Tag Archives: children’s books

Interview with Martika Shanel

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AuthorBiopicMartikaShanel

Martika Shanel has written the inspirational picture book, I Am Loved & I Love Me

I’m still working hard to find helpful, supportive books for children during these crazy times. As a parent, one thing you might be searching for is a supportive book for your child’s mental well-being during the stress of the outbreak. I think I found something that can help.

I’ve located a marvelous book by author, Martika Shanel. She’s written a book to inspire youth to look inside themselves for love and acceptance. I Am Loved & I Love Me is a picture book that helps build an essential foundation at an early age and to help them build self-love with positive affirmations. I had the chance to talk with Martika about her childhood memories, what she has planned for future projects, and what writing means to her.

  • What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Martika Shanel: Getting to escape to other worlds is my favorite memory from reading as a child. And I enjoyed the fact that the selection of those worlds were endless–a remarkable concept to embrace at that time. I remember the library being my solace.

  • What projects would you like to write about in the future?

Martika Shanel: In the future, I would like to write books that help children build and solidify their foundation of self-love and acceptance at various stages of their formative years, even into adulthood. An outlier subject, for me, is writing a thriller novel that I have yet to mentally release (I cannot wait to get started!).

  • What is writing to you in one sentence?

Martika Shanel: Writing is a liberating medium, allowing one to release thoughts and move others in a multitude of directions.

I Am Final CoverI Am Loved & I Love Me helps promote positive affirmations with children. With uplifting talk and beautiful illustrations, this book will reinforce the significance of talking positive about oneself and looking towards your own inner beauty. This would make a great daily affirmation routine for any child during these uncertain times.

I Am Loved & I Love Me is available at https://www.insparead.com/merch.

For more information on Martika Shanel, visit her website at: www.martikashanel.com.

Interview with Yolanda Avery

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authorphoto Yolanda Avery

Yolanda Avery is the author of the book “The Adventures of Granny Fannie”.

I hope you are staying safe with your family, and have started a routine for your quarantine life if you’re area or state is in lockdown. Hopefully, over the next few weeks, I can find some more fabulous books and authors to interview along with more tips for distance learning. I’m proud to lend my 20 years of teaching experience to help out the parents finding themselves teachers all of a sudden during this pandemic crisis. I’ll try my best to support you.

This brings me to my next author I’d like to introduce to you. Yolanda Avery grew up in Louisiana with the dream to run her own business and to make a difference. She has been a screenwriter, writer and business entrepreneur. Her book, The Adventures of Granny Fannie, creates a unique, inspirational character that uses her rhyming conversations to inspire others during her adventures. I had the chance to talk with Yolanda about her memories of reading as a child, what authors influenced her and what writing means to her.

1) What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Yolanda Avery: My favorite memory from reading was from my dad. I can remember when I was about 6 or 7 years of old. My dad woke me up early in the morning, and he had prepared a tea party for the two of us. He had placed all of my stuffed animal friends around this white table I had in my room. It was during the holiday season because I remember that was my first taste of eggnog. He had all the cups at the table filled with this tasty beverage and chocolate chip cookies on each saucier.

Then he pulled out one of my favorite books. Of course, it was the book of nursery rhymes. The book was filled with so many of my favorite short stories. We spent hours at the table drinking and reading from my favorite nursery rhymes stories. This is a memory that I continue to share with my family.

2) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Yolanda Avery: Beatrix Potter was my favorite children’s author. As a child, I can remember dreaming that I lived in an imaginative world creating fantasies out of many daily tales. My mind often wondered in a world of “what if”. I love how her stories of Peter Rabbit seemed so real to me.

3) What is writing to you in one sentence?


Yolanda Avery:
Writing to me is exhilarating!

granniefannycvrThe Adventures of Granny Fannie is a collection of short stories involving a grandmother character called Granny Fannie. Each story includes inspirational adventures all told through the enjoyment of rhyme. Granny Fannie will bring a hip and fresh look into many educational and life lessons told through the point of view of her unique personality.

