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Showing posts with label kidlit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidlit. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Blog Tour- WHO NAMED THEIR PONY MACARONI? By Marilyn Singer With An Excerpt & #Giveaway! @DisneyBooks



I am stoked to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for WHO NAMED THEIR PONY MACARONI? By Marilyn Singer! I have a few pages from the book to share with you today check it out and enter to win the giveaway below!
About the Book:


Title: WHO NAMED THEIR PONY MACARONI?
Author: Marilyn Singer, Ryan McAmis (Illustrations)
Pub. Date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 48
Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, KindleB&NiBooks, KoboTBD

A family of mice. A runaway goat.
A mischievous snake.
A shocking parrot.
A pardoned turkey.
A pampered raccoon.
A ghostbusting dog.
A celebrity cow.
The White House housed more than presidents and First Families--who could forget the furry, scaly, feathered friends who impressed the press, guarded their charges, and kept them company through all the ups and downs of their respective terms?

Marilyn Singer's compelling poems will delight readers with stories of the creatures who sat beside our country's leaders, as she draws intriguing connections between the animals and the administrations they accompanied. Mixed-media illustrations by Ryan McAmis lend humor and vivacity, and detailed back matter explores each president's pet history in more depth.

Excerpt:






About Marilyn:
Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories and in 1976 her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over seventy books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored. She has won several Children's Choice and Parents' Choice Awards, as well as the following: the Creature Carnival, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book, 2005; I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion, New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age," 2001; Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2000 (YALSA); On the Same Day in March, Booklist's Top Ten Science Books of 2000; NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000; Deal with a Ghost, finalist, YA category, Edgar Award, 1998; It Can't Hurt Forever, Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1983; The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 1983; Turtle in July, NCTE Notable, N.Y.Times Best Illustrated and Time Magazine Best Children's Books of 1989; Turtle in July was also a Reading Rainbow review book.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, a cousin of their beloved and recently departed poodle Easy, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling named Darling. Her interests include dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, meditation, playing computer adventure games and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.



Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of WHO NAMED THEIR PONY MACARONI?, US Only.



Tour Schedule:
Week One:
11/11/2019
Excerpt
11/12/2019
Excerpt
11/13/2019
Review
11/14/2019
Review
11/15/2019
Excerpt

Week Two:
11/18/2019
Review
11/19/2019
Excerpt
11/20/2019
Review
11/21/2019
Review
11/22/2019
Review

Friday, April 19, 2019

Blog Tour- WONDER WALK by Ilham Alam With An Interview & Giveaway!



I am happy to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for WONDER WALK by Ilham Alam! I have an interview with Ilham to share with you today check it out and enter to win the giveaway below!

About The Books:




Title: WONDER WALK
Author: Ilham Alam
Pub. Date: April 16, 2019
Publisher: Iguana Books
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Pages: 20
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonB&NTBD

Get out there with the curious Johnny and his patient Mommy, in this colourful, rhyming book, celebrating all the wonders of the everyday world. What do they see? What do they hear? What do they talk about?



Now on to the interview!


Hey Ilham! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! WONDER WALK sounds adorable and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about WONDER WALK and the characters?

Wonder Walk is really about the simple pleasure of a neighborhood walk. I mean, Who hasn’t taken a stroll around their local streets or park on a lovely summer’s day with their family and loved every second of it? How many moms we have seen taking a walk with their kids or you as a mom have also done that, right? Also, once the kids begin talking, they begin asking their questions, some of which are hilarious in their innocence, some of which end up stumping you as you search for an answer. So in Wonder Walk, little Johnny asks his Mommy questions about the sunflowers, the birds, the insects that they see, while out enjoying a walk.

What are you working on now?

I always have things on the go. My mind never stops working! I’ve written dramatic fiction short stories and have had it published in journals; I’m working on a crime thriller novel right now, inspired by the many hours of true crime podcasts I’ve binged on; and also I have the manuscripts for two other children books ready. I also blog about my favourite kids books and my travelling over at StoryMummy.com 

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

My eldest son was my inspiration. I had written the story after I came back from such a walk  

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

I enjoyed writing both Johnny and Mommy as I was depicting the relationship between my son and I.

What is your favorite passages/scenes in WONDER WALK?

Can I say that I love them all?!?

What inspired you to write Kidlit?

Again the inspiration to write Kidlit came from my son. Prior to becoming a mom, I barely read any Kidlit except for the books that I would read to the kids as a Kumon tutor. Now, I’m a voracious Kidlit reader!

