Spotlight: The Puppy Adventures of Porter & Midge: Out and About by Jennie Chen and Giselle Nevada

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Children's Book

Date Published: 05-16-2023

Publisher: Raise the Woof Press LLC

CJ and Lora are on a mission. They want to ride on a float during the Independence Day Parade with their new puppies. But their camp counselor says puppies need basic puppy training before they can be in the parade. How will CJ and Lora train their puppies to be confident, calm, and open to learning new things? Will they be ready in time to ride the float in the parade?

Introducing The Puppy Adventures of Porter and Midge: Out and About – a quick introduction to early socialization and training for puppies that will make them outstanding canine citizens and wonderful family pets. Kids will love following along with the two puppies’ story as they learn about how to take care of their own pup.  Use the included checklists to go on real-life adventures together with your furry friend!

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About the Authors

Jennie Chen

Jennie Chen has been active in purpose bred dogs since 2001 earning over 75 titles in conformation, competitive obedience, rally, herding, lure coursing, weight pull, drafting, water rescue, packing, and animal assisted therapy. Her first AKC Champion was a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Ch Dixieland Blazing Maximus, CGC, HIT, SS, SWET, WETT, HIC, WETX, WTXX, WPD, DD, WWDS, RN, CD, THDA, VGS, 2017 GSMDCA Ambassador of the Breed, “Mouse.” Mouse was the first Greater Swiss Mountain Dog to earn any Water Rescue titles, and he was spokesdog for the Keep Austin Dog Friendly trend for many years appearing in magazines, news clips, and serving the community as an animal assisted therapy dog. Keep Austin Dog Friendly was nominated for a Webby Award in 2016.

In addition to Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, she also owns a pride of Lowchen or The Little Lion Dogs. In 2019, she piloted her Lowchen, GCHS Musicbox Got Your Six at Roman Reign “Target” to #1 All-Systems, #1 OH for 2019 and 2020. Target went on to win the Breed at the AKC National Championship in 2019, Westminster in 2020, and Best in Specialty Show in 2021.

Jennie has served on various board and committee positions in the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America, the Lowchen Club of America, as well as regional Newfoundland and Bernese Mountain Dog Clubs. She is a GSMDCA draft judge and weight pull judge.

Giselle Nevada

Originally from the Philippines, Giselle came to the US to attend Wellesley College where she studied Economics. After graduation, she worked in managing risk/compliance teams, specializing in machine learning and more recently, risk policy.

Giselle has owned several mastiffs over the past 20 years, some from reputable breeders and others she rescued as adults. Her experience with rescuing and fostering mastiffs led her to become interested in socialization as a way of preventing future issues. She enjoys working with her dogs and has trained them in various canine sports such as carting, conformation, agility, rally, trick dog, nose work, and more. Her puppy, Porter, is an example of the success of early socialization, having earned multiple performance dog titles and even starred in a movie directed by Marian Yeager called “Match Me If You Can.”

Giselle is an active member of various dog clubs such as the Scentwork ATX Club, Capitol Dog Training Club of Austin, and the Mastiff Club of America. She has lived in Austin for over two decades, and her passion for dogs and socialization continues to inspire her work.

Connect:

Website: http://porterandmidge.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PorterandMidge

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/PorterandMidge

Spotlight: Mia and Nattie One Great Team! by Marlene M. Bell and illustrator Grace Sandford

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Nattie’s mouth was a little crooked. Her legs were a bit shorter than usual, and one horn was too straight, like a unicorn’s horn. But Mia thought Nattie was perfect. 

In a read-aloud picture book for children who love animals, award-winning writer and sheep breeder Marlene M. Bell presents Nattie the lamb’s true story. 

MIA AND NATTIE is a heartwarming book that teaches readers about problem-solving, teamwork, and love. 

On a visit to her grandma’s farm, eight-year-old Mia discovers a newborn, orphaned lamb outside in the cold and takes her to the laundry room, naming her Nattie. As she tries to nurse the lamb back to health, Mia discovers that Nattie is different from the other lambs and struggles to fit in with them like Mia does with other kids her age. When her grandmother says she will sell Nattie to a neighbor, Mia must come up with a plan to keep her friend around—one that will show the family just how special Nattie truly is.

Excerpt

Tiny Nattie studied the ways of older sheep.

She ate grass and tasty weeds.

She ate grain and hay and drank water instead of milk.

But Nattie would never be big enough to live with the rest of the flock.

She was too small to raise babies of her own.

“Your lamb needs a home,” Grandma said to Mia.

“She has one! Please let me keep her.” Mia hugged Nattie’s neck.

Mia squinted back tears before they fell on Nattie’s wool.

“A neighbor wants to buy her,” Grandma said, then spun around and walked to the barn in silence.

Mia had to find a way for Nattie to stay.

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About the Author

Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning mystery writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. She and her husband, Gregg, reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named Tia, and Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks, the cats that rule the household.