The Adventures of Granny Fannie is available at: Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

For more information on Yolanda Avery, please visit her website at: https://yolandacavery.com/.

 

 

Day 10: Last Day of The Lost Secret of Fairies FREE online Novel Study w/ essay test

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Final Day of The Lost Secret of Fairies Novel Study: Final Exam Day!

Welcome to the final day of The Lost Secret of Fairies free online novel study. As of just an hour ago, as I’m writing this, the California governor has announced that California schools will be closed for the rest of the academic year, and maybe some changes will happen in the fall in regards to reopening schools. I could tell this was going to be for the long haul, and I am happy to be completing the support for parents in my home state, throughout the US and from my statistics, throughout the world.

I wrote my books for children and used the writing of them as instruction when I was in the classroom. To include them for novel study instruction to help teach reading seems to complete the circle of learning they were created for. I’m happy to have brought you this online novel study for my first book, and I would love to hear any feedback you have about using it.

summer1The Lost Secret of Fairies Novel Study Essay Test

So, with that said, here is the final activity to go with the novel study, the final essay test. If your child or student has been completing all the activities, including the summary, character change response worksheet and the theme/message worksheet, your little one is all ready for the essay test. They should have all the time they need to complete it, and they can use the book and their journal notes to help find examples and support.

LSOF Essay Test

Grading Criteria

I’ve included a rubric for you to help grade their answers. They should include examples and details of support from the story, their own ideas, and language from the worksheets they used during the novel study. Other words, they need complete sentence answers, topic sentences and closing sentences. The essay test and all the responses this week have been teaching basic essay response language and structure for your child. These are all standards in most school systems in the US and the world.

Below is a Grading Rubric for you to use. Traditional, 1-4 grading is used on these rubrics. If you want to change that from D grade to A Grade, you can. 1=D, 2=C, 3=B, 4=A. But I feel if your child has made an effort, worked hard, includes the language in a complete sentence and uses supporting details, they should get a high grade. It is up to you. As the parent, high praise from you will mean a lot. 😉

For those wondering minds, a passing grade in school that children would be working toward is the 3 on the rubric. It can also be helpful to show your child the rubric so they know what is expected of them before the essay test.

Rubric for Lost Secret of Fairies Novel Study Essay Test

When your child/student has finished the test, and you’ve looked it over and graded it, I’ve included a link to a completion certificate below. You can sign it and give it to your child.

LostSecretNovelStudyCertificate

Congratulations! You’ve completed a reading novel study unit with your child, and they’ve become a better reader and writer!

And that’s about it, folks! I want to thank you and your child for continuing with the novel study, and I hope they enjoyed reading the book. If they would like to continue the series, here are the links below for the three books that continue Wanda’s journey and adventures in the World of Fairy.

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Book 2

The Lost Secret of the Green Man (Book 2)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LL3MQE

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-secret-of-the-green-man-tiffany-turner/1112041152

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-lost-secret-of-the-green-man-the-crystal-keeper-chronicles-book-2

iApple/iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/lost-secret-green-man-crystal-keeper-chronicles-book/id543028109

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Book 3 

The Lost Secret of Dragonfire (Book 3)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Secret-Dragonfire-Crystal-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B079J4R22D

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-secret-of-dragonfire-tiffany-turner/1114782699

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-lost-secret-of-dragonfire-1

iApple/iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-lost-secret-of-dragonfire/id616637319

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Book 4

The Lost Secret of Time (Book 4)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Secret-Time-Crystal-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B07GJZBPPY

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-secret-of-time-tiffany-turner/1129320107

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-lost-secret-of-time

iApple/iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-lost-secret-of-time/id1428309465

Thank you to everyone that have participated in the novel study! I welcome all the feedback and invite you to follow my blog as I continue to post more learning activities and homeschooling support for parents in the future weeks.

