Ella G. Adams - A Magical Disaster

A Magical Disaster



By Ella G. Adams


Kindle Edition Available

Product Description (from Amazon)

Bridget stumbles into a small town only to find it enchanted by magic and about to be destroyed by dragons! Will Bridget be able to save the town before the dragons completely destroy it?

About the Author (from Amazon)

Ella Adams is a 10-year-old writer and illustrator. She enjoys reading mysteries and adventure stories. Ella also loves playing basketball, running track and cross-country, and playing chess. She is currently working towards a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra

For a book by a ten-year old, this was really good – especially when you take the pictures into consideration. The plot is, for the most part, predictable and the characters rely on the pictures for development, it’s no worse than many books I’ve read my younger sibs that we checked out at the library.

As the summery states, this is the story of a girl who finds a magical village only for dragons to attack. With quick thinking and a magical item that is mentioned during the tour she is given earlier, she defeats the dragons and is hailed the hero of the story.

The pictures are the gem of the story. While they are clearly done with some sort of paint program, they are very clearly recognizable as what the text is describing. The author holds promise as both an author and illustrator, and I’m eager to watch her career as she grows and matures.

Genre/Theme: Fantasy, Dragons, Young author

Reading Level: CHILD - children's literature 
 Profanity: NONE - no offensive language 
 Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at 
 Other: Dragons blow fire at houses. I don’t think anyone got hurt, though.

Jon Hartling - The Snow Owl

The Snow Owl

By Jon Hartling

Kindle Edition Available





Product Description (from Amazon)
Ben thinks his son’s talk of the magical kingdom of Lukana is just typical childhood imagination. But one winter day, when seven year-old Eric sculpts a snow owl in his backyard, he seems to set in motion events that cannot be anything but magical. Now Ben faces the terrifying prospect of losing his only child to a wintry spirit… a spirit that just might be the boy’s true father.

11 pages

About the Author (from Amazon)
Jon Hartling had been writing aimlessly for many years before the stars aligned and he discovered his muse in the classic stories of H.P. Lovecraft.  With the invaluable help of his wife Heather in an editorial and technical capacity, he began writing short stories of weird fiction. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife and children and dreams of one day owning a plush Cthulhu doll that's wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey and helmet. His demented cat Nikki may or may not be head-butting him at this very moment.

http://jonhartling.blogspot.com/

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel

This is a SHORT short story ... only 11 pages.  This is the second book that I have read written by Jon, I had read Firebug several months ago and didn’t care for it.  

But this story captures the imagination and the heart.  I think it is the love that the father has for this child only because he loved the boys mother so much.  The boy looks nothing like his father, or his mother.  Although he LOVES the winter.  He also tells tales about a land where he is a missing Prince.  One day he created a snow owl, instead of a snow man.  He tells his father that the snow owl is going to take him home – back to the magic land where he belongs.

The anguish the father feels as the story progresses through to the climatic ending is breathtaking.   It’s a great quick read.  And I enjoyed it very much.

This author also wrote Firebug.

Genre/Theme:  Short Story, Fantasy, Family Issues

Reading Level:  TEEN - upper elementary to middle school 
Profanity: NONE - no offensive language 
Sexuality: SUBTLE - hinted, but not explicit   (doubt as to who fathered the child)
Other: Mother dies during childbirth (heart attack) – doubt as to whether she had the baby by another man.

Kay Bratt - The Bridge

The Bridge

By Kay Bratt


Kindle Edition Available







Product Description (from Amazon) 
In present day China, an old woman's house sits opposite an ancient bridge. Not just any bridge--but a special one because it has always been known as The Lucky Bridge. In olden days it was said that to walk over it during a marriage ceremony, or at the beginning of the New Year would bring the traveler good luck. Because of its reputation, over the years it has also become a popular place for young mothers to abandon their children. What to some may seem cruel is in reality their final gift to their offspring--one last chance to send them off to their new destinies with luck on their side. Jing, an old woman, is the unofficial and often reluctant guardian of the bridge. When no one else will, Jing steps in to prevent the children from frostbite, abuse and hunger, and then she delivers them safely to the orphanage. This has been her routine for many years, but what does Jing do when the latest child, a blind boy, burrows deep into her heart?

