Blog Archives
Thrill and Wonder
Don’t Drink the Pink is a rhyming children’s story about a girl that’s given special potions but told to avoid on mysterious one. How did the idea for these magical potions come about?
I think it really came from asking the question – ‘What would a super exciting birthday present look like for a young child?’ Initially, I considered some crazy but exciting contraptions that her grandfather would give to her, but in the end, I think the idea of physically possessing something magical through a simple drink is a little more enchanting to read. In addition, it allows for some interesting contrasts between the reactions of Grandpa Gilderberry and Madeline’s parents. This dynamic I think heightens that sense of relationship between Grandfather and Granddaughter.
The scene where Madeline breathes fire is my favorite scene because it’s so cute. Do you have a favorite scene from the book either creatively or artistically?
There are so many great scenes. Lenny Wen did an incredible job throughout the book and I really looked forward to seeing her interpretation of the effect each potion had on Madeline. I think if I absolutely had to pick a favorite scene though, it would be when Madeline flies. Not only would this be a great gift to have, but Lenny has really captured the sense of thrill and wonder. When I first saw the illustration, I immediately thought of Peter Pan flying over London with Wendy and her brothers. Madeline looks like she is having the time of her life, but isn’t yet accustomed to the art of flying.
The novel does a great job of showing how we all grow older. Much like The Giving Tree, I found it to be beautiful but melancholic. Why was this a topic you wanted to cover in the book?
One of the important themes I wanted to cover was just how different aging can be for children and older family members. For a child, growing up can be exciting – a journey towards infinite possibilities and independence. I think when you’re young, adults and particularly older adults can look a little like they’ve ended their journey – they’ve made it – they’re immersed in the life that a child is growing into! Yet, as I’m sure every adult will tell you, the journey never really ends. Life continues to change and move to its inevitable and somewhat uncomfortable conclusion. I hope the book gently explores these different stages of life’s journey, but most importantly I wanted it to highlight the magic that exists – particularly through the people we love – no matter where we are in life.
What is the next children’s book that you’re working on and when will it be available?
I have a few children’s books that I’m currently working on – one of which is an exploration of imagination and hope in mundane and difficult circumstances. It’s a little different to some of my other books, but I really wanted to take young readers into a slightly more gritty and confronting world, while infusing it with magic and wonder. I’m excited to release it, but it’s probably a little way off yet. In the meantime, I’m hoping to release a series of basic concepts books for toddlers. These books will cover a broad range of learning skills that I plan to illustrate and design. My hope for these books, is that they offer parents a clean, well designed and minimalist approach to the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and other important concepts.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
Lance Vance Picks a Topic
![Lance Vance Picks a Topic (Lance Vance the Science Champ Book 1) by [Emmie Miller]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51TLQ+Fo+kL.jpg)
Lance Vance Picks a Topic, starts with introducing us to our 9 year old, smart, cocky and impulsive protagonist Lance and then proceeds to follow his journey from the time he receives his Science Fair assignment to the day of the Science Fair. This charming children’s book follows his adventure, impulsiveness and knack for creating something new and is bound to inspire young readers.
Children are often afraid of science as a subject and science fairs can be a real cause of anxiety in not only them but their parents too. But through Lance’s story, the author successfully breaks down the steps of the Scientific Method and makes it easy and simple for children to grasp. It aims at imbibing and instilling scientific flair in children from a very young age. After all science is the most exciting subject, if we just introduce kids to it right! Lance’s hilarious yet thrilling experiments does exactly that. It instigates creative thinking in young readers. The storyline is compelling and keeps readers engaged. Lance is bound to fascinate them. The writing is lucid and that helps in easy comprehension of not only the plot but the insights as well. The illustrations are really adorable and will hold their attention.
I recommend this book to all young readers so that they get to enjoy science in its all glory and don’t associate fear with it. It is an interesting subject and science fairs allows them to create fun projects. I’m really looking forward to more of Lance’s adventure.
