“Too Many Visitors For One Little House” is the debut picture book of the author Susan Chodakiewitz. Story features neighbors of El Camino Street who don’t like big families, kids, pets, etc. Recently a new family moved in the neighborhood and they had so many visitors one day. The neighbors haven’t seen so many visitors in one little house. They didn’t like the babies, laughter, music noise, etc that were coming from the little crowded house.
Pick this book and find out what the neighbors gonna do. This is an interesting story that will inspire kids to mix up with others instead of spending time alone – “The more the merrier”. It’s a unique story that I enjoyed reading. I am glad to add this book to my collection. Great job by both author and illustrator in this book.
Q1. Hello Sir, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Absolutely. I’m a husband and father of 5 (Mae-11, Elsie-9, Charlie-7, Sam-3, and Henry-9 months), and I work at a local middle school as the assistant principal. I grew up on the east coast, moving with my parents and two sisters from Chicago, Illinois to Jacksonville, Florida to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Winchester, Virginia. We moved around a lot, but I loved every place we lived more than the last. I went to Clemson University for college and when I graduated, I became a teacher. I’ve taught everything from 3rd grade to 8th grade, the majority of my time spent in middle school. I met my wife Shannon while we were teaching in the same school. We got married, I became an assistant principal and we started our family soon afterward. I had always enjoyed telling stories to my students and coming up with creative outlets as a teacher. Once my wife and I started having children, I found it even more fun making up stories for them. Eventually I realized writing some of these stories down might be a fun way to preserve some of the ones my children liked best. That’s why I started publishing and why I wrote York the Yowie and Mr. Plopper.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘York The Yowie And His New Recepies’ book?
I think the most challenging thing about writing ‘York the Yowie and his New Recipes’ was deciding on which story to tell for that second York the Yowie book. I had a lot of ideas, and even more input from my kids. But once I decided that the challenge for York was coming up with something new (just like the challenge I was having in real life), it became the natural next story for York the Yowie.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
I grew up and still absolutely love books by P. D. Eastman and the books he illustrated. Books such as ‘A Fish Out of Water’, ‘Are You My Mother’, ‘Go, Dog, Go’ and others are the ones I remember most fondly as a child, and I love to read to my kids as a dad.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
I haven’t travelled to many of the places I know I’d love to see in this country (and the world), but as far as the places I’ve been, I love the north eastern area of the United States like Maine and Vermont. I also love the beaches on the east coast, like Hilton Head, SC.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
Absolutely. It takes me a long time to figure out how to start a book and how I want it to make its readers feel. The York the Yowie books took a long time to revise and make just right, and even now when I read them I’d love to be able to make changes. The Mr. Plopper book was easier because I had been telling that story to my children for a long time before deciding to make it a book.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘York The Yowie And His New Recepies’ book?
To actually write the book, it took me about three months to get it right from start to finish. But it took me about 6 months to arrive at the final idea before writing it.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find ‘York The Yowie And His New Recepies’ book to buy?
I believe all my books can be found on Amazon as paperback books or e-books. They can also be found on google to download or order as paperback.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘York The Yowie And His New Recepies ’?
Luckily I’ve been very fortunate to work with two very talented and helpful illustrators on my books. The covers have come together with their collaboration and ideas. The idea for the cover of ‘York the Yowie and his New Recipes’ came from the illustrator and I working together to imagine what way to best show what the book was about inside. We wanted York to be standing at a table with new foods and we decided to have the illustration wrap around to the back of the book.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
That’s one of the toughest parts about writing, but I’m lucky to have children who like to share their ideas with me as well. Keeping things fresh and exciting, especially for yourself isn’t easy, but when you have help, that makes it fun.
“THE ROYAL VISIT” is an interesting Children’s Book written by the author Ranti Akintobi.
This is a story of Queen Lara who was the first Obabirin, a female king of Lafiya. Queen Lara had inherited Lafiya’s magical powers. She has an adopted daughter Vicky who could talk to animals by the blessings of her mother.
She goes on a royal visit with her daughter Vicky to her brother Adeyemi who lives in Rugare kingdom. King Adeyemi had two daughters, Princess Tara and Princess Tori. One day Queen Lara took all the three girls to the zoo.
Read the story to know what they will experience there and how they will feel by talking and listening to animals.
The illustrations are lovely. It’s sometimes hard to find a good books with chapters that are exciting. The story is fast paced and exciting. Strongly recommend this book to the little readers. They could enjoy it with their siblings or cousins.
