Posted Sunday, 19 July, 2015 by jorielov Anola Pickett, Callahan Crossroads, Cedar Fort Inc, Sweetwater Books 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Callahan Crossroads” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Callahan Crossroads
by Anola Pickett
Source: Direct from Publisher
Grown-ups said us kids could help our country win. Eat more corn. Give up sugar. Buy thrift stamps. Collect prune pits. But after a whole year doing this sissy stuff, we still hadn't won.
I wasn't old enough to enlist, so this summer I'd do something dangerous. Something tough and brave.
Twelve-year-old George's family won't take him seriously. He's ready to fight like a man on the front lines of the Great War, but instead he gets stuck on the home front, with nothing more exciting to do than look out for his younger sisters and elderly neighbour, Mrs. Schmitt.
But with no sign of victory in Europe, things are getting more and more tense at home, especially after George's older brother makes a startling announcement.
Set in 1918 Kansas City, this old-fashioned family drama brings you to the heart of America in World War I. Issue-driven and entertaining, it's a coming-of-age story that will resonate with readers today.
Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade, War Drama, Historical Fiction Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
Published by Sweetwater Books
on 14th July, 2015
Format: Paperback Edition
Pages: 192
Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse via: #CallahanCrossroads + #AnolaPickett
About Anola Pickett
Anola Pickett is a Kansas City native, and although she’s lived in Chicago, St. Louis and Massachusetts, she’s always come back home. The oldest of six children, she grew up in a family that emphasized the importance of reading and education. She began writing stories in the third grade and went on to become a teacher and school librarian. Now retired from the classroom, she devotes a big part of her day to writing and research for historical novels for young readers. She especially prizes the stories her parents and grandmother told about their growing-up years in Kansas City.
Pickett enjoys school and library visits to talk about her books and about the craft of writing. She and her husband Peter Doyle enjoy traveling, especially to Hong Kong, where they visit their son and daughter-in-law and a beautiful red-haired granddaughter!
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Posted Sunday, 19 July, 2015 by jorielov in 20th Century, Blog Tour Host, Brothers and Sisters, Bullies and the Bullied, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Childhood Friendship, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Disillusionment in Marriage, Divorce & Martial Strife, Domestic Violence, During WWI, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Juvenile Fiction, Literature for Boys, Middle Grade Novel, Military Families of the Deployed, Mother-Son Relationships, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Prejudicial Bullying & Non-Tolerance, Realistic Fiction, Siblings, Small Towne USA, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, the Nineteen Hundreds, The World Wars, War Drama, Warfare & Power Realignment, Women's Rights
Posted Friday, 12 June, 2015 by jorielov Anita Daher, Iain Reading, Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency series, Larry Verstraete, Missing in Paradise, Rebelight Publishing Inc., The Walking Fish, Wonder Horse 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Chapter by Chapter, where I receive opportunities to host Cover Reveals & Author Guest Features on behalf of the Indie Publisher Month9Books. This is the second time I was offered to host a blog tour outside of Month9Books, featuring another Indie Publisher: Rebelight Publishing! I jumped at the chance to read this exciting novel for Middle Grade readers, as I am always seeking out light infused Children’s Lit which has a resounding story-line stitched together with a life lesson and/or a character who children can relate too as much as they can celebrate having found. For a bit of background on Rebelight Publishing, please read my anchour supplement on the top of my review for “Missing in Paradise”.
I received a complimentary copy of “Wonder Horse” direct from the publisher Rebelight Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Horse dramas and Jorie:
I grew up with a wicked fascination with horses and the horse dramas writers would spin into creation via novels and motion pictures. I still remember staying up way past my bedtime in order to finish reading one of the Black Stallion series novels or one from the Thoroughbred series! I was the girl who cherished The Saddle Club and wished she had a wicked awesome group of girls to ride horses with and develop a keenly wicked friendship circle!
Horse dramas were simply an organic progression of where I would want to go literally through stories from the moment I stepped outside the saddle as I was a young rider. I have loads of happy memories following the hooves and dramas of horse girls, women, and men in motion pictures inasmuch as I get a wicked excitement in my heart when I find a new book coming out about the strength of the bond between horse and humans. Young or old, Children’s Lit related or Western Fiction, if the story has a grounding of insight into horses and the inseparable connection of love they give back to those of us who have realised the friendship they give so freely, than the odds are favourable I am going to find the next story which reaches my hands to be a memorable read!
Hence why when this blog tour was only a whisper of a thought on Twitter when Rebelight started tweeting about it, I *knew!* I had to take part! I wanted to read the story which has been re-translated into English from it’s original published Norwegian!
By the by, with the current winner of the Triple Crown creating a buzz in the twitterverse with the tag #WonderHorse, methinks we should have started tweeting out with #WonderHorseMG to create the distinction. Sometimes I worry books will be overshadowed by more popular tags whose ‘chatter’ is anything but on the publishing industry radar.
