On the final day of the blog tour this year, I’d like to thank all of the participating authors for taking the time to submit their books and/or participate in the interviews. These authors take the time to write incredible books and then allow me to bring them to you. So, a big thank you to all of them.
And I’d also like to thank all of my readers that follow this blog. Over the years, I’ve tried to provide resources to help in the classroom and support parents at home in educating and helping their child to appreciate new voices in literature. So, thank you for returning again and again to see what new books and authors I have found for you.
Meanwhile, let’s recap the authors that have been participating this week.
If you missed any of the posts, these are short cuts to get you connected with each author and book that has been featured. Plus, there are a lot of different resources for the classroom and for home schooling on my blog. I’ve listed some of the free lesson plans and units you can find on my blog below.
Free Online Novel Study for my book, “The Lost Secret of Fairies”.
Thank you for a fantastic Back to School week of ideas, books, authors and organizational fun. I do hope that I’ve helped you plan more towards your 2023 curriculum, and that you have a fabulous start to your school year.
Until next time, keep safe and keep writing,
-Tiffany Turner
Retired Elementary Teacher
Head writer/editor for the Indie Children’s Authors Connection Blog
Welcome back, everyone! Today I have a book review for a very unique book series. This author started writing and publishing his books when he was eleven years old, and is still writing his children’s book series today.
Davon Miller had severe asthma as a child, and found himself in and out of the hospital a lot. He started writing and illustrating his books at an early age, and now donates some of his proceeds from his books to the hospital that treated him as a child. He is also a very active volunteer, hosts a radio segment on writing, has won several awards, and started a campaign called #IMAGINE2020CHILDRENSTORIES in support of African-American Authors.
BOOK REVIEW: Mr. Tickety-Toc: The Travel to Washington
By Davon Miller
Does your child or classroom like a good mystery? Do they wish they were an illustrator? I’ve found a book that is a great introduction to what the imagination and the pen combined can do. Mr. Tickety-Toc is part of a series of books exploring and teaching while engaging the imagination. Written by Davon Miller, children are taken into a world of fun, inventive characters while they learn about historical places, lessons of life, and are gifted with a bit of humor.
Mr. Tickety-Toc: The Travel To Washington starts out with opening a gift. Mr. Tickety-Toc receives a box full of animal travel companions that immediately start out on an adventure to travel the country and try to solve the mystery of the box. Off they go to New York, Texas, Washington state, California, South Dakota and finally arriving in Washington D.C. They encounter famous monuments such as the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial while trying to solve the surprise box mystery. Will Mr. Tickety-Toc be able to find all the homes of the animals? Or will he be hopelessly lost?
This charming story is illustrated with colorful, crayon medium pictures giving that kid-like feel to the whole story. It may even inspire children to maybe try their own attempts at illustrations. Through working together, the mystery is solved, stressing the great life lesson of teamwork. I recommend this picture book as an introduction to U.S. historical monuments and as a working together read-aloud for the home or the classroom.
Mr. Tickety-Toc: The Travel to Washington can be purchased on Amazon.com.
For more information on Davon Miller and his books, please visit his Amazon Author Page.
For an interview with Davon Miller on “Beautiful People: Tampa Bay”, link here.
Thank you for supporting all these great authors by following my blog, reading posts, and commenting. It really means a lot to get the word out about these fabulous books and the authors that wrote them. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you like or what could be improved.
We’ve just got a few more days left. So, check back tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the start of the 2023 school year!
Welcome to day two of the 2023 Back to School Blog Tour. I have another author interview for you today. I have found a fabulous author that has the extra talent of being an amazing illustrator as well. It seems this is a great bonus combination for becoming an indie author. His picture book is called “The Smile”, and it is an always free or permafree book on Amazon and other online retailers. The illustrations have a noble look that imbues a vibrant charm to the characters and the story. Centering around an Inuit girl and her dog, it is sure to have a special place in any home library or classroom bookshelf.
Marin Darmonkow lives in Canada with his family. He has retired from advertising and wanted to find a worthy way to give back to the community. Writing children’s books is his chance to do just that, and he even started his own publishing company to do so. I had the chance to interview him about how he became an author, how he gets his ideas, and what projects he is writing now.
1) What made you want to become an author?
Marin Darmonkow: I started late – after I retired. Both of my children attended medical school, they became independent and my parental obligations significantly reduced. For the first time in my life, I had time for myself and I wanted to make a product; preferably something without an expiry date. I solely create children’s books for the reason that I possess the skills not only to write but also to illustrate, design, and put together the layout. This is a perfect fit for publishing picture books.
2) For your featured book, how did you get the ideas to write it?