“Princess Podockee and the Land of Ting” is an amazing story written by P.W. Doodle and illustrated by James Marchant. Princess Podockee is special and different from a normal princess. Story is set on an island Ting that has many interesting inhabitants.
Princess Podockee visited the magnificent structure of Gomowwa
Garwinkle to meet a dragon Gomowwa. Gomowwa told her that there is a large creature who needs their help. But Podockee’s concern is that soon fishes of Ting will be making their deep sea descent and all the members of Ting have to be present or they will be lost out there forever”. Grab a copy of this book and read this adventurous story to know will Princess and her friends be able to help the creature who is in need?
This story has wonderful lesson for the little readers. Find it yourself by reading this book. Cover photo of the book is nice and this story is different from usual princess stories. I enjoyed reading this book. If stories based on self-discovery are of your interest then don’t miss to read this one.
Book: Wipe The Slate Clean: The Story Of Nester The Pester
Author: Lauretha Ward
Available On: Amazon
Language: English
Rating: 5/5
“Wipe the Slate Clean: The Story of Nester the Pester” is a Children’s Book written by the author Lauretha Ward and illustrated by Pardeep Mehra. Story features a school boy Nester the Pester who is mean. One day his teacher narrated him a wonderful story that made Nester realize that he didn’t care about others’ feelings in the past but now he wanted to live a kind life.
Grab a copy of this book for your little ones. This book teaches about forgiveness to them. Story is wonderful and author has written it nicely. I am glad to read this book to my nephew. He enjoyed it a lot. Language of the book is lucid and illustrations are eye catchy. It’s a must read book. Strongly recommended for little ones.
Q1. Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Thanks so much – it’s a pleasure to be with you. I started writing children’s books back in 2015, when I lost a ball of yarn in Paris! I thought it would make a great plot for a children’s book and decided to write and publish one as a creative challenge. My first book, “Lulu and Lainey … a French Yarn”, was published in 2016. It is about a little French girl who is going to knit with her grandmother and loses her favorite ball of yarn in the park. The yarn has an adventure and (spoiler alert!) eventually returns to Lulu. Sadly, I never saw my yarn again. Today there are six Lulu and Lainey books and each one recounts an adventure that the yarn (Lainey) has. While I was writing these books my long-time friend, Jackie Bunn, was creating and selling party supply merchandise online and contacted me about an idea she had for a group of racially diverse mermaids, as there was little to no diversity in children’s party products at that time. I thought it was a great idea and we agreed that I’d write the children’s books to support these mermaid characters, who we named the Five Enchanted Mermaids. We then developed the character and personality of each mermaid to include a specific super-skill that each mermaid uses to help their undersea friends and children ages 3 – 7 develop socio-emotional skills.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘Tales Of The Five Enchanted Mermaids:You Can Do It!’ book?
“Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids: You Can Do It!” was our first book about a situation that needs a solution and looks to all five mermaids for their advice. It was an interesting challenge to use each of the mermaids’ super-skills and have them offer tangible advice to Otto the octopus, who is learning how to control his frustration. Establishing the differences among developmental skills such as independence, honesty, courage, confidence and kindness really made me think about different approaches to use for each of them. Five mermaids can’t all offer the same advice, after all! Another challenge I have in all our books is to set up visual scenarios for illustrations that can work with undersea creatures, who may not have physical arms and hands. The octopus, Otto, is easier, but fish, dolphins, sharks, seahorses, sea turtles and an oyster each presents a different challenge.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
I’m quite independent when it comes to finding inspiration in works from other authors. I never wanted to imitate or copy someone else’s style. I can say I admire some of the authors from earlier times such as Ludwig Bemelmans, Francoise Seignobosc, and Margaret Wise Brown. Jean-Jacque Sempé has always been a favorite illustrator.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
My favorite spot in the US is the Napa Valley in California. We have relatives who are growers in the valley and it’s a very special place to visit in all seasons. I love the peace and tranquility up in the hills among the trees and vines.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
Mostly thinking and imagining. As I’m working out the plot I’m also thinking in images. By the time I sit down to put my thoughts on the page I’ve usually sorted out at a high level what I want the book to say and how I want it to look.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘Meet the Mermaids: Hi, I’m Sofia’ book?
This book was written during the pandemic in 2020. As I mentioned earlier these books start out in my imagination so I can’t really quantify that time. By the time they get laid down onto the page I generally know what I’m aiming for, but I’m constantly tweaking until the last minute – usually working to shorten the text. Since other people are involved in the production I’m also constrained by their schedules.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find your books to buy?