Wonder Horse
by Anita Daher
Source: Publisher via Chapter by Chapter
Fitting into a new school in a new city isn’t easy, but dreams come true for Sera with a gift from her parents: a gorgeous and spirited American Paint horse. Sera’s bubble bursts when a mean girl, Brittany, tells her that neither she nor her less than well-trained horse belong with the rest of the “reiners” in their riding class. As Sera sets out to prove Brittany wrong, she risks losing her passion for training and the friendship of Dev, another girl who truly understands her.
Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
Published by Rebelight Publishing Inc.
on 8th May, 2015
Format: Paperback
Originally published as “Wager the Wonder Horse” by Stabenfeldt (Stavanger, Norway) in 2011 and distributed in six languages: Norwegian, Hungarian, Czech, German, Finnish and Swedish.
Published By: Rebelight Publishing, Inc. (@RebelightBooks)
Converse via: #WonderHorse & #MGLit
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
About Anita Daher
Anita Daher has been entrenched in the publishing industry since 1995, and is (thus far) author of fourteen books for children and teens. Aside from short stints as grave-plot seller, tour guide, and children’s party clown, she’s worked in aviation, publishing and broadcasting. When not word wrangling, she enjoys inhabiting characters on stage and screen.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Posted Friday, 12 June, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Bookish Films, Canada, Canadian Literature, Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours, Childhood Friendship, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Equality In Literature, Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade Novel, Modern Day, Motion Picture Inter-related to Bookish Topic, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Transfer Student at School
Posted Friday, 29 May, 2015 by jorielov Donna Galanti, Joshua and the Lightning Road, Joshua and the Lightning Road series, Month9Books 2 Comments
I recognise I am a bit delayed in wrapping up the final edits for today’s Guest Author Feature, for which I apologise as I took ill and was unable to complete this stop ahead of now. IF you visited me earlier in the day, I hope you were able to come back round and see what I had to share with you! I was super excited to have the opportunity to share a bit more about this novel, as I truly was captured by the essence of the story and how it will effectively continue to gain momentum as the series continues forward in new installments wherein the author will tempt our imaginations to continue to take the journey she began with her debut!
What I like the most about finding Middle Grade novels where writers are curating their own unique style of telling a story through a hybrid of Science Fiction and Fantasy, is the incredible depth of the layers in which their worlds are built upon. To take the reader into a world where everything about it’s reality is purported out of science but culled together through fantasy, is a true suspension of where stories endeavour us to jump out of our preconceptions and embrace something wondrously new!
As you will soon read, Ms Galanti answers my question about the ‘science’ threaded behind her novel’s story inasmuch as how she drew a clarity of how to express the ‘science’ behind the lightning road! May this guest author feature help inspire you to take a chance on this exciting new title by Month9!
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Stay away from the window, don’t go outside when it’s storming and whatever you do, do not touch the orb.
Twelve-year-old Joshua Cooper’s grandpa has always warned him about the dangers of lightning. But Joshua never put much stock in his grandpa’s rumblings as anything more than the ravings of an old man with a vast imagination. Then one night, when Joshua and his best friend are home alone during a frightful storm, Joshua learns his grandpa was right. A bolt of lightning strikes his house and whisks away his best friend—possibly forever.
To get him back, Joshua must travel the Lightning Road to a dark place that steals children for energy. But getting back home and saving his friend won’t be easy, as Joshua must face the terrifying Child Collector and fend off ferocious and unnatural beasts intent on destroying him.
In this world, Joshua possesses powers he never knew he had, and soon, Joshua’s mission becomes more than a search for his friend. He means to send all the stolen children home—and doing so becomes the battle of his life.
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Posted Friday, 29 May, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours, Coming-Of Age, Fantasy Fiction, Folklore and Mythology, Good vs. Evil, Illustrations for Stories, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Month9Books, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Science Fantasy
Posted Saturday, 16 May, 2015 by jorielov Donna Galanti, Joshua and the Lightning Road, Joshua and the Lightning Road series, Month9Books 0 Comments
Last Autumn, I had the happenstance to stumble across an Indie Pub of Children’s Lit focused on #MGLit and #YALit respectively, as well as an emerging new market for Romances set within YA and NA categories of interest (i.e. Swoon Romance). It was always my intention to participate more often in their Friday Reveals inasmuch as their blog tours, however, it is the latter I’ve been able to maintain with a bit more frequency than the Reveals!
Unfortunately for me, the hours dart off too quickly for the half dozen reveals I wanted to participate on, as the others I take a pass if the story itself isn’t one that I would read. I like to feature emerging new authors and the stories that re-invent genres and/or take established areas of literature to new heights of where fiction can enchant as much as educate the reader whose imagination is hungry for thought-provoking stories.
As it were, a lightning storm caused a few tech issues today, and this post is coming a bit later than planned – but as it was in-progress I decided late is better than never! I’m on the blog tour for this novel, and smiled when I saw the materials come in yesterday for today’s *big!* Reveal. Now, without further adieu, let’s get the bookish delights of joy hoppin’! Whilst acknowledging the ‘irony’ of how lightning played a role in my post being published!