Connect:

Websites: http://marlenembell.com and http://texassheep.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marlenembell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ewephoric

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlenemysteries

Spotlight: Moraline by Cintia Alfonso Fior

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Twelve-year-old Moraline Reed is about to run away from her problems—again.

Since moving from New York to California, Moraline has been pushing against a hot, dry wind whenever trouble happens. When she ends up on the wrong end of a cruel prank, she leaves the school camping trip, running, as always. This turns into the chance of a lifetime as Moraline meets a Lakota holy man who tells her she is the girl who runs against the wind, destined to put the winds back into balance by combatting injustice wherever she finds it.

A breath of magic leads her to new friendship and a mysterious stray fox who support her as she advocates for building peace both close to home and throughout her community. Together, they face some of the biggest issues of their time head-on.

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About the Author

Children’s fiction author Cintia Alfonso Fior first realized she wanted to be a writer after working with diverse underserved populations in South America, North America, and Africa. The perception of injustices and the great need to advocate for underserved populations, particularly children, inspired her to write her magical realism novel for young readers, Moraline. The book follows an outcast sixth-grade girl and covers important themes of racial literacy, social justice, and interconnectedness with the earth and the people around us.

Cintia Alfonso Fior is an educator, clinical psychologist, and the founder of Rising Advocates, an advocacy and educational platform dedicated to promoting children’s rights and environmental justice through storytelling and education.

Fior has a MA in Peace and Justice Studies from the Kroc Institute of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego and serves as the current chair of the American Family Therapy Academy’s (AFTA) Family Policy and Human Rights committee. 

When she isn’t writing impactful and socially conscious books for middle-grade readers, Fior is a qualitative researcher working in Africa and a Ph.D. candidate. She enjoys being a mother of three, tending to her garden, cooking, and running. Originally from Argentina, she lives in San Diego, California. Moraline is her debut novel.

Spotlight: Just Shake It Off! by Anh Sphabmixay

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Date Published: January 2023

Children, like grownups, feel a wide range of complicated emotions.

Children's social-emotional development, including their capacity for empathy and resilience building, may benefit greatly from adult support as they learn to recognize and constructively express their emotions. Emotions are neither positive nor negative; they just exist. Words are essential for children because they allow them to put names to their experiences and understand their environment.

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About the Author

Anh Sphabmixay lives with her family and a Yorkie named Abbie in Colorado. She is a wife and a devoted mother to a lively child who gives her all the motivation she needs. The love of her daughter made her want to write books and share them with everyone. When she's not looking for a word that rhymes with "love," she can be found spending time with her daughter, learning a new recipe, and taking way too many pictures of her daughter and dog. She also hopes that her books will make everyone who reads them happy and give them memories they will never forget.

Spotlight: Olive's Birthday by Elizabeth & Roger Milbourn

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Genre: Children's Picture Book

Olive is very excited about her birthday! What presents will she get? What sort of party will she have? What will her birthday cake be like? Help Olive Choose. In this first book of the Choosy Olive series, the reader gets to decide how Olive's birthday unfolds. See if you can dodge the odd outcomes. Help children feel empowered and learn about the consequences of choice from an early age in a fun and silly way with Olive as she embarks on her day to day childhood journey.

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About the Author

Elizabeth and Roger's children's book, Olive’s Birthday, has been a work in progress for over 5 years. Life got in the way a bit as did running around after their young children. Olive’s Birthday is the first book in the 'Choosy Olive' series, which allows readers to choose how the stories unfold. Elizabeth and Roger wanted to create something a bit different in a picture book and are passionate about giving children choices (within appropriate boundaries!) to empower them. Elizabeth is an avid reader and will read anything and everything but can barely go a day without an Agatha Christie fix. Roger loves children's books and reading to their children and is partial to a non-fiction. Elizabeth is Australian but has called England her home for nearly two decades. Her and Roger (originally from Liverpool) live in the Worcestershire countryside with their two children and quite a lot of pets. When not writing or reading, they spend most of their time washing mud off the children and the dog. 

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Spotlight: The Adventures of Winston the Pig: Meet Winston by Sarah Ambrosia Mulleneaux and Illustrated by Nadiya Lobanova

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Genre: Children's Picture Book 

Winston the pig is not like the other animals where he lives. He has big red glasses and loves eating more than almost anything. He also has a habit of getting into trouble. Join Winston on the first of many adventures as he tries to find his place in the world and learns some valuable lessons along the way. 

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About the Author

Sarah lives in Arizona with her husband, kids, and menagerie of pets including Winston the pig. She is a surgical nurse who loves writing and has enjoyed working on this book with her friend and colleague, Nadiya. She and her two sons also run a pooper scooper business called The Poop Fairy.

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About the Illustrator

Nadiya Lobanova is a medical and scientific illustrator with a surgical nursing background. Due to her wide interest in other fields, she is also keen on creating illustrations for children's books and thus teamed up with Sarah to visualize a wonderful story in hopes of bringing a bit more kindness to this world through a growing generation.