The Splendiferous Sherri Lupton Hollister

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Uncategorized

Meet the Incomparable Sherri Lupton Hollister

Sherri is a warm and welcoming person in addition to weaving quite a tale of mystery and romance in her books. The books are set in the Washington, North Carolina, area, which gives her a lot of creative room to describe the waters of the area, in addition to the small towns and the people who inhabit them. But who is she other than that?

Hey Sherri, I’m looking forward to seeing you and your books at our upcoming Authors’ Sunday, which is being held at the New Bern Farmers Market, 421 S. Front Street in the charming little city of New Bern. She and I are just two of the thirty-five authors who will be there. Along with most of the authors who will be there we also sell our books at Next Chapter Books and Art at 320 S. Front Street, New Bern.

Sarah: First off, Sherri, tell us what you and your family are up to. Did you grow up around here? Is this where you and your handsome devil met? How many children/grandchildren do you have? I know you have at least one granddaughter who is as passionate about horses as I am. What is she doing with her riding at the moment. And what are the other members of your family up to?

Sherri: My handsome devil is a mechanic and he’s always busy between being president of our local Lion’s Club and his work with the Boy Scouts, we meet for lunch just to have a few minutes together. We both went to school here in Beaufort County. My parents are from this side of the river though my mother actually grew up in Pamlico County. The handsome mechanic and I met at Pamlico Community College when his dad and my mom were taking night classes. I thought he was cute until his sister told me I was three years older. We didn’t get together until many years later. Together we raised six sons and as of last count we have twenty-two grandchildren. A couple of our sons are trying to catch up with us.

Hailey, my horsewoman granddaughter is doing really well with her horse shows. Dressage, western, farm horse competition (they didn’t do as well with it but still had fun) and western dressage. She even got my son to compete this year and he’s never ridden a horse before. He and his wife are Army veterans and they participated in honor of disabled vets.

When Hailey and her family were here this summer, I asked her about the best horse for my story, The Americans are Coming. I wanted a smaller horse for my trick rider main character. She suggested an Appaloosa. When I researched them, I thought they would be the perfect horse for my character.  

Sarah: Native American tribes especially liked colorful horses such as Pintos and Nez Perce, a.k.a. Nimi’ipuu tribe developed the Appaloosa. They are sweet horses.

Sarah: I know you’re the chairperson of the Pamlico Writers Group, but what other organizations you belong to. And we can look forward to another conference from PWG? They are always so good and interesting and inspiring.

Sherri: I am a member of the Romance Writers of America, vice president of communications for the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, and I’ve been hosting a monthly writing challenge called Book in a Week with them for several years. I am also a member of the Kiss of Death RWA chapter. I recently joined Alli (Alliance of Independent Authors). They are an international group for self-published authors.

I would love to have another PWG conference, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen any time soon. We’ve buried three very important members of our group and since Covid, we’re rebuilding our group. I’d like to start with an in-person workshop and build up to the conference. Know anyone who wants to volunteer?

Sarah: Tell us a bit of how you came to be a writer and especially a writer of mystery and romance.

Sherri: I’ve written since I was a little girl. My first story was a romance written in red ink. I started out as a historical romance writer. After we lost our house to fire and all of my research books were gone, I turned to contemporary romantic suspense. I blame my sons and my husband for turning me to suspense and mystery. I was such a nice person and they corrupted me. All of my books have at least one murder, and something usually blows up. I can’t help it. I still love romance, but stuff has got to happen. I’m afraid I’m having way too much fun creating murder and mayhem.

Sarah: What is the title of your next book? And what it is about. What inspired you to write this story?

Sherri: The Americans are Coming releases November 3rd. It is a cozy mystery. I shocked everyone by toning things down, no sex on the page and very little foul language. The main character, Winnie Applegate and her family own and perform in a wild west show. When an accident happens resulting in the death of another performer, Winnie is determined to prove her brother’s innocence. With the help of a lady Pinkerton agent and the man Winnie plans to marry, they discover it was murder, and her father was the real target.

Sarah: Most writers find themselves pushed aside by their characters while writing a book. I know that has happened to me and a writer friend of mine had one of her characters push my friend aside and say, “No, no, I’m not the villain, I’ve been misinformed.” Have you ever had such a thing happen to you?”

Sherri: All the time. I think when you listen to the characters you get a more realistic take on who they are and what needs to happen in the story. I am a pantser or discovery writer, so I might know where I’m going but the journey is an adventure. Occasionally, I have to rein in my characters, so they don’t go too far off script but for the most part, I let them take the lead. (There are two types of writers, or so I’ve been told. The Outliners (methodical types) planner everything out first on paper and then write their stories. We pansters have an idea about what the story is about and then sit down to write what comes off our fingers onto the page.)

Sarah: When you decide to take a break from writing, organizing, being a family member, etc., what do you do? I like to read or ride my tricycle or play my computer games, but I expect your much more energetic than that. Does your husband inspire you in your writing? How?

