Book Review | One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath

Hilarious, witty, and endearing, One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath is the sequel to Everything on a Waffle. 

Horvath’s middle school novel is set in an ocean-side town in British Colombia, and chronicles a year in the life of the main character, 12 year old Primrose. She keeps herself busy by being matchmaker for Uncle Jack and Miss Bowzer; friend to Ked the new foster kid; and author of a new cookbook to help raise money for the Fisherman’s Aid, meanwhile trying to lead the life of an ordinary 12 year old.

But Primrose isn’t an ordinary 12 year old. Her perceptions and insights are deep and instinctive. We see her reaching out instinctively to befriend Ked the new foster kid because, once a foster child, she could identify with Ked’s loneliness and awkwardness toward his new family, school, and town. It caused Primrose to reflect on her time when her parents were lost at sea, and therefore she reached out to Ked in empathy.  Primrose’s perception on love and romance is also quite insightful. Her observations of the romance and courtship between her Uncle, Jack and Miss Bowser were for the most part on point. Her hard work to get the two together was quite hilarious and yet the tactics used, though sometimes juvenile, however, showed she had much sensitivity to the matter.

The book is written as a first person narrative, in a distinctive voice of the ‘continuous chatter’ of the typical 12 year old. The narrative is an easy read, and the narrator Primrose goes in depth describing the characters, the events, and circumstances in a comfortable, story-telling like manner.  Of course, the inclusion of a recipe or two at the end of each chapter is great, and they are informally written in the same narrative as the rest of the book.

An absolute favorite scene in the book is the town hall meeting. Horvath successfully captures the hilarity, confusion, anger, and frustration of the atmosphere at the town hall meeting, and she pulled all these elements into an explosive and dramatic, yet hilarious scene told honestly and without judgment from a juvenile’s perspective.

One Year in Coal Harbor is beautifully written and can be appreciated for its lessons and insights.

Happy Reading! 

Interview with Beryl Reichenberg, author of The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake

l. Congratulations! You have written over 35 titles of children's books! Tell me about your history in writing.

Six years ago I began writing children’s stories. Initially, I wrote my first book for my two-year-old  grandchild, Zoe who was afraid of a blue dinosaur in her closet. For her benefit, I decided to write The Blue Dinosaur, a story about a friendly dinosaur that included her and her cousin as story characters. From that point on, I have written, illustrated and published over 35 titles, some fiction and some non-fiction.

Three years ago, I met a publisher at a book festival, Billie Johnson from Oak Tree Press.  We signed a contract to publish Ants on a Log.  Since then, she has published two more of my books, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake and Camouflage. Two additional books will be released in June, When Caterpillars Dream and Butterfly Girls. Both these new books are about Monarch butterflies in a fiction format.

Recently, I self-published through CreateSpace, a series of four wildlife books. These books, containing my photographs and text in verse about various animals, are entitled Wild Africa, Elephant Families in the Wild, Wild Hippos, and Backyard Birds.  All the African animal photographs were taken on safari in Africa. Additional books will follow including books on zebras and camels.

 

2. Did you illustrate and do the photography for all of them, and why do you illustrate in mixed mediums?

 

To illustrate most of my books, I first draw my characters using watercolors and pencils and then select backgrounds from my own photograph collection. Using my MAC, I float the drawn and scanned characters onto the photo backgrounds, slightly blending in the edges of the characters with a blur tool. Sometimes, I also blur the backgrounds a bit so that they look more like drawings.

I use this technique in order to combine reality and fantasy in my illustrations.  Children do this process naturally, often not differentiating between fantasy and the real world. In addition, stories by their very nature are often a blending of these two elements.

In a few books, I have drawn the backgrounds as well as the characters, as in Ants on a Log and The Littlest Dinosaur.   In my wildlife series, I only use photographs because these books are non-fiction, and I want to convey the immediacy of the natural world. In a few books, I have collaborated with other artists as illustrators.

3. Tell me a little about your book The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake.

I wrote this story because my publisher, Oak Tree Press, has numerous mystery writers. At one point I was the only children’s author, so I thought it would be fun to write a children’s story that was designed as a mystery.