Take care, stay safe, wash your hands, and we’ll get through this together!

-Mrs. Turner

***Tiffany Turner is the author of the children’s fantasy series, the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. She has had 18 years experience teaching in California as a public elementary teacher. She is currently tutoring in the private sector and continuing to write full time. 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 9: The Lost Secret of Fairies Online Novel Study, Theme Response Worksheet & Video Lesson Link

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Greetings for Day 9 for the Lost Secret of Fairies Online Novel Study. I know I threw a lot into the last post, and I even realized I need to add one more thing before the final essay test, a lesson on theme or message. That is on the essay test, and I wanted to do at least one lesson with The Lost Secret of Fairies since it is an original fairy tale, and working with morals and themes is a standard for 3rd and 4th grade. It’s reviewed in 5th grade to get ready for looking over Tale Tales and American Folk Tales.

So, here you go. I’ve added the theme response worksheet to my free downloads for this novel study. Plus, below is a video from BrainPop. The literature concept of theme/message is taught with animated Star Wars universe characters. It’s about 6 minutes long. Most children are familiar with Stars Wars, so I thought it was a good fit to talk about message and theme.

 

When your child is done watching, they should have a better understanding of theme for books and movies. You can talk with them about the following discussion questions below:

  1. What is a moral? Can you think of any morals for some of your favorite fairy tales.
  2. What kind of patterns and ideas can you think of in the book, The Lost Secret of Fairies? What idea can you think of to connect them?
  3. What is a basic motif in Star Wars? What do you think is a motif in the book The Lost Secret of Fairies?
  4. Where can you go hunt for themes in a story?
  5. What is one theme in the Star Wars movies? What are clues and examples that support this theme?

summer1Now, they should be able to work on the theme response worksheet below. They can download the webbing graphic to help them organize their ideas. And yes, this will be on the essay test. So, they’ll need to do this. 

Theme Response Sheet for LSOF

The Lost Secret of Fairies- Webbing Graphic Organizer

I’m sorry about this oversight, but it is an important lesson to incorporate into the unit. I’ll post the essay test tomorrow, I promise.

Until then, enjoy the lesson on theme and messages. Stay safe, wash your hands, and together, we’ll get through this.

-Mrs. Turner

***Tiffany Turner is the author of the children’s fantasy series, the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. She has had 18 years experience teaching in California as a public elementary teacher. She is currently tutoring in the private sector and continuing to write full time. 

 

 

 

Day 8: The Lost Secret of Fairies Online Novel Study with Summary & Character Handouts

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Chapter 13 and End of Book Questions today!

Greetings everyone! It has been a challenging couple of weeks, but I hope you and your child have enjoyed reading my book, The Lost Secret of Fairies. Today, on Day 8, I’ll be helping to wrap up the story and novel study. I’ll be including some downloadable worksheets to be used in response to finishing the book, and tomorrow, will include an essay test that your child should be able to complete on their own from doing the activities. The activities can be done over the next few days with the essay test given at the end of the week.

Let’s start today with the final journal response questions:

Chapter 13 & End of the Book Questions:summer1

  1. Summarize in a paragraph the book The Lost Secret of Fairies. Use a topic sentence, list the events, and use a closing sentence.
  2. How did you like the Lost Secret of Fairies? What was your opinion of the book? Describe your opinion with supporting details and examples from the book.
  3. What is the theme or message from the author of The Lost Secret of Fairies? Name examples from the text that are clues.

Bonus: Do you want to read the next book? Why or why not?

Now, for the end of book activities. These can be done over the next few days, with one a day, as a lead up to the final essay test. I’d suggest the summary first, followed by the Character trait essay answer, and then going through the journal response questions to get an idea of what the book was about in their minds. Then, in a few days, have them do the essay test. I will post the test tomorrow. They will be able to use their journal response pages to take the essay test. Of course, they should use the book to find examples and details.