Sherri: Ha, break, is there such a thing? I have a group of friends whom I meet for breakfast once a week and we plan day trips. My husband and I love to watch movies together and I, of course, love to read. I am also on my town’s planning committee and I enjoy painting and crafting.

Sarah: Including front cover photos, and the back cover blurbs, please give us a list of the books you’re bringing to the market. For those who would like to buy a copy or two, but can’t come to our event, please give us the links to where else we can buy your books.

Sherri: I have 11 books now. One completed series—The Leeward Files, one nearly complete—The Harrell Family Chronicles and my new series—An Applegate Mystery.

The Leeward Files: Three friends return to the town of Leeward and uncover a dark secret that threatens their lives and those they care about. Can they stop the past from destroying their future? A dark, small town romantic suspense series. A pink motorcycle, a dating club, reunited lovers, second chances, and revenge. Everything heats up in the town of Leeward when one victim takes the law into their own hands.

Chrome Pink https://books2read.com/u/mY8nlY

White Gold https://books2read.com/u/mZE7ll

Titanium Blue https://books2read.com/u/mVA1lP

Evergreen Crystals https://books2read.com/u/m0EAd0

Red Steel https://books2read.com/u/3RzylG

The Harrell Family Chronicles: The Harrell Brothers: one married young, one married well, one married a psychopath straight from hell. Welcome to The Harrell Family Chronicles where three brothers, their families and friends battle those determined to take over the rudderless sex trafficking cartel that has bullied their town for decades. Old family secrets entwine with ghosts of the past to threaten the family and the town, with new threats popping up where they least expect.
The Harrell family might fight among themselves but when one of them is threatened they will come together to battle all foes.
The new generation of Harrell adults will meet the threats head on. They won’t hide from the past. They will take strength from each other and open themselves for love.
The Harrell Family Chronicles is filled with suspense, family drama and romance set in the small town of Leeward, North Carolina and the Harrell Family Campgrounds.

Willow’s Retreat https://books2read.com/u/mlX9G7

Janie’s Secrets https://books2read.com/u/3J62lv

Roxy’s Betrayal https://books2read.com/u/bxJAPd

Christmas Inn at Teach’s Island (novella) https://books2read.com/u/boyeN1

Trent’s Melody https://books2read.com/u/md1EAy

An Applegate Mystery:

The Americans are Coming https://books2read.com/u/3nX1yo

Seventeen-year-old Winona aka Winnie Applegate is a trick rider and archer in Colonel Bill Dexter’s Wild West Extravaganza traveling show. Her first act was throwing knives with her younger brother, Riley, who likes to invent things. He especially likes things that go boom.
When a mysterious benefactor offers to bring their show to England, a series of sabotages turns deadly, and Riley becomes a suspect. To protect her brother, Winnie teams up with a lady Pinkerton agent and Harry McDonald, the young man she believes she is destined to marry.
Secrets and sins come to light as it becomes apparent it isn’t just the show they are trying to stop. Someone doesn’t want the Applegates to reach England.
The Americans are Coming is An Applegate Mystery, the first in a new Victorian Era Mystery Series.
Winnie is more comfortable throwing knives than knowing which fork to use. She prefers boots and britches to ballgowns and dancing slippers. Will England be prepared for the arrival of the Applegate family?

Sarah: It will be good see you on November 20th. 

Sherri: Thank you for hosting us and planning this event. I can’t wait. It’s going to be so much fun!

Sarah: I look forward to buying a copy of The Americans Are Coming!

Another Author Coming to Author Sunday

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Uncategorized

Nathan Black is the second author interviewed by Sherri L. Hollister for the upcoming Authors’ Sunday at the New Bern Farmers Market on November 20th. Sherri does an excellent job with her interviews as you will have noticed yesterday when she interviewed me for the same event.

I will post my interview of her this afternoon.

Welcome to Creekside Café, Author, Poet and Screenwriter, Nathan Black

Sherri Oct 30 Bio:Nathan Black from Greenville, North Carolina, ECU graduate in English, has worked for various magazines and publications. Writes works of poetry, screenplays, novels, and short stories. Focuses on self-discovery, self-love, religion in the modern world, inspiration, conquering adversities, hatred of pop music, love of pop culture, spiritual awakenings, and love of Sunday mornings. Lives with his wife, Christina and their two cats, Zoey and Yeti.

Sherri: Nathan, it’s good to have you at my virtual café. I read that you are a slam poet. I have had the opportunity to experience slam poetry and it is fantastic. Tell us how you got into it and what slam poetry is.