Lightning Round Questions

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I’m dying to read “My Lovely Wife” by Samantha Downing & “Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows” by Balli Kaur Jaswal.

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Ravenclaw

Twitter or Facebook?

Twitter. I’m a political junkie, lol.

Favorite Superhero?

Batman. Forever.

Favorite TV show?

Game of Thrones. Can’t wait to watch the final season from Colombia

Sweet or Salty?

It’s a close tie...ok will go with Sweet.

Any Phobias?

Phobia: Thunder & Lightning

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

7 Rings

2019 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Avengers Endgame


Thanks so much Ilham for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read WONDER WALK!





About Ilham:

My name is ILHAM which is pronounced the way its spelt. As a kid, I hated my name and did get teased for being a “ham”. But now that I’m an adult, I love the unique-ness and the strength that my name conveys. I definitely have not met another Ilham for sure.

It means inspiration in Arabic, by the way.

I live with my 2 sons & my husband and my 20lb kitty, Beauty, within a house thats booby-trapped with Lego. My crazy family are my inspiration for story writing and story-telling, And I love to travel with them as well and earning new memories through adventures abroad, some of which I have documented in this blog.



Giveaway Details:
3 lucky winners will win WONDER WALK Swag Packs, US Only.



Tour Schedule:
Week One:
4/8/2019- Lone Tree ReviewsReview
4/9/2019- Beagles & BooksReview
4/10/2019- Character Madness and MusingsExcerpt
4/11/2019- BookHounds YAReview/Interview
4/12/2019- Do You Dog-ear?Review

Week Two:
4/15/2019- Mama Panda BearReview
4/16/2019- Almost a ReaderReview
4/17/2019- Kelly P's BlogSpotlight
4/18/2019- Novel NoviceExcerpt
4/19/2019- Two Chicks on BooksInterview

Week Three:
4/22/2019- D. Books and ReviewsReview
4/23/2019- She Dreams in FictionReview
4/24/2019- Defining WaysReview
4/25/2019- Twirling Book PrincessExcerpt
4/26/2019- Two points of interestReview

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Release Day Blitz- LAWRENCE IN THE FALL by Matthew Farina & Doug Salati (Illustrator) With Some Excerpts & A Giveaway!



I am so excited that LAWRENCE IN THE FALL by Matthew Farina & Doug Salati (Illustrator) is out today that I wanted to share the news!
If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Matthew Farina & Doug Salati (Illustrator), be sure to check out all the details below.
This blitz also includes a giveaway for 3 finished copies of the book, US Only, courtesy of Disney-Hyperion and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About the Book:

Title: LAWRENCE IN THE FALL
Author: Matthew Farina,  Doug Salati (Illustrator)
Pub. Date: April 9, 2019
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 48
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonB&NiBooksKoboTBD

When Lawrence Fox's teacher announces that students will be presenting their collections at show-and-tell, Lawrence realizes he doesn't have anything to share.

Luckily, Papa knows just what to do to help! Together, they venture into the woods. Lawrence is scared at first, but as he grows comfortable in the forest, he starts to recognize its magic, and how beautiful and unique each tree and leaf is, allowing him to gather a splendid, one-of-a-kind collection of his own!

Excerpts:




About Matthew:
Matthew Farina is a painter and writer based in New York City. His reviews and essays have appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, Hyperallergic, ArtCritical, and elsewhere. Matthew received a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. This is his first book. Find Matthew online at matthewfarina.com.


About Doug:
Doug Salati is an illustrator living in New York City. He received his MFA from the Illustration as Visual Essay program at the School of Visual Arts and was a 2015 Sendak Fellow. He is also the illustrator of In a Small Kingdom by Tomie dePaola. See more of Doug's work online at www.dougsalati.com.


Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of LAWRENCE IN THE FALL, US Only.




Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Blog Tour- FLYING MUTANT ZOMBIE RATS by Kat de Falla With An Excerpt & Giveaway!



I am happy to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for FLYING MUTANT ZOMBIE RATS by Kat de Falla! I have an excerpt to share with you today check it out and enter to win the giveaway below!

About The Book:



Title: FLYING MUTANT ZOMBIE RATS (Moto Maddie BMX Portal #1)
Author: Kat de Falla
Pub. Date: December 2, 2018 
Publisher: Kat de Falla
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 132
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonB&NiBooksTBD

Summer vacation is almost here! And Pea O'Neil is stoked to try out the new local BMX track which is finally open. He and his gang of friends can ride all summer long!

