This post is sponsored by Marin. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal views.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Al’s Journey

Written and Illustrated by Marin

Ages: 5-9 | 32 Pages

Publisher: Fontreal (2025) | ISBN: 978-1-989661-45-1 (Hardcover), 978-1-989661-46-8 (Paperback), 978-1-989661-47-5 (eBook), 978-1-989661-48-2 (Audiobook)

Publisher’s Book Summary: The Night Everything Changed: A Magical Story of Growing Up Fast and Learning Who You Are

What if you woke up tomorrow… a different person?

In Al’s Journey, young readers are invited into the magical story of a boy who grows up overnight—and must learn what it means to grow truly. With dreamlike illustrations and a message that resonates with kids and adults alike, this gentle parable offers a meaningful bedtime read and a touching reminder of the changes we all go through.

Perfect for ages 5 to 9, this book explores:

• The mystery and beauty of growing up
• Emotional self-awareness for young readers
• Gentle lessons in identity, transformation, and empathy

Give your child a story they’ll never forget—with a lesson that will stay with them forever.

Can a child grow up overnight?

Al’s Journey is a magical tale about an orphan boy and his wise grandfather, the shaman of a gold-obsessed tribe that disregarded eating and sleeping while searching for the yellow metal. On his 100th birthday, the shaman announces to Al that it is time for him to begin his own life journey. The boy must climb the mountain alone to reach the roofless sacred hut of the old shaman, where he can ask God crucial questions. As Al makes his way up the mountain peak guided by mystical fireflies, he faces challenges that test his courage and strength. When he finally reaches the summit, Al asks the creator profound questions about the true meaning of life. The valuable experience of the voyage and the response of the supreme being help Al grow mentally, emotionally, and physically overnight and become the healer his tribe needs.

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

His name is Marin* and he marinates his picture books in a creative concoction brewed on the very beach of the Atlantic East Coast. Marin writes the stories, illustrates the pages, designs the covers, arranges the layout of the elements, and publishes the books. Sometimes he creates new fonts for his titles to make them complete pieces of art. His food-for-thought creations contain only natural ingredients. They are nutrient-dense and perfect for a balanced brain diet.

WARNING: Marin’s books tend to inspire young readers!

*Recipient of the Literary Titan Book Award, Wishing Shelf Book Award, and Creative Child Magazine 2025 Picture Book of the Year; 2024 American Book Fest finalist

For more information, please visit fontreal.com.

MY REVIEW OF THIS BOOK:

This stunningly illustrated picture book offers much food for thought for beginning readers. Marin relates a familiar tale of greed, portraying villages that forget the importance of human dignity while relentlessly pursuing their quest for gold and material wealth. Alongside that storyline, an elderly shaman struggles to train his young adopted grandson to assume the responsibilities as the village shaman. This young boy, Al, climbs the mountain to answer three questions and save his people.

Adults reading this book aloud are given multiple opportunities to explore deeper questions, such as the spiritual nature of God and the important values of life, including empathy and the dignity of the human spirit. Al must learn to assess his own strengths and abilities as well as his frailties. Readers are then encouraged to evaluate their own.

GIVEAWAY

Everyone who enters the giveaway will receive links to download two of Marin’s creations: a free e-book and a free audiobook! One grand prize winner will receive $200 via PayPal along with the audio version of Al’s Journey. Another winner will receive $50 via PayPal and the audiobook, and a third winner will receive $20 via PayPal and the audiobook.

https://gleam.io/fTgjm/als-journey-book-giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, September 1, 2025The Children’s Book ReviewTour Kick-Off for Al’s Journey

Thursday, September 4, 2025Country Mamas With KidsBook Review or Guest Post about Al’s Journey

Friday, September 5, 2025The Starlit PathBook Review of Al’s Journey

Monday, September 8, 2025@nissa_the.bookwormBook Review of Al’s Journey

Tuesday, September 9, 2025Deliciously SavvyBook Review or Guest Post about Al’s Journey

Thursday, September 11, 2025Q&As with Deborah KalbAuthor Interview with Marin

Tuesday, September 16, 2025icefairy’s Treasure ChestBook Review of Al’s Journey

Wednesday, September 17, 2025Barbara Ann Mojica’s BlogBook Review of Al’s Journey

Thursday, September 18, 2025Crafty Moms ShareBook Review of Al’s Journey

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