A missing birthday cake from a party seemed the ideal starting point for children to enjoy.  Such a story would teach children about following clues while using deductive reasoning in an engaging way.  Each animal has certain personalities based on their characteristics, for example,  a raccoon who is fearless and persistent teamed with a mouse who is shy and easily frightened. And, of course, young children welcome happy stories that promote friendship and sharing, understanding that working together can solve problems.

4. Tell me why you write for children?

For me, becoming a grandparent was a profound experience. For the first time,  I could enjoy children without having all the parental duties and responsibilities.  In addition, I  also have my own fond memories of sitting with my grandfather in a rocking chair by our fireplace as he told me stories about the Three Jolly Fleas. Writing my first book, The Blue Dinosaur, was going to be a once-in-a -lifetime adventure.  I found that I enjoyed writing and illustrating this and later books, first just for my grandchildren and then for other children.  The more I produced stories, the more I enjoyed this experience. Being an artist, as well as a photographer, means I can combine my talents in a meaningful way.

Connecting with children, whether at a signing, a school or workshop, is a joy. It reminds me of my teaching days many years ago. Although I taught high school English and Social Studies, I find teaching and relating to young children is similar. Moreover, I can combine several of my talents into one media and have fun as well.          

5. Are you currently working on any other title?

I am working on more books for my wildlife series, including books on zebras, camels and giraffes. I have several, self-published books with Blurb which are being revised and will be submitted to Oak Tree Press. New books include a story about a persistent black bear wandering down from the mountains, invading suburbia.  This story is awaiting illustrations by another artist.  There is a long list of stories I’d love to write some day, including a book about children in Burma. I have traveled extensively throughout the world and there are other exciting ideas to be gleaned from those travels.

My two new books, When Caterpillars Dream and Butterfly Girls, are now available!

Ants on a Log

Camouflage

Wild Africa

Elephant Families in the Wild

Wild Hippos

Backyard Birds

Interview with authors Don and Cathy Rush

Don and Cathy Rush are the authors of Robby’s Quest Series: Robby’s Quest for Seed; Robby’s Quest: Ocean Bound; and Robby’s Quest: Return of the Cat. These books were Reviewed by Children's Book Examiner.

1.  In your research on birds, what significant information about birds did you discover?

We did a little research on a few things such as the type of birds that live in Ohio, how fast the birds actually fly, physical size and colors of the birds and what they might enjoy eating. However, we noticed something interesting:

Cathy and I love to sit outside in our back yard and watch the birds. To us, birds are graceful and wonderful creatures. We normally fill the bird feeder with seed every morning. We noticed that sometimes, after we have filled the birdfeeder, it would be empty just two hours later. We began watching a little closer and we noticed the smaller birds kicking seed to the ground for the larger birds to eat. We could see the seed flying all over the place. It was very amusing. While the little Sparrows were kicking seed to the ground, the Doves were beneath them packing it away. The remaining birds patiently waited their turn while sitting on the block wall in the back of the yard. There seemed to be some structure and teamwork involved in how the birds interacted.

2.  How were you inspired to write about the birds?

We wondered how the birds could actually fly all those miles, south for the winter, and what problems they might run into along the way. We decided to write a short story about bird migration. Soon we had a few pages, then a few chapters. Before you know it, our birds were taking us on a wonderful adventure. We made sure the birds traveled to places we have previously visited or lived so we would be familiar with at least some of the geography. Then, since the birds had to communicate with each other, we added dialogue to our stories. Were the birds speaking to each other, and if so what were they saying? We wanted to create an adventure story that children would enjoy reading.

After we finished the first book, we were encouraged to write the second then third books. We chose San Diego as the destination for the second book because the ocean is my favorite place to visit. Cathy came up with the idea of the birds traveling to Las Vegas to see the wonderful sights for our third book.

3.  Is there a particular reason you chose a Robin to be the leader of the pack?

Our original title was “Quest for Seed.” Our friends thought that there should be a main character in the book so we chose Robby. Robins are beautiful birds and are larger than most of the Doves and Sparrows. We thought Robby would make a very good leader.

