Life is sweet for Caramel and things are finally getting back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be for a telepathic elf who can train trees and control computers, but she soon finds life on Cardamom is not all cupcakes and apple cider. A saboteur is hiding in the rainforest canopy, and the elves’ precious cardamom export has been wiped out. Caramel is certain it’s another trick of Alexander222 and her Aunt Isabel, but no one will believe her, and the clock is ticking. She must expose the saboteur in time to save the crop or the Elves of Cardamom will lose their livelihood. Caramel won’t rest until her theory is proven. While she is on the hunt, she makes a shocking discovery, one that will change everything.
I am so excited to be finally here. For anyone following my progress, this is my much loved sequel to "Escape From The Forbidden Planet and I have a few people to thank.
Danny and Gigi, for everything, you know why
Linda and Dawn for reading countless copies, you are my rocks
Dionne, Pauline, Christine and Sue for pouring over my words
Claire my very first fan and beta reader
Mum and Dad for encouraging my dreams
Blogging friends and authors for giving me their precious time for the tour
8. Renee, for the most awesome blog tour organiser/friend/partner in all things sarcastic
To you, for joining us today. I hope you enjoy the tour. But wait, there's more, don't give up just yet, further down there is a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card.... he he
Prize: One winner will receive a copy (print in U.S./Canada & e-copy interntionally) + a $50 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash
Contest runs: July 17th to August 7th, 11:59 pm, 2013
Open: WW
How to enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send us an email!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Come Join my Q&A
I am also hanging in the Goodreads Hallways this week so hop on over to my Q&A to as any of your Elvin/Cardamom/Ishqwartz/cupcake related questions. There is also a sneak preview of book 3 as well as my next book due out November 2013.
How could Mandy ever find the perfect cat when there were so many to choose at the pound. However one cat caught her eye, her colour changing with her mood. The obvious name for a cat that can turn blue is Blucy, so Mandy names her just that and takes her home, hoping to have loads of fun and adventures.
Blucy of course had other ideas, after all she is a cat and a blue one at that. She refuses to eat anything Mandy puts in front of her. And where does a blue cat hide when she doesn’t want to be found. Amongst the Forget Me Not’s of course. Poor Mandy. Blucy’s mischief knows no bounds. She makes mischief in the jello, rolls in a nest of robins eggs, dances with blue butterflies, rolls in a bowl of blue jelly beans, jumps into a blue pool, tangles with a blue curtain rod, and demonstrates her art prowess with a box of blue crayons. She even manages mischief in Mandy’s parent’s closet, finding hidden presents by which the wrapping paper is soon turned to confetti.
Mandy finally finds a way every blue cat’s heart, but I cannot tell you as that would spoil the ending….
Our Review:
Ms Dweck and Ms Lebarre have created a delightfully humorous read that will no doubt capture the attention of every little mischief maker. The rhythm and rhyme are wonderful and flow so beautifully throughout the book. The illustrations are absolutely exquisite. I honestly wish I could purchase every one of them to put upon my toddlers walls. As soon as I started reading this book for review, the toddler spied the illustrations and rushed across the room to see them. We had to read Blucy several times and her eyes were glued to each page as it unfolded.
We thoroughly recommend this beautiful book which I think will capture the attention of children ages 2-6.
We were truly thrilled to have the opportunity to read this as an Advanced Copy provided to us by the author in exchange for an honest review.
So where can you find Blucy, well, it’s not even released yet but it is available for presale at a 20% discount. Hop on over to Amazon to reserve yourself a copy. http://ow.ly/n1BHT
BUT WAIT
The lovely Ms Dweck has generously offered to give away 2 ebook copies, hurrah. Enter Via the Rafflecopter
Welcome to the 20th Kid Lit Blog Hop. Hope those of you in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying your summer. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, I am sending you many rays of sunshine!
The Kid Lit Blog Hop takes place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. This Hop is a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists, as well as parents seeking out their next great read. So, you are more than welcome to link in and take some time to make some new friends.
