Writing Wednesday: The inspiration behind SANTA'S DOG #HolidayBooks

Like dogs? Read books? 

Want to help shelter dogs with every purchase?

Here’s a great Christmas gift that does just that!

About SANTA’S DOG:

Sometimes the best gifts choose YOU! Follow the adventures of Santa’s best dog, Lance, when he falls out of the sleigh one Christmas Eve. He’s taken in by the animal shelter and then brought home by a military family who needs some help as Dad is called to serve his country. When Christmas Eve comes ‘round the next year, Lance must decide whether to return to the North Pole with his friend Santa or stay with his new family. If you love dogs, if you have family in the military, or if you believe in Santa, you will be touched by SANTA'S DOG.

And best of all, SANTA’S DOG is based on a true story! 

Author JoAnn Sky explains: 

Early in our marriage when my husband was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, I didn’t like being at home myself and adopted Sampson, an older mixed-breed dog (part husky, part angel), from a kill-shelter in Las Vegas. Sampson became my best friend and kept me safe.

One day after my husband had returned home from deployment, I brought Sampson to the veterinarian to get his ears checked because he didn't seem to be able to hear me (why else wouldn't a dog come immediately when called, right?) The vet assured me that Sampson was fine and explained that his behavior was typical of northern-breed dogs: they do things on their own time. I went home and told my husband what the vet said, and he declared, "Northern dog? Maybe he's Santa's dog and got lost from the North Pole!" It took me over a decade, but I finally wrote that story…and SANTA’S DOG is the result!

How to Order:

SANTA’S DOG is available on Amazon. But if you order directly from the Dogs & Books website,  https://www.dogsandbooks.com/shop, you’ll get a little freebie with each book purchased—there are specials every month (and free media mail shipping--US/APO addresses only)!

About the Publisher: Dogs & Books is a specialty publisher based in Reno, Nevada. A portion of their sales go to animal rescue causes. Current partners include: Nevada Humane Society (Reno), Sir’s Rescue Rangers (Las Vegas), and Blue Star Families (organization that supports military families).

Celebrate International Children's Book Day - What's your favorite story?

I don't usually post on Thursdays, but today is a holiday of sorts that needs to be recognized - especially because it's about books!
From the ICBD website:
"Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books." In honor of this special holiday, Casper Sleep wants to know what children's bedtime stories are my favorites. Casper is a mattress company loves bedtime stories so much, they send one out with every mattress they sell!     * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * When my kids were little, one of my favorite things was bedtime. Not because it also meant time for mommy to have wine (although, hey, don't knock it) but more because I loved climbing onto their beds and reading stories with them. We had a huge basket of board books that we read together - favorites included The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, and The Big Red Barn, also by Margaret Wise Brown - I can still recite those by heart. Then we moved on to books with paper pages and fell in love with Dr. Seuss. The boys liked to go fishing with my husband, so their favorite was McElligot's Pool ... "Oh the sea is so full of a number of fish... If a fellow is patient he might get his wish!" When the boys were 6 and 4, I started reading Harry Potter out loud to them at night after reading to their little sister. I think we read the first two books together, and then they started reading them on their own. And I stayed in my daughter's room, reading only to her until she discovered Judy Moody and kicked me out. Bedtime wasn't as much fun once they started reading by themselves - or at least not as much fun for me. Sure, I got to have that glass of wine more quickly, but I miss the days of snuggling up with pajama clad kids smelling like freshly shampooed hair, hanging on my every word. Children's books are magical for so many reasons. They help kids develop language skills, they help expand horizons, imaginations and creativity, and give kids a chance to explore new ideas and places without leaving the comfort and safety of home. But they also are magic for the bonds they create when parents and kids read together, especially at bedtime. I'm so glad I've passed my love of books and reading along to my children, and that I know they will do the same someday with their own kids.

Cover Reveal: Return to Canterbury, by Melissa Ann Goodwin

Today I'm happy to help my friend Melissa Ann Goodwin celebrate her newest book which is coming out later this month! I first met Melissa through the A-to-Z April blogging challenge, and worked with her for a magazine article during my time as Editor for CapeWomenOnline magazine. She's a wonderful lady to work with, and writes engaging children's stories.

 

RETURN TO CANTERBURY is the sequel to her award-winning book, THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE. I've got my calendar marked for a December 15th release - but she sent along her cover this week!

About the Book (from Goodreads):

Things have settled down for thirteen-year-old Jamie Reynolds since last Christmas. That’s when he time-traveled to 1932 and wound up in the town of Canterbury, Vermont. There he met Kelly and Christopher Pennysworth, who quickly became his best friends. Back in his own time again, he misses them every day. But, as the July 4th, 2008 holiday approaches, the biggest black cloud hovering over Jamie’s life is the mystery of what happened to his dad, who has been missing for almost a year.

