Smorgasbord Christmas Book Fair – #Children’s – #Wombat Norah Colvin, #Bullying Eloise de Sousa, #Success J.Q. Rose, #PuppyTails Patty Fletcher, #Oceans Annabelle Franklin

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the Christmas Book Fair and today some more children’s books in print and ebook and the perfect gifts for the younger generation.

Norah Colvin has released all her current children’s books to Amazon and they look amazing. I do suggest that with Christmas coming and being in paperback format, you might like to get your orders in early. Here is one of the releases Wombat Digs In.

About the book

Wombat wants to play with all of the other animals but he doesn’t know how! This is a beautifully illustrated book for 4-8 year old readers. Proceeds from this sale benefit nonprofit organisation Library For All, helping children around the world learn to read.

A review for Wombat Digs In.

Robbie Cheadle A delightful book with beautiful bright illustrations

This is an adorable book for small children about a wombat who is struggling to keep up with some of the other animals including the kangaroos who can bounce, the possums who can climb, and the fruit bats who can fly. Wombat is feeling a little dejected, but when Baby Koala falls out of the tree, Wombat’s own special skill of digging comes to the forefront. This little book is illustrated with simple and bright pictures that small children will love.

Here is a small selection

To find out more about Library For All: A force for equality through literacy

Connect to Norah- Amazon Australia – Amazon US – Amazon UK – Website – Norah Colvin – Educational Website – Readilearn – Twitter: @NorahColvin

The next author featured today is Eloise de Sousa and her book Scat the Black Cat

About the book

Scat has had enough! Every morning, Bruiser, the bully from No. 62 Busby Lane, strolls over to his house and eats all of his breakfast.

Scat decides it is time to teach Bruiser a lesson. But things are not always as they seem and sometimes a bully is not necessarily an enemy.

One of the reviews for the book

Bronwen –

I bought this for my daughter and then liked it so much that I got more for my friends’ children! Has a lovely message about why bullies may not be all they seem and how kindness can change them back into being nice.

Head over to buy the book: Amazon UK – And: Amazon US

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – and : Amazon UK – Follow Eloise Goodreads – Connect to Eloise: Blog – Twitter: @mello_elo

The next author is J.Q. Rose with a book that would inspire slightly older girls to think about the path they will take in the future. Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women

About the book

Do you dream about what you want to be when you grow up?

Meet sixteen contemporary women who had ambitious dreams when they were girls.
Find out how they made those dreams come true. Their stories assure you that your dream career can come true too!

Readers cheer for these incredible women as they overcome obstacles and crash through barriers to complete their goals. Join these hard-working women during a typical workday. Learn about the achievements they have reached in their chosen careers.

Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women includes stories about 21st-century women who have discovered cures to stamp out disease, made people laugh, earned Olympic and Paralympic gold medals, crossed the country behind the wheel of an 18-wheel semi-truck and more. Meet the people who mentored these dreamers and helped them negotiate the curves and bumps along the way.

Girls Succeed! suggests resources related to each occupation so girls can dive deeply into the career and get to know about the woman’s life. The inspiring quotes at the beginning of each chapter encourage girls to work toward making their dream careers come true.

The Girls Succeed Reader’s Guide, included in this book, suggests project and discussion ideas for classroom teachers and home-school educators to expand on themes covered in the book such as trailblazers, feeling different, persistence and more.

Author J.Q. Rose uses her experience as a classroom teacher and her storytelling skills as an author to inspire girls to Dream Big!

One of the recent reviews for the book on Goodreads

Sep 30, 2021 Judy Watters rated it it was amazing

An inspiring read for young girls

In Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women, J.Q. Rose interviews 16 women who worked hard to attain their dreams of their chosen career. As a young girl reads through the trials, fears, and determination of each woman, she will be encouraged to keep working toward her own goals. The interviews include a wide variety of careers: horse trainer and competitive rider, children’s book author, chef, filmmaker, medical scientist, semi-truck driver, and many others. Also included in this book are resources for girls to check out to look further into the career. Plus, a Reader’s Guide suggests project and discussion ideas for teachers to focus on characteristics such as persistence, passion, and overcoming obstacles. Girls Succeed is a must-read for girls who want to achieve their dreams.

A selection of other books by J.Q. Rose

Read the reviews and buy the books:Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Follow J.Q. Rose: Goodreads – Website: J.Q. Rose – Blog:J.Q. Rose – Facebook: J.Q. Rose Author

Now for a book for slightly older children and adults…by Patty Fletcher – Bubba Tails.

About the book

NOW INCLUDES ‘WISH OF THE WEE GOLDEN ONE’ A CHRISTMAS STORY. A charming story about Christmas and Santa Paws and how the pups help deliver the Christmas gifts.

In this magical and love-filled tail, King Campbell AKA Bubba travels to the puppy nursery at The Seeing Eye to help ready a group of puppies who are just about to embark on the fabulous journey of learning to become Seeing Eye dogs. Just as he is about to finish his tail, a wee pup becomes very frightened of all that lies ahead, and one frightfully stormy night she runs away! Will King Campbell hear the urgent call from the puppy nursery in time? Will they find her and save her so she can fulfill her destiny?