Actually, Robby likes to discuss all decisions with his peers and have the birds vote on the critical issues. He flies at the front of the pack mainly because he is experienced and a very strong flyer. Robby does not have a problem listening to others for the overall good of the flock. Robby gives encouragement to others. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for his friends. This makes him the perfect leader.

4.  What do you want your readers to learn from your books?

First, we want the children to enjoy reading the books. We think they are fun to read and we hope the adventures will keep the children interested. Initially we did not have illustrations in our books. That was a mistake and we have since added some very colorful pictures. We would like children to enjoy watching and feeding birds. Birds are beautiful and graceful creatures we should all admire. Besides that, we want the children to learn a little about teamwork, leadership, democracy and especially friendship.

5.  Are there more books in the series of Robby's Quest?

We have the three titles now, Robby’s Quest for Seed; Robby’s Quest: Ocean Bound; and Robby’s Quest: Return of the Cat. All three books are available on eBook from Amazon and paperback from Createspace. We have just finished producing Robby’s Quest for Seed in audio book format. Tracy Elman, voice-over expert from Los Angeles, beautifully narrated the book. All audio books will be available at audible.com, amazon.com and iTunes. Once we publish Robby’s Quest for Seed in audio format, we will publish the second and third books soon thereafter. 

We recently began our fourth book about the birds traveling north along the coastal highway from San Diego to San Francisco. This is a beautiful and scenic route. We expect the birds to make plenty of fun stops along the trip. We would expect them to stop in L.A., Big Sur, Carmel, maybe the Redwoods National Park and possibly even Alcatraz Island. We can see the birds playing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. We just hope Joy and Josie don’t get themselves in trouble again.

Eventually the birds will make their way back to Ohio, where it all began.  In addition, Hershey the Cat will be searching for his siblings. His travels will take him to Minnesota. We wonder what will happen if Hershey crosses paths with the birds again? All together, we would like to write a total of five books on the series, but we’ll have to wait and see what the future brings.

Please visit us on our website for the latest information on Robby’s Quest.

Introducing Sarah Hill, author of Whimsy Wood Series

This is a guest blog post by Sarah Hill, author of Posie Pixie and The Copper Kettle - book 1 in her children’s series, Whimsy Wood.

Sarah Hill is a small animal Vet. Having studied Veterinary Medicine at Bristol University, she qualified in 1999 and worked in practice for 10 yrs. At that point, she had her second daughter and soon after decided to take a career break. She now writes her series of children’s books, the ‘Whimsy Wood’ series, at home in Wiltshire with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, two cats and ‘a partridge in a pear tree’! They are expecting their third child this July.

The books in her series are all based in a woodland setting called ‘Whimsy Wood’. The series is divided into five sets, each containing seven books, making a total of thirty-five books in the series. Each book is written for a specific month in the year, so the flora and fauna change accordingly as you read through the series. Finally, there is a proverb hidden within each story for the reader to find, giving the story a real meaning. The majority of characters within the series are woodland creatures, with the occasional pixie or fairy and a dollop of humour thrown in!

Book 1 sets the scene for the rest of the series and explains why Posie Pixie finds herself in Whimsy Wood. “How does the copper kettle come into it?” I hear you ask! Aaaah…. Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out! Please check out the Facebook page ‘Whimsy Wood Series’, where you can see some of the beautiful illustrations, done by the very talented Sarah Mauchline, which will appear in this book.

Posie Pixie and The Copper Kettle will be published by Abela Publishing by the end of July 2013.

Book Review | The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake by Beryl Reichenberg

Written and illustrated by Beryl Reichenberg, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake is a fun read for children ages 3 to 6.

The story begins with a birthday party for Freda the Frog and a yummy chocolate cake, but when all the animals were playing hide and seek, Freda noticed that her cake was missing. Soon everyone was on the hunt for clues that would lead to the missing cake.

Hunting for clues is an effective way of getting readers to interact with the story, and it’s also good to get their imaginations soaring. A good example of this is seen when Molly the Mouse imagined all kinds of wild monsters when they discovered the clue of the big footprints!