Before we begin, I just wanted to let you all know (in case you hadn't seen it), that we are joining with Katie from Youth Literature Reviews in hosting the Best of Summer 2013 Kid Lit Giveaway Hop. If you are a children's, youth, or young adult book blogger looking to share copies of a fabulous book that you have read or are planning to read over July and August 2013 you are welcome to join this Hop. Authors, publishers, and publicists are, of course, also welcome to join in as always. In acknowledgement of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere who are experiencing the opposite season, you are more than welcome to grab some of our sunshine and link up as well!
Sign-ups for this fun event are NOW OPEN. Click on the graphic below for more information.
Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!
<div align="center"><a href="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/category/kid-lit-blog-hops/" title="Kid Lit Blog Hop"><img src="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kid-Lit-Blog-Hop-Button-Sep-2012-e1349976901756.jpg" alt="Kid Lit Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Kid Lit Blog Hop Rules *Please Read*
1. We ask that you kindly follow your hostesses and co-hostesses. You can follow us any way you choose (Email, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest, etc.), but we've added our preferences below. If you could just give us a quick "follow" or "like" that would be much appreciated! Make sure to leave us a message if you are following us (i.e., on Twitter or Facebook or on our websites) and we will be sure to follow you back. Thanks! :-)
2. Link up any Kid Lit related post. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment.We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!
4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!
5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!
Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop? Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.
Today Gigi and I are so excited we sound like we are have been sucking on helium balloons. SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why you ask, because today we have the one, the only, the talented, TARA LAZAR joining us in cyberspace, to talk to us about her hugely popular book “The Monstore”
How did we attain this honour you ask, well, that is the beauty of Twitter. We first started following Tara when she posted her amazing cover for the Monstore. Gigi was probably only about 1 at the time so I can’t actually claim that she was monster obsessed back then and that was the reason. No, I think I have to take the blame, there, I just loved the cover, who would not want to read it.
So we followed Tara’s progress eagerly awaiting the release, and WHOLE YEAR LATER here it is…. Here is our Review
At the back of Frankensweet’s Candy Shoppe, under the last box of sour
gumballs, there’s a trapdoor.
Knock five times fast, hand over the bag of squirmy worms, and you can
crawl inside The Monstore.
The Monstore is the place to go for all of your monsterly needs. Which is
perfect, since Zack definitely has a monsterly need. The problem? His pesky
little sister, Gracie, who never pays attention to that “Keep Out” sign on
Zack’s door—the one he has made especially for her.
But when Zack’s monsters don’t exactly work as planned, he soon finds out
that the Monstore has a few rules: No Refunds. No exchanges. No
exceptions.
The moment this book entered the house, Gigi loved it. She asked us to read the "Monstore" 5 times before lunch and her eyes were glued to the page. Day 2 we couldn't leave the house without the Monstore. Day 3 she started paraphrasing the pages whilst flicking through them herself. As I started to write this review she saw the picture on screen and exclaimed "Monstore Mummy, go get Monstore" So we clambered up stairs to get it. I was trying to take a few pictures of our favourite pages but Gigi kept turning them so she could read it. I couldn't wrestle the book from her chubby little hands. LOL So are you getting my point yet, THIS IS 100% TODDLER APPROVED… In the end I had to give up and ask Tara for a photo lol.
Check out a couple of our favourite pages. I just love Manfred. One because he is huge and red/orange our favourite colour, but 2, I think I could possibly copy this one when Gigi insists we draw monsters every other minute of the day....
And then there's the Monstore. WANT IT!
Our Review:
Zack has a dilemma. A pesky younger sister in Gracie, but have no fear, Zack has a plan. He invests in the scariest monster called “Manfred”. You would think an enormous red beast would do the trick, but no, Zack’s plans go awry. Back he goes to the Monstore for a refund, where he finds he has failed to read the fine print… NO REFUND, NO RETURNS, NO EXCEPTIONS.