Little does Jamie know that he will soon reunite with Kelly and Christopher for an adventure even bigger than their last. Together they’ll uncover a secret plot that threatens to destroy Canterbury. But will they be able to stop it before it’s too late? And will Jamie finally solve the mystery of his father’s disappearance? Return to Canterbury with us and find out!

 ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Add it to your Goodreads list, and while you're there, enter for a chance to win a signed copy!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18776635-return-to-canterbury

About the Author:

Melissa Ann Goodwin has been published extensively in children’s and national magazines and won an top award for her poetry in the 2010 Writer's Digest National Poetry Competition. Her first book, The Christmas Village, won the 2013 Book Blogger Fair Award for Action/Adventure.

Goodwin grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, where she spent a happy childhood living in her imagination and writing stories in her head. It was only a matter of time before those stories spilled out onto the written page. The Christmas Village and its sequel, Return to Canterbury, are the culmination of a lifelong dream to write the sort of books that she loved to read as a child.

Amazon.com link to The Christmas Village http://www.amazon.com/The-Christmas-Village-Melissa-Goodwin/dp/1463646259/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1385911539&sr=8-1

My author site:

http://authormelissaanngoodwin.blogspot.com

The Christmas Village on FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Christmas-Village/243381569015162?fref=ts

Hooray for Children's Librarians!

Cape Cod Weather Today: Well, the sun is still trying to rise so it's unfair to call it overcast, but I'm afraid that's the direction we're heading. Temps up into the 60 and chance of rain later, but now it's a dull grey dawn, with glimmers of pink on the horizon...

Hooray for the children's librarian at my local public library! Because of her efforts, my daughter found three (3!) new series of books she enjoyed - devoured! - over the weekend. I am now tasked with finding more-of-the-same ! Except of course that due to town budget cuts, our library was closed Sunday and again today, Monday... but tomorrow I'll be right there!

To share: The first series - and my daughter read it first in one night - was Babymouse: Queen of the World, a graphic novel by Jennifer and Matthew Holm. I had my doubts about letting her even take it out, but she loved it. Who am I to argue with success

The second two series are more traditional chapter books: Judy Moody, by Megan McDonald, and Ivy & Bean, book 5 (the only one currently on the shelf), by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall.

Of the three books, my daughter likes Judy Moody the best. I think it's the closest she can get to her beloved Junie B. in a more age-appropriate book. I'm okay with that, except that when I went to Borders over the weekend, the only option for buying more was to buy a rather large boxed set. I choked on the price. She can just as happily take them out of the library.

There is something special about library books, beyond the stickers on the binding and the plastic dust covers. Something about taking extra care of it because you've borrowed it. Because it belongs to that nice lady at the library who smiles a lot and runs such fun craft classes on the weekends. Because my daughter gets to have a fancy "credit" card with her signature on it that lets her use the self-checkout laser beam thingee all by herself...

I haven't read any of these books, which also feels weird to me. With my first child, I read everything before he did (does anyone else do that?) I wanted to be able to understand when he talked about what he read. I don't have the same compulsion (obsession?) anymore, and know that I won't be able to read everything to preview it for her. I have to trust.

And luckily, I have a librarian on my side!

Peter and the Starcatchers

Cape Cod Weather Today: Beautiful. Sunny, already 66 degrees, and the pool is turquoise blue and ready to swim in. If the water was warmer. Ha! I'll bet the kids are in it before too long...

I just read Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Started it yesterday while waiting for my son's band lesson to be over, and finished it this morning with my coffee. What a great story! I'd bought it for the boys years ago, but personally I couldn't get past the Dave Barry thing. I mean, he was always one of my favorite columnists, but I didn't see how that would translate into a book for younger readers. And yet... it works. Really well.

For those who may not have heard of this when it came out a few years ago (2004, Disney Hyperion Books), it's the story of how Peter Pan got his powers, how he met and made enemies with the infamous Captain Hook, and how the island of "Neverland" came to be. In the acknowledgments, the authors thank Pearson's daughter for asking "how a flying boy met a certain pirate." Leave it to a child to come up with the idea for a great kids' book.

I've always loved Peter Pan - I think we saw it the Disney version at the drive-in with my parents on a summer night long ago - long enough in my past that I'm pretty certain my sisters and I were all in our pajamas with our pillows in the back of the convertible to go to the drive-in theatre, for first the kids movie and then the feature presentation (where my parents expected the three of us to bed down in the backseat and fall asleep.) When my oldest son was four, my mother-in-law took him to see Peter Pan onstage in Chatham, and for the next year he was on the lookout for pirates and flying boys.

I don't want to give away any of the plot points, but if you like the Peter Pan story and ever wondered how he learned to fly.... read this book. It's quick, it's well-written, and it's fun.

This would make a great live-action adventure movie. I hope someone has optioned it. Also, I hope in making it they figure out how to make the mermaids believable, because that would help pave the way in people's minds for MY mermaid tale of adventure. (LOL - but not really kidding) I have seen the previews for the new animated Tinkerbelle movie, which gives a whole different background story for the fairies... so maybe they won't be filming this book.

But they should.