Sunday, September 28, 2014

Guest Post For Different is Beautiful by Sherri Rabinowitz


Life is so very different today.  A child’s life is so complicated.  Between social media and texting everyone knows what everyone is doing.  It is actually scary in a way.  Some people may not get this reference but big brother is watching you.
When I was a child we did not have home computers, cell phones, DVRs, DVDsIPods…you get the idea. We had to watch a TV show when it played, there were only three networks and 4 local channels and no cable. We listened to transistor radios, rocked to our stereos, spent most of our timeon landlines with no call waiting. I rode my bike, skateboard and roller skates.  Watched the color TV in the living room and when I was a teen I got my own princess phone and my own black and white TV. I still have it and if we could use theantenna which we can’t anymore it would still work fine.

If I sound nostalgic I am in some ways, I miss some of the fun of it. We rely so much today on computers and cells that I sometimes I feel like we are losing some of our brain capacity.

I hated to look stuff up in the dictionary at the time or the encyclopedia because I didn’t know how to spell it. But now I realize I was thinking and learning a lot more than in the age of Google. And I miss some of the simple joys of my childhood.  Laying in my bed, with my stereo playing and writing a story or reading a good book.   I still do but it I have my computer playing a fave show tune and I’m writing in my lap top.  It is the same but it isn’t.

What does all this have to do with my book, Different Is Beautiful? Well it shows that I am a different generation and that I don’t understand some of things that modern kids face. I just feel for them and the complicated lives that they face ahead of them. People always love modern life and gadgets and I play with it all too.  I own an IPod, cell phone, dvr, I text and own an e-reader (though I held out for long, long time and I still prefer a book.)  I do look things up on google all the time and I do use text on my phone. It’s all exciting and fun.

But the dark side of it is very, very dark.  There were no hackers, or predators who could just enter a home through a computer.  And when you were bullied it was not on shame site where people all over your local area can see you. Lies only went so far now they can go viral. People couldn’t create fake personas and catfish you.  There have always been bad, evil people but they never before had such access to children. Terrifying.

Also bullies were not able to let everyone in a school know what they did to their victims with a push of key.  They couldn’t have a buddy film them as they beat up a poor kid because they wore glasses, they were a different color, had a different faith orsexuality. You were not outed for kicks by angry bullies who want to hurt others.  Bullies have it so easy and because the modern technology is so anonymous it is hard to catch them. Laws are out there to protect us but unless it comes to physical harm it is rarely pursued.

My book is about the opposite of all that. Love, acceptance.  It is to teach small children to make their future bright, happy and loving.  To not only accept others but to cherish them. To invoke another reference to show my age, I would like to see the next age truly believe in IDIC, Infinite diversity in infinite combinations. The great Gene Roddenberry came up with that and it is my ideal every day.

Love is the way, if we choose to follow it.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Interview with Sherri Rabinowitz for Different is Beautiful



 Come and join me as I talk with author Sherri Rabinowitz about her picture book Different is Beautiful on Stories From Unknown Authors 
http://blogtalkradio.com/storiesfromunknownauthors at 1 pm EST today.


  • Paperback: 28 pages
  • Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 5, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1499617542
  • ISBN-13: 978-1499617542

Info:

Sherri Rabinowitz and Anja Gruber has found a unique way to encourage self-esteem in little ones while helping them develop a sense of appreciation and respect for everyone and everything in the world around them. A portion of the proceeds will go to anti-bullying charities.

Author Bio:

Sherri has been writing since she was a small child. She was inspired by Ray Bradbury and Agatha Christie. She had always loved writing but has had to make a living in a varied number of ways. She worked as an actress, a travel agent and in several forms of customer service. Her passion though has always been writing. She loves and enjoys both reading and writing fan fiction. Fantasy Time Inc. was nominated for The Global eBook Award!

Review:

A simply delightful story with a powerful meaning. Being who you are is what makes everyone special. 