But when Pea tries a back flip, he unwittingly opens a portal to another dimension and hordes of flying mutant zombie rats are unleashed upon the city. With the help of an otherworldly talking cat sent to help prevent the demise of humankind, Pea and his friends must hunt down the hungry mutants and send them back before the portal closes.

But when the zombie rats attack a neighbor man, the boys have to enlist the help of a graveyard looney and the city's stray cats. With time running out, Pea and his gang track the monsters to the city's sewer system. But in the city sewer of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it’s eator get eaten.



Now on to the excerpt!


CHAPTER 2
OPENING DAY
  
“Wait for me!” Pea called to his gang of seventh grade friends as he skidded to a sideways stop on his Redline. Dust settled in a brown cloud around his wheels.
School had flown by and he’d finished his Milwaukee Journal route in record time. Even so, everyone else was already therePaco the brute, Jules the brain, and the sporto twinsThad and Tad (their parents werent the brightest with names).

“About time you finished delivering papers! Ready to race?” Pea’s best friend Paco said after taking another bite of a beef stick from his dad’s store. Pea figured it must be nice not to have to earn your own spending money, and just walk in and grab a free snack whenever you were hungry.

Pea’s own dad seemed to live on protein shakes and canned salmon on crackers. His half-brothers were never around, and his mom almost always stopped for fast food on her way home from work. Sometimes his dad got a hankering to cook, and then there were feasts. Home-cooked Italian food from recipes his dad had memorized from his mother and grandmothers. But most days, Pea felt like a scavenger in his own home, living on scrambled eggs for breakfast, peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch, and canned chicken and stars soup he heated up for dinner.

“I’m ready!” Pea pulled into the offset starting gate, which was like the tail of the letter a, connecting with the track like an on-ramp.

Paco stood by the gate with his sparkling, almost all chrome GT bike. He had a habit of constantly shoveling food into his mouth, but in spite of that he was wiryand someone good to have on your side in a fight. The kid had honor and was true to his word. Pea liked that.

Their dads had been Force Recon Marines in Vietnam together, and honor and being a “man of your word,” as his dad always said, was what kept them alive. They’d drilled those values into their sons. The few times he’d heard his dad talk about the war, it was with Paco’s dad. They would be out in the garage, lifting weights and boxing, when Pea came in to put his bike away. Paco’s dad would sometimes put an arm around Pea’s shoulder and whisper things like, “Your dad’s a hero, boy. He always had my back.”

Pea and Paco wanted to be like their dads. So they looked out for each other. And, they were fiercely protective of the underdogs and the bullied. Once, Paco punched a sophomore in the stomach for pushing a fourth-grader off his bike and making fun of him. Pea was there in a flash, ready to back him up.

Paco was a “please and thank you” kind of guy who always complained, “Nobody has manners these days!” Pea wholeheartedly agreed.

“I pulled a pretty cool 360 jump already. You missed it!” Paco said through bites of beef stick. He flashed two five-dollar bills. “You got five bucks? Tad and Thad are in. Winner after three laps takes all.”

Pea fished a crumpled five out of his pocket and handed it over.

Pumped with adrenaline from lack of sleep, Pea took a second to study the track in broad daylight. Even better than last night. The two berms, a few double jumps, tons of rollers, and that built in half-pipeah, the launches, air tricks, and stunts that lay before him! Spring had passed painfully slowly as he watched the earth movers roll in and out of here, transforming a mound of dirt into a BMX paradise. Hed pinned all his hopes on this track, wishing this would be the best summer of his life, give him a reason besides a paper route to get out of bed. Maybe he’d even invite his dad down here when he got some really cool tricks mastered.

The sporto twins, Thad and Tad, pulled into the starting gate next to Pea on their matching Mongoose bikes. “You losers ready to eat my dust?” Pea said, hopping up and down to keep his body suspended above his seat.

“Whenever you wimps are ready, let me know.” Paco stood with his foot poised over the spring release lever. When he pushed his foot down on that, it would open the plywood doors on hinges that made up the starting gate.

Thad and Tad narrowed their eyes and tried to level identical sneers.

“You guys look constipated.”

Tad broke character and laughed, readjusting his Brewers baseball hat.

“Maybe I’ll go clone myself after I kick both your butts!” Thad said, then stuck his tongue out at them.

On the sidelines, Jules lifted his head from a notebook he’d been scribbling in and waved. “Hey, Pea!”

Pea nodded back to the fifth member of his neighborhood BMX gang. “Hey, brainiac. Want to join us?”

