Are you an avid reader looking for your next "fix"? Can't bear to be without some form of reading material in your spare time? Welcome to my world! Whether you are seeking a new book to "feed your need", or you are an author seeking an unbiased point of view on your own recent masterpiece, this is the place to be. With life as with books, you never know where the next step might take you...

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

AWARENESS TOUR: Ralphy's Rules for Feelings by Talar and Riley Herculian Coursey, Illustrated by Meri Andreasyan - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!


Time for a little AWARENESS TOUR to spread awareness about feelings!  That's right.  FEELINGS.  You know, those sometimes pesky little things that give us butterflies in our stomach before a big speech, or that exhilarating heart race before a big date?  Yeah, those feelings AND all the others.  Today's featured title on tour with The Children's Book Review takes us through the world of feelings, shows us their validity, and helps us understand where to go with them from there.  Ladies and gents, kiddos and friends, let's take a closer look between the epages of....



Written by 
Talar Hercuilian Coursey and Riley Herculian Coursey
Illustrated by Meri Andreasyan
Ages 4+ | 36 Pages
9781955119450
Purple Butterfly Press (2024)


About the book...
We have big feelings!

Sometimes we don’t know what to do with them or how to change our thoughts that cause these feelings. The first day of school can be scary, but “Furrapist” Jackson Johnson and cute pup Ralphy of Ralphy’s Rules for the Good Life are committed to helping a busload of kids understand and manage their big feelings. During the ride to school, Furrapist Jackson Johnson teaches the children that they can choose their emotions and decide how to respond to them. Ralphy and Jackson make the complicated subject of emotional intelligence accessible for kids to understand and, more importantly, implement in their everyday lives.

So hop on the bus with us, and let’s learn about how taking charge of our feelings can change our day!


 




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Okay, so there's a lot of LOVE to go around here.
First, I love that the Furrapist and Ralphy are DOGS.  Yep, dogs!  They're cute, adorable, and easy for readers of all ages to be drawn to.  Secondly, the kids on the bus are just like you and me.  They get up each day ready to go, and get bombarded by feelings of all kinds.  Some are more welcome like excitement, while others are harder to bear like worry and embarrassment.  The thing is they acknowledge what they are feeling, thanks to our furry duo, because all feelings are valid, no matter how big or small, but then they get offered a choice.  The choice may seem impossible, but, if you really think about it, it's got a ring of truth.  We may start the day one way, but we have the power to change some things, including our own mindset.  If doom and gloom is all we see, that silver lining beneath may be just the ticket out of the rain.  So the kids choose to carry their feelings with them, or take up something new by changing their mind, and focusing on something positive, joyful, or uplifting.  It's often said a situation can be solved, or a day changed by looking at it from a new perspective...so why not apply the same action to our feelings?

A great story that welcomes readers to drop their heavy loads, and turn their frowns upside down.  Filled with cheerful images to brighten anyone's day, I have to say that the emoji style representations of the feelings shared make it even easier for today's generation to feel a kinship with.  The perfect edutainment pick for young readers, whether in a classroom or family setting.



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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Talar Herculian Coursey is a lawyer by day and a children’s book author, Life Coach, and philanthropist by night (more like mornings). She has been a General Counsel since 2011 and recently joined ComplyAuto, a privacy/cybersecurity SAAS company. Before going in-house, she was a file clerk, associate, and partner at the national labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips LLP. Talar is a co-author of both #Networked: How 20 Women Lawyers Overcame the Confines of COVID-19 Social Distancing to Create Connections, CultivateCommunity, & Build Businesses in the Midst of a Global Pandemic and Women In Law: Discovering the True Meaning of Success. Her first children’s book, Ralphy’s Rules for Living the Good Life, was published in 2021.

Talar has served as the President of the Salt Lake City Chapter of the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (“SOAR”) since 2015. SOAR, founded in 2005, supports orphanages in Syria, Lebanon and Armenia. She runs the Salt Lake City Half Marathon every year to raise money for SOAR in memory of her father. Net proceeds from her children’s books also go to SOAR. In addition to being a mother, wife, lawyer, life coach, and philanthropist, she is also a runner, yogi, and Jesus, Eckhart Tolle, Peloton, and Brandon Flowers groupie.

For more information, visit talaresq.com.



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~~~   GIVEAWAY   ~~~


Enter the giveaway for the chance to win a classroom set that includes 25 copies of Ralphy's Rules for Feelings!




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Special thanks to Bianca at The Children's Book Review for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) This post is sponsored by Purple Butterfly Press. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view. For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour for more bookish fun!



