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The Fascinating World Of Holes
The Hole Story takes children on an adventure exploring all the different holes there are in the world around them. What inspired you to write this picture book?
I have spent my life telling entertaining and educational stories to my 6 children and 13 grandchildren. I also love puns and wordplay and for many years joked about someday writing a book and calling it “The Hole Story.” During the pandemic when I was forced to be separated from my children and their families, I decided to write this book as a gift for my grandchildren. After receiving it, my daughter who is an Education faculty member at a university, encouraged me to publish the book as it had many elements that teachers could use in the classroom to help teach spatial concepts in a fun way. Thus, The Hole Story was made available for the public to enjoy!
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with the illustrator Katelynn Hoefelman?
Katelynn is a joy to work with. We have a great collaborative relationship. I draft my manuscript and try to think of examples of scenes or illustrative elements that will augment the telling of the story and move it forward. I break down my suggestions into the sections of text for pages and suggestions for artwork and Katelynn takes it from there. As I have more than one book, and intend to write more, we have agreed on an illustration “style” for my books that will hopefully make them more recognizable. Katelynn is responsible for coming up with a number of innovative paths in the illustrations that just add to the readers enjoyment.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
First and most important, learning should be fun. And, second, you need to look beyond the obvious and use your imagination to see the possibilities all around you. Holes are just one example of looking beyond the obvious “hole in the ground”, for instance, and seeing that it has a purpose. It’s just one more step to seeing other critical things such as looking beyond a person’s physical appearance and being able to see who they really are. I also wanted to introduce children to wordplay and that a word may sound the same as another, but can be spelled differently and have a completely different meaning. Many paths for a teacher or parent to take with these concepts.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next book will be “The Whole Dollar” and is based on a true story about my two oldest sons. This story focuses on the close bond between siblings, what it means to share, and the unexpected gifts that can return to you later on in life. It’s one that will tug at your heartstrings and will speak to big brothers, little brothers, big sisters and little sisters everywhere.
The book will be in pre-sale at major book distributors in the next couple of weeks and will be released on March 4, 2022.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
The Remarkable Story of Willie the Crow
When a young hunting dog and a crow decide to be friends, the dog pack does not know what to think. They hunt birds, yet a crow wants to hang out and be friends with them. Willie, the crow, is undeterred by the gruff hunting dogs and enjoys playing with the puppy Patch. While playing, Willie flies over the pool, and Patch, not paying attention, falls in. Turns out Patch does not know how to swim. None of the dogs know how to swim. They run to find the Labrador Newt thinking he can swim, but he is terrified of the water. Finally, through some encouragement from family and friends, he jumps in to save Patch.
The Remarkable Story of Willie the Crow: A Hickory Doc’s Tale, written by Linda Harkey, is a creative picture book about the friendship between two unlikely animals. The pack of dogs is concerned that a puppy hanging out with a crow is wrong, and they try to convince their senior dog Doc to put an end to the friendship. Doc, however, is a thinker; he looks at the situation and, rather than jump to conclusions, evaluates the benefits. He backs up his decision by pointing out that Willie the crow has worked with them to save Patch rather than just flying off and leaving her to drown. The message of inclusion and acceptance makes this children’s book a great addition to any book collection.
Illustrator Mike Minick has done an excellent job capturing the emotions of the dogs and Willie. Each page is vibrant and engaging. Even without the text, the story is clear from the marvelous drawings. Children will laugh as they learn a valuable lesson about friendship and family.
The Remarkable Story of Willie the Crow: A Hickory Doc’s Tale is a captivating tale about friends, family, acceptance, working together, and believing in yourself. Parents and educators will love having this picture book to read to children in and out of the classroom.
