In partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Big Ideas Press

ABOUT THE BOOK

Fragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Written by Maura Pierlot

Ages 12+ | 126 Pages

Publisher: Big Ideas Press | ISBN-13: 978-0645099805

I feel like I’m a piece, a fragment that’s missing all the good bits, but I don’t know where to find the rest … the parts I need to work properly. I bet they wouldn’t fit anyway. (Lexy, age 17)

Publisher’s Synopsis: Eight young people navigating high school and beyond, each struggling to hold on – to family, to friends, to a piece of themselves. Perhaps you know them. The bubbly girl who keeps telling you she’s okay. The high achiever who’s suddenly so intense. The young teen obsessed with social media. The boy challenged by communication. Every single day they, and others, are working hard to keep it together. So hard, they don’t see their friends are struggling, too. Through eight imagined stories, Fragments moves from a place of disconnection to connectedness.

The action of Fragments takes place in the minds and hearts of an ordinary group of young people. Their stories encompass anxiety, depression, neurodivergence, gender dysphoria, social media, bullying, family dysfunction, cross-cultural diversity, and more, culminating in a sense of hope. Although set in Australia, their stories could take place anywhere.

From the Playwright: Rarely presenting as neat packages, mental health issues often involve feelings and behaviors with jagged edges and blurred origins. Fragments embodies the theme that stress at home, at school, and in life is challenging young people beyond their usual coping abilities, leaving them disenfranchised and vulnerable. So much of adolescent life is spent looking inwards that it’s perhaps not surprising that mental health issues are often internalized. I wrote Fragments to start a conversation. It’s only when we speak openly about mental health issues – without fear or judgment – that we can chip away at the stigma that prevents many people from seeking help. It is my hope that the work will find its way into schools in Australia and overseas. The publication includes a comprehensive Study Guide, detailing activities and curriculum links for English, Drama/Arts, Health & PE, Civics, and more.

A powerful and timely mental health resource for young people and their families. Essential reading for high school.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gZPBCJ

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/2078/9780645099805

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Fragments-Maura-Pierlot/9780645099805

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maura Pierlot is an award-winning author and playwright who hails from New York but has called Canberra, Australia home since the early 1990s. Her writing delves into complex issues including memory, identity, self, and, more recently, mental health. Following its sellout 2019 season in Canberra, Maura’s debut professional theatre production, Fragments is being adapted for the digital space, supported by artsACT. The work is published online by Australian Plays Transforms and in print by Big Ideas Press.

Maura is a past winner of the SOLO Monologue Competition, Hothouse Theatre for her play, Tapping Out. Her plays have been performed in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, and Hollywood. A former medical news reporter and editor of Australian Medicine, Maura also writes for children and young adults. In 2017 she was named winner of the CBCA Aspiring Writers Mentorship Program, and recipient of the Charlotte Waring Barton Award, for her young adult manuscript, Freefalling (now True North). Maura’s debut picture book, The Trouble in Tune Town won the 2018 ACT Writing and Publishing Award (Children’s category) along with international accolades.

Maura’s poetry, short stories, microfiction, and essays appear in various literary journals and anthologies. Maura has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctorate, each in philosophy, specializing in ethics. When she’s not busy writing, Maura visits schools and libraries as a guest reader and speaker, serves as a Role Model for Books in Homes, and contributes reviews for the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s online magazine, Reading Time.

For further information on Maura and her work, Fragments please visit: https: //maurapierlot.com and https: //fragmentstheplay.com.

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Fragments and a $50 Amazon gift card!

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

https://gleam.io/bJGIX/fragments-giveaway

A copy of Fragments

A $50 Amazon gift card

Four (4) winners receive:

A copy of Fragments

The giveaway begins September 6, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends October 6, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

MY REVIEW OF FRAGMENTS:

FRAGMENTS: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Written by Maura Pierlot

Fragments is a series of monologues that lend a voice to issues of mental health faced by teens all over the world today. In these monologues, readers follow the struggles of eight teens who seek hope as they fight mental health challenges. Each fight to maintain their connections to family, friends, and the community in which they live. The monologues are representative of the issues faced by youth and adults in the challenging times of which we live.

The actors represent young people around the world struggling with emotional, social, physical, and mental issues during their teenage years. As they reveal themselves, readers at once laugh, cry, feel their pain, and empathize with one or more of the issues described. The actors may appear to be disconnected, but in truth, they are seeking the possibility of connecting with one another.

The study guide included delineates themes, the background of characters, summaries of each monologue, and curriculum guide. While the monologues are matched to the Australian curriculum for high school studies, it can readily be adapted to standards used around the world.