TOUR SCHEDULE


Monday, January 22, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Tuesday, January 23, 2024
A Storytime Activity Paired with Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Author Interview with Talar Herculian Coursey

Thursday, January 25, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Friday, January 25, 2024
Book Spotlight of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Monday, January 29, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings and Little Free Library Drop

Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Thursday, February 1, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Friday, February 2, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Monday, February 5, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Thursday, February 8, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings

Friday, February 9, 2024
Book Review of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings


Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!


Saturday, January 27, 2024

READY-TO-READ with Simon Spotlight and TOW TO GO! by Patricia Lakin, Illustrated by Chiara Galletti - REVIEW!

 

Today, we're shining a light on a series for the kiddos! The Ready-to-Read series is a great learning tool for kiddos just starting to up their reading game. It focuses on short, fun, interactive stories that aim to teach pronunciation, patterns, and other tools of the "trade" that go into developing a long lasting and meaningful relationship with the written word. 

The two titles we're featuring today are written by author Patricia Lakin, and illustrated by Chiara Galletti. The tales within star a life loving, dance happy tOw truck that helps to get his friends out of some sticky situations, while the learning fOcus is on the long "O". SOOOO, if you're ready, let's strike a pOse as we look at...


TOW ON THE GO!: THE SPLISH-SPLASH PUDDLE DANCE

TOW ON THE GO!: THE MAMBO RESCUE


One takes us through the fun of splish-splashing through puddles, until one proves much bigger than it first appeared, and a little wiggle waggle attitude is needed to budge the situation. The second finds our tOwing truck's friends stuck tight in the snOw with nOwhere to gO... until a certain tOw truck with a smile and a bounce in his ride, helps them find their groove in order to mOve.

See what I did there? 😉 The thing is, as fun as it was to write that paragraph and find the long "O" in everyday words, for beginner readers that becomes more than fun, but a lesson learned well that more easily sticks. The clever rhymes take us from beginning to end, while the colorful illustrations capture the eye, and spark the imagination, presenting the perfect bookish package that wee ones will reach for again and again. 


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About the author...

Patricia Lakin, a former elementary school teacher and an award-winning author, has written more than fifty published works. Her books, both fiction and nonfiction, span multiple age groups—from toddlers to middle graders. Patricia lives in New York City with her husband, Lee Koenigsberg. They have two grown sons, Aaron and Benjahmin. When not reading, writing, or researching, she can be found traveling with Lee to far-off places in the world.


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Many thanks to author Patricia Lakin for the copies for review, and to Tracey at Media Masters Publicity for the chance to bring these titles to you. (THANKS!) For more information on these titles, the series, the author, illustrator, or publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. These titles are now available via Simon Spotlight, so be on the lookout for them at your local brick and mortar or favorite online retailer 

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



Friday, January 26, 2024

Rockstar Book Tours presents... LIGHT AND AIR by Mindy Nichols Wendell - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the LIGHT AND AIR by Mindy Nichols Wendell Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

Title: LIGHT AND AIR

Author: Mindy Nichols Wendell

Pub. Date: January 2, 2024

Publisher: Holiday House

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 218

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/LIGHT-AND-AIR 

It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it?

When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned—and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital: far from home, far from family, far from the world.

Tucked away in the woods of upstate New York, the hospital is a closed and quiet place. But it is not, Halle learns, a prison. Free of her worried and difficult father for the first time in her life, she slowly discovers joy, family, and the healing power of honey on the children's ward, where the girls on the floor become her confidantes and sisters. But when Mama suffers a lung hemorrhage, their entire future—and recovery—is thrown into question....

Light and Air deals tenderly and insightfully with isolation, quarantine, found family, and illness. Set in the fully realized world of a 1930s hospital, it offers a tender glimpse into a historical epidemic that has become more relatable than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Halle tries to warm her father’s coldness and learns to trust the girls and women of the hospital, and as she and her mother battle a disease that once paralyzed the country, a profound message of strength, hope, and healing emerges.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

 

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Historical Fiction can be for kiddos too!

Case in point? This book because it takes a time from yesteryear, brings it to life, and makes it relateable for readers in the intended audience and beyond. You can't help but fall in love with Halle and her mom, and while once upon a time contracting an epic contagious disease may have seemed like story telling, we've lived through COVID-19 ... we're rather familiar whether we want to be or not. Watching their new reality unfold, seeing them adapt to what they thought was surely a life sentence, but turns into something not quite as dreadful, and knowing that while hope is tenuous, it's still a tangible thing they've not given up on...it made this tale all the more something to get lost in. 

For me, it sang to my love of the genre, but even if you're not a fan of time gone by, there's still plenty character wise and plot wise to keep your imagination ensnared. A great pick for children's fiction readers, and a great way to explore a bit of our shared pasts!