Downloads for End of Book Activities:

Summary Fill In Handout for The Lost Secret of Fairies

Character Change Writing Response WS

The Lost Secret of Fairies- Webbing Graphic Organizer

Paragraph Writing Lesson Support

(Through my online store on TeachersPayTeachers)

Free Book Review Handout: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Opinion-Real-World-Book-Report-Book-Review-971473

Writing Opinion Packet: (Only $0.99)

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Opinion-Paragraph-Individual-Packet-3029120

Paragraph Parts Review Packet (Only $0.99)

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Paragraph-Parts-Individual-Packet-3028939

Diorama Book Report/Home Project Extension (Only $0.99)

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Diorama-Book-Report-3074161

 

I hope that helps set the rest of the week for reading response and writing for your child. I’ll post the final test tomorrow that can be the wrap up for this novel study. The other activities included above are great follow ups for the book and extension activities.

Thank you for following along with this novel study. I hope it has helped bring reading and learning to your little ones during these strange times. I’ll be posting the last day of the novel study tomorrow, and I welcome all of your feedback and comments below. It will help me plan for future instruction to help out during the pandemic.

Until then, keep reading and writing,

-Mrs. Turner

***Tiffany Turner is the author of the children’s fantasy series, the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. She has had 18 years experience teaching in California as a public elementary teacher. She is currently tutoring in the private sector and continuing to write full time. 

UPDATED March 31, 2020:

The essay test will be posted on Wednesday, April 1 now. I’ve added a lesson on theme and message, and posted it today. It is on the essay test, so I wanted to make sure I included a lesson on themes. Thanks for following along with the novel study. Please let me know how I’m doing in the comments below.

March 31, 2020 Post on Theme/Messages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 5: Lost Secret of Fairies Novel Study & other home schooling resources

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Study Questions for Chapters 7-8

Greetings everyone! Hope you had a safe and healthy weekend. As more of the US hunkers down and isolates, I’m hoping this will help keep the education of your little ones at home going through the next few weeks. And of course, after all this is over, teachers and parents are still welcomed to use this for educational studies.

First off, I’d like to offer the next set of study questions for The Lost Secret of Fairies novel study. Hopefully, your child is writing down notes and details as they read each chapter in their journal. They can go back and look at the notes they took to answer the questions.

summer1Study Questions for Chapters 7-8:

  1. Summarize the story so far. Pretend you are talking to a friend and describing the story to them. Include who the characters are, setting, main problem, and plot events so far.
  2. Why does Wands tell Jessica she’s going to build a pond in the backyard?
  3. How do the fairies help her escape and get the water?
  4. Was it worth getting into trouble for the spring water? Support your answer with details from the story.
  5. Why do you think Wanda stopped to face her fears?

Bonus: Have you ever had a time where you have had to face your fears?

I’m also including a vocabulary building worksheet. As your child has been reading the story, they’ve been writing down words they don’t know into the area at the bottom of the journal entry sheet. They can now go back to those entries, and pick three words that they don’t know to look up in the dictionary. The following worksheet can be downloaded and printed out for them to fill in the words. Then, they look up the word usage and meaning from the dictionary. They can do this activity every 3 chapters.

Lost Secret Fairies Definition Fill-In WS

Tomorrow, I’ll have another blog post activity that will relate to Legends and Fairy Tales. This is a standard for many lower grades, including fourth and third grade. It’s also a great review for the upper graders, and ties into their prior knowledge.

Until then, remember stay safe and healthy! We’ll get through this together!

-Tiffany Turner

(Mrs. Turner)

Interview with Steph Alexis

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Steph Alexis is the author of the book “The Burping Pumpkin” pictured here with his son.

In response to the corona virus lockdowns going on throughout the U.S. and the world, I’m continuing to feature author interviews and their books as a support for parents homeschooling during this crisis. I’ve found a great book that should bring a little humor and cheer into your lives at this time. The Burping Pumpkin is a humorous picture book written by Steph Alexis.

