Spotlight: The Day the Lines Changed by Kelley Donner

Without ever saying “Coronavirus” or “Pandemic,” The Day the Lines Changed explains what it means to live through a viral outbreak and gives children a much needed, optimistic view of the future. Through the use of ripped paper and basic shapes, Kelley Donner takes a frightening and complicated pandemic and turns it into an uplifting, easily understandable story about the life of a green line. The Day the Lines Changed, a picture book for children between the ages of 2 and 6 should be a welcome resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers who are trying their best to explain the pandemic to worried children. 100% of all profits from the book will be donated to the Covid-19 charities through the end of April that help support children’s mental health.

Carefree and happy, the green line lives together with her family, goes to school during the week, and on weekends visits the town square. Then one day some of the orange and purple lines begin to turn crooked and suddenly, everything is different for the green line and her family. Just as green begins to worry, if her own family might turn crooked, one line makes a fantastic discovery which changes the lives of the lines forever.

While being self-quarantined with her family and already suffering from cabin fever, Kelley Donner got an idea that she couldn’t push away. After wielding continual questions about the Coronavirus from her three boys she felt compelled to write a story which explained what a pandemic is in a way that any child could understand. Kelley hopes that parents and educators will use The Day the Lines Changed as a platform for discussion about this difficult topic.

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About the Author

Kelley Donner has worked as an educator for over twenty years and is also the bestselling author of Ball! Ball! Ball! A Picture Book to Inspire Sensory Awareness and Little Jack Thomson’s Magnificent Brain. She is currently doing her Masters in Illustration and Book Arts at the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University and lives together with her family in Cambridge. For more information about A Little Donnerwetter Books, go to kelleydonner.com.

Spotlight: I Love Me! by LaRonda Gardner Middlemiss

Picture Book

Date Published: 4/21/20

Publisher: Beaming Books

I love me from my mouth and chin

all the way down to my knees and shins.

This affirming picture book features a diversity of races and ethnicities, physical features, body types, abilities and disabilities. I Love Me teaches all kids they have many, many reasons to love themselves.

About the Author

LaRonda Gardner Middlemiss found that motherhood immersed her in the fascinating world of picture books as she shared in her son's love of story time. Experiencing picture books with varying styles, stories and approaches to themes inspired her to write stories of her own. With a vision to create stories that will entertain, enlighten and empower all children, she ultimately aspires to both author and illustrate her work.

LaRonda is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators as well as Storyteller Academy.  Living in her home state of North Carolina with her husband and son, she participates in a local SCBWI critique group and a regional SCBWI illustrators network. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering.

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Spotlight: Dog Town by Debbie L Richardson

GENRE: Middle Grade fiction

BLURB:

Harry loves to race around the streets of Dog Town. When he stumbles upon the lost city of cats, he finds himself in a race against Dog Town’s fastest canine, Grizzly.

The winner of this race will have the power to save Cat World, or destroy it.

Harry wants to win, but there is one small problem. The race is in the ocean, and Harry is terribly afraid of water.

Can Harry overcome his fear of the water and save Cat Town?

Excerpt

HARRY was dreaming that a cat fell out of the sky and landed on his head. 

He woke at once. It was dark inside his kennel. He was uncertain if it was very late or very early, but he was wide awake and puzzled about the cat in his dream. 

Cats were unheard of in Dog Town. The way summers without mosquitoes were unheard of. Or non-fattening chocolate bars were unheard of. 

Baffled, Harry tried thinking about something else. Instead, he became consumed by visions of cats. As he struggled to find meaning behind his odd dream, he became convinced it meant something horrible for dog-kind. 

The blanket at his feet offered a good place to avoid thinking on his dream any further. He hid under the blanket, until the heat of the summer’s night made it hot enough to cook a roast. 

Harry pushed his nose outside his kennel. It was hot and humid tonight, and there wasn’t a breath of wind. Vastly different to that afternoon when the wind’s temper had set every door in the house banging.

Even though it was too hot inside his kennel, he didn’t want to leave it. Outside in his backyard, shadows skipped across the treetops. Shadows that didn’t belong to the moon or to the wind.

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About the Author

Debbie Richardson has published fiction novels as D L Richardson. She has published three young adults supernatural fiction novels, and science fiction and supernatural thrillers for adults. This is her first children’s book.