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About Mindy Nichols Wendell:

Mindy Nichols Wendell taught writing and pedagogy at SUNY Fredonia for many years, where she served as the Director of the Composition Program. In 2019, she received the prestigious State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Mindy lives in Western New York with her husband, Steve, a retired teacher. She is located not far from the ruins of the J. N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital, the inspiration for LIGHT AND AIR.

 

Website | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 



Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of LIGHT AND AIR, US Only.

Ends January 31st, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/15/2024

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Excerpt/IG Post

1/15/2024

Lady Hawkeye

Excerpt/IG Post

1/16/2024

Kountry Girl Bookaholic

Excerpt/IG Post

1/16/2024

YA Books Central

Excerpt/IG Post

1/17/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt/IG Post

1/17/2024

Fyrekatz Blog

Review

1/18/2024

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

1/18/2024

@anitralovesbooksanddogs

IG Review

1/19/2024

Avainbookland

IG Review

1/19/2024

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Review/IG Post

Week Two:

1/22/2024

@enthuse_reader

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/22/2024

NewBookCatsREADS

Review/IG Post

1/23/2024

100 Pages A Day

Review/IG Post

1/23/2024

Lisa-Queen of Random

Review/IG Post

1/24/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

1/24/2024

Confessions of the Perfect Mom

Review/IG Post

1/25/2024

FUONLYKNEW

Excerpt

1/25/2024

two points of interest

Review

1/26/2024

One More Exclamation

Review/IG Post

1/26/2024

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Review/IG Post


Rockstar Book Tours presents... CITY SPIES: MISSION MANHATTAN by James Ponti - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the CITY SPIES: MISSION MANHATTAN by James Ponti Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

Title: CITY SPIES: MISSION MANHATTAN

Author: James Ponti

Pub. Date: February 6, 2024

Publisher: Aladdin

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 430

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/CITY-SPIES-MISSION-MANHATTAN 

In this fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies take on New York City in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls.

The City Spies head to the Big Apple when a credible threat is made to a young climate activist who is scheduled to speak in front of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. With Rio acting as alpha and a new member in their ranks, the team’s mission to protect a fellow teen takes them on an exciting adventure in, around, and even under the greatest city in the world as they follow leads to the outer boroughs, the UN Headquarters, and even the usually off-limits stacks that extend deep under the main branch of the New York Public Library.

 


Grab the rest of the CITY SPIES BOOKS now!



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You can not go wrong with a City Spies book!

Seriously! I'm still behind on the series...  read the last two, but need to catch up on the beginning ones... but I'm still RIGHT THERE with them! For those that don't know, the City Spies are a group of fantastically amazing kids that all have different talents, strengths, and smarts. Separate, they are remarkable, but together, they are a force! Here, the kids work as a unit while navigating their way through the big city streets (and beyond!) of New York, and while their last mission was tre exotic, you better believe you won't look at the city the same way again!

I won't spoil it for you because being there for the twists and turns, following the case one on one, uncovering the bigger bad as well as the potential leaks within, is all a part of the experience. I, for one, loved the touch of familiar with the story coming stateside because it gave it that much more a chance of readers connecting with it, exploring places mentioned, seeing if some of the secrets revealed are true. You gotta love a story that sparks further investigation, am I right?

A great pick for Children's Fiction fans, young and young at heart, and a fab addition to this excellent series!


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Book Trailer:


About James:

JAMES PONTI (he/him/his) is the New York Times bestselling author of three middle grade book series: City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy– nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon




Giveaway Details:

1 lucky winner will receive a finished copy of CITY SPIES: MISSION MANHATTAN, US Only.

Ends February 6th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/22/2024

@enthuse_reader

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/22/2024

Kountry Girl Bookaholic

Excerpt/IG Post

1/23/2024

YA Books Central

Excerpt/IG Post

1/23/2024

@darkfantasyreviews

IG Post

1/24/2024

Little Red Reads

Excerpt/IG Post

1/24/2024

Log Cabin Library

Excerpt

1/25/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt/IG Post

1/25/2024

Lady Hawkeye

Excerpt/IG Post

1/26/2024

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Review/IG Post

1/26/2024

Avainbookland

IG Review

Week Two:

1/29/2024

The Guild

Review

1/29/2024

AJ Johnson

IG Review

1/30/2024

Callisto’s calling

IG Review

1/30/2024

@katherinebichler

TikTok Post

1/31/2024

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

1/31/2024

One More Exclamation

Review/IG Post

2/1/2024

@froggyreadteach

IG Review

2/1/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

2/2/2024

@pagesforpaige

IG Review

2/2/2024

Lifestyle of Me

Review


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