Zack is wooed by the Monstore sales pitch, so he takes home another monster, but yet again, his plans are thwarted. Buy, try, buy, try are clearly not working for Zack and eventually he finds himself with an entire house of monsters. What will he do? How will he ever scare his little sister into keeping out of his room? Well, I am not going to tell you, you will just have to read it. I can tell you, you will have a monster chuckle when you find out what works. This is a delightful read with the most extremely awesome as Lola would put it illustrations. The toddler may not pick up on the attention to detail, but mum does and every page I find something else to giggle about.The detail in each page is just fantastic and this story is just so innovative and unique.
So there you have it. Any book that grabs a toddlers attention from the moment they make eye contact is a 10 STAR read for us.
But wait, there's more, did I mention a giveaway...
Well, you will have to wait a mo, while I have a chat with the one and only
TARA LAZAR
Now, Tara, we want to know everything….Well, not everything, let’s start with
1. Tell us about your publishing Journey.
a. How did it start
b. Where did the idea for the Monstore come from
c. How long did it take you to write
d. Did you get an agent
e. Was this the first book you pitched
f. How long did it take to sign a book deal
My publishing journey started in the 70’s (what my daughters would call “the olden days”). Honest! That’s when I knew I wanted to be a children’s author, in elementary school. But no one told me it would take 30+ years! Geesh! But I didn’t begin writing with a career in mind until I had my second daughter. I was a stay-at-home mom by then and I felt I finally had the time to get serious. In 2007, when she was about a year old, I snuck out to evening critique meetings and SCBWI events. (Don’t worry, I left her with her father.)
The idea for “The Monstore” began with just the title. When I came up with it, I dashed to Amazon to search for it because I thought someone must have written it already. But they didn’t! It was mine, all mine!
It remained just a title for months, until I was forced to devise a premise for an agent. Then I thought, “a boy wants to return the monster he bought because it doesn’t spook his little sister.” The agent told me it was a winning picture book concept. Great! Now I just had to write it!
I was afraid to write it because I thought I might ruin a perfectly good premise. But when I sat down and began typing, it just flowed from my fingertips. And then The Monstore manager told me he wanted to say, “No returns, no exchanges” and the story fell into place from there.
I was chicken to submit it. I had given up on submissions for about a year at that point; I decided the rejections I had been receiving meant I wasn’t ready. My friend, author Corey Rosen Schwartz (THE THREE NINJA PIGS) told me, “This is it! This will sell!” I still didn’t believe her. Not until she sent the manuscript to another author friend, Jean Reidy (LIGHT UP THE NIGHT), who also deemed it ready. And yet another author friend, Boni Ashburn (HUSH, LITTLE DRAGON), also loved it. Corey and Jean referred me to agent Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, who enjoyed it and asked to see more of my work. Then Joan called me and offered representation. Amazingly, she sold “The Monstore” just four weeks later.
2. How did you land James Burks as your illustrator
a. Did you have an idea for each page mapped out
b. How involved were you with James during the drawing.
c. Did you have a specific vision for what Zack, Gracie, Manfred, Mookie and Mojo looked like
d. Were you just ecstatic when you saw the first drafts
e. What is your favourite page in the book
My editor and art director recommended James Burks. They showed me his online portfolio and said he could illustrate children and monsters equally well, which was a difficult feat. I immediately fell in love with his cartoony style and I agreed--hire him!
I wrote only two art notes in the entire manuscript. Otherwise, there was no art direction from me. I had no idea what my characters looked like. I like keeping my mind blank when it comes to the visuals. I know the illustrators are extremely talented and can do far better than anything I can imagine.
The first thing I saw were the character sketches when they were approved, about two years ago now. I was blown away and I thought The Monstore manager looked like Danny DeVito, LOL! Mojo had long, wavy arms—genius! Later on, James drew dozens more monsters, including “Peepers”, who’s the little blue eyeball guy. James hid Peepers on many of the pages, so look out for him!
