Spotlight: Knucklehead Fred by Arias Williams and Bolaji Olaloye (Illustrator)

Knucklehead Fred 

by Arias Williams 

Genre: Children's Picture Book 

Knucklehead Fred is a whimsical, rhyming story about a fun-loving, energetic boy named Fred.

His parents just can’t figure out how to make him sit still and listen!

But when Fred finds himself in need of a favor, Mom and Dad use it as a perfect opportunity to teach him a thing or two about responsibility. 

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Arias Williams is a creative based in Los Angeles, CA. 

He is a father of two children, a husband, and currently teaches 7th Grade in South Los Angeles. 

When he isn't working on Knucklehead Fred, Arias can be found in his home studio making beats, hanging with his family, or working to educate the future of Los Angeles. 

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Spotlight: Sophie & The Bookmobile by Kathleen M Jacobs

Children's Book

Date Published: November 19, 2019

Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.

When Sophie's family moves from New York City to West Virginia, she not only has to leave her friends and the city and library she loves so much, but she has to figure out what will happen when she discovers that there is no library in her new town. But when she discovers something called a bookmobile and other new treasures, all is right with the world.

About the Author

Kathleen M. Jacobs is the author of the critically-acclaimed YA-novel, Honeysuckle Holiday and Betsy Blossom Brown. Her other works include Marble Town, a book for the MG-reader. Her first children’s book, Please Close It! has enjoyed numerous awards, and her chapbooks The Puppeteer of Objects: A Lyrical Poem and Collected Curiosities: Poems, Essays & Opinions offer insights into human behavior and understanding. She is a former teacher of English and Creative Writing, and holds a M. A. in Humanistic Studies. She was the 2017 New River Gorge Writer-in-Residence. You can reach her through her website at www.kathleenmjacobs.com and through Instagram @kathleenm.jacobs.

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Spotlight: Bird by Kim Wilson

Ellen Williams journeys to a place she’s never been, hoping to find answers. Why did a deceased stranger leave her a multi-million dollar estate? She has inherited the Caldwell Estate, a Georgia property so breathtakingly beautiful that a gift of this magnitude is beyond her understanding. This fortuitous event has come at a time when Ellen is struggling with her own direction in life; getting out of Louisville for a while is just what she needs. Mrs. Caldwell was a mystery to many who knew her. With each step closer to untangling the mystery, painful childhood memories begin to emerge of her sister Jenny, a horrifying night in the past, and of Bird. Finding the truth has a price. Buy Bird now to solve the mystery. Do you really want to know the truth?

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About the Author

Kim Wilson originally is from Champaign, Illinois. Kim moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1967 and never left. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in elementary education and a Master’s in Exceptional Child Education, specifically Learning Disability from the University of Louisville. She spent a career of twenty-seven years as a middle school teacher and an administrator in Jefferson County Public Schools. Kim has been a business owner and is a huge supporter of the arts. She has served as Chairperson to the Advisory Council for the The Governor’s School for the Arts, a community arts program supported by The Kentucky Center for the Arts. She is married to her husband of over 40 years, has two adult children, and two grandchildren. She loves spending time with her family, walking her retriever, playing the piano, traveling, and, of course, writing.

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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Indie Bound

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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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Amazon: Kindle | Paperback

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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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