Nathan: Slam poetry like poetry itself is hard to describe with any solid definitions. Like good art, you know it when you see it, or in this case, hear it. With any art form there are movements amongst the community of Slam poets that give some distinctions to it. The use of cadence, its qualities as a speech more than verse, more akin to free verse, possibly even divorced from what most would consider a poem all together and instead can sound like a rant or prose poetry. There is a very common connection to social justice issues and soci-economic woes. I suppose because I am entrenched in these subjects that is what led me to poetry to begin with. The call of poetry was magnetic for me and so I sought out what it meant for me and what I could gain from it. I went to ECU for English with a concentration in creative writing and so while I was there, I found the spoken word group, Word of Mouth (WOM). It was through them that I got into the challenge and love of writing slam poetry. Even though I will write in this style, I do write prose and more traditional poems as well, but I have found the performance aspect of slam poetry the most engaging and the shot of life that poetry needs in our modern day. Much like rap, I find the most commonality between rhyming verse of hip-hop and slam poetry above all other styles.

Sherri: You are a poet, an author and a screenwriter, that’s a lot of hats and takes different talents. What is the biggest challenge when switching genres and what does each offer the other? What have you learned from one genre that you use in the others?

Nathan: That is a big question. Each of these styles offers different things. Different ways of expression but it boils down to what you are trying to express and how do you feel that message will be best expressed? Sometimes the dialogue of conversation can bring it about in a screenplay. Sometimes the full development of story and mood through a novel is the most grand way. But sometimes a few lines of well placed verse are all you need. And sometimes you write hundreds of pages just to get to that one sentence that sums it all up. There are many ways to get that and as a writer I have tried to search as many as I could without forgetting what it was, I was trying to say to begin with.

Sherri: You have a degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, what do you believe has been the best thing you learned in college and what have you had to un-learn as a published author and poet that you were taught in school?

Nathan: ECU and Pitt Community College gave me everything in a way. Yes, I did the work but these school gave me the ground to take off from. It gave me the experience to express myself openingly. The teachers guided without restricting me, but at the same time they pointed out what needed to be improved and what I could do better in, and I really think we all need someone like that. Creative writing isn’t a concrete direction but a lifetime of development and a continuous revision that never ends. There are no right or wrong answers, only the product that either yields something or brings something that could be redone. There are no mistakes. I love that. I can think of no other school of learning that can give this kind of confidence, but that is my experience and my mindset. For someone else this might be completely different. But my years at university gave me everything, from confidence to perspective, to insight on the craft, to clarity of purpose, to enhanced empathy. It didn’t help me learn how to navigate the literary world or how to publish a hundred percent, but it did give suggestions and that has been useful. I don’t think there was anything I needed to unlearn from this period because it really only gave me a chance to learn myself and I wouldn’t want to undo that.

Sherri: Are you traditionally published, small press or independently published? What do you feel are the pros and cons in each?

Nathan: I am self-published, although I have been published in magazines and small presses. There are benefits to both. One: having traditional publishing means you don’t have to worry about the hard parts which I believe are advertising and promoting. Two: the writing part is the blissful work that comes with the job. The marketing, finance, and promoting part can make you feel like a hack and a second-rate Barnum and Bailey, but when it pays off it really feels like a win. I can’t fault self-publishing for that, but it is nice when someone does the heavy lifting for you. Because I have been playing music in bands around Greenville for more than ten years, a college town, I’ve grown accustomed to being in front of crowds and putting myself out there so it’s not such a struggle for me but promoting always seems like such a feat when you first get started. I love it all the same.

Sherri: Born in 1984 in Augusta, Georgia, at in a military hospital at Dwight David Eisenhower Medical Center, Nathan Black and his parents moved to Indiana where his parents joined a Christian learning academy. They moved to Greenville in 1987 where Nathan would be raised. Here he went to JH Rose High School, Pitt Community College, and eventually ECU where he got his degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. In that time he wrote articles for Mixer, G-Vegas Magazine (WhereUParty), REBEL, and ENC Community Magazine. While at ECU he joined Word of Mouth (WOM) as one of their slam poets and competed around the state winning contests with the group against UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State, and other schools. He has written three books of poetry, Where The Breeze (2016), The Frozen Garden (2017), and The Things We Have Lost (2022). Apart from this, he has written a stage play, Weathermen, a small book of short stories, Portals (2018), and a novel, Sparrow’s Fall (2019). In this time he has made it a centerpiece of his life and has involved himself in other writing circles and poetry groups across the state. Nathan continues to write and perform to this day. His new novel The Knight of Red and White is set to be released in early winter 2022.https://www.facebook.com/nathan.black.100https://www.facebook.com/wherethebreezechapbook

Sherri: If you enjoyed this interview with Nathan Black, come visit us at the New Bern Farmers Market, Sunday, November 20th, 2022, 1 to 4 pm. Nathan is one of the 35 featured authors at this event.
Sherri’s Interview with Nathan Black

Book Selling Event Blog

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Uncategorized

On November 20, 2022, we are having an Authors’ Sunday book-selling event at the New Bern Farmers Market, 421 S. Front Street, New Bern, North Carolina. We will be open from 1 to 4 and will have 35 authors selling their books. The genres range from Childrens Books, Poetry, Fantasy, Romance, to non-fiction and places in between. Since this will be just after church, people may be a bit hungry so we have a vendor coming who will sell hot drinks and munchies. As part of the promotion for the event, the clever Sherri Lupton Hollister, is doing a series of blog posts about the authors. I will forward those post to you, my readers, in cases any of the books interest you. Here is the blog Sherri did with me.

