Saddlestone Connemara Pony Listening School: Sinead and Strawberry
Written by Elaine Heney
Sinead loves her pony, Strawberry. She experiences anquish when Strawberry throws her one day. Her parents want to get rid of the Connemara pony. Sinead cannot bear to be separated from her best friend.
They find a possible solution. Sinead and her poney are enrolled in a special training school. Strawberry learns how to understand human emotions, while Sinead learns to understand animal behavior, pyschology, and the proper equipment. Each must learn step by step to grow, change, and adapt to each other.
For readers who love animals, especially horses, this book provides a wonderful teaching resource. It is also a tender story of empathy, love, and responsibility. The book is an easy chapter book with short chapters, easy vocabulary, and a heartwarming plot.
Recommended especially for readers in the seven to ten age range, but enjoyable for any age group.
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Publisher: Life Unfiltered Books | ISBN-13: 9781738414000
Publisher’s Book Summary: Join Milo – an adorable French Bulldog – as he embarks on his very first adventure! Simply by clapping his little paws together and jumping on his magic skateboard, Milo takes flight and explores Europe! This fun, heart-warming adventure will charm children and adults alike, while exploring different iconic places and cultures!
Kristina Tanso is an animal lover whose life changed the day she rescued Milo from the streets of Hong Kong in May 2019. Milo and His Magic Skateboard is inspired by the real-life adventures the duo have had since: prompted by Kristina’s affinity for travel, and Milo’s curious personality. Kristina is also the author of the critically acclaimed psychological thriller, Bad Things (2023); and is a producer on Searching/or Chinook, a documentary about the future survival of the last remaining Southern resident orcas, starring Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones).
An advocate for mental health and spiritual well-being, Kristina’s articles on the topic are regularly featured on Medium. Outside of writing, Kristina works at the University of Oxford, and serves as a guest professor at a university in Asia.
I once had a cat named Milo. That’s why I immediately identified with Milo.
In this picture book adventure, Milo is a French Bulldog living in Milan with a yen for travel. He loves being home with his mistress but when she departs for work, Milo picks up his magic skateboard and cruises across the continent.
Milo transports his reader friends to Paris, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Spain, and Rome where they are treated to a whirlwind tour of the famous sites in each country. Milo enjoys his adventures, but soon realizes something is missing. He longs to cuddle beside his owner.
Milo teaches us the value of experiencing new places, but, in the end, we long for the safety and comfort of home and the people we love.
Illustrations are simple, colorful, and appealing to the targeted primary grade reader. Rhymes add to the appeal of reading this adventure out loud.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for the chance to win a signed hardcover copy of Milo and His Magic Skateboard and a customized sketch of Milo!
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop | ISBN-13: 9780593659717
Publisher’s Book Summary: This board book series invites young readers to take part in a playdate activity of their choice, thereby empowering them with autonomy and validation. The picnic playdate models balanced and shared play, creating a positive experience that will provide readers with a reference for what caring and considered friendship looks like. Many toddlers and preschoolers consistently ask for someone to play with them, and this book provides just that for the quieter moments of the day. Simple language and gentle questions will help children develop their social skills by practicing conversations, all while engaging them in fun and familiar topics.
Kat Chen is the author of several bestselling contemporary and historical romance books. She also serves on the advisory board for Books for Newborns.
After becoming a grandmother and spending most of her free time helping with “the fun stuff”—conversations, crayons, and crawling—she was inspired to delve into children’s books and help kids master the art of simple conversation through shared play.
Lorraine Nam is an illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York. She was born in Philadelphia and spent her childhood drawing pictures and folding origami to pass the time at her parents’ jewelry store. She now spends her days combining those two loves to create her illustrations.
She is the illustrator of the picture book biography on Neil deGrasse Tyson, Look Up With Me, and the upcoming Wei Skates On, by Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Chen.
A board book that will be enjoyed repeatedly when shared with curious toddlers and preschoolers. The setting is a picnic featuring a boy named Ellison and his pet rabbit. Ellison asks many questions of his rabbit and this interactive book’s readers. For example, what kind of drink do you like, what books do you enjoy, what cookies do you like to eat?
Ellison presents the joys of friendship, empathy, and sharing. He respects the opinions of his beloved rabbit and those of his readers inviting them to share in his play dates and conversations.
The illustrations are simple, bright, and colorful and will especially appeal to the targeted age audience of children ages one through four.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of Play with Me and a $25 Amazon gift card!