All my books are available on Amazon.com. Most are in both English and Spanish. We also offer doll and book sets, which encourage role playing in children, to coordinate with the books. We also have a great line of Five Enchanted Mermaids dolls, gifts and party supplies. The complete Five Enchanted mermaids line can be purchased at the Amazon Five Enchanted Mermaids store. You can also reach our Amazon store through our website: http://www.fiveenchantedmermaids.com.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the cover and the title of your books?
For the cover I work with the same illustrator who did the Lulu and Lainey books (Tanja Russita). We wanted a unique look and one that complements the interior images. It’s not easy getting 5+ characters onto a cover in a meaningful way. We ended up with great images that look like selfies, which I love. The covers for the individual mermaids are more like portrait shots, showing off each mermaid at her best. The colors all work beautifully against the shimmering jewel-like tones of the blue background.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
.I change the focus. Each book highlights a different subject, mermaid or undersea friend. We’ve covered Otto’s frustration, birthdays around the world and first school day jitters. Each of the mermaid books focuses on a different mermaid and her super-skill. I research the individual skill and generally find that they have many unique aspects. Sometimes a subject comes up more often, such as the fear of making mistakes, but I work to present it in an individualized way. Also, over time we’ve added more information about the mermaids and their home, Atargatis, as well as new undersea friends, such as Sally, Charlotte and a soon-to-be-named sea turtle. With these beautiful fantasy mermaid characters there are so many ways we can take the theme that it is unlikely I will every be bored. The mermaids have become like family!
If you want to make your child learn some important lessons of life then “Adventures with Keena and Kylee” written by Lauren Reichenbach and illustrated by Ila Taylor Bologni will be a good choice.
This is a story of two kitties namely Keena and Kylee. They are four-legged friends that love to learn and grow. They went for the outing and also invite you to come along with them to experience a day full of fun and have a thrilling adventure. On the way they met many friends from whom they learnt many lessons. They are thankful to them for the lessons they learnt along the way. Grab a copy of this adorable book to know what lessons they learnt and how you adapt them in your routine life. Children will surely have a great learning from this story.
The story is fast paced and exciting. A good read and highly recommended. This is a great story that teaches kids to learn the basic values of life. The way author has presented this story is quite impressive. Illustrations are mind blowing and has won my heart. This book could be included in school moral values classes.
“I WANT TO BE LIKE MOMMY” is an adorable Children’s Book written by the author Courtney N Scully.
This is a story of a daughter who wants to be like her mommy as she is a queen for her. She wants to do everything like her mommy. Give a quick read to the story to know what are the things that inspires her to be like her mommy and will she become like her mommy or not?
Mothers are really a true inspiration for their daughter and this is well depicted in this lovely story. Kids will definitely love the story. Grab a copy of this book to know how her mother assist her whenever she wants her mother to be with her.
Author has well written this book and I am glad to get my hands on this adorable book.
“BossLadyShip: Color Me a #BossLady” written by the author Dr. Suzanne Morrison Williams is a leadership guide to help women especially women of color on their paths to professional and entrepreneurial success. In this book, author has used her own unique journey as an example so she could guide other women.
Author has shared pie charts to express the % of women who have faced particular scenarios. I really liked #Bossbabe rules Cntrl+Alt+Delete that is mentioned in this book:
Control Your Thoughts Alter Your Behavior Delete Negative People
This book will guide you for leadership in American Corporate world or your own business. With the help of this book, author is giving a push to other women so they can go to the next level. Self Review questions are thought provoking and helped me to be more aware about myself.
Grab a copy of this book and read it yourself to know what is BossLadyShip, what are the communication rules for BossLadyShip, etc. This is a great book on women leadership. The knowledge that I have acquired from this book could hopefully help me to bring a difference in the life of women of color.
“York the Yowie: And His Very Big Dream” is a Children’s Book written by the author David Goff and illustrated by Shiela Alejandro. Story features York the Yowie who has a big dream to be the world’s most amazing chef. One day, he left the woods and went to the city to demonstrate his skills as a restaurant chef. Will York’s dream come true? What challenges he will face in fulfilling his dreams?
This is a very interesting story that teaches a beautiful lesson to kids. We should believe in ourselves and if we don’t get the opportunity for which we are looking then we should create it. Illustrations are mind blowing and story is interesting. I read it to my nephew and he enjoyed this story.
Sassy Reviews 