https://sherrilhollister.com/2022/10/29/welcome-sarah-maury-swan-to-creekside-cafe/

A Favor for Our Planet

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Children's Book Reviews, environment

As most of you know I review books for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database and then I write blogs about them. I thought the latest batch of books had been sent but got lost in the mail or was redirected to someone else in the community by mistake. So, I posted a message on our community listserv asking if someone else had received my books. A neighbor said he didn’t have my books but would I review a picture book his daughter had illustrated.

“If you or your daughter would review one of my books and post your review, I’d be happy to return the favor,” said I.  He agreed and here’s my review of Mama’s New Do.

Gussy up our planet.

Mama’s New Do

Gretchen M. Everin

Illustrated by Tara Britt Story

In case you haven’t noticed, we humans have made a mess of this planet. So now we have flooding in some places and drought in others and devasting wildfires in others. The point of this sweet book is to make young children understand how to try to rectify the problem. When Grandma comes home all gussied up, the child wishes her family could do the same for Mother Earth. Maybe we can make her look better by not wasting water or generating electricity in more sustainable ways. Or we can even go back to hanging our clothes on lines outdoors to reduce the use of electricity. Of course, to do that, we’ll have to do something about the pollution destroying our planet. Though I personally prefer line drawings like those in the original Winnie the Pooh or Wind in the Willows, the illustrations in this book are sweetly done, making this an appealing look for youngsters. The book is designed for very young children who will need to have someone read it to them. But the younger the better for children to learn how to correctly manage this world.

BIBLIO: 2015, Wandering the World Press, Ages 4 to 6, $9.13.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Picture Book

ISBN-10: 0996787801

ISBN-13: 978-0-9967878-0-2

Erika Bud Loves to Write about the Places She’s Visited

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Book Publising, Book Reviews, Children's Book Reviews, Interviews
Erika Bud, World Traveler contact@bigworl
(815) 200-4977
 
Inspiring parents and kids to travel abroad with adventurous children’s books and motivational podcasts. To learn more or to sign up for discounts and updates, go to: www.bigworldpub.com
 

Erika has traveled to and lived in many countries because she thinks the world is cool. Starting at age 18, she has lived in, or traveled to, 30 countries. Before she settled down to raise her family and publish her books, she worked as an au pair. Now she’s focusing on teaching children about at least some of the places she’s lived and traveled.

Check out Australia

Her first book, Mission to Australia, is about an intrepid foursome of young travelers visiting Australia. The group of children is interesting in its own right since one of the travelers must use a wheelchair, but is undaunted by difficult places to access. The group represents many different cultures and ethnicities.

Questions for Erika

What compelled you to dream of visiting and living in different countries? Honestly, I have no idea. I did not grow up around people traveling to other countries. I just thought it sounded interesting and after visiting my first country, I enjoyed learning about the culture, history, and seeing the new sites so much that I wanted to see as many as possible.

 How did you become an au pair? What hoops did you have to jump through to? There was a program I found online. It was a long time ago, so I don’t remember the details, but I know I requested to be an Au Pari in Spain. I believe I was provided with some information about families who were interested in me, and it was up to me to select. My grandma spoke Spanish so she spoke to them, and that was it. I requested the time off with my boss and I headed to Madrid.

 Did you have a friend who inspired you? Or did a book lead you in that direction? Neither. I did not have any friends or family who traveled abroad. In fact, several of my families asked me why I wanted to go out of the country. I really have no idea what inspired me. I’m assuming seeing certain movies or pictures of places around.

Did you have to convince your parents that it would be safe for you to pursue this dream? Yes, but I was 18 when I first traveled, so there wasn’t much they could do to stop me. So, they chose to support me instead.

How did you pick the countries you wanted to visit? If you’re referring to Spain specifically, I didn’t do a lot of research. I just knew I wanted to go and since I had the program looking out for me, I thought it was a safe option. For countries since Spain, I research how safe it is, the best time to travel based on the weather, and what sites I want to see / experiences I want to have (i.e., all tourist sites, more cultural experiences, art, etc.)

What research did you do about the countries you wanted to visit?

I chose Spain because I believed I was Spanish (only recently learned I am Mexican) and I wanted to learn more about my heritage. After that, I started looking into the countries that I had heard about from people I have met on my travels, through people I have met through FB/FB groups, and now through my travel podcast.

What were your duties? It honestly wasn’t a good experience, so I usually don’t go into details as I don’t want to deter others from doing it. I honestly don’t believe my situation was the norm. I was supposed to teach the children English, but I only did this once. The rest of the time was spent cleaning and taking care of the kids. I believe my host family took advantage of au pairs, unfortunately.