Marin Darmonkow: I was probably influenced by contemporary media – Indigenous affairs are one of the daily topics discussed on radio stations, TV channels and the Internet. I live in Canada, so I decided to create a humane story about the most famous Inuit symbol, the innunguaq, and its relationship with people. You know that the stony sculpture is like a person but it is also a signpost and plays a significant role in Inuit culture.
On my search for an editor of Inuit origin, a University professor from the Department of Linguistics told me that I had no right to create such a story as I did not belong to the Inuit group of people. The professor’s warning struck a chord with me as I am an adamant defender of freedom of expression. My unapologetic answer was that I published the story – I uploaded the book as perma-free to all major online book retailers. I even included the professor’s correspondence in the book’s description. Amazon is the only exception to this as from time to time the behemoth unilaterally adds a price to the book.
3) What writing projects are you working on right now?
Marin Darmonkow: I am currently working on a story about the only child in the world born without a heart. The title of the publication is BEMBE’S HEART. Bembe is an ancient Mayan name and it means “son of a prophecy”. Everyone should read the book to their child as it is a book about the extraordinary bond between mother and child. It is a stunning story about know-no-limits motherly love.
Book Blurb:
Living in the land of six months night and six months day, challenges are always around the corner. The young Inuit girl, Ahnah, and her dog, Akiak, must survive while her parents leave to find food. She learns to endure and lets her dreams lead her. In the end, she will bring a smile to everyone’s face.
“The Smile” is available for free at the following online retailers:
For more information about Marin Darmonkow, please visit his website at: Fontreal.com.
I hope you are enjoying the blog tour event so far. Please leave a comment to let me know what you like or suggest what to include next year. I would love to hear all the feedback for future planning. Look for a featured book review tomorrow. Until then, have a great start to the school year!
Greetings and welcome to the 2023 Back to School Blog Tour. I have some great indie children’s authors and books to introduce you to this week. I am hoping you’ll find some fabulous home study or classroom resources for the 2023 school year. Having taught in the classroom for 18 years, I know that you want to find new and inspirational role models and books with themes that are helpful for teaching in the curriculum. I’ve lined up some fabulous titles and author interviews as well as book reviews.
So, let’s get started with our very first author for the week: Peter Aronson.
Peter Aronson is a former award-winning legal affairs journalist, former New York City attorney, and now writes essays, short stories and children’s books. His book, “Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene”, is a look at a futuristic kid take-over inspired by a middle schooler with a different view of how the world should be. Set in the year 2030, it’s a wake up call for the adults in the world to do something or the kids will instead. Mandalay herself is a rebel with a passion for the environment, and doesn’t seem to let breaking some rules stop her mission to save the world.
I got a chance to ask Mr. Aronson about why he became an author, what gave him the idea for his book, and what future projects he has planned.
1) What made you want to be an author?
Peter Aronson: I have been writing for a long time, because I was a journalist for approximately 20 years earlier in my career. I became interested in writing fiction when I read more novels and saw the limitless creative opportunities. When I am making up a story and I like what I am writing, I get a wonderful sensation of feeling free, of feeling like I can do anything. It’s a sense of accomplishment, or achievement, I don’t get doing anything else. I began writing short stories, then a I tackled a novel.
2) For your featured book, “Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene”, how did you get the idea to write it?
Peter Aronson: My daughters, Mabel and Maisy, were young then, in middle school, and they were reading apocolyptic-type books and I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if they read a novel that dealt with a real-world problem? It was 2015 and I believed then and even more so now that global warming was the biggest problem the world faced. So I decided to write a novel about kids fighting global warming, about taking the fight to the highest level. I got the idea before the amazing Greta Thunberg burst onto the scene and made such an impact.
3) What writing projects are you working on now?
Peter Aronson: I am writing a TV mini-series based on my non-fiction middle-grade book “Bronislaw Huberman: From Child Prodigy to Hero, the Violinist who Saved Jewish Musicians from the Holocaust.” The story is still little known outside the music world. Huberman was a great humanitarian who overcame great odds in the 1930s to save Jewish musicians from the Nazis by establishing a orchestra in what was then Palestine. Huberman was a pacifist. A true maestro, he used his violin as his sword and enlisted people like Einstein to help him.
Book Blurb:
“Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene” is a middle grade novel that presents an all-too-real 2030. The Big Heat hits that causes temperatures to rise to extreme heat waves that kill thousands. The world has a hazardous future, and one 13-year-old decides she’s had enough and wants to do something about it. Only her idea of what to do might break a few rules along the way. From creating her own group called KRAPP (KIDS REVOLT AGAINST ADULT POWER) where the adventure leads to Washington D.C. and rapping to a captive president, it’s a novel that may lead to a call of action for kids around the world.
“Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene” is available on Amazon.com.
The Indie Children's Authors Connection 