Different is Beautiful

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Interview with Jerilyn McIntyre for Paws in the Piazza

 Come and join me as I talk with author Jerilyn McIntyre about her chapter book Paws in the Piazza on Stories From Unknown Authors 
http://blogtalkradio.com/storiesfromunknownauthors at 2 pm EST today.



Book Blurb:

“Back home, I was content to be just an ordinary house cat.
I didn’t get out much.
But it’s different here in Venice.”
How different? Harley quickly finds out after his family arrives in Italy.
He takes up with a group of local cats who roam wild in the alleys and neighborhoods of Venice, and meets the mysterious Angela,
a beautiful white Angora who steals his heart.
Then he becomes embroiled in a fierce and ongoing war between his friends and a rival band of cats, and discovers the magical order that underlies life in the enchanting and historic city that is his new home.


Summary:
“Back home, I was content to be just an ordinary house cat. I didn’t get out much. But it’s different here in Venice.” How different? Harley quickly finds out after his family arrives in Italy. He takes up with a group of local cats who roam wild in the alleys and neighborhoods of Venice, and meets the mysterious Angela, a beautiful white Angora who steals his heart. Then he becomes embroiled in a fierce and ongoing war between his friends and a rival band of cats, and discovers the magical order that underlies life in the enchanting and historic city that is his new home.


  • Paperback: 96 pages
  • Publisher: Bristlecone Books; First edition (December 11, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0989375323
  • ISBN-13: 978-0989375320
Book can be purchased through Amazon here at Paws in the Piazza

Review:
Harley is a sleek black cat taking a vacation with his human family in Venice. Not really traveling much before, Venice opens Harley's eyes to many enchanting adventures. He becomes involved in a war between his new friends and a rival band of cats. He roams about the city in alleys and other neighborhoods. He learns much, but when his eyes fall upon a beautiful Angora cat whose mysteriousness enchants him, somehow stealing his heart, he does everything he can to know more about her. But will his vacation end in happiness or despair as his adventure leads him into one disaster after another?

Children between the ages of 10 and 14 will enjoy this 96 page chapter book animal adventure with Harley. This story will teach the reader about loyalty and courage, but also about the eternalness of love and how it can create a bond that is unbreakable. 



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Book Review for When a Spider Came to Stay by Rebecca Crosdale



Summary:

She appeared one day next to the chair, right there on the floor. She looked strange and didn’t speak my language, yet there she was, just looking up at me. I didn’t know why.


  • Paperback: 32 pages
  • Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 19, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1499619014
  • ISBN-13: 978-1499619010

Review:

When a Spider Came to Stay is a simply told story of a girl who has a spider in her room. At first she finds it freaky, but then she erases her fear and looks at the spider in a different way. Not as something to be feared that might bite her, but something that creates beautiful artwork with it's webs in means of catching food. She talks to it and tries to become friends, and in so doing, the two coexist in an amazing way. 

Spiders can be scary, there is no doubt, and frankly most find their end being squashed by a shoe, a thick book, or a vacuum cleaner, but in truth we can coexist with spiders because all they want to do is find food same as us, they just find it in a different manner other than a grocery store. Spiders can amaze and the author creates an opportunity for the reader to look at them in a different way then what they are portayed by movies and cartoons. Just don't make friends with the poisonous ones cause they will bite you.

Many children will enjoy this 32 page picture book, where the illustrations by Charles Berton are bright and colorful. Parents will appreciate the in-depth questions in the back of the book. The author not only brings up questions about spiders and such, but more in-depth questions that a child can relate to in their lives and how they can handle them or perceive certain events. A great added educational tool!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

More Teamwork Quotes

Ralph Waldo Emerson Teamwork Quotation:
"No member of a crew is praised for the rugged individuality of his rowing. "
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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H.E. Luccock Team Building:
"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it. "
~ H.E. Luccock
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Thursday, September 4, 2014

New Children's Interactive Book Release and Awards

Finally it is here. The new release of the 6th book in my Crypto-Capers Series. It is called The Mystery of the Circus For Hire. I hope everyone has been enjoying my difficult problem solvers to earn a free book. I will be posting more soon. They are certainly challenging.