Pages: 53 | ASIN: B08CSZZ2W4
Believe in Fairies
Believe in Fairies by Wayne Gerard Trotman and Sherrie Trotman is a children’s story about why you should believe in fairies. It discusses topics such as how devoted fairies are to keeping plants alive. Fairies will put dewdrops on flowers to cool them and cover them with parasols to protect them from the rain! Fairies also love healing, and feeding the weak flowers. They take pride in taking care of their plants and your garden because the beauty of those flowers is what proves that their magic is real.
The authors of this story give beautiful descriptions and rhymes to captivate their readers. They provide details on how the fays take care of plants, and what exactly they do for them. The art is vibrant with plenty of action on the page that will certainly capture a child’s interest. I especially loved a sad little snail that appears about halfway through, so cute. There is much to learn and see while reading Believe in Fairies which is why I found this book to be so enjoyable!
Believe in Fairies is an enchanting poetry book that I think is perfect for young readers. Children will learn a lot about the fairies and walk away with a better appreciation for nature. Wayne Gerard Trotman and Sherrie Trotman will have readers believing in fairies in no time.
Pages: 32 | ISBN:1916184863
Gratitude canBenefit Children
Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings teaches children about the importance of gratitude and how to focus on what matters most. Why is this an important lesson for kids to learn?
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for conducting this author interview. I’m so honoured and grateful to be given this platform to discuss the importance and the valuable lessons my books will give families around the world.
After reading Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings, I hope my readers come away with incorporating gratitude in their everyday lives. Most parents have taught their kids the importance of saying thank you by grade school, if not sooner. But how many have truly instructed them in the art of being grateful? You can be grateful for a wide range of “gifts,” everything from nature and good food to good luck or a wonderful opportunity for the people in your life. A sense of gratitude can benefit children (and adults) in a variety of ways. It can decrease stress and has other important emotional health benefits. A person who is grateful tends to spend less time comparing him or herself with others and feeling envious. I also feel that it’s important to showcase that we need to be grateful when things don’t go our way, or when we make a mistake. It’s through those challenges we have to overcome, that we learn our greatest lessons in life. Ultimately gratitude can help adults and children alike, and the best thing parents can do is be a good role model for their children. So, the next time something good — or even not so good — happens, express your appreciation out loud, start a gratitude journal, and start and end your day with what you are grateful for. Everyone will benefit from it.
Nala has to deal with feelings of jealousy when a new baby arrives. Is this something inspired from your own life?
Yes, this was inspired by my own daughter Shanaz’s reaction when her little brother Jean-Diar (JD) was born. She was only 15 months old at the time but I made sure we taught her the importance of gratitude and how to count all her blessings even at that age.
Where did the idea for the ‘green eyed monster’ come from?
Jealousy can lead even the nicest people to become angry or green with envy. That’s why it’s often referred to as the ‘green-eyed monster’. Because it’s so universal in human nature, jealousy is a common theme in storytelling, so I thought it would be a good metaphor for children to relate too.
What plans do you have to continue the Honeycake series?
I will be taking a break after this book, to focus on a bigger project. I have partnered up with a production company and my Co-Creator Lanette Ware-Bushfield CEO of AWWB Production Inc. is helping me take the Honeycake Book Series and adapting it into a tv series, which is being pitched to major television and animation studios.
I do plan to come back with another 5 books in the Honeycake series, with our heroine Nala and her little brother Luka when they are a little older with books that are geared for middle graders.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon
This book teaches children the importance of gratitude and how to focus on what matters most in life. Showing gratitude is a great way to find balance in the materialistic culture we live in today.
With the help of her grandmother, Nala learns the importance of gratitude and how being thankful for all the wonderful things she has in her life equips her with a powerful tool to make those icky feelings of jealousy from the “Green-Eyed Monster” disappear.
Don’t Step on the Spider
Don’t Step on the Spider is a charming children’s picture book that educates readers on the importance of life and how every insect benefits mother nature and brings balance to the ecosystem. Kirk Raeber accomplishes this with very easy language and a cute comic art style.