Do you still keep in touch with the families? No.

Did you stick to just English-speaking countries? If not, did you already know the host country language? I spoke a little Spanish because of what I had learned in high school, but I was not fluent. I definitely spoke better Spanish when I came back though!

When you decided to be an author/publisher, did you go to school to learn how? My degree is in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. I did not go to school specifically to be an author/publisher. I spent a long time doing my own research, joining author/publishing groups, taking online courses, and asking a lot of questions. Luckily, there are some authors/publishers who are happy to help new authors/publishers.

And do you plan to do more traveling with your family? What was your son’s reaction to visiting other countries? I believe you said he’d already visited two. Oh yes! We just got back from two weeks in Ireland. He had a wonderful time and came back with so many memories and experiences. When we asked him his top three experiences, he could only narrow it down to eight. Now we talk about him possibly doing summer camp in another country. We still have a long time to think about that, but that’s how much he loved the experience.

My son was only five when I first took him out of the country, so he doesn’t remember it as much, but he loves looking at the pictures and I know it’s helped to make him interested in other countries and cultures.

What is the next book in the series? Ireland!

And, lastly where are you and your family going next? This is tough because we keep getting different ideas, but I think it’s going to be southern Italy.

Survival Is Often Hard

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Book Reviews, Historical Fiction

A lot of you may not remember the fall of the Soviet Union. I expect that Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev is turning in his grave with what Vladimir Putin has done to his country. So much for freedom and openness. But before that, the Soviet Union was not a nice place to live and part of Germany was under the Soviet Union’s control. Talk about repression, they wrote the book on it.
This first book addresses how desperate people were to leave for a more just world. The second is also talking about repression but in a more oblique way.

Will they make it?

Beyond the Blue Border

Dorit Linke

Translated by Elizabeth Lauffer

A fascinating tale of two teens escaping East Germany during the waning days of the Soviet Union. But they don’t just escape by sneaking through a break in the wall that still exists between the two parts of Berlin. No, they decide to swim across part of the Baltic Sea. Even in late August the water temperature is very cold, especially the closer the swimmer gets to more northern countries such as Denmark. The story is told by Hanna Klein who is very athletic and has trained as a swimmer most of her young life. Her swimming partner, Andreas, is not trained but is driven to escape his dismal life with an abusive father and no career options than factory work. Part of the reason the two are fated to bad career choices is due to Hanna’s anti-Communism grandfather who posts a petition for people to sign protesting the East German communist leaders. He signs Hanna and Andreas’ names to the poster as the supposed authors. No more school for them, but Hanna is able to continue with her swimming coach though not on the elite swim team. Ulrich, the coach, figures out why the girl is practicing so much and helps her meet her goal. The story switches between the two main characters’ time in the sea and their time when they were in school and met a new student, Jens, who ends up getting out legitimately with his parents. The end of this book is a bit confusing, but the story is so compelling and horrifying the reader will want to finish and remember the book. There is much for teachers to use for classroom discussion in the book, but a larger map at the front would have helped immensely.

BIBLIO: 2021, Charlesbridge Teen/Charlesbridge, Ages 14 +, $18.99.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: YA Historical Fiction

ISBN: 9781623541774

ISBN: 9781632899699

Care for a bit of Fantasy?

Into the Dying Light

Katy Rose Pool

An intriguing fantasy story with lots of thinly veiled messages on religion and loyalty, this story could use a big edit to weed out all the extra verbiage. The book is just shy of five hundred pages long and has a group of main characters who are trying to free an abrasive god who wants to world to behave his way or die. He has been captured and imprisoned in the soul of Beru who fits a losing battle to contain him. Her sister is the “Pale Hand” and has the thankless job of murdering people who go against the leaders’ wishes. And then there’s the deposed prince who should be ordained king of one part of the world, plus a host of other main characters with varying roles to gain control of the world. The story is a good yarn and interesting with lots of philosophical issues to discuss with students. Just remember to allot a number of hours to the project. The fly sheets have a map of the characters world to some extent, but could have been a bit more detailed. This appears to be the final story of a series called the “Age of Darkness,” but also works well as a stand-alone novel.

BIBLIO: 2021, Henry Holt and Company/MacMillan Publishing Company, Ages 14+, $19.99.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Young Adult Fantasy

ISBN: 9781250211798

A Stand-Alone Blog Post

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Uncategorized
Does Everyone in Our Country Have Free Speech Rights?

Occasionally I review a  book that deserves a special post to highlight its importance. In our country, everyone is supposed to have an equal opportunity to express opinions, but is that really the case? Has it always been the case? It certainly wasn’t originally the case. Only men with property were allowed to give voice to their opinions and help make this country what it could be.

Is it the case now that everyone has an equal voice? I don’t think so. If you happen to be Native American or African American or anything but White or if you’re female you don’t have equal sway. Since this is one of my Bully Pulpit issues, I’ll quit before I annoy or offend you with my opinions, but I do have them and will not be denied the right to express them.