Published By: Month9Books (@Month9Books)
on 5th of May, 2015
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook | Public Library | Add to Riffle
Converse on Twitter via:
#JoshuaAndTheLightningRoad,#MGLit or #JuvenileFiction
#M9BFridayReveals, & #Month9Books
Read More
Posted Saturday, 16 May, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Cover | Notation on Design, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), Book Trailer, Bookish Films, Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours, Coming-Of Age, Fantasy Fiction, Folklore and Mythology, Good vs. Evil, Illustrations for Stories, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Month9Books, Science Fantasy, Stories on the Rise
Posted Tuesday, 5 May, 2015 by jorielov Rachelle Burk & Kopel Burk, The Walking Fish, Tumblehome Learning 0 Comments
Acquired Book By:
I was selected to review “The Walking Fish” by JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. JKS is the first publicity firm I started working with when I launched Jorie Loves A Story in August, 2013. I am honoured to continue to work with them now as a 2nd Year Book Blogger. I received my complimentary copy of The Walking Fish direct from JKS Communications in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
When I was first approached to read The Walking Fish it nearly felt like kismet to find science re-entering my life because I was the kind of girl who grew up in her local Science Center and ached for Summer because it meant she could spend more hours at the Center absorbing science through hands-on learning opportunities and field trips which were not available during regular school sessions. The beauty for me growing up at the Science Center is being in control of the ‘academics’ and ‘choices’ of which fields of study I could focus on without the added stress of worrying about ‘grades or homework’. You could simply go to the Center, enjoy your days, and get caught up in the joy of science without the hassles that regular school provides.
I thrived in this environment because having a curious mind was encouraging to the teachers, who loved it when we asked questions that challenged them in return to provide a plausible response. It was a mecca for science geeks – girls and boys together, whilst having a living ecosystem of sorts at our fingertips. We even had a resident boa constrictor I helped save when I was the only kid there who noticed Monty wasn’t in his cage but rather the latch on his environment was ‘unhooked’. We had resident tarantulas, an iguana I adopted, various snakes I gave a wide birth (outside of Monty, I was not keen on snakes!), and a lovely outdoor garden filled with footpath tiles and hidden nooks where you could enjoy the flowers.
I have been wanting to dig back into my readings of science, not just as an adult but to seek out titles that would stimulate a fascination for children within the realms of Children’s Lit. This branch of literature is quite dear to me, and I was thankful to be considered for a title I hope will inspire younger readers to get as excited as I had about science and the possibilities therein!
The Walking Fish
by Kopel Burk, Rachelle Burk
Source: Publicist via JKS Communications
A humorous, exciting tale of an ordinary girl who makes an extraordinary scientific discovery—a blind fish that walks.
When seventh-grader Alexis catches an unusual fish that looks like a living fossil, she sets off a frenzied scientific hunt for more of its kind. Alexis and her friend Darshan join the hunt, snorkeling, sounding the depths of Glacial Lake, even observing from a helicopter and exploring a cave. All the while, they fight to keep the selfish Dr. Mertz from claiming the discovery all for himself. When Alexis follows one final hunch, she risks her life and almost loses her friend. This is a scientific adventure not to be missed.
With great settings and vivid characters, lively and at times hilarious, this book presents the adventure of science in a way that’s sure to appeal to girls and boys in grades 4-7.
Genres: Children's Literature, Science, Middle Grade Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 978-0990782933
Published by Tumblehome Learning
on 1st April, 2015
Format: Paperback Edition
Pages: 192
Published by: Tumblehome Learning (@TumblehomeLearn)
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Hardback
Converse via: #WalkingFishBook & #RachelleBurk
OR #MGFiction, #MGLit, #KidsLit or #MiddleGrade
About Kopel Burk
Kopel Burk is a retired physician who writes, sculpts, and remains active on the bioethics committee at his hospital. He conceived the idea for Walking Fish over 40 years ago, when he told early versions of the story to his young children, nieces and nephews. His co-author is one of those nieces. At 86, this is his first book.
About Rachelle Burk
Rachelle Burk is a children’s author, social worker, clown, and storyteller. She writes fiction and nonfiction for children, including books, magazine pieces, and poetry. Rachelle scuba dives, explores caves, and volunteers on a rescue squad. With her background as a children’s entertainer, she’s a hit in classroom visits.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
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Posted Tuesday, 5 May, 2015 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Aquaculture, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookish Films, Chefs and Sous Chefs, Childhood Friendship, Children's Literature, Clever Turns of Phrase, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Cookery, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Documentary on Topic or Subject, Ecology, Environmental Activism, Environmental Conscience, Environmental Science, Equality In Literature, Father-Daughter Relationships, Fishing, GeoPhysical History, Green-Minded Social Awareness, Hard Science Fiction, History, Indie Author, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Juvenile Fiction, Literature of India, Meteorology, Middle Grade Novel, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Philosophical Intuitiveness, Realistic Fiction, Science, Science Fiction, Social Change, Sustainability & Ecological Preservation, The Natural World