My favourite page is a toughie! The opening page has an air of mystery, and I love how it seems to glow. It sets the right mood for the rest of the tale.
Then the actual Monstore itself—wow! It looks very haunted-house-ish but not scary, more like a wacky-fun old-fashioned emporium. And when Zack has to leave his room—that scene of the monsters taking over is totally crazy! I love how Mojo is wearing Zack’s underwear on his head and how Gracie’s jump rope is actually a monster.
3. Tell us about your book launch
a. What did you do,
b. Who came
c. Were cupcakes involved
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a book launch. I don’t know—it felt totally frivolous and self-important to me. Plus I hate planning parties, it’s just not my thing. Which is funny since taralazar.com used to be owned by another Tara Lazar in North Carolina who was a wedding planner. People thought that was me! I would be the worst wedding planner in the world. I even eloped because I didn’t want to plan my own wedding!
4. The last page of the book ends on the toddler equivalent of a cliff-hanger, so my question is
a. Will there be a Monstore 2
b. When can we have it, today!!!!!!
c. How can Gigi and I get ourselves a cameo in your next book
d. Have you any other books on the horizon, we won’t be offended if we aren’t in them honestly….. you can tell us…….
I do have several ideas for a sequel (and a prequel), but it all depends upon how well The Monstore sells. We’ll see!
My next book is I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, about an alien who crash-lands, spaceship and all, into the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Hilarity ensues when the bears try getting the alien back into his own book.
After that comes LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD, about Little Red as a figure skater. She desperately needs a partner for the pairs competition. I won’t tell you who she finds to leap and twirl with!
I have more projects on the horizon but I can’t announce them yet. Hopefully soon!
WOW, that was awesome Tara, thanks so much for joining me and Gigi all the way at the bottom of the pond. We loved this book and can't wait for more.
Welcome to the 20th Kid Lit Blog Hop. Hope those of you in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying your summer. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, I am sending you many rays of sunshine!
The Kid Lit Blog Hop takes place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. This Hop is a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists, as well as parents seeking out their next great read. So, you are more than welcome to link in and take some time to make some new friends.
Before we begin, I just wanted to let you all know (in case you hadn't seen it), that we are joining with Katie from Youth Literature Reviews in hosting the Best of Summer 2013 Kid Lit Giveaway Hop. If you are a children's, youth, or young adult book blogger looking to share copies of a fabulous book that you have read or are planning to read over July and August 2013 you are welcome to join this Hop. Authors, publishers, and publicists are, of course, also welcome to join in as always. In acknowledgement of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere who are experiencing the opposite season, you are more than welcome to grab some of our sunshine and link up as well!
Sign-ups for this fun event are NOW OPEN. Click on the graphic below for more information.
Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!
<div align="center"><a href="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/category/kid-lit-blog-hops/" title="Kid Lit Blog Hop"><img src="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kid-Lit-Blog-Hop-Button-Sep-2012-e1349976901756.jpg" alt="Kid Lit Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Kid Lit Blog Hop Rules *Please Read*
1. We ask that you kindly follow your hostesses and co-hostesses. You can follow us any way you choose (Email, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest, etc.), but we've added our preferences below. If you could just give us a quick "follow" or "like" that would be much appreciated! Make sure to leave us a message if you are following us (i.e., on Twitter or Facebook or on our websites) and we will be sure to follow you back. Thanks! :-)
2. Link up any Kid Lit related post. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment.We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!
4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!
5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!
Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop? Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.
Fresh out of the box for Gigi's second birthday we have Boy + Bot, The Monstore and Bear snores on, 3 awesome books that we have been patiently awaiting their arrival from across the sea. One major draw back to living on an Island at the bottom of the world, IT TAKES TOO LONG for fabulous books like these to find their way into our home.
