Blog Archives
A Bonding Experience
Grumpy Goes Home for the Holidays follows an iguana who sets off for a Christmas reunion with his family in the Florida Keys; however, a few unexpected obstacles threaten his plans. What was the inspiration for your story?
Let’s go back to book 3, Two If By Sea, where Grumpy the Iguana tells the Giant Sea Turtle that he grew up behind the Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys. This is where we learn that Grumpy has a family. So, when we get to book 4, Grumpy Goes Home For The Holidays, we find out that Grumpy is missing his family in the Florida Keys and decides it’s time to go home and surprise them. The inspiration I had was thinking about the holidays and how people want to be close to the people they love. Gifts are nice too, but the true meaning is connection, love, and family (and that includes friends because sometimes your friends are your family). Showing the people in your life that you care about them by showing up is also important.
How does Grumpy change or grow as he prepares for and completes his journey, and what qualities do you hope children recognize in him as they follow his adventure?
I think Grumpy realizes how much his friends care about him as they help him prepare for his trip. They want him to have a great time with his family. When Grumpy arrives home in the Florida Keys and spends time with his mom, dad, and little sis, he is again caught up in emotion about how much his family misses him and loves him. We learn that he has had a wonderful childhood and came from a solid foundation where there is respect and honor and love. Now we know how Grumpy came to be.
What do you hope children learn about friendship from the way Grumpy and his neighbors care for one another?
Showing you care and building trust with your friends is so important when you are out on your own and away from your family. The Flamingo Park neighborhood is a place where everyone looks out for one another. Every adventure that the family of animal friends goes on is a bonding experience and brings them closer together.
What do you enjoy most about creating stories for young children?
I enjoy every aspect of creating these adventures, and I always try to add a fun fact or two about the animals or the environment that they live in. This way, the children are learning something new at the same time they are enjoying the story.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
The story follows Grumpy as he packs his suitcase and sets out on a journey to visit his parents and little sister, who live in the Florida Keys. Along the way, Grumpy encounters several obstacles, including the loss of a precious gift for his family. However, with the help of his friends, Grumpy overcomes these obstacles and finally reaches his destination.
The book is beautifully illustrated, and it features charming characters that will capture your heart. It is also an excellent teaching tool for parents, as it promotes the values of love, family, and friendship.
With “Grumpy Goes Home for the Holidays,” you can join Grumpy on his journey and experience the joy of Christmas with him. This book will make a perfect addition to your holiday collection, and it is an excellent gift for anyone who loves a good holiday story.
Grumpy Goes Home For The Holidays
Grumpy Goes Home for the Holidays follows Grumpy, a sweet iguana who decides it’s finally time to head back down to the Florida Keys to spend Christmas with his family. Getting down there takes a bit of planning, and it’s delightful to see how his loyal neighborhood pals chip in to make the journey happen. From helping secure a bus ticket to handing over thoughtful treasures for Grumpy to share with his parents and sister, everyone rallies around him. It’s a sunny, upbeat setup that immediately welcomes young listeners into a cheerful world filled with warmth, generosity, and wholesome holiday anticipation.
A highlight of the audiobook is the narration, which brings each distinct character to life with tons of charm and energy. The narrator gives Grumpy a warm voice that makes him endearing, capturing all the nervous excitement of preparing for a long trip. When Mr. Squirrel pops in with his brisk banter, the vocal tempo picks up nicely, matching the character’s chatty personality and eager generosity. Even quick background moments, like the green parrot squawking directions or the bus driver calling out stops along the route, have their own playful flavor. The narrator keeps the overall cadence steady and relaxed, making it easy for little ears to follow every twist and picture the scenery along the coast.
As an engaging children’s book brought into audio form, the story hits just the right balance between sweet adventure and holiday comfort. The narrative moves along at a breezy pace that works perfectly for a calm bedtime listen or an afternoon drive in the car. It leans into everyday themes kids understand well, like the fun of packing a bag, the nervous worry about arriving empty-handed, and the sheer joy of surprising someone you love. There’s plenty of rich coastal color woven into the setting as well, from the rustling palm fronds to the gentle lap of ocean water against the docks outside the Turtle Hospital.
The audiobook captures a cozy, sunny mood that stays uplifting from the opening scene to the closing moments. It provides families with a comforting reminder about what truly counts during holiday get-togethers, focusing on togetherness, simple gestures, and genuine family love. The storytelling is gentle, lighthearted, and easy to settle into, giving kids a memorable hero to root for as he navigates his holiday trip. It’s the kind of lovely audio track that parents can put on repeat whenever they need something soothing, upbeat, and full of heartfelt seasonal cheer.