“Maybe next time.” Jules pushed up his glasses and continued writing. Poor Juleswho names their kid Julian? Its even worse than Peabody. No hopes of coming out of that one without getting a girly nickname. At least his professor parents had bought him a cool Takara Outlaw with sweet blue ACS Z-Rims. Not that he rode it often. Jules was usually concocting some Einsteinian calculation for ways to jump higher or hold air longer. The kid was a more mathematical genius and an inventor than a BMXer. Pea loved picking his brain when he and Paco weren’t pushing down kids who picked on him.

“Good luck.” Paco tapped knuckles with Pea for luck.

Pea eyed the first berm on the oval-shaped track. He’d have the lead if he reached it first. I’ve got this, he thought, smiling to himself even though he felt his heart beating inside his throat.

“Winner after three laps gets the cash. Deal?” Paco reminded them.

Pea wanted that money. That meant a week’s worth of vanilla sports shakes and raspberry Zingers to him. Nobody else understood.

“ThreetwooneGO! Paco stepped on the release. The boys broke through the gate.

Pea reached and rounded the berm first and had a clean landing over the first jump before the pit. Next was the pit or half-pipe. Totally rad. Pea dove straight down into it at a crazy speed. The other end was ramped and launched him back out onto the track, but not before he pulled out a clean can-can, kicking his left foot over the middle of the bike frame before he landed.

Straight into the second berm.

“Awesome!” the twins both yelled from behind.

Pea held the lead. Glancing back, he saw Thad pass his brother in the rollers, but Tad was close behind.

Lap one.

Pea decided to slow up. He let the twins pass him. He wanted that cool half-pipe all to himself on the second lap. He felt confident he’d catch them on the final lap.

Tad reached the half-pipe on lap two first and flew through it, pulling out a tabletop jump. Thad went full bore after him, trying to outdo his brother with the same move, but with more style.

“Nice,” Pea shouted, descending again into the pit. On the way out he nailed a superman, legs extended out behind him. He managed to get the bike back in control to prevent wiping out through the corner.

Paco and Jules cheered.

Lap two.

Pushing himself to catch the twins, Pea pedaled hard, making his legs scream.
Last lap! The three of them roared through the pit a third time, banked hard around the berm, nailed the rounds, and had only the last double to contend with. Pea snuck inside and beat them both, the twins barreling in behind him toward the finish.

He’d won!

Skidding in a semicircle to a stop, Pea watched in horroras if he watched a video in slo-moas Tad pulled right and Thad left on the last jump. Tad didnt catch enough height for his parachute jump and smashed Thad in midair. His front tire landed first, sending him flying over his handlebars. His body reconnected with earth with a loud thump and he bounced and skidded to a stop at Pea’s feet.

Tad tossed his bike off the track in midair and landed on his feet, running. His bike sailed through the air and disappeared into the same bushes where the cat had appeared last night.


Pea coughed from the haze of kicked-up dirt surrounding them. Laughing, Tad asked, “Hey guys, where’s my bike?” before he glimpsed his brother, still at Pea’s feet, and not moving.






About Kat:
Kat was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she learned to roller skate, ride a banana seat bike, and love Shakespeare. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and is happily employed as a retail pharmacist. She is married to her soul mate, composer Lee de Falla and raising four kids together ala the Brady Bunch. The Seer's Lover was Kat's first book and she is working feverishly on four different series at the moment!

Register for her newsletter to learn about her upcoming projects and find out about deals and giveaways at http://eepurl.com/MFZ55

Kat is so much an extravert that she has come full circle and enjoys her alone time as much as her social adventures. Connect with Kat (who does indeed love cats!)



Giveaway Details:
One lucky winner will receive a $25Amazon gift card, International.





Tour Schedule:
Week One:
12/17/2018-Twirling Book Princess- Excerpt
12/18/2018- Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog- Spotlight
12/19/2018- CoffeeCocktailsandBooks Blog- Review
12/20/2018- Texan Holly Reads- Review
12/21/2018- BookHounds YA- Review
12/22/2018- What A Nerd Girl Says- Excerpt

Week Two:
12/26/2018- Always Me- Review
12/27/2018- The Pages In-Between- Review
12/28/2018- Novel Novice- Excerpt

Week Three:
12/31/2018- Owl Always Be Reading- Excerpt
1/2/2019- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
1/3/2019- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt
1/4/2019- Good Choice Reading- Excerpt

Week Four:
1/7/2019- Jaime's World- Excerpt
1/8/2019- Book-Keeping- Review
1/9/2019- Parajunkee      - Excerpt
1/10/2019- Two Chicks on Books Facebook- Spotlight

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