So the first up for review is Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino
Anyone that knows me well will tell you that I am a huge sci fi nerd. Gigi has absolutely no chance of a frilly pink princess book for her second birthday if her mother has any anything to do with it. So, while I am still able to chose for her, how could I possibly resist a book like this. The cover and title drew me in in a heart beat. I simply had to have it, hahoom, had to get it for Gigi. You see, she has a pink toy robot nicknamed Angilene ( Bender from futurama's girlfriend lol) and she loves all things monsters, robots and Martian moon landings.
Description from Amazon:
One day, a boy and a robot meet in the woods. They play. They have fun. But
when Bot gets switched off, Boy thinks he's sick. The usual
remedies—applesauce, reading a story—don't help, so Boy tucks the sick
Bot in, then falls asleep. Bot is worried when he powers on and finds his friend powered off. He takes Boy home with him and tries all his remedies: oil, reading an instruction manual. Nothing revives the malfunctioning Boy! Can the Inventor help fix him?
Using the perfect blend of sweetness and humor, this story of an adorable duo will win the hearts of the very youngest readers.
I absolutely love this book. The innocence of Boy is so delightful when he meets Bot, but something goes terribly wrong. Boy doesn't know it, but the power button on Bot was accidently turned off. I want to instill empathy and caring for others in Gigi from a very early age, so I just adore that Boy tries everything to make Bot better, until he tucks him in and falls asleep.
A serendipitous moment occurs and Bot finds himself in a similar position, trying everything to make Boy better.
Just look at the illustrations, they are absolutely wonderful. I can't help but chuckle as Bot tries to wake Boy up by giving him oil and reading an instruction manual to him, priceless.
Eventually Bot takes Boy to his Inventor, and of course, the Inventor FREAKS OUT, when he realises Bot has unwittingly taken Boy from his parents.
They return him and Boy and Bot's friendship blossoms. Don't you just want to eat them up.
This is a delightful book that I will absolutely love reading to Gigi day in and day out, and I don't think I will ever get sick of looking at those awesome illustrations. They truly make this book a 5 star read.
That's it for us folks. I had also planned to gush about The Monstore by Tara Lazar, but a certain someone beat me to the review punch line so I will wait a few hops then gush all over again about it.
Happy hopping folks and spare a thought for those of us at the bottom of the world freezing while you all sunning it up, LOL. Catch you in the bloggosphere.
Julie Anne Grasso
Welcome to the 19th Kid Lit Blog Hop. The Kid Lit Blog Hop takes place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. We have managed to create a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists, as well as parents seeking out their next great read. So, you are more than welcome to link in and take some time to make some new friends.
I have really been enjoying hopping around visiting as many links as I possibly can. My kiddos are now officially off on summer holidays so needless to say, things have gotten a bit busier than normal. I hope to continue to visit as many links as I can fit in. I'll do my best! Keep in touch!
Please join me in welcoming back our co-hostess for this Hop, Ang from Juggling Act Mama. Welcome Ang! Please be sure to give each of our hostesses a visit to say a quick hello and we'll be sure to visit you right back!
Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!
<div align="center"><a href="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/category/kid-lit-blog-hops/" title="Kid Lit Blog Hop"><img src="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kid-Lit-Blog-Hop-Button-Sep-2012-e1349976901756.jpg" alt="Kid Lit Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Kid Lit Blog Hop Rules *Please Read*
1. We ask that you kindly follow your hostesses and co-hostesses. You can follow us any way you choose (Email, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest, etc.), but we've added our preferences below. If you could just give us a quick "follow" or "like" that would be much appreciated! Make sure to leave us a message if you are following us (i.e., on Twitter or Facebook or on our websites) and we will be sure to follow you back. Thanks! :-)
2. Link up any Kid Lit related post. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment.We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!
4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!
5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!
Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop? Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.
Prize: One winner will receive a copy (print in U.S./Canada & e-copy interntionally) + a $50 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash
Contest runs: July 17th to August 7th, 11:59 pm, 2013
Open: WW
How to enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send us an email!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