Free Speech Handbook: A Practical Framework for Understanding our Free Speech Protections

Ian Rosenberg

Illustrated by Mike Cavallaro

This book is part of the World Citizen Comics series and explains various instances of how we’ve come by the present version of the United States of America’s First Amendment to the Constitution. This country was founded on the premise that the people, well at least some of the people, should be free and allowed to express their opinions without fear of being jailed or murdered for questioning the government’s rules and regulations. In principle the amendment is absolutely essential to a democracy, but how to enact it and to whom does it apply? Everybody or just a select few? The author discusses problems that have had to be decided by United States Supreme Court. But even those aren’t hard and fast decisions. The book is well worth libraries having and teachers can have a field day setting up student teams to debate the two sides of the various issues discussed in here. For instance, did/do formerly enslaved people or descendants of such people have the right to contest what they consider unfair treatment? Do people claiming the right to be speaking for God have the right to scream at a family simply burying a beloved child killed in defense of our country? Do women have the right to ask for equal rights to men? Do people have the right to protest any branch of the government or any position the government holds? These are just some of the issues discussed in the book. The downside to this book is that the author frequently shows his political bias in the cases he presents. Still, the teachers can use this problem for classroom debate and the students can see if they can do better when they’re the ones running the country. The illustrator could have worked a bit hard to make the historical figures look a bit more like them.

BIBLIO: First Second/Roaring Brook Press, Ages 14 +, $28.99.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Graphic/Comic Non-Fiction

ISBN: 978-1-250-61975-4

And you are allowed to tell me your views even if you disagree with me. I promise I’ll read and think about what you write. Sarah

An Eclectic Mix

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Children's Book Reviews

It seems to me that my last few posts have had a sour feel to them, so I’d thought I do a more upbeat, its own way, post this time. To that end, I have one YA Fantasy/Fairy Tale story, one early chapter book for children with dyslexia, and one middle-grade ghoul story.

************************************************************************* 

I may be 81 years old, but I still believe in the possibility of werebeasts and fairy tales. And, of course, hopefulness that good will prevail in the end. So, enjoy the convoluted story in the first book. This author has a great imagination.

Good title

.

Into the Bloodred Woods

Martha Brockenbrough

Keep in mind the various characters playing significant roles in this story, because there are a few. But if the reader likes fantasy with all trimmings, this is the story to read. Based on just about any fairy/folk tale you can think of, plus “were” creatures, evil kings, a child born of the woods, Hansel and Gretel-like children, magic, and much more. Most of them gather together to defeat the evil, insane, newly crowned king, who is jealous of his twin sister’s werebear abilities, not to mention her being the firstborn heir to the throne. The plot is convoluted but very engaging and the reader will have fun figuring out what fairy tales are invoked. There are also messages interwoven about learning tolerance of people who are different from the reader. The theme of each section of the story is introduced by a blind beggar with a mechanical monkey, which gives the reader as to what fairy tale is being invoked. The story is a convoluted, fun romp into the world of fantasy and fairytales. Teachers can use the book as a way into discussing folklore, among other things.

BIBLIO: 2021, Scholastic Press/Scholastic Inc., publishers, Ages 13 +, $18.99.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Young Adult Fantasy

ISBN: 978133863876

ISBN: 978133863890

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Learning about the silent “e”.

Meg and Greg: The Bake Sale (Orca Two Read, 3)Good books for children with dyslexia, but just fun for any kid learning to read.

Meg and Greg The Bake Sale

Elspeth Rae and Rowena Rae

Illustrated by Elisa Gutierrez

This is book 3 of the series of phonic stories. The stories are intended to help children with dyslexia understand words that have a silent “e” at the end. For instance, the words “bake” and “sale” in the title have an “e” at the end which does not sound, but this makes the way the previous vowel sounds. The “a” would have the “short” sound of “ah” without the silent “e” at the end. Each story has a different vowel in the middle. The stories are simple, but engaging with a slightly complicated plot line to keep the child reading. The first story is about Meg and Greg baking “Red Velvet” cupcakes to sell and emphasizes the “a” as the first vowel. The second story uses the “i” “e” combination and is about taking a bike ride. The third story uses the “o” as the first vowel. And the last story features the “u”. Each story is followed by simple games to cement the concept into the child’s brain. Children will be eager to read these stories and will understand the concepts well.

BIBLIO: 2021, Orca Two Read/Orca Book Publishers, Ages 5 to 7, $14.95.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Early Chapter Book Phonics

ISBN: 978-1-4598-2496-6

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Enjoy the Almost Scary Story

The Ghoul Next Door

Cullen Bunn and Cat Farris

Illustrated by Cat Farris

Eleven-year-old Grey lives in a New England town that is legendary for its tales of being haunted. He finds out this is actually not a legend when he walks through the cemetery after dark and meets a ghoul named Lavinia. They become friends, and she makes sure Grey understands that Ghouls and Ghosts are not the same things. The story is full of wonderful plays on words that the title suggests and Lavinia helps Grey out with a school project. Written as a graphic novel and, though a fantasy, the story has a number of subtle morals brought out along the way. Teachers will even find topics to discuss such as believing in using one’s imagination and learning to keep an open mind when viewing the world, along with looking for the best in everybody. Also are lessons about having faith in oneself. It is best to believe in possibilities no matter whether about yourself or others.

