Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Author Update – #Reviews – Cynthia Reyes, Frank Prem and Annika Perry

Welcome to Friday’s edition of the Cafe and Bookstore Update where I share reviews and news from authors on the shelves.

The first recent review is for Cynthia Reyes and her daughter Lauren Reyes-Grange with illustrations by Jo Robinson, which is a sequel to the lovely children’s book Myrtle the Purple Turtle.

About Myrtle’s Game

Myrtle the Purple Turtle returns with another great adventure! Myrtle and her friends are turned away when they try to join in a game with others. The friends walk away, feeling hurt, but that’s just the start of the story. Find out how Myrtle, Gertie, Hurtle and Snapper solve the problem, in this second picture book about Myrtle the Purple Turtle. A perfect book for children ages 3 to 8 (and adults who like turtles), it follows Myrtle the Purple Turtle — a bestseller, praised by thousands of children and adults, teachers and librarians around the world.

One of the recent reviews for Myrtle’s Game on Goodreads

Dec 20, 2018 Andrea Stephenson rated it Five Stars.

A beautifully illustrated picture book with a wonderful message, that continues the journey of Myrtle the Purple Turtle. The first book talked about what it was like to be different and how to ‘love the shell you’re in’. This book continues that theme of difference and belonging – it is about other’s perceptions of what we can do just because of the way we look or who they think we are. It is about not being defined by those prejudices and about being who you are and excelling at it. This is a great book to read with a child to prepare them for their first visit to nursery school or their first group situation where they are trying to find their place. Many children have been in the position of standing on the side-lines, wanting to play but not being accepted, until they find the friends who truly support them and want the best for them. This story is about friendship, supporting one another and showing that we should never let what others’ think stop us from doing what we love. A lovely story that will really appeal to children and would make a great gift

Read the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Myrtles-Favourite-Myrtle-Purple-Turtle-ebook/dp/B07L1W7NQJ

And on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myrtles-Favourite-Myrtle-Purple-Turtle-ebook/dp/B07L1W7NQJ

The first book in the series

Also by Cynthia Reyes

Read the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Reyes/e/B00F1HTQQ6

And on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cynthia-Reyes/e/B00F1HTQQ6

Read more reviews and follow Cynthia on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7072186.Cynthia_Reyes

Connect to Cynthia via her website: https://cynthiasreyes.com/

Another terrific review for the collection of poetry and short stories Small Town Kid from Australian author Frank Prem

About Small Town Kid

Small Town Kid is the experience of regional life as a child, in an insular town during the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, remote from the more worldly places where life really happens, in a time before the internet and the online existence of social media.

It is a time when a small town boy can walk a mile to school and back every day, and hunt rabbits with his dog in the hours of freedom before sundown. He can hoard crackers for bonfire night and blow up the deputy school master’s mailbox in an act of joyous rebellion.

A time when a small town teenager will ride fourteen miles on a bicycle for his first experience of girls, and of love. A time when migrating from a foreign country to a small town means his family will always feel that they are strangers, while visitors to the town are treated like an invading host.

It is also the remembrance of tragedy for inexperienced friends driving on narrow country roads.

This collection of poems and stories shares the type of childhood that has mostly disappeared in contemporary times. Come and revisit it here, in the pages of a Small Town Kid.

One of the recent reviews for Small Town Kid on Goodreads

Jan 02, 2019 Martii Maclean rated it it was amazing

Small Town Kid is filled with rich memories of childhood and family. Frank’s poems paint vivid pictures of a time when the rhythms of life were less hurried. This poetry collection comes together into a joyous, warm quilt of memories.

‘Poppy Cakes’ took me back to my granny’s kitchen, tasting the delicious mysteries of her secret recipes. ‘From inside the outhouse’ made me shudder, as I remembered fears of falling in and being lost for good, but these humorous recollections of a pre-flush generation brought a smile to my face.

‘Crackers’ took me back to amazing cracker-nights and the thrill of those pocket-money explosions.

I very much enjoyed spending some time in Frank’s home town. It reminded me of those simple pleasures and people that make us who we are. It was delightful to shar

Read the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Small-Town-Frank-Prem-Memoir-ebook/dp/B07L6114KS

And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Small-Town-Frank-Prem-Memoir-ebook/dp/B07L63WS2D

Find more reviews and follow Frank on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18679262.Frank_Prem

Connect to Frank via his website: www.frankprem.com

The next author with a a popular short story collection is Annika Perry with The Storyteller Speaks.

About The Story Teller Speaks

It only takes one event to change a life. What is that action, decision, occurrence? Whose life is affected? Changed forever?

In this eclectic mix of 21 short stories, flash fiction and poetry the pendulum swings between first love and murder, from soul-destroying grief to reconciliation. The tales veer from the sweet satisfaction of revenge to new beginnings, from heart-breaking miscarriages of justice to heart-warming Christmas misadventure.

One common thread binds them all; the belief that there is no such thing as an ordinary life; they’re all extraordinary.

Open your hearts and minds as The Storyteller Speaks.

One of the recent reviews for the collection

HarvestingHecate A heart-warming collection of stories

The Storyteller Speaks is a wonderful collection of short stories, flash fiction and poems that depict a wide range of events, characters and viewpoints. At the centre of each is human relationships and the effect that a single event can often have on the course of a life. A full gamut of emotions is here, including love, grief, anger and redemption. The stories are moving, uplifting, sometimes dark, sometimes amusing. My favourites include: The Whiteout Years which is a heart-breaking and touching depiction of grief and hope; and Loss of a Patriarch, a moving story about saying goodbye to the author’s grandfather. I also enjoyed the influences of the author’s Swedish heritage. This is a collection to savour and a book that fulfils its promise to win your heart.

Read the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0789KZVF8/

and Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0789KZVF8

Read other reviews and follow Annika on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17498437.Annika_Perry