An illustrated rhyming book with a twist. The protagonist, a young boy who hates writing, gets a writing assignment in class. He daydreams about the many activities he would prefer. While, he is a good student, he just cannot decide on a writing topic. Desperate, he scribbles all his ideas on paper in random fashion. When lunchtime arrives, the teacher collects all the papers.
The boy assumes he will fail. What do you think will happen? The plot thickens.
I especially appreciated the multicultural illustrations which also include students with disabilities. All children can identify with the characters in this inspirational read for students in the six to ten age group.
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Publisher: AM Ink Publishing (2024) ISBN-13: 978-1-958842-24-9
Publisher’s Book Summary: A precocious pug delights in shenanigans which drive her frazzled owner to declare she will give her pup away!
Laugh along with the snorting, snoring, and gaseous clown of the canine world as its owner struggles to reign in the messes and mayhem of a new addition. But there is nothing that a few licks and cuddles can’t fix, right?
A true delight that any family can relate to, Ode to a Pug is full of heart… and a lot of slobber.
Jill Rosen is a career marketer and advertiser who lives with two kids, three dogs, two cats, one bird, and a former stand-up comic and Princeton sketch-comedy writing husband. She doesn’t need to go far for comedic inspiration or advice!
Through her brand management work, Jill’s early recognition of, and appreciation for, powerful writing and artistic design only flourished. She is a seasoned workshop facilitator and strategic healthcare consultant specializing in the areas of mental health and infertility.
Jill was inspired to begin writing her own stories by her two boys, both avid readers. Now Jill can’t wait to share them with all the young readers out there.
Steph Rohr is a French Award-winning children’s book illustrator who earned a distinction from ECV Art School in Paris. She is fond of anything silly, funny, wacky, daft, and colorful. A freelance Illustrator & Art Director, Steph has been working in London in publishing and advertising.
What a delightful picture book to delight dog lovers! The protagonist is a woman who has just adopted a new member of the family, an adorable pug. But wait, this cuddly little creature proves to be a lot more than she can handle.
He snorts, toots, tinkles on the carpet, and destroys the furniture. This tiny creature creates chaos everywhere he sets foot. Finally, the owner has had enough. Today is the day she will get rid of him!
Then she looks at those endearing eyes, can she follow through?
This picture book consists of short, clever rhymes and simple, cartoon-like illustrations that will delight young children and adults alike. Anyone who has owned a puppy will empathize with the owner and feel her mixed emotions.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for the chance to win an author-signed hardcover copy ofOde to a Pug, a 4″ custom pug plush, plus a die-cut pug sticker!
I love how this author presents the ocean topic. Children learn about twelve examples of sea creatures that inhabit the ocean, and the life cycle of plant life that interact with them. Then the author discusses the problems that modern-day life has imposed on the oceans and the life within them.
The author uses crisp rhymes with challenging vocabulary that is highlighted in colors that pop off the page. Human characters represent the many cultures that inhabit our planet and how they can work together to sustain it. At the end of the book, readers receive an opportunity to go back and identify the creatures they learned about in the story. Then the author presents them with tangible and actionable steps they can take now to protect our oceans and its resources.
This interactive book should be part of libraries and classrooms. Parents who want to teach their children to be mindful of protecting our planet can count on this resource to put them on the right track.
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Publisher’s Book Summary: Marion is a kind, creative, and easy kid… but he’s faced with BIG emotions. Help Marion identify those BIG feelings in this interactive children’s picture book.
Guess How Marion Feels is a transformative experience that lays the foundation for emotional intelligence and meaningful connections. A gentle Social Emotional Learning (SEL) tool to guide parents, caregivers, and teachers to teach kids who struggle to pick up social cues and have challenges in social situations.
This book is made to celebrate and honor the feelings of our little ones, foster open communication, and create inclusive learning with our neurodivergent kids. Written by a neurodivergent author, Miss Kaye aims to support kids and everyone struggling with social interactions.
Miss Kaye was born in the Philippines. She had challenges as an adult neurodivergent. This serves as her inspiration for writing fun, engaging, and educational stories to teach life skills and mindfulness to kids.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Miss Waitthk is from Hongkong. She enjoys making people feel happy and joyful through her drawings. As a kid, she remembered drawing anime characters and coloring them with colored pencils. Since then, she kept on drawing.
MY REVIEW OF THIS BOOK
IT’S OKAY TO FEEL THIS WAY…
Guess how Marion Feels
Written by Miss Kaye
Illustrated by Miss Waitthk
A beautiful, interactive picture book that allows young children to explore and communicate their emotions with others.
Marion wakes up happy to start the day. When his mother reminds him that today is the first day at school, his feelings switch to being scared and apprehensive. As the day progresses, readers watch Marion, and his feelings change. A new situation creates mixed feelings of excitement, worry, hope, anger, confusion, and relief.