Pierlot’s play provided her audience an opportunity to witness the problems and challenges facing youth today. Now readers of Fragments are given the opportunity to read and ponder the insights of these teens into the causes of mental issues and the realities they present for those who are suffering. Highly recommended read and discussion opportunity for teens and adults.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, September 6, 2021The Children’s Book ReviewTour Kick-OffFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Tuesday, September 7, 2021Over Coffee ConversationA guest article fromMaura Pierlot

Wednesday, September 8, 2021The Fairview ReviewA book review ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Thursday, September 9, 2021Tales of a Wanna-Be SuperHero MomA book giveaway ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Friday, September 10, 2021A Dream Within a DreamA book review ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Monday, September 13, 2021icefairy’s Treasure ChestA book review ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Tuesday, September 14, 2021Life Is What It’s CalledA book review ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Wednesday, September 15, 2021Barbara Ann Mojica’s BlogA book review ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Thursday, September 16, 2021Satisfaction for Insatiable ReadersA book review ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Friday, September 17, 2021The Momma SpotA book review ofFragments: Journeys from Isolation to Connection

Saturday, September 18, 2021The Momma SpotAn interview withMaura Pierlot

In partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Jasmine A. Stirling

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Found Her Voice

Written by Jasmine A. Stirling

Illustrated by Vesper Stamper

Ages 4-12 

48 Pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books

ISBN-13: 978-1547601103

Publisher’s Synopsis: Witty and mischievous Jane Austen grew up in a house overflowing with words. As a young girl, she delighted in making her family laugh with tales that poked fun at the popular novels of her time, stories that featured fragile ladies and ridiculous plots. Before long, Jane was writing her own stories-uproariously funny ones, using all the details of her life in a country village as inspiration.

In times of joy, Jane’s words burst from her pen. But after facing sorrow and loss, she wondered if she’d ever write again. Jane realized her writing would not be truly her own until she found her unique voice. She didn’t know it then, but that voice would go on to capture readers’ hearts and minds for generations to come.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2O2scVx

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/2078/9781547601103

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Bio and Link

Jasmine A. Stirling is the debut author of A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, a picture book biography of Jane Austen about persistence and creative mastery. Jasmine lives on a cheerful street in San Francisco with her husband, two daughters, and their dog. From a young age, she loved to write poems and stories and worked her way through nearly every children’s book (and quite a few for grownups, too) in her local library. When she’s not writing, Jasmine can be found hiking in the fog, singing songs from old musicals, and fiddling with her camera.

Jasmine first fell in love with Jane Austen as a student at Oxford, where she read her favorite of Jane’s six masterful novels, Persuasion. A Most Clever Girl is her dream project, done with her dream team—award-winning illustrator Vesper Stamper and Bloomsbury Children’s Publishing. Jasmine also has a YA/New Adult history of the women’s suffrage movement out soon, titled We Demand An Equal Voice.

Visit www.jasmineastirling.com to get a free Jane Austen paper doll kit with the purchase of A Most Clever Girl. While you’re there, enter to win a Regency tea party gift basket!Follow Jasmine on Instagram and Facebook @jasmine.a.stirling.author where she posts about kidlit and life with two young girls.

My Review of This Book

FINDING HER WAY

A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice

Written by Jasmine A. Stirling

Illustrated by Vesper Stamper

Jane Austen grew up in the English countryside in a large family. Her father was a rector and a tutor; her mother wrote poetry. The home was filled with books, joy, music, and song. Jane’s father provided her with a study and writing materials. Although Jane completed three novels before reaching her mid-twenties, something felt wrong.

Jane was born ahead of her time. She disdained the eighteenth-century books that portrayed women as weak, sickly, or pessimistic. She preferred to observe the visitors to her home and based her characters on their actions and behavior. But when her brothers grew up and her father retired, Jane, her sister, and mother were forced to move to the city. Jane suffered depression and ceased to write.

After a time, one of her brothers furnished them a small house in the countryside. Jane’s spirits lifted She found the inspiration she needed to revise her earlier writings and create the novels for which she became famous worldwide.

Stamper employs color effectively in her illustrations to portray the changing moods and circumstances of Jane’s life. The author includes some of Austen’s famous quotations and a concise biography as well as resources and a bibliography to encourage further exploration of Austen’s life and work.

This forty-eight-page picture book is appropriate for elementary age readers but will also interest middle-grade and older readers interested in Austen and eighteenth-century life in England.

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to win a glorious Jane Austen-themed picnic basket, including a hardcover copy of A Most Clever Girl autographed by Jasmine A. Stirling!