Reichenberg successfully brings out the typical (as we know it) character traits of the animals; for example, Molly the Mouse is timid, Jackie Jay has a sharp eye and is very observant, and Rocky the Racoon is very inquisitive - playing the part of the detective and leading the group to look for clues.  The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake encourages bravery, observation, friendship and kindness. It shows the importance of working together as a team and has a good lesson about kindness that can be grasped quite easily by readers of all ages. The illustrations of the animals are uniquely blended with photography of scenes of nature. This lends to the realistic imagery of the book.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake can be used to teach sequence of events and it’s a great read-aloud story time book for pre-schoolers and kindergartners.

Connect with the author and check out other fun reads by Beryl Reichenberg on her blog!

Happy Reading!

Interview with Jeanne Rogers, author of The Sword of Demelza

Thanks again for an absolutely wonderful Review of my book The Sword of Demelza. I can tell you that I, and all my characters are thrilled!

1. Are you a first time children's book author and Australian born?

I am not an Australian, maybe a little in my heart. I was born in NYC, the Bronx to be exact, and raised in New Jersey. I received my degree from Western Connecticut State University, and now reside in Connecticut. It’s a far cry from Australia, but you can be sure Australia seems to have always been a part of me. There has been a strong connection since I was very young, and the theme seemed to follow me into adulthood. I will be visiting Australia for the very first time this month, visiting with dear friends in Melbourne. I hope to take many pictures of the creatures that are mentioned in my book!

2. What made you want to write about endangered animal species in Australia?

I must tell you that I have a sincere reverence for life on this planet, and I make a point to try to teach that it is we, the human population, which can either positively or negatively effect our environment. This includes the myriad species of animals on earth.  I was always very interested in animals. My mother was very tolerant. As a matter of fact, she didn’t mind too much when one day I brought home a snake. She didn’t even mind when he got lose for two days, finally slithering out from beneath the refrigerator! She liked the mice, and when I was in college she didn’t seem to mind the iguana, even after he grew to a length of about four feet from head to tip of tail. But, I digress; it’s Australia’s animals that you were asking about. The short answer is, what child doesn’t love, or isn’t fascinated by koala bears (they aren’t bears, by the way), and kangaroos? Oh, did I answer your question with a question? Oops, doing it again. Anyway, my fascination with koalas and kangaroos led to the discovery of the many other incredible animals that live in the land down under. Did you know that eighty percent of the world’s poisonous critters live in OZ? The fact that many of Australia’s animals are endangered just fueled my passion even further. This, my first book, is a vehicle to inform youngsters. I intend on ‘teaching’ in schools and libraries preparing an interesting and informative presentation that I hope will spark an interest in youngsters and maybe their parents as well. Wouldn’t that be nice!

3. In your Author's Note of The Sword of Demelza, I especially liked that you said, "The characters actually bugged me. They were alive in my head, and they wanted out...!" What was the research and writing process like for you?

Every animal, plant and place that is mentioned in the book was researched. The places are real, the animals are real, and the names of the trees and plants are real. I became familiar with the status of the animals as stated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). However, not every animal in the book is endangered, some are actually not even indigenous to the country, and I did use some license in this respect. As to my writing process, I have been told that many writers create outlines. I don’t do that. I sort of dream the story. It runs through my mind like a movie, and then I write brief paragraphs, describing what is happening. The paragraphs become chapters, I’m constructing a skeleton, so to speak, binding them together to make the story flow. Then I build on that skeleton until the story is established, continually working and re-working until it all comes to life. Along the way, the characters are roaming around in my head. They talk to me, helping to point me in the direction they want to go. I don’t argue with them.

4. Tell me a little about Devon and why you left him hidden for the first twelve chapters of the book?

I left Devon out of the picture for a two reasons. First, I wanted to establish a link between Devon and my reader. After becoming invested in him, and he disappears, I am hoping my reader would pine a little for him, and his troubled character, thus reading on, turning each page in hopes that he would be in the next chapter. Secondly, I wanted to establish the clarity of the subplot, building the suspense with Erik and Emma. My hope would be that readers would be excited and thrilled to find that Erik and Emma would lead them right into Devon, which, of course, they do.