Mr. Alexis grew up in Grenada, and found himself making up stories to pass the time with the other village children. He used this skill to create fantasies with a touch of laughter; just the perfect thing to read to your children during these unnerving times. I had the chance to talk to Mr. Alexis about his childhood memories, what advice he has about writing, and what future projects he has in store for us.

1) What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Steph Alexis: My favorite memory from reading as a child was when my parents took me to the public library in the town and the excitement of seeing so many books. I wanted to take them all home! Reading was my most exciting class at school. We went outdoors and read under the shade of a huge Tamarind tree.
2) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Steph Alexis: My favorite author was C. S. Lewis. His fantasy classic “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” was a very fascinating and intriguing adventure, which ignited my love for reading. This book and the others in process all have that element of intrigue and adventure.
3) Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.

Steph Alexis: I enjoy writing early in the mornings, that is when my creative juices are most abundant. I also make allowances for writing down and fresh ideas that pop into my head throughout the day. I have made a commitment to write for at least 30 minutes every day.

4) What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Steph Alexis: I have two books in the works, “The Magic Basketball” and “The Adventures of Zachery the Zebra”, which I plan to publish later this year. Both books will have embedded themes on, leadership, teamwork, and honesty with some adventure.

5) What is writing to you in one sentence?

Steph Alexis: Writing is the ability to express all of one’s imaginative and creative juices in a coherent manner for the benefit of others.

6) What was the inspiration to write this story?

Steph Alexis: I have always been interested in becoming a writer but never took the time to fully explore the possibility. When my son was in 6th grade, I gave him some assistance in writing a fictional story for his homework assignment. This exercise re-ignited my interest and I made a commitment to start writing. Of course, the story of the burping pumpkin was the first that popped into my head. This is my first publication.


7) How do you think humor enriches literature for children?

Steph Alexis: Humor is a very important ingredient in the social development of children. For children, as well as adults, humor is the best stress reliever. In today’s environment children are under greater amount of stress from the information overload that exists, as well as a push from adults for them to develop and learn at a faster pace. For this reason, humor is even more important to assist their young minds in maintaining some balance.
8) Why a “burping pumpkin”? Where did this idea come from?

Steph Alexis: The idea for this book came from an old folk tale that we recited as children on nights when there was a full moon. I started telling my son this story at bedtime and it became a nightly ritual. He would laugh hysterically and ask me to repeat the story, sometimes six times in one night! With all the what, how, why, and when questions I got from him every night, the story evolved to become “The Burping Pumpkin”.

9) What messages to you like to put into your stories?

Steph Alexis: I like to embed subtle themes and life lessons in my stories, such as obedience, teamwork, honesty and leadership. I strongly believe that these themes should be introduced to children at an early age when they are most impressionable.
10) Are you planning to write about growing up in the Grenada?

Steph Alexis: Yes! I plan to write a book called “The adventures of the Island Boy”. I have quite a bit of fascinating stories to tell about my boyhood days growing up on a tiny island in the Caribbean Sea.

The Burping PumpkinThe Burping Pumpkin is a witty and hilarious story that will have your children laughing as you read aloud. Zach and Zoe live in a tiny village. The mountains that surround their home are filled with giants. On an errand to pick berries, they venture further than they should and encounter a mountain giant. Who comes to the rescue? A Burping Pumpkin! This book is a great way to bring humor and literature into your child’s life. It’s great for elementary children as a reading activity during this corona virus lockdown or for traditional homeschooling.

The Burping Pumpkin is available at these Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

For more information on Steph Alexis, please visit his website at: https://outskirtspress.com/theburpingpumpkin.

 

 

Day 1: Online Novel Study for The Lost Secret of Fairies

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Free novel study to go along with The Lost Secret of Fairies.

Greetings and welcome to Day 1 of the Online Novel Study for my book, The Lost Secret of Fairies. I am posting an online novel study to help and support the parents that are looking for activities for their children at home for the next few weeks because of the pandemic break due to the corona virus. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting activities, questions and online resources that will be offered for FREE to go along with my first book in my children’s fantasy adventure series, The Lost Secret of Fairies. 