Listening Length: 9 minutes | ASIN : B0C34CHFF6
Growing Up is Hard to Do Part 1: (a Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure Series)
Growing Up Is Hard to Do, Part 1 by Susan Marie Chapman is a warm children’s book about Baby, a young manatee approaching her second birthday and facing a change she doesn’t feel ready for. Because manatee calves stay with their mothers for about two years, Baby knows she’ll soon have to become more independent. That worry gives the story an emotional center that young readers can understand, even if they know nothing about manatees. Baby also struggles with making friends and feeling different from the fish around her, which leads to a gentle conversation with her mother about finding people who appreciate you as you are.
One of the book’s strongest choices is the way it mixes Baby’s personal concerns with information about real manatees. Readers learn that manatees are mammals, breathe air with lungs, eat plants, have poor eyesight, and use sensitive hairs to help them navigate. Those facts don’t feel completely separate from the story because Baby is learning about herself at the same time. Her mother’s message that being different is part of what makes her special fits naturally with Baby discovering what makes a manatee a manatee. There’s a nice balance here between reassurance, animal science, and the everyday emotions of growing up.
Natalia Loseva’s illustrations give the picture book a handmade and playful feel. The underwater pages rely heavily on deep blues, bright green seagrass, and simple shapes, while Baby and her mother are drawn with soft gray bodies and expressive faces. The images often do more than decorate the text. A cutaway illustration comparing a manatee’s lungs with a fish’s gills makes the science especially easy to grasp, and other pages use Baby’s facial expressions and body language to show sadness, curiosity, comfort, and excitement. The later scenes around the marina also introduce Grumpy the Iguana, Green Parrot, Mr. Squirrel, and Little Mouse visually before Baby has fully met them, helping the story shift from a quiet mother-and-child relationship toward a larger cast of characters.
As Part 1, the book is deliberately setting up a larger adventure. Baby swims closer to the docks after hearing laughter, Little Mouse spots her in the water and mistakes her for a giant fish or possibly a whale, and the other friends hurry over to investigate. The final “To Be Continued…” makes the ending feel like the start of Baby’s next big step. It’s an inviting setup for a series because Baby’s emotional journey, her natural-world setting, and the promise of new friendships all point in the same direction. For young readers who enjoy animals, friendship stories, and learning a few facts along the way, this is an appealing introduction to Baby and the world she’s beginning to explore.
Pages: 48 | ISBN: 1736805657
Babies on Board Part 1 (a Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure)
Babies on Board Part 1 is a gentle adventure about friendship, family, curiosity, and looking out for others. The story begins with Little Mouse choosing a wish for a family beach day, which brings Grumpy the Iguana, Green Parrot, and the reluctant Mr. Squirrel along for the outing. That simple setup works well because each character brings a different personality to the group. Little Mouse is enthusiastic, Grumpy is supportive, Green Parrot is knowledgeable, and Mr. Squirrel provides some light comedy with his complaints about the beach and especially the sand.
The beach trip soon becomes more than a day of swimming and relaxing. The friends discover a protected sea turtle nest, and Green Parrot explains that the baby turtles will soon hatch and make their way toward the ocean. The story then adds a bit of suspense when Little Mouse falls off a paddleboard and disappears beneath the water. His rescue by a giant sea turtle gives the adventure an exciting turn while also connecting the book’s themes of kindness and friendship. The turtle remembers that Grumpy and Green Parrot once rescued him, so his help feels like a meaningful return of that earlier kindness.
Illustrator Natalia Loseva uses bright, soft colors and expressive animal characters that make the story easy to follow for young readers. Some of the funniest images come from the characters’ reactions, such as Grumpy’s enormous worried eyes after Little Mouse falls into the ocean and Mr. Squirrel examining his sandy paws with obvious disgust. The ocean pages also shift the mood nicely, moving from sunny beach scenes to large stretches of deep blue water that make Little Mouse’s disappearance feel more dramatic. The pictures often carry the emotion of a scene before the text fully explains it, which should make the book especially enjoyable to read aloud with children.
What I enjoyed most is how naturally the story mixes an adventure with ideas about family, helping others, and caring for wildlife. The sea turtle storyline gives children something real to be curious about, while the characters keep the picture book playful and warm. By the end, the friends are preparing to return that night to help protect the baby turtles as they make their journey to the sea, leaving the story on a clear cliffhanger. Since the final page promises “To Be Continued,” this first part feels like the beginning of a larger adventure, and the combination of humor, mild suspense, colorful artwork, and affectionate friendships gives young readers plenty of reason to want to see what happens next.