Pages: 38 | ASIN : B07LCKSXSW
Secrets, Gifts, Family
Willie the crow wants to eat the pack’s dog chow. The problem is he promised to not eat it from the kennel, and the other bowls are in the house with the Food Giver. To get to the bowels he must enter through the dog door, and this turns out to be harder than expected. Willie nearly drowns and gets stuck in a plant. After being rescued by Patch twice he makes it inside. There he taps on the refrigerator door and the Food Givers arrives and give him a small packet of walnuts and he flies out the window before the pack gets in and sees him. Willie keeps his special treats a secret from the pack
Doc, Willie, and the Pack: Secrets, Gifts, Family written by Linda Harkey returns readers to the Lazy Dog Hacienda. Willie the crow is part of the family that lives here. Willie however has a secret, he gets special treats from the Food Giver and is afraid to tell the pack about them. Instead, he brings the empty wrappers to Zeke as gifts making up stories about where he found them. Eventually, the truth comes out thanks to a newspaper article that was done on Willie that the pack saw.
This entertaining picture book talks about family, keeping secrets, and friendships. Young elementary-age children will love the colorful illustrations of Mike Minick and the expression all the dogs have. This light-hearted story has a great message about friendship and family that they will be able to relate to. The adventures of Willie trying to get into the house will have children and adults laughing and asking, can crows get glasses, because clearly, poor Willie needs them.
Doc, Willie, and the Pack: Secrets, Gifts, Family: (A Hickory Doc’s Tale) is an engaging read for classrooms, libraries, and parents to read to children. It will make a great early reader for children learning to read with the vibrant artwork to help tell the story.
Pages: 52 | ASIN: B07XLHR2SZ
The Change Agents
Legal reporter Eliza is stunned when she finds a bug and two spiders talking to her and asking for her help with a cause. The puzzled and yet intrigued Eliza at the Mausoleum door follows the creatures through the crypt to NoHoSap, a safe place for living animals, away from humans and their exploration. As the surprises and shocks unfold for Eliza in NoHoSap, she learns of her role in a great cause – climate change. Will the Change Agents of NoHoSap be able to influence the world with the help of their human friends? Or penetrate the skeptical human conscience indifferent to the world’s real issues prowling the Earth?
In this unique urban fantasy novel, author Sarah E. Lewis honors her canine Bebop and inspires people to save the Earth from climate change. Bebop plays a significant role in the story as he is not only Eliza’s faithful companion but also a guide for NoHoSap, a change agent dedicated to making the Earth a flourishing home for all creatures. This intriguing story also satirizes the whole human race using several discourses and interactions among animal species. The story features a scene where animals protect and help rescue humans in a flood. It comes off as a silent mockery upon humans encroaching on animals’ natural habitat.
The Change Agents presents a critical topic wrapped in fantasy fiction, in which animals have taken over the role of humans. Readers will appreciate the comical representation of technology-driven animals in the story, such as BG (Billy Goat) rapping and mixing crazy tracks amid the dancing animals. Having the animal participate in such a serious social issue as climate change adds fun and makes the book ideal for older elementary children. The chapters were reasonable lengths and easy to break out for discussion topics.
The author wisely enlists the state of every habitat due to weather fluctuations by including the species that live there in The Alliance members of NoHoSap, who help explain to readers the ravaging change in the ecosystem. With subtle satire, the book invites readers to become Change Agents by adopting lifestyles that improve nature.
The Change Agents is a valuable book for parents and educators to teach children a valuable lesson on climate change while entertaining them with amusing creatures.
Pages: 380 | ASIN : B09LJX3MT7
Sticky Icky Vicky
Vicky loves the outdoors. It doesn’t matter how dirty the activity is, Vicky does it with all her heart. She is very proud of her nickname Sticky Icky Vicky that was given to her by her two best friends Rhea and Betty. Vicky did have one fear though, water. When she was just three years old she almost drowned in the ocean. Her dad saved her, but ever since she avoids the water, even baths. But one day Betty invites Vicky to her birthday party and it is at a waterslide park. Vicky must overcome her fear or she will not be able to go to the party.
Picture book Sticky Icky Vicky: Courage over Fear by authors Alysia and Michael Ssentamu tells the story of a courageous young girl that has to battle her fear of the water in order to not miss out on fun things with her friends. Believe in yourself is the theme of the book and it is presented in a tangible way that elementary school-age children will be able to conceptualize.