One (1) grand prize winner receives:

• A picnic basket filled with:
  • A copy of A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, signed by author Jasmine A. Stirling
  • A vintage teacup
  • 1 oz of tea From Adagio Teas
  • Truffles from Moonstruck Chocolates
  • Gardenia hand cream
  • A set of Jane Austen playing cards
  • A $15 gift certificate to Jasmine A. Stirling’s Austenite Etsy Shop, Box Hill Goods

Two (2) winners receive:

• A copy of A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, signed by author Jasmine A. Stirling

The giveaway begins March 16, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT, and ends April 16, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

Click on the link below

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3d5cb282211/

TOUR SCHEDULE

March 16	The Children’s Book Review	https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/	Book Review
March 17	Life is What It’s Called	www.lifeiswhatitscalled.blogspot.com	Interview
March 18	Library Lady’s Kid Lit	https://janemouttet.wordpress.com/	Book Review & Guest Post
March 19	Austen Prose	https://austenprose.com/	Book Preview & Guest Post
March 20	A Dream Within A Dream	http://adreamwithindream.blogspot.com	Book Review
March 21	Barbara Ann Mojica’s Blog	https://bamauthor.me	Book Review
March 22	Jane Austen’s World	https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/	Interview
March 23	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	https://insatiablereaders.blogspot.com	Book Review & Guest Post
March 24	icefairy’s Treasure Chest	http://icefairystreasurechest.blogspot.com/	Book Review
March 25	Heart to Heart	tynea-lewis.com	Book Review
March 26	Confessions of a Book Addict	http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.com	Guest Post
March 27	Eccentric Eclectic Woman	http://finamoon.blogspot.com	Book Review
March 28	J.R.s Book Reviews	https://jrsbookreviews.wordpress.com/	Book Review
March 29	My Jane Austen Book Club	http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/	Interview
March 30	Jane Austen in Vermont	https://janeausteninvermont.blog/	Book Review & Guest Post
March 31	Some the Wiser	https://somethewiser.com	Book Review
April 1	Austenesque Reviews	www.AustenesqueReviews.com	Book Review
April 2	Absolutely Austen	https://absolutelyausten.com/	Book Review
April 3	Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen	brendascox.wordpress.com	Book Review
April 4	Fairview Elementary School (Library)	https://fveslibrary.blogspot.com/	Book Review
April 5	Comfy Chair Books	https://comfychairbooks.com/	Book Review
April 6	Reading Is My SuperPower	https://readingismysuperpower.org	Book Review
April 7	ShootingStarsMag	www.shootingstarsmag.net	A Beyond the Book Activity
April 8	Glass of Wine, Glass of Milk	glassofwineglassofmilk.blogspot.com	Book Review
April 9	Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb	http://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/	Interview
April 10	The Fictional Cafe	https://www.fictionalcafe.com/	Review + Interview
April 11	Ingenious Baby	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkNfesiHAPnqc4STgBn-Ljw	Interview
April 12	The Children’s Book Review	https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/	Guest Post
April 13	Tucked In Tuesday	https://www.instagram.com/tutoringyoutoexcellence/	Instagram Live: Tucked in Tuesday

Floofy Drives America Crazy

Written by Nurit Reichman

Illustrated and Edited by Nurit Yuval

This beginning chapter book with fewer than fifty pages consists of an interesting and clever storyline. Floofy is an adorable Maltese pup who lives in Israel. She misses her mistress, Maya, who is off in America visiting Boston. Floofy is so depressed and lonely that she creates a virtual reality of herself and travels to America. While visiting there, Floofy manages to meet a TV celebrity cat named Max and almost gets clawed to death by a Mama Bear while she is playing with one of her cubs. Floofy even manages to play match-maker and attends a virtual wedding.

 Beginning readers will love the animal and human characters but may get confused by the many sub-plot lines with connections that push the limits of reality. A few illustrations enhance the book. I would recommend this book especially for readers in the six to nine age group, who enjoy animal and fantasy stories.

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Children’s Book: Saving Christmas (Kids Action Adventure)

Author: Morris Fenris

The book description, cover and reviews suggest that this book is appropriate for children of all ages. Some parents might argue that it is not at all appropriate for children, but rather suited to young adults and adults.

There are four parts. In the first, readers meet a girl named Mary who generally spends Christmas alone. On Christmas Eve, she is out for a ride on her horse when she hears a strange noise and meets with an accident resulting in her being thrown from her horse. When she wakes up, Mary finds herself in a strange cabin with a white haired man. She is surrounded by unfamiliar sights and sounds. The second story features Mrs. Claus at the North Pole many years later supervising the elves on Christmas Eve. She experiences a strange sense of foreboding and a dramatic change in Santa’s personality. Part Three leads Mary to a sleigh ride in order to find Santa’s mother. The reindeer Vixen knows that she will be able to save Christmas. Finally in the fourth part, Mary realizes her true role and the reader learns what happened to Mary’s horse on the night of her accident.

The stories contain many run on sentences and grammar that needs some editing. It is difficult to classify the genre of these stories. Elements of romance, mystery, and adventure, but definitely not a kids book. This book contains some familiar characters and symbols, but adults should be aware of multiple layers of meaning and some inappropriate language.

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