Tag Archives: spring break reading

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 Mark Even

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Mark Even is the author of the children’s book, “The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol”.

As we move into a time where many schools are taking early Spring breaks or closing for 3 weeks for protection against spreading the corona virus, I’ll be helping out with recommendations, interviews, and my own lesson plans for parents during this time. I know it’s hard to find activities and lessons for your child. So, I’ll be featuring author interviews, book deals, and other ideas to help with this interim.

I’m starting out with an interview with a fabulous children’s fantasy author, Mark Even. Mr. Even lives in Minnesota, and worked for IBM for thirty-seven years. After he retired, he got the idea to write a children’s book from a local children’s book fair. Combining his love of comic books, superheroes, science fiction and Harry Potter, he created the book “The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol”. Written for his granddaughter’s and all children’s enjoyment, it’s a children’s fantasy with dragons, wizards and a magical parasol with special powers. I got a chance to talk to Mark Even about his childhood reading memories, writing routine, and what he plans for future projects.

1) What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?
Mark Even: The first real book that I read was a biography about Babe Ruth. I was really into baseball as a kid (still am) and played through college and even after college. And I was also a big fan of baseball. But as a kid, I also remember how the nuns at the school would bring TVs into the classroom for the World Series since there were very few night games back then. Baseball was a big part of my life and that book sticks in my mind as part of that whole passion.

2) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?
Mark Even: To be totally honest, Stan Lee is my favorite author. During my teens (even through college), about all I could afford for entertainment were comic books. I found the whole Marvel Comics Universe so interesting and creative. And now, technology has caught up and these stories can be told in films. But I think the whole creativity of making impossible things seem real and natural while working in stories of family and relationships along with the battles of good vs evil — this is what I strive to portray in my stories as well.

3) Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.
Mark Even: First I start forming a plot in my head and then even “write” chapters or sections in my head as well. This will go on for weeks — keeps me awake most of the nights thinking through plot lines and dialogue. Next, I jot down the major plot points in a notebook and various particular items, like a name of a character or the distance between Earth and Mars, so I don’t forget these or have to look them up again. Finally, I’ll sit down and just start writing on the computer. Probably just a chapter at a time, but I often go back and rewrite or enhance the writing with new items or plot points that tie to the next chapter.

4) What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?
Mark Even: I’m pretty much set on developing more stories about magical persons and creatures.

5) What is writing to you in one sentence?

Mark Even: Being retired, writing (or more accurately, making up stories), is one of my favorite pastimes!

WPP pic (2)“The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol” is a children’s fantasy adventure that brings to mind Harry Potter, superheroes and every day kids with a magical purpose. Two cousins find a magical parasol that unlocks a world to discover their magical heritage. Mistakenly releasing an evil magician leads to the cousins working together to save their wizard ancestor, the parasol, and their families. This is a magical adventure that children from upper grade elementary to middle school will enjoy.

“The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol” is available at: Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

For more information, visit Mark Even’s Amazon Author Page at: https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Mark-M-Even/e/B082HYFKXP.