Illustrator Noor Alshalabi uses her colorful and whimsical drawings to engage children in this heartwarming story of overcoming fears. The stunning artwork will draw in readers and really bring this meaningful story to life. The authors include at the end of the book statements and questions for teachers and parents to use to open up the discussion of fear with children. This is an invaluable resource for this complex topic. Another great inclusion to this extraordinary children’s book is a QR code to the audio reading of the book.
Sticky Icky Vicky: Courage over Fear is a great character-building picture book for elementary-age children. Parents and teachers will love the resources included in helping bring home this topic and make the concept approachable to children.
Pages: 38 | ASIN : B09JHXG2NM
The Hole Story
What is a hole? Is it just an empty space, or is it something more? The Hole Story takes children on an adventure exploring all the different holes there are in the world around them. Everything from holes in nature, to their home, to even their clothes and body. This picture book gives kids a lot to think about and teaches them to look beyond the surface of the things they do see.
Children are inquisitive and finding a hole outside to explore is a great adventure. Author Lori Croy has written this picture book with the curious nature of children in mind. She takes children on a tour of the obvious holes like in a tree or in the ground and then goes further like a puddle, even a hole in your sock. The simple language and fun examples that go beyond the ordinary will keep children engaged in the story.
The colorful illustrations by Katelynn Hoefelman bring this highly original storybook to life. The artwork does not just tell the story but encourages children to explore the world on the pages and find examples in their own world. The combination of artwork and narrative will give teachers and parents a lot of openings to discuss ideas.
The Hole Story is a fun play on words, as it is meant to be the whole story on holes. Teachers will love having this creative picture book in the classroom and parents will love having it to read at home where they can use it to point out different holes in their own home. This engaging story will take children on an adventure to see that holes are more than just an empty space in life. Reading this clever picture book will delight children in early elementary grades as they discover the amazing world of holes.
Pages: 26 | ISBN : 1098359623
The Greatest Light
When two children asked Poppy what the greatest light is, the three of them go on an adventure to discover the answer. While trying to discover the greatest light the three get balloons in the park, have some cookies, eat by a fire and catch lightning bugs. While enjoying all these fun activities the children see people that could use some help and they gladly go about helping. Poppy just watches and tells them how kind they are to help out others.
The Greatest Light is a feel-good Christian picture book that communicates the message of kindness and how we should help those in need. Tim & Cindy Morrison have written a story that is easy for children to understand using themes and topics that will appeal to young kids. Steve Worthington illustrates the story in a whimsical manner. The pages look like watercolor paintings and the colors used highlight the focus of each page. Together the prose and artwork create an engaging and entertaining book to read to children that will draw them into the story and teach without feeling like a lesson.
The Greatest Light is heartwarming and spiritual book ideal for parents, teachers, and those in religious education. This Christian picture book will emphasize that kindness is achievable in your day to day interactions
Pages: 54 | ISBN-10: 1664231641
Thiago the Tiger and the Light Within
![Thiago the Tiger and the Light Within by [Vanessa Caraveo]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51A1OLRqrpL.jpg)
Thiago the Tiger and the Light Within is a charming children’s story about a tiger that is born with colorful stripes that glow. Although he is a cute and magnificent little cub, the children at school make fun of him. But when things get dark on a school trip, only Thiago the tiger can save the day.
This is a very colorful and bright book, which suits the idea of Thiago the tiger having multicolored stipes that shine. This story reminds me of Rudolf the Red Nose reindeer and how he was shunned because of the very thing that made him special. Author Vanessa Caraveo has a written a simple story that easily conveys a powerful message of acceptance.
This is a fun and educational children’s picture book that shows kids how to recognize the differences in others and see the beauty in those differences. Children will surely be drawn to all the colorful art throughout this book and they will easily be able to pick up on all of Thiago’s emotions as well.
Thiago the Tiger and the Light Within is highly recommended for parents and teachers with children that are learning about diversity and inclusion.
Pages: 37 | ASIN: B07L9FW7K1
LITERARY TITAN 