BIBLIO: 2021, HarperAlley/HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 8 to 12, $21.99.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Middle-Grade Graphic Novel

ISBN: 978-0-06-289610-0

ISBN: 978-0-06-289609-9

What Better than Fantasy cum Historical Fiction and Mystery?

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Children's Book Reviews, Historical Fiction

What better than a mystery with fantasy and historical ties?

Return to the Secret Lake: A children’s mystery adventure by Karen Inglis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I’m not very good at posting reviews of the books I’ve read, but I’ve enjoyed this series. It’s imaginative and painlessly introduces English history to young, and not-so-young, readers. Plus, there is always a bit of a mystery involved and sibling rivalry. The secret lake is reached by going through a time tunnel that only reveals itself when the moles dance. In this book, the 1920s protagonists must reach the children from the 21 first century to find antibiotics to save a life. Plus, they must keep a friend and his dad from going on the Titanic traveling steerage. The author’s description of the clothes from the two eras and other changes to the culture also make the tale interesting. The children are believable and have the same kinds of problems that all people face. The author’s descriptive writing pulls the reader completely into the story. I’m looking forward to reading the 3rd book in the series due out in the near future. You won’t even need to go through the time tunnel to get it.



View all my reviews

Why Are We so Frequently Horribly Cruel?

by sarahsbookreflections, posted in Book Reviews, Children's Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Non-fiction

Why Are We So Often Horribly Cruel?

For Mother’s Day our daughter Michelle gave me three books she thought I might like. Oddly enough, I’d read the first one already for the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. It addresses the issue of bullying amongst children. My impression is that children, even those who are popular and successful, are plagued with self-doubt as much as the less popular children, so, some of them are bullies just to not be caught out as being less than they seem to be.

The second book is about an old woman talking about her experiences during WWII as she, her brother. and their mother escape the town of Dresden, Germany. In addition to their journey to safer territory, it also about their journey with an elephant their mother rescued from the Dresden Zoo. The bullies in this story are the Nazis who wrote the book on how to be evil.

The last book is an autobiography of the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy of education for all people. Again, why do men seem to feel so threatened by females that anybody who isn’t male should be kept down. It isn’t just Muslims who make their women second class creatures. It wasn’t so very long ago that even females in the United States weren’t treated as equals.

But amongst all the cruelty we find hope, courage, and love. May it prevail

Holding Up the Universe

Jennifer Niven

            This is a well-written story of two damaged teenagers.  Libby Strout ate so much after her mother died, she had to be lifted out of her house through the roof by a crane, which, of course, destroys the house. After several years of therapy and homeschooling, she tells her father she’s ready to go back to school at the start of her junior year. She girds herself for the torment she knows will come.  Of course, the “in crowd” boys start a game of who can ride the fat girl longest with Libby and Iris Engelbrecht, a girl even fatter than Libby, as the targets. Iris ends up as the first target, but when she tells Libby what happened, Libby chases the culprit, who is only saved by a truck going by. Jack Masselin, the perpetrator’s friend watches the whole performance, cheering for the girls the whole time. Jack has a secret he doesn’t share with anyone.  A glitch in his brain denies him the ability to recognize faces.  He can’t even pick out his parents or siblings in a crowd or at home without recognizing one of their “tells.”  At school, he plays it cool and waits for someone to come to him.  Then he uses that person to let him know who others are. But after he and Libby get into a fight and have to serve detention together, their relationship changes. Jack learns that it’s what on inside of another person that really counts. Soon, they begin to see past their surfaces and become friends. Jack and Libby begin to hang out together, sharing secrets. After he tells her his secret about not recognizing anyone else, she encourages Jack to seek help.  She even goes with him to give him moral support and he encourages her to take the test that will see if she carries her mother’s cancer gene. Because he hasn’t ever told anyone about his problem, his parents put him in embarrassing situations, like having to pick up his youngest brother from a birthday party.  His brother doesn’t want to leave the party, so he doesn’t respond when Jack calls for him to leave. Jack pulls the wrong kid out of the party, which scares the boy, horrifies the birthday boy’s mother, and leaves Jack in a heap of trouble. You’ll end up rooting for both Jack and Libby, but wishing they would solve the problems whose answers are right in front of their noses. There’s a lot going on in this book that will engage the reader and teachers will have a field day orchestrating discussions around the issues. 