This new book is a whirlwind of an adventure where the Crypto-Capers travel to Russia to save Max and Mia's parents, Mitchem and Martha Holmes, from going to prison for a crime they didn't commit. Finding themselves caught up in a scandal that is beyond their control, they use their skills and talents to try to outsmart the most notorious criminal of all time, but can they do that without sacrificing one of their own? Lies become intermixed with truth, yet, with the help of a new ally, the Crypto-Capers find themselves ahead of the game, but will they find the ending they're looking for? Puzzles of varying degree of difficulty challenge the reader in this award-winning interactive mystery series.

In this book I use an Ottendorf Cipher and teach the reader how to use it to solve the puzzles in the book. Lots of fun. The story is based in Russia so the reader will learn alot about it's history. I chose different topics so many may not know the information that is represented, which in turn will be a great learning experience. I hope everyone enjoys it. 

This book has also received a 2014 Preferred Choice Award from Creative Child Magazine. I'm so excited. 

Also another blogger provided me with this award. 


Her name is Elizabeth Varden and she is the author of The Fourth Wish. This book is a wonderful and fun book that will delight children. It is a chapter book. Below is a summary:

Eleven-year-old Melanie persuades her brother, Cory, and their little sister, Erin to go to a magic show. Arthur, their pesky neighbor, joins them, a recipe for disaster.

They encounter Mrs. Seraphina, who claims she can grant wishes. Erin mentions all the magic The Great Mondo will do at the show. Cory says, "I wish he could...."

The four children are soon running from Mondo, after he is fired for creating a stampede of rabbits and making the theater manager really float.

At Daisy's Do-nuts, they worry how to undo the wish. When Mrs. Seraphina shows up, one wish leads to another. Mondo ends up driving a cab. Daisy's Do-nuts is on the evening news.

Melanie is sick of wishes. She has other worries--the new boy in sixth grade; her parents' divorce; the fact that Mondo is giving her mother rides home from work.

Ultimately Melanie learns the difference between "cool" and reality, tricks and magic, and what makes a real family.


Thank you so much for everyone's support. You can check out and buy my new release through Amazon through this link. The Mystery of the Circus For Hire. I know that you will enjoy it! Also check out The Fourth Wish if you would like.

Don't forget my 0.99 kindle release The Secret of the Missing Arch. This is a science based mystery chapter book for children in 3rd grade and up. It has also won some awards as well and a great Kirkus Review.  



Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Teamwork Quotes

Teamwork Saying from an Unknown Source:

"It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn't matter who gets the credit. "
~ Unknown
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Amber Harding Team Work Quote:
"Contrary to popular belief, there most certainly is an "I" in "team." It is the same "I" that appears three times in "responsibility." "
~ Amber Harding
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Monday, September 1, 2014

New Interactive Mystery Released!





The Mystery of the Circus For Hire is now released! It is the 6th book in the Crypto-Capers Series where the reader will need to solve puzzles using an Ottendorf Cipher. Children will learn what this cipher is and how to solve it using the book. The story is also history based. 

THE ASSIGNMENT: The Circus for Hire is a whirlwind of an adventure where the Crypto-Capers travel to Russia to save Max and Mia's parents, Mitchem and Martha Holmes, from going to prison for a crime they didn't commit. Finding themselves caught up in a scandal that is beyond their control, they use their skills and talents to try to outsmart the most notorious criminal of all time, but can they do that without sacrificing one of their own? Lies become intermixed with truth, yet, with the help of a new ally, the Crypto-Capers find themselves ahead of the game, but will they find the ending they're looking for? Puzzles of varying degree of difficulty challenge the reader in this award-winning interactive mystery series.

I hope you enjoy this new release.

The Mystery of the Circus For Hire