Pages: 38 | ASIN : B09B5CKMNK
Wish Box: A Grumpy Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure
The Wish Box by Susan Marie Chapman is a warm children’s story about friendship, belonging, kindness, and the meaning of family. The story follows Little Mouse, who begins the book frightened and alone as he tries to avoid the Big Black Cat. His loneliness quickly becomes the heart of the story when he admits that he wishes he had a family. Grumpy the Iguana, Green Parrot, and Mr. Squirrel respond by welcoming him into theirs, and Little Mouse’s joy at realizing that he’s loved gives the book an emotional center that young readers can easily understand.
The Wish Box itself gives the story a fun structure. Mr. Squirrel gives Little Mouse a box that’s been in his family for generations, and inside are wishes centered on spending time together, sharing meals, making art, singing, learning something new, and helping someone in need. These wishes turn the idea of family into something active. Family isn’t just a group of characters saying they care about one another. They show it by making plans, sharing experiences, and helping each other. That makes the book’s message feel practical and accessible, especially for children who may enjoy imagining what wishes they’d put in a box of their own.
The story becomes especially engaging when Little Mouse has to face the Big Black Cat, the character he’s feared from the beginning. When the group decides that helping someone in need could mean reaching out to the cat, Little Mouse is understandably terrified, but he trusts his new family enough to go along. The surprise that the intimidating cat is a toothless vegetarian adds some humor, but the scene also develops the book’s larger idea that kindness can change the way people see one another. Little Mouse ends up being the brave one who reaches out, and the cat admits that no one has ever invited him to dinner before. It’s a satisfying turn because Little Mouse moves from feeling small and helpless to making someone else feel included.
Natalia Loseva’s illustrations give the book a lot of personality. The artwork has a soft, hand-drawn look, with bright colors, large expressive eyes, and simple backgrounds that keep the focus on the characters. Little Mouse’s expressions are especially effective, from the tears running down his face when he feels alone to the heart shapes reflected in his eyes after realizing he has a family. The pictures also bring out the humor, such as Little Mouse imagining himself riding a bicycle or the reveal of the Big Black Cat’s dentures in a glass.
By the end, Little Mouse is sitting with the Wish Box and thinking about his family, his new friend, and everything he has to look forward to, which gives the story a cheerful sense of gratitude and possibility. The Wish Box is an affectionate and easy-to-follow children’s book that encourages children to think about family as love, shared experiences, courage, and kindness.
Pages: 38 | ASIN : B093DQYFBX
Teaching Through Action
Babies on Board Part 2 follows an iguana, a parrot, a squirrel, and a mouse who band together to visit the beach in the middle of the night to help sea turtle hatchlings safely reach the ocean. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I moved to Florida in 2013, and I started to take notice of all the wonderful wildlife and sea creatures that live here in this amazing state. My first residence was right on the beach, and it just happened to be sea turtle nesting season, which occurs May through November ( also Hurricane season). I first noticed the poles with yellow tape all along the beach, and then I met actual volunteers who sit next to the nest at night and wait for the hatchlings to break free from their shells. This occurs exactly two months after the female turtle lays her eggs. The baby sea turtles must make the long trek from their nest to the water, where they will swim to freedom. Only half of the baby turtles survive because there are many predators on land ( crabs, snakes, birds) and sea (sharks, dolphins, barracuda, grouper) waiting to gobble them up. Also, the babies do get confused by the street lights, if there are any around. They instinctively crawl toward the moonlight, which is always over the ocean. This magnificent journey inspired me to educate children about these adorable little sea creatures who are the greatest of survivors.
How did the concept of teamwork among such different animal characters first develop?
The concept for my series started out with a friendship between Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot. Afterwards, neighbors in Flamingo Park were introduced into the storyline, like Mr. Squirrel and adopted friend, Little Mouse.
Do you have a personal favorite character to write scenes for?
I love all the characters because they each have their own individual personality. Grumpy is the brains. Green Parrot brings sensibility. Mr. Squirrel is a perfectionist, and Little Mouse is a kid who used to be scared but is now fearless.
How do you balance storytelling with factual environmental education?
I try not to preach, and by teaching through action, I think children will be more willing to absorb the message.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Babies on board (part 2) continues the story. Grumpy and friends return to the beach, only this time it is in the middle of the night. They are there to make sure that all of the baby turtles make it safely to the sea where their father anxiously awaits their arrival. But as we all know, nothing ever goes smoothly when it comes to
Grumpy the Iguana, the Green Parrot, Mr. Squirrel and Little Mouse. Follow along and watch as our heroes fight against time and a street light to help the baby sea turtles find their dad..