The use of Tail instead of Tale for story and Magik instead of Magic is intended for these short stories. A great play on words from King Campbell

A review for the book

Robbie Cheadle A lovely book that all ages can read and enjoy

Bubba Tails: From the Puppy Nursery at the Seeing Eye is a delightful story for all ages, told from the perspective of King Campbell, an older and more experienced Seeing Eye dog (trained to guide the blind). King Campbell appears at night to the puppies at the Seeing Eye School, and their mothers, and tells them stories about how he came to be selected for the school, his training process and meeting his forever mother. His stories help to allay some of the puppies own concerns and anxieties about the future when they undergo their training to be Seeing Dogs and eventually become companions to a blind person.

This is a most insightful book about how Seeing Dogs are selected, including the qualities they need to have to do this job, as well as the training process they go through before they are matched with a blind person. I say matched because that is exactly what happens, the person is paired with a suitable canine companion. I thought this was very interesting as I had never really thought about how close the relationship between a blind human and their Seeing Dog is prior to reading this book.

The second part of the story when Campbell meets his new forever owner was the most meaningful for me. It was a wonderful experience for me to learn about how the Seeing Dog and their new owner must adapt to working together. The Seeing Dog needs to learn to read their human owner’s body language and respond to subtle signals. The human must also learn to trust their dog and this is quite a difficult thing to do. I can understand that putting your faith in a dog, no matter how much you love it, must initially be difficult when you are unable to see and protect yourself. I loved reading about how this amazing trust developed between Campbell and his owner.

This is a book that everyone can read and enjoy for the story and also appreciate for its detailed insight into the relationship between Seeing Dogs and their owners, and also the world at large.

Other Books by Patty Fletcher

Read the reviews and buy the books:Amazon US – And :Amazon UK – Follow Patty: Goodreads – Website and Blog: Patty’s World – Twitter: @Bubbalee04

The next book is by Annabelle Franklin – The Slapstyx which introduces children to the environment and in particular the health of our oceans.

About The Slapstyx

The sea is dying, poisoned by greedy businessman Zachary Zigstack, who has enlisted the help of the Slapstyx goblins to make sure everyone buys his highly toxic detergent. These grubby goblins fill human homes with grime that can only be removed with Zigstack products. Psychic twins Georgie and Gem must use their magical skills to put an end to Zigstack’s unholy alliance with the Slapstyx.

Twin sisters Georgie and Gem care about the environment and are deeply ashamed of their stepfather Geoffrey, who sells detergents made of bad chemicals that fill the sea with toxic slime.

The twins try to convince Geoffrey to get another job, but he refuses. ‘ZOOM’ is the world’s best-selling cleaning product, and Geoffrey loves being a superstar salesman – even though his boss, Zachary Zigstack, only pays him peanuts.

Together with a tribe of grubby goblins called the Slapstyx, Zigstack has hatched an ingenious plan to make sure everyone buys his dastardly detergent. He has promised the Slapstyx a mountain of gold, which he has yet to deliver.

Georgie and Gem can leave their bodies at will and fly around in an astral vehicle they call their ‘dreambody’. This ‘dreamwalking’ enables them to travel to other dimensions and meet the creatures that live there. One night they dreamwalk to the goblin dimension and rumble Zigstack’s pact with the Slapstyx. The goblins threaten to kill them if they tell anyone about it.

The twins make friends with a mermaid called Eltra whose tribe – known as the Delphinae – look after the dolphins. The ZOOM overload in the sea has created toxic plankton-based monsters called Sloyds who are out to destroy all the other sea creatures. Eltra begs the twins for help.

Though they are terrified of the Slapstyx, Georgie and Gem promise Eltra they will try and stop them working for Zigstack. But can they do it before the world’s oceans are turned into toxic plankton soup?

More to the point, can they do it before the goblins put them out of action for good?

One of the reviews for the book

Kerrie I definitely think that my step son would enjoy it. It’s clear

I have an eight year old step son who I think would absolutely adore this novel! It is a middle grade story about twin sisters who can leave their bodies and fly as spirits, and in Slapstyx by Annabelle Franklin, the twins are on a mission to stop an evil magician and his goblin cohorts from selling their uncleanly and unsafe “cleaning” product to the world.

Zachary Zigstack wants to take over the world with his product ZOOM!!! which is apparently going to rid the world of dirt and grime. In reality, he wants to pollute the ocean, and make the entire planet as unsanitary as possible. the twins, Gem and Georgie use their magical projection powers to spy on Zachary and his evil goblins and try to find a way to stop them from polluting the planet.

This was a cute book for a pre-teen, I definitely think that my step son would enjoy it. It’s clear, concise, and has a message that all kids should learn about. The characters of Georgie and Gem were likable, though I felt that the girls weren’t strong in their differences, and they were kind of paper dolls (meaning that they didn’t have very distinct personalities that a pre-teen would look up to), I did think that they were fun and enjoyed their relationship with each other. I however did enjoy the character of Zachary much more, I could just seem him using his dark magic, and bent over himself rubbing his palms together.

One of my favorite things in movies, television, and even books, is when the title is odd, or doesn’t make sense, until you watch or read, and this is the perfect example of that! Slapstyx is an interesting title, but works great with this book! I give this a 4 out of 5 stars, a fun, charming adventure that any kid would love to go on, it’s a socially conscious one too.

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

Also by Annabelle Franklin