She was born in Dublin, Ireland and grew up in Australia. It was always crowded  and noisy in the family home. At one stage there were also three dogs, a cat, a budgie, and three mice living with seven people the same house.

Debbie learned to find a quiet space within books.

She now lives in the south coast of New South Wales with her husband and a small dog named Teeka. 

Connect:

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/DogTownKidsbook

Website:

www.dlrichardson.com

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Spotlight: I Am Awesome! by Ryan Maule

Do your children know how awesome they are? Follow along as two robots named Grace and Zeal learn that self-confidence is not only a good thing, it’s what God intended! God made you awesome because he loves you! So, no matter how old you are, you have everything you need to believe in yourself and live with a God powered confidence! At the end of this incredible story, you will be shouting - I am awesome!

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About the Author

RYAN MAULE is a nationally recognized and highly sought-after motivational speaker, host of the popular Expect Awesome Podcast, and the president of Integrity Doctors, the world’s largest chiropractic business organization. Over the last 15 years Ryan has traveled the world spreading the message of expecting awesome and building a stronger self-image in order to gain a God-powered confidence. Ryan is happily married to his awesome wife Amber and they live in Florida with their two awesome kids, Summer Grace and Nolan Zeal. 

Learn more about Ryan and I Am Awesome! at www.ryankmaule.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Spotlight: Amiranda: Princess Amiranda and the Tale of the Deciduous Forest by John Adamo

An instant classic tale portraying the life of "Amiranda,"an innocent and brave princess, who unwittingly sets out on a quest that will ultimately determine the fate of her entire kingdom. From her castle window, Amiranda would gaze at the beautiful countryside below-always watching carefully, always observing everything. Gradually the princess realizes that she knows very little of the small kingdom over which she would one day reign. Nevertheless, Amiranda would never disobey her father's wishes, especially the one to never enter the mysterious dark forest, which borders their kingdom. That is, until one day when she would have no other choice. Amiranda will take a journey that will lead her on a wild adventure, where the decisions she makes will determine the fate of many lives-the lives of her animal friends, her family members, those who dwell in her kingdom, and her very own life as well. Travel along on this trip where Princess Amiranda hopes to find the missing piece in her existence and ends up trying to achieve the impossible....

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About the Author

John Adamo is a Long Island-based author and songwriter who has copyrighted more than four hundred poems and has both written and composed numerous songs and short stories. Music has always been an integral part of John’s life, as he has performed at different venues all across Long Island—both as a professional pianist since the age of seventeen (one year after his father passed away) and also as a disc jockey / emcee for various private parties and public events.

This is John’s first formal work, which was originally written as a screenplay and copyrighted in 1998. John has always had the visualization that an animated movie would one day be made from his work. The author wanted to put together a story unlike any other, and one that could be enjoyed by people of all ages … both young and old alike. A story that reinforced good values, covered common ethics, and taught morals as John feels those important criteria are so often left out in today’s modern fairy tales.

After having the screenplay sit on his shelf for nearly fifteen years, John felt that it was finally time to let the world know the life and world of Amiranda—a Cinderella-type princess who has everything in the world that a princess could possibly ask for, but is still missing something more in her life. With your help, John hopes that he can help fulfill Amiranda’s aspirations, hopes, and dreams. Last but not least, John hopes you like Amiranda’s story just as much as he enjoyed writing it … Enjoy!

Connect:

Website  →   www.princessamiranda.com 

Facebook  → https://www.facebook.com/amirandabook

Spotlight: Moving Again!!!: With Rylan and Henry by Christy Jordan Wrenn

Children's Picture Book

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Rylan is five and has a mouse friend named Henry. Soon after Dad arrives home from deployment, he announces that they are moving 4,421 miles away. Come on an adventure with Rylan and his family moving from Anchorage, Alaska, through Canada to their new home in South Carolina. Will Henry go with the family, be forgotten, or get packed in a box, left behind.

This book is dedicated to military families that mover thousands of miles each year.

About the Author

Christy Jordan Wrenn has been a published children's author since 2014. She is an Indie published author and illustrator of four books: Rylan and Burt (2014), Rylan and Henry (2015), Emma's Funny Birds (2016), Moving Again !!! With Rylan and Henry (2018), and the (second edition 2019). Currently, she is an Administrative Librarian at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana. Christy has 40+ years of experience in the field of public, special and academic libraries.

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