Young readers are asked to guess what Marion is feeling in each situation by studying the pictures and text. At the end of the book, they get a summary of the book when Marion discusses the whole range of emotions with his parents.
The book is targeted for readers ages one through seven, but I feel the message in the tale is just as valuable for older children.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for the chance to win a 1-hour FREE coaching session to launch your own picture book, along with signed copies of Guess How Marion Feels (one to keep and one to share with a neurodivergent charity of your choice under your name).
The author explores the different locations for homes that both humans and animal creatures inhabit. They could be underground, underwater, up in the trees, or under open skies. Some are found in cold climates, and others in warm areas. They might be built of different materials like ice, stone, wood, or even the shell on the animal’s back. Most important, a home can be found anywhere as along as there is a loving support group.
The rhymes are crisp and sharp, the illustrations colorful and alluring.
I highly recommend this book exploring the diversity of our world to parents and teachers of preschoolers and primary grade children.
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Sometimes we don’t know what to do with them or how to change our thoughts that cause these feelings. The first day of school can be scary, but “Furrapist” Jackson Johnson and cute pup Ralphy of Ralphy’s Rules for the Good Life are committed to helping a busload of kids understand and manage their big feelings. During the ride to school, Furrapist Jackson Johnson teaches the children that they can choose their emotions and decide how to respond to them. Ralphy and Jackson make the complicated subject of emotional intelligence accessible for kids to understand and, more importantly, implement in their everyday lives.
So hop on the bus with us, and let’s learn about how taking charge of our feelings can change our day!
Talar Herculian Coursey is a lawyer by day and a children’s book author, Life Coach, and philanthropist by night (more like mornings). She has been a General Counsel since 2011 and recently joined ComplyAuto, a privacy/cybersecurity SAAS company. Before going in-house, she was a file clerk, associate, and partner at the national labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips LLP. Talar is a co-author of both #Networked: How 20 Women Lawyers Overcame the Confines of COVID-19 Social Distancing to Create Connections, CultivateCommunity, & Build Businesses in the Midst of a Global Pandemic and Women In Law: Discovering the True Meaning of Success. Her first children’s book,Ralphy’s Rules for Living the Good Life, was published in 2021.
Talar has served as the President of the Salt Lake City Chapter of the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (“SOAR”) since 2015. SOAR, founded in 2005, supports orphanages in Syria, Lebanon and Armenia. She runs the Salt Lake City Half Marathon every year to raise money for SOAR in memory of her father. Net proceeds from her children’s books also go to SOAR. In addition to being a mother, wife, lawyer, life coach, and philanthropist, she is also a runner, yogi, and Jesus, Eckhart Tolle, Peloton, and Brandon Flowers groupie.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SKILLS EXPLAINED FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings
Written by Talar and Riley Herculian Coursey
Illustrated by Meri Andreasyan
This is the second picture book in a series that defines and explains how to deal with emotions for elementary school age children.
Ralphy, a dog, drives the school bus and his friend Jackson Johnson, the Furrapist, sits next to him on the first day of school. As each child passenger enters the bus, Jackson asks how they are feeling. The children express feelings like excitement, sadness, nervousness, and tiredness. Jackson encourages each child to put this feeling on the front seat and decide later whether to leave it or take it with them when getting off the bus at school, teaching children that a feeling can be changed by thinking differently about it. The book portrays a wide range of feelings exhibited by multicultural children, which allows any reader to identify with the characters. At the end of the story, readers are encouraged to discuss their own feelings.
While the book is targeted for readers ages four through ten, it is relevant for a reader of any age. I would recommend it to parents and teachers for a read aloud and discussion.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for the chance to win a classroom set that includes 25 copies of Ralphy’s Rules for Feelings!
The Mayfly and the Methuselah Tree: Memorable Children’s Story of Living Joyfully
Written by Bob Zaslow
Illustrated by Robert Askew
What a charming picture book done in soft pastel colors. The characters include a Methuselah Tree, which is almost five thousand years old, and a young Mayfly.
The tree has lost enthusiasm for life having seen and experienced similar experiences for so many centuries, but the newly born Mayfly lives with a zest for every sight and smell. The Mayfly challenges the tree as to why he cannot appreciate the beauty which surrounds it. These two completely opposite creatures share two diverse viewpoints that cause each of them to appreciate the joys of living each day.
This is a beautiful way to teach children empathy, compassion, and tolerance.
Recommended especially for readers in primary grades, but a beautiful reminder for any age reader.
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April 14, 2024
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