I have been an elementary teacher for over 20 years. I’ve taught in the US school system in the state of California for 18 years, and I’m a credentialed teacher. Due to health issues, I had to retire from the classroom, but do work part time now in a local tutoring center, which all has shut down due to my county being a hot spot for corona virus.

So, in the spirit of trying to help with this crisis, I’m putting up some of the novel study unit I developed in the classroom for my book. I taught the unit twice before I became ill, and am happy to offer it now to teachers, parents and others that would like to teach my book, The Lost Secret of Fairies, at home, as a home school project, or in the classroom later when, hopefully, we return to normal.

Here’s the book trailer so your child can get excited about the story. I made it myself, and wrote and play the harp music in the trailer.

To begin with, here are the links to the ebook, The Lost Secret of Fairies. Paperback covers can also be purchased and used for the novel study. I have made the ebook available at a deep discount of only $0.99. Most of my books are available at $1.99 or $2.99 later in the series. So, if your child or students wish to continue in the series, copies for all the books are available online. I always kept additional copies of later books in the series in my classroom library and in the school library so any child could continue if they wish. I self published these books myself over the course of twelve years. So, they are part of my life’s work. So, please understand that I still need to keep them at a reasonable price to recoop some of my costs in editing and publishing them.

**Note: These lessons can also be used if you already have a copy of the book.

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The Lost Secret of Fairies is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Links to The Lost Secret of Fairies:

Reading Level is AR 4.6. Children that are high readers in third and up can read this themselves. Children younger will need it read to them. Recommended for 3rd grade and up.

Ebook Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1425146716

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-secret-of-fairies-tiffany-turner/1019317884

Apple/iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1503006160

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-lost-secret-of-fairies-1

-Paperback edition also available at above Amazon listing.

Paperback Links:

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-secret-of-fairies-tiffany-turner/1019317884

***Note: I am currently publishing an updated edition with new formatting for the ebook editions. When they become available, I will post them in this section.

When you have the book available, you are ready to begin the study. Just download the official journal entry master page to begin. You can print or make copies of this original master to create a journal to keep while your child/student reads the book. The pages can be put in a three ring binder or stapled together to form a journal. You can attach a blank page to create a journal cover, and your child can decorate it.

PDF link to copy of master below:

Journal Entry Form

After the journal is put together and a copy of the book has been achieved, begin the novel study by reading a chapter a day or in sections of 2-3 chapters a day. This will depend on their reading and grade level. I would start with one chapter a day and see how they do with that. If they can handle 1 or 2 a day, change to that.

I will be posting discussion and response question worksheets for 3 chapters at a time. I will also have additional activities to go along with the novel study which will include reading from other blog posts on my blog.

It will be a fun and engaging couple of weeks for any child or student that finds themselves at home due to the corona virus. Or in the future, any child being schooled at home or later for teachers in the classroom to use.

I will also be including links along the way to past activities I have posted, such as my Spooky Story online unit, and to other children’s authors that are making activities and lessons to go along with their books.

Please feel free to post comments and questions below on how the novel study is going for you.

***Please follow my blog to make sure you receive all the info about activities and lesson plan links. Look for the next post with study and response questions with additional activities in the next few days.

UPDATE April 4, 2020:

So folks, to help you out even further, I have managed to find a way to get the ebook for my book, FREE, for a limited time. From now until the end of the month, The Lost Secret of Fairies ebook is FREE. Yes, you heard that right. I’m giving it to you as a gift, along with the entire free online novel study, to help promote reading and learning during these hard times for the world. It is my gift to the world to hopefully help us all get through together. I’m sure fairies are something we all need now, helpful keepers of the Earth.

Link to Smashwords Free Ebook

Offer lasts until May 31, 2020!