Babies on Board Part 2 (A Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure)
Babies on Board Part 2, by Susan Marie Chapman, follows Grumpy the Iguana, Green Parrot, Mr. Squirrel, and Little Mouse as they return to the beach in the middle of the night to help a giant sea turtle’s babies make it safely to the ocean. What begins as a moonlit rescue mission becomes a gentle lesson about sea turtle hatchlings, artificial light, teamwork, and the quiet courage it takes to do the right thing when small lives are depending on you.
I liked how the story balances adventure with tenderness. There’s a real sweetness in watching these four friends hold hands in the dark, admit they’re scared, and still keep going. It’s such a small moment, but it says something lovely about bravery: children don’t have to be fearless to be helpful. The writing is simple and earnest, with bits of humor from Mr. Squirrel and Little Mouse that keep the story from feeling too serious. The book feels like it’s trying to comfort and teach at the same time, and mostly, it succeeds.
I appreciated that Chapman introduces children to sea turtle conservation without making the lesson feel cold or lecture-heavy. The danger of artificial lights confusing hatchlings is woven into the plot in a way that children can understand, and the instruction not to touch the baby turtles gives the story a nice sense of responsibility. Natalia Loseva’s artwork has a soft, hand-drawn charm that suits the nighttime setting beautifully. The deep blues, sandy browns, moonlit water, and tiny turtles create a calm, watchful mood. Some pages are sparse, but that openness works, especially when the beach feels wide and dark, and the baby turtles seem so small against it.
I found Babies on Board Part 2 to be a warm and thoughtful picture book with a sincere environmental message and a tender emotional core. It feels like the kind of children’s book I’d read aloud slowly at bedtime, letting my child linger over the moon, the ocean, and the little turtles finding their way home. I’d recommend it for young animal lovers, families who enjoy gentle adventure stories, and parents looking for a sweet way to start a conversation about helping wildlife and caring for the natural world.
Pages: 237 | ASIN : B09GV6TCNQ
A Real-Life American Dream: The John H. McClatchy Story
A Real-Life American Dream: The John H. McClatchy Story is a short and heartfelt portrait of a poor errand boy who becomes a huge Philadelphia builder and devoted family patriarch. The book follows John H. from his grinding childhood work in the 1880s, through his marriage to May, the launch of his own building company, and the creation of the 69th Street Boulevard shopping district. It explores the terror of the Great Financial Crisis and his refusal to declare bankruptcy, then moves into late-life reflection and the legacy of his homes, his business, and his enormous family, supported by photos, clippings, and a bibliography that anchor the story in real history.
I enjoyed the way the book is framed as John speaking in his own voice. The early chapters read almost like a grandfather telling stories at the kitchen table. The details feel vivid and concrete. Four jobs by age fourteen. A soapbox on baby carriage wheels as a delivery cart. Prices for pork chops and beef that sound unreal today. The language is simple and direct, and that suits the subject. I also liked the mix of text and visuals in the middle pages. Old ads for Wellington Road Homes, photos of the McClatchy Building lit up, a family portrait on the lawn. Those touches helped me see the scale of his projects and the style of the era, not just read about them.
The ideas at the heart of the book stirred me more than the prose itself. I felt pulled in by this picture of relentless work, deep Catholic faith, and overwhelming loyalty to family. The numbers around the Great Financial Crisis are brutal. Whole blocks of homes lost at sheriff’s sale. Tens of thousands of families in trouble. It made John’s choice to avoid bankruptcy feel heavy and risky, not just heroic. I appreciated that tension. I also felt a tug when he contrasts his frantic life in real estate with the quiet routines of farmers in Lancaster County. That reflection on ambition and simplicity feels honest. The book leans into the classic American Dream story and keeps a rosy lens.
I came away with real affection for John as a person. I felt his pride in his work, his grief over family deaths, his joy in waking up grandchildren before dawn for surprise trips to New York. This is not a dense, critical biography. It is more like a family keepsake that has been polished and shared with a wider audience. I would recommend the book to readers who enjoy inspirational business stories, local Philadelphia or Upper Darby history, real estate and urban development tales, or family-saga style narratives that keep the focus on character, faith, and grit. If you want a quick, emotionally warm look at one man’s version of the American Dream, this little book fits that niche very well.
Pages: 56 | ASIN : B0G6QGX1LS