5. What do you wish to achieve in the minds of your readers?

What I would like children, and youngsters to take away from this book, are a few simple yet important moral lessons. The problem of endangered animals is truly a side issue from the story itself. I want young people to recognize that it’s not what you are that counts, it’s not how big or strong you are that counts, it’s the conviction of your heart, it’s the decisions that you make along life’s road, and the people that you meet along the way that make you what you are. I want them to recognize that there are so many different people in the world, and we may seem singular, but if we work together we can accomplish great things, and we have! Like Perry, the wolf spider says in the book to Erik, “…I am a part of the forest…you will see, young man, maybe sooner than you expect, that you too are a small piece of the whole, and will play your part accordingly.” Every life matters, no matter how small, every child matters. We adults need to impress this upon them. They need to know this, it’s very important.

6. What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on another Australian Fantasy Adventure. It’s titled, The Gift of Sunderland. This book will be very exciting, lots of fantasy, and sorcery. It will bring readers back to the beginning, the forging of the sword, and will introduce new characters. However, readers of The Sword of Demelza may recognize some characters. I’m very excited about it. It is well underway, and should be available this time next year. I also will be having more sketches produced by the wildly talented Guy Atherfold. It’s gonna be good! 

 

Follow and connect with the author on her blog.

 

 

Interview with Joanne Lécuyer, author and owner of Topsy Books

1.  You are the owner of Topsy Books and you currently have three books in print. What are the names of the books and what age groups are they appropriate for?

I’ve self-published three books The Witch, the Cat and the Egg, Kaptain Vamp, and The Tales of Anex and Bit. They are early chapter books for kids between the ages of 6 to 10.

2.  Your most recent publication is The Tales of Anex and Bit. If you were only allowed to describe the book in one sentence, what would it be?

A novice sorcerer and his amusing even slightly sarcastic cat roam the countryside, and beyond, learning about the meaning of magic.


3.  Do you recall your first idea on writing this book; were you inspired by anything in particular?

I can’t say that I recall anything specific. I really like everything that is magical, and Merlin is my favorite character.  I think the title of the book came first. My original plan was to create a short comic story that I could post on my website – one strip a week or a month.

4.  Tell me a little about the characters Anex and Bit. For instance, is there a special meaning behind the name Anexralis Plax?

Anex is a young sorcerer. He’s kind hearted, wants to help the peasants with his magic. But he’s a little awkward. His magic spells don’t always work out on the first try, but he’s determined. For his full name Anexralis Plax, I wanted something that sounded wizardly, that could be shortened and used also in French.

His companion Bit is kind of a strange cat. He’s going to be a more complex character. He can understand what Anex says, but doesn’t speak (at least yet!). We are not sure if he is real or magical? He’s kind of an observer in the first book, but will evolve throughout the series.

5.  Why did you choose to do The Tales of Anex and Bit as a graphic novel/comic book?

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to do something short that I could post on my website. But I also wanted to explore another style of writing. It’s different writing mostly dialogue and thought instead to make the bubbles and the illustrations tell the story.
 
6.  Tell me a little about the illustrations and how they came into being?
My brother Seth is a graphic illustrator. I’ve always loved his work. I spoke with him about the idea for the story and he was looking for something to illustrate. I didn’t have a precise vision of what the characters would look like except that Anex should have a pointy hat and Bit would have a short tail. When I saw the first 2 pages of images, I remember thinking ‘wow I couldn’t have imagined that, but I love it’. He and I are also working on another book together and I trust his vision in helping me bring my characters to life.

 7.  What do you want readers to take away from this story?

I think that kids and adults are sometimes afraid to try something new and get discouraged. The take away from the story is to never give up. If you don’t succeed the first time, don’t get discouraged just keep trying – that’s what Anex would do.

 8.  What other books are you currently working on?

I’ve got a number of books in the works.  I’m planning to publish two books this fall. The Witch, the Cat and the Dragon is the sequel to my first witch book, and Shanlia and the Magic Pixie Dust is kind of an off-shoot of that series since it takes place near the same magical forest of Ennyar. I’ve given the manuscripts to some parents and teachers who are test-reading them for me. I like to get feedback from readers before I finalize the books. I’m also hoping to publish my brother’s first children’s book, Tess: A book about nothing, this fall.

My books are available on my website, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

You can also connect with the author on Facebook, Twitter, or by email: info@topsybooks.com