Just remember, wash your hands, stay safe, and be kind to everyone because the world needs that right now. Oh, and fairies. We need the fey. So, enjoy, read and write!

Until next time,

Tiffany Turner

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with Brianna Reshae

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BriAnna Reshae Woodard

BriAnna Reshae is the author of “Beautiful Black Butterfly“.

Welcome to a New Year and decade on the Indie Children’s Authors Connection. I’ve been running this blog since I started self-publishing children’s books way back around 2008. So, I’m proud to say I’ve been running this meeting place for authors and readers for over 10 years now. I’m proud to continue this tradition of introducing you to fabulous Indie authors and their books with my first interview of 2020.

BriAnna Reshae is an author that has been following her passion for writing since she was a child and has written a book called Beautiful Black Butterfly. Her books deal with obstacles children face and how they can learn to face and over come them. I had a chance to talk to Brianna about her childhood reading memories, favorite authors, what influences her, and what writing means to her.

  • What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

BriAnna Reshae: Being inspired to use my imagination and dream big is my favorite memory as a child.

  • Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

BriAnna Reshae: My favorite author was Barbara Park who wrote Junie B. Jones, she influences me by being able to connect to children and still be able to entertain middle grade students as well.

  • Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.

BriAnna Reshae: I don’t have a particular writing routine, I just write mostly when I’m inspired to do it.

  • What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

BriAnna Reshae: I write children’s books aimed towards obstacles that children face but I would like to write stories about obstacles that teenagers and young adults face as well.

  • What is writing to you in one sentence?

BriAnna Reshae: Creativity.


BlkButterflyCvr Beautiful Black Butterfly
is a book about overcoming bullies and excepting who you are. Jai’Da encounters kids that make fun of her. The bullies target her because of the dark color of her skin. But then a black butterfly comes into her life that inspires her to express her natural beauty within and overcome the hatred directed at her. This is a wonderful book to help children understand that differences are actually what make us unique and beautiful, and we can look towards these differences for our own self-confidence and inner beauty.

Beautiful Black Butterfly is available at Amazon.com.

For more information on BriAnna Reshae, visit her social media links here:

Instagram: booksbybree
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Book Review: Siarra Jones Skating Into Trouble (Middle Grade Novel)

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Paul Breau is the author of the new middle grade book, Siarra Jones Skating Into Trouble.

The Holiday Season is kicking off right now, and you may be in search for a reading present for the child in your life. So, I’ll be highlighting some awesome books and authors that I find over the next few weeks. The first I’d like to tell you about is a great new series from a Canadian author, Paul Breau. He has put together a great middle grade novel as the first in his Step By Step series. The book is called Siarra Jones Skating Into Trouble.

Siarra is so excited about her new skating class. She’s starting the highest level class, and just needs it to be complete all that is needed to go to skating camp. But on her first day, a bully starts to get in her way. Every new session of class, she runs into problems with the bully. One thing after another happens. She suddenly sees bullies everywhere, especially at school. A run in with the class bully and watching someone else be a hero gives her the strength to stand up to her bully. Will she be able to face him in the final test of the class? Will she find out what makes him so mean?

Siarra JonesI really enjoyed Siarra as a character. It was good to see a strong girl, excited and having a good relationship with her parents. The bully incidents are realistic, and she learns more about being bullied first hand. It gives her empathy for others around her she notices are bullied. She goes through a beautiful change to start standing up for others, and uses this knowledge to stand up to her bully. But I was really hoping that the bully character himself would have some insight and we’d see more of his change. There is a little bit at the end of the book, but I wish there were more background revealed for the bully himself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and hope it will make it into classrooms and libraries. It would make a great read aloud for a class to have discussions about bullying and what to do in different situations presented in the story. Plus, for any child that is being bullied, it will be an empowering read.

Siarra Jones Skating Into Trouble is available at Amazon.com. This is a Kindle Unlimited title.

For more information on the author Paul Breau, please visit his website at: PaulBreau.com.