BIBLIO: 2016, Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books/Penguin Random House, LLC, Ages 14 +, $17.99.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Young Adult

ISBN: 978-0-385-75592-4   

ISBN: 978-0-385-75593-1

ISBN: 978-0-385-75594-8  

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There have been a plethora of books about the horrors of WWII and especially the Nazi’s part in the conflict, but this one will definitely grab your heart and soul, especially if you are an animal lover.

An Elephant in the Garden

Michael Murpurgo

The book is based on a true story and is very compelling. It is told by the nurse who is taking care of an aged woman, Lizzie, in Canada, but it  also told mostly in dialog by Lizzie about her journey from her home in the beautiful town of Dresden, Germany. For most of Hitler’s war Dresden remained unscathed and the German residents went about their lives. When the Allied forces were advancing on Germany, Dresden came under attack and was pretty much destroyed by bombs. The storyteller’s mother was a caregiver at the zoo and witnessed the birth of an elephant. Unfortunately, the elephant’s mother dies leaving her child to grieve. When it becomes apparent that Dresden is due to be destroyed by bombs, the storyteller’s mother get permission to save the young elephant by taking her away from the zoo and keeping her in the family’s garden, hence the title. When the bombing starts, the family is taking the elephant they’ve named Marlene after Marlene Dietrich for a walk in the neighboring park. Marlene panics when the bombs start to drop and runs away with Lizzie’s family hot in pursuit. They end up caught up in the massive exodus from the city and head toward Lizzie’s aunt’s farm. The rest of the story is about their journey to safety in Switzerland. Lizzie meets her future husband along the way who is Canadian. Again, although there is much hope in the story, it is set against the hideous cruelty and bigotry that was Hitler’s way of cowing his fellow Germans, though he was actually Austrian. This book will most decidedly keep you reading and even move you to tears in parts.

BIBLIO: 2010, Square Fish/Macmillan, Ages 12 +, $7.89 p.b.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

FORMAT: Historical Fiction

ISBN: 978-1-250-03414-4

ISBN: 978-1-4668-0445-6

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I have never understood why men are so frequently terrified of letting women have equal rights. I remember a very bright female high school classmate who wanted to go to college back in 1959, but her father refused because it would be a waste of money given that she would end up getting married and raising a family. The rest of us were appalled and I believe in the end her father relented. Whether or not she finished college or had a career I don’t know, but the same point was not made for the guys. I also had a friend who left school when she graduated from Junior High School so she could get married and have a family.  I don’t know what happened to her either. She was very happy to leave school and become a housewife. But many of the Muslim men in our world are so frightened of their females’ potential they refuse to let them even learn to read and write. I remember trying to teach a Yemeni woman with five children how to speak and read English. Because she’d observed men in Yemen reading from right to left, she started out trying to read English that way. Her husband was encouraging for the most part but was adamantly against her going to a gym because she’d not be able to exercise in her full proper burqa. Why are men so frightened that all other men are out to rape their wives? Why do they feel it’s the women’s fault if these men can’t control their urges? It wasn’t that long ago that American women were the inciters when they’d got raped. The teller of this story made headlines with her bold advocacy for female rights not only in her native Pakistan but then all around the world. I’m not a big fan of non-fiction, but this book will keep your interest throughout.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick

This young woman, with the help of her father and the support of her country, is trying to change the world for females and, at her tender age, has already been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts. She has also been almost killed by Pakistani Taliban members because they think she’s defying Allah’s will by standing up for her right to an education. The book is told in her voice and because she is, indeed, the author is autobiographical. But since English is not her native language another person’s name appears alongside Ms. Yousafzai’s as the supporting author.  The story is horrifying for what is happening around the world, particularly to Muslim females under Taliban or other Sharia religious groups who have found what they think is “God’s Rule.” But I guess no one has asked them why any god would make females capable of rational, intelligent thought and then declare they can’t use such abilities. Malala grew up in a small poor area of Pakistan where all children at least were allowed a primary school education, after which a lot of girls were married off at the tender age of eleven. Malala’s father runs a school where girls are encouraged to finish high school. That is until the Taliban take over. But even before then, girls are expected to wear figure-hiding clothing and cover their hair as is common in many Muslim countries. But even after the Taliban take over, Malala’s father keeps his girls’ school open though fewer older girls come anymore. And, at the age of 12 or 13, when Malala and her friends are riding home on the school bus, a Taliban fighter jumps on the back bumper and shoots Malala in the head, also wounding two other girls. Luck was with Malala on that day and she ends up being saved by doctors from Birmingham, England. Her recovery was paid for by the Pakistani government which didn’t support the Taliban’s efforts. Brave girl that she is, Malala still is fighting for females’ equal rights around the world and still going to school. And her mother is now learning English. May we all live by their bravery.

BIBLIO: 2014, Salazari Unlimited/Little, Brown and Company, Ages 12 +, $16.99.

REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan

ISBN: 978-0316-32793-0

ISBN: 978-0316-32794-7

ISBN: 978-0316-32792-3