Young Tim is at his grandparent’s house when he decides to go out and play and encounters a spider. He’s about to step on it, like I think most people would do, but is stopped by his grandfather. His grandfather tells him that every creature has a right to live, and to prove his point he takes Tim on a jaunt through the forest to meet many more insect friends.
Every insect they meet along the way is adorable and friendly, and each one explains how they contribute to the ecosystem. There is plenty to learn in this book, even I learned about the importance of ants! This is a great book for early readers or for parents and teachers to read to children. This book provides many opportunities to discuss nature and how everyone has a role. Don’t Step on the Spider skillfully informs and entertains young readers and is one book I can see reading several times.
Pages: 35 | ASIN: B0842DJSWV
Mattie Boombalatty
Mattie Boombalatty by Wayne Gerard Trotman is a children’s illustrated short story that follows Mattie Boombalatty as she moves to a new town and falls victim to bullying by her new schoolmates. Trotman’s simple yet profound lesson about morality, combined with the book’s vivid and lively illustrations makes this a fantastic book for children.
Nhat Hao Nguyen, the illustrator of the book, is a skilled artist who makes each scene and character come to life. He uses vivid colors that pop, and his life-like yet cherub-like character illustrations add just the right amount of magic and realism to this children’s picture book. His attention to detail on each page is fantastic.
Trotman’s message about treating others who treat us lesser than we deserve is, as aforementioned, simple yet poignant. Mattie faces many anxieties that are understandable and normal for a school-aged girl. Some of her schoolmates decide for no reason that they do not like her and, as mean schoolchildren do, they make their feelings known. As distraught as she is over being taunted by her peers, she displays strength in refusing to wish them ill will, even when she comes across a glowing opportunity to get revenge. Mattie is ultimately rewarded for choosing the high road, and she reaches her happy ending in the story. While we as humans are not always rewarded for rising above our circumstances, Trotman makes it clear that the reward is not what matters – rather, the peace of mind that comes with choosing the right path is what ultimately matters.
Pages: 50 | ISBN-10: 1916184839
The Garden and the Glen – Trailer
“You are all different and all perfect, just as you are. Lately, you have become more than that. Now, you reach beyond yourselves, using your differences to help your friends. That is the magic of belonging.”
A tiny blue butterfly is chased out of a yellow garden because she does not blend in.
She flees to the nearby forest glen, where she encounters a colorful band of woodland creatures-all of them expelled from the garden for the same reason-being different. The glen provides safety, friendship, and acceptance. However, it’s the garden that holds the blue butterfly’s true destiny.
A Queen, a mystical potion, and the fate of their natural world hang in the balance. The blue butterfly, and what makes her different, holds the key.
The Garden and the Glen is about the magic that finds us when we’re brave enough to be our unique selves.
Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings
When there’s a new baby in your home, it’s easy for a child to feel jealous or forgotten because the baby will need lots of attention and care. But having the right people there for you can change everything. You can learn to be thankful for all the things in your life instead of focusing on the bad things.
Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings, by Medea Kalantar is a touching story about a little girl named Nala that has to deal with all the attention being placed on her newborn brother. She begins to wonder why her brother is getting gifts and why he’s, seemingly, more important than her. Lucky for her, Nala has a wonderful family member to talk her through it and teach her to count her blessings. She learns all about the Green-Eyed Monster and its negative effects on her. She learns to be thankful for everything in her life and to accept this new change as the blessing that it is.
The way the author is able to send a message to young readers about the importance of being thankful is amazing. She is able to write in a way that would capture any child’s attention. I enjoyed the cute and emotive drawings that do a great job of showing how Nala is feeling. This makes it easy for any reader to relate to Nala. Not only do children get an eye-catching story but they learn an important life lesson.
Honeycake: Counting All My Blessings is definitely one of the most educational books for a child to read. It teaches thing not often taught in school. Young readers will learn about gratitude and thankfulness towards things in their lives.
Pages: 37 | ASIN: B08FPK3Q53
LITERARY TITAN 