fun and educational children’s story about a little girl named Harper. While at the pool one day, she meets a girl named Emma. She tries to talk and play with her, but she notices something’s off. Emma doesn’t speak, and she just stands there, flapping her arms. Harper offers to play in the pool with Emma and once she does, she learns that Emma has autism! Even after knowing why Emma behaved the way she did, she didn’t mind and Emma still became her best friend.
Let’s Talk! A Story of Autism and Friendship is a light-hearted and engaging story that teaches young readers a valuable life lesson. Author Lisa Jacovsky is able to write about a sensitive topic while keeping it easy for kids to understand. The colorful and detailed illustrations allow for the reader to better visualize the story and the characters. I really enjoyed how the story shows what it is like to have a friend with autism, letting the audience know that they may think differently, but they are still fun people to be around!
Let’s Talk! A Story of Autism and Friendship is a touching and easy to read picture book that will make it easy for parents and teachers to begin a discussion about autism with children. It teaches kids about the importance of accepting others and learning how to make them feel more comfortable, and Lisa Jacovsky does it all within an entertaining story.
Pages: 14 | ASIN: B08CBDT71J
The Day Albert’s House Went Quiet
The Day Albert’s House Went Quiet details the life of a young boy named Albert who experiences a change in his home: peace and quiet. Albert wakes up one day and finds that his mom is not getting angry with him because of a missing sock and finds that his family too is not arguing or shouting. This is a big change for Albert, because he is used to chaos–so accustomed to it that he and his group of friends at school bonded over the chaoticness at home.
Author Dr. Debbie Obatoki has created a great children’s picture book that teaches young readers that there are always solutions to our problems. This story also illustrates how change is not always a bad thing, for Albert the change that happened was for the better and it strengthened his family. This book is a perfect way to start a conversation about change with your kids. The bright and emotive digitally rendered graphics compliment the light-heartedness of the story and will allow children to learn and understand different emotions. This is a wonderful story with a great message. The Day Albert’s House Went Quiet provides plenty of educational material in one feel-good story that will entertain any young one.
Pages: 46 | ASIN: B08SYN76R7
When We Read Together
Daniel’s Dreams: Monster Mountain follows a boy who goes on an adventure to a magical land filled with monsters that teach him an important life lesson. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
My inspiration is two fold. My daughter inspires me to write. She has such a creative and imaginative mind and I adore how innocent her thinking can be. The idea of her going to different places and putting on accents when she is playing filled me with such joy. I wanted other children to experience these feelings when they read my books. Reading is something that we have always done together since she was a little girl. It is something she loves to do and its a nice moment in the day where everything is just focused on where stories will take us. When we read together, I often wonder if I could write books like the ones we read together. As an English teacher, it was always something I wanted to do, but when the Pandemic hit and the world came to a stop, I took the opportunity to sit down and write something in the hope that it would be enjoyed and that it would help children all over the world. I always hope to make my daughter proud, and if she enjoys the stories I write then I am making progress with my dreams.
My second inspiration was children in general. I had always wanted to help children, which is why I became a teacher. When teaching became more about data and ticking the right boxes than it did about the children, I decided to leave my teaching job in a secondary school and joined a special educational needs school. It was there that I was able to be of more help, but I wanted to help more. It was evident that children were suffering more than ever with their mental health and that they needs a way of understanding. It was important to me to help children with mental health, as I too have suffered with mental health, and know just how difficult it can be to understand and to express. If I can help one child understand mental health then I am on my way to accomplishing just what I wanted.
The art in this book is exceptional and really brings the story to life. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Leanne Brown?
When writing the book I had in mind exactly how I wanted the monsters to look. I researched different mental illness, the colours that represent them and the key features. I then had a written description of what I wanted as well as a rough drawing of what I wanted. I then sent all this over to Bear With Us Productions who commissioned Yogesh to do the illustrations. I had seen Yogesh’s work before and really liked his style of illustrations. Yogesh read the descriptions and took guidance from me on colours and key features that represent mental illnesses. He worked his magic and I must say that I am over the moon with what he has created. They are just what I had imagined in my head. He really made everything come to life for me and the story. I am already looking forward to working on the next book with Yogesh. I can’t imagine the characters any other way than they are now. It is exciting to see how he will bring the new character Preston to life as he suffers with depression.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Children’s mental health is really important to me. I have worked with children who have suffered with mental health but have been unable to articulate how they feel and how to understand their feelings. It is easier to show a physical illness than it is a mental illness, so I wanted children to know that they are not alone and that there are numerous people out their suffering with a mental illness, and that there are thousands of people wanting to help. I hoped my books would go someway to explaining why a child might feel the way they do and how they can deal with those feelings. My hope is to continue to write books for the series of Daniel’s Dreams, focusing on one particular mental illness at a time. This will be done through the idea of Daniel returning to Monster Mountain and meeting previous monsters and new ones.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The next book is the second in the series of Daniel’s Dreams which will focus in Depression. We will meet a character called Preston who suffers with depressions. His monster friends find it hard to understand why he is behaving the way he does. They feel that Preston let’s him down a lot. Daniel tries to understand what is going on with Preston and gets the monsters to show more understanding. Daniel, too, needs to understand what depression is so that he can take this back the ‘real world’ where he wants to help his friends and next door neighbour, Josie.
The book is currently in the process of being finished off before it goes to editing and then production. I am hoping it should be out and available later on this year, 2021.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Where’s My Joey?: A heartwarming bedtime story for children of all ages
![Where's My Joey?: A heartwarming bedtime story for children of all ages by [Wendy Monica Winter, Roxana Antochi]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61c90ofjGaL._SX260_.jpg)
Where’s My Joey? by Wendy Winter is a heartfelt children’s story of a mother kangaroo that’s lost her Joey! She travels all over Australia looking for him. She talks to everyone, Mr. Echidna, the Kookaburra Family, even friends in Canada! As her Joey’s dinner grows cold, she worries that she may not find him.
Author Wendy Winter’s story is filled with adorable characters that were very emotive throughout the story, which is important to help children learn to recognize emotions. Each page is covered top to bottom illustrations that have a soft color pallet that compliments that overall soothing feel of the story. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, and some of them are ready to frame and hang up on the wall as art. I’m thinking of two scenes specifically; the one where the mother and her joey are sitting and reading together, and the map of Australia. These are amazing art pieces all on their own and the map of Australia helps the reader learn where certain animals live, and the geography.
The plot of the story sends the mother kangaroo on a hunt that serves as a great opportunity to introduce children to different types of interesting animals. It reminds me of the P. D. Eastman book ‘Are You My Mother’.
Where’s My Joey? is a cute and entertaining story packed with loveable characters and vibrant scenes. Where’s My Joey? is the most heartwarming and educational picture book I have read all year.
Pages: 31 | ASIN: B08L27P6NZ
LITERARY TITAN 