Read 'The Bridge' to see how Fei Fei's life is changed by the love of a lonely old woman. The Bridge is a short story of 17,000 words, approximately 72 pages. Fei Fei's character is based on a real orphaned boy that Kay Bratt met during her time in China.

Don't miss these other great books by Kay Bratt! Full length books currently available on Kindle "Silent Tears; A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage" and "Chasing China; A Daughter's Quest for Truth".  For children adopted from China, you may be interested in Kay's book called "Mei Li and the Wise Laoshi."



About the Author (from Amazon)
Kay Bratt is a child advocate and author, residing near the base of Wacau Mountain, in the rolling hills of Georgia with her husband, daughter, dog, and cat. In addition to coordinating small projects for the children of China, Kay is an active volunteer for An Orphans Wish (AOW). Kay lived in China for over four years and because of her experiences working with orphans, she strives to be the voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. If you would like to read more about what started her career as an author, and also meet the children she knew and loved in China, read her poignant memoir titled Silent Tears; A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage. Visit http://www.kaybratt.com/ for more information.



O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel

It is rare that a book or story touches my heart as deeply as this one.   This is a topic that always moves me deeply.

While I don’t believe this is an indie author, I so enjoyed this story, that I decided to whip in a short review.  It is a story that is easily overlooked, but I think should be read by others.

It is a story of hope – where none existed or should have existed.
Love – and giving of the little you have to make another persons life worth living.
It is a picture of China – and the hopelessness for some, and the heart that still beats.

It is a story of an old woman with nothing, lonely and alone, who chose time after time to reach out to abandoned children and safely deliver them to an orphanage.

One small boy changes her life – and reminds her that life can be so much more when others are there to share it with them.

Orphanages like the one in this story abound throughout the world – one person can make all the difference for a child.

Genre/Theme:   Orphans, China, Modern Time
Reading Level: TEEN - upper elementary to middle school
Profanity: LOW - few mildly offensive words
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at

Brenda Ponnay - Secret Spy Numbers

Super Agent Josephine's 
Secret Spy Numbers
by Brenda Ponnay

Available for Kindle

 and in Paperback


Product Description (from Amazon)

Secret Agent Josephine is willing to reveal the contents of her stealthy, super expanding spy bag -- but are you ready? In this fresh and funny book, Brenda Ponnay, aka Secret Agent Josephine, gets kids counting spy glasses, micro-cameras and more super-secret spy gear. Little ones will love the bright colors and big numbers, older children (and their parents) will delight in the detailed descriptions of the spy paraphernalia.

About the Author (from Amazon author page)

Mother by day, Secret Agent by night! Or at least that's what I've been telling everyone on the internet for the last five years. The reality is I juggle motherhood and a bustling graphic design and illustration business all day long and deep into the night. The lines are blurred and that is what makes me a Secret Agent or a super hero, either one.

My daughter is my muse and she creeps into my art in the most unexpected ways (sometimes literally).

This biography was provided by the author or their representative.

O.Scarlett! GUEST REVIEW by Kendra

I read a review for the print version of this series on a blog I follow, so when I noticed that my Mom had managed to get this one for our Kindle, I pulled it up at once.

The book itself was every bit as good as I had remembered the review saying it to be.  It gave a detailed inventory of all 55 items in her bag. Who would have guessed that she carried around a stick of lipstick that was really super glue?  Or a rubber computer?

Now I want a rubber computer …

However, this book is in color, and on a black and white Kindle, it just wasn’t as brilliant. In this book of the series, it wasn’t so bad, but one of the books in the series is about colors.  Also, a good deal of the charm of this book was in the descriptions of the objects, which was part of the image, and in super tiny print.  I could barely read it on the Kindle.

So I pulled it up on my laptop. It was some better. The colors were now there, but the print was still tiny. Pulling it up on my Mom’s larger computer was better, but still not much. Perhaps if I could get my hands on Josephine’s secret spy magnifying glass, I would be able to read it …

However, all in all, it was a great read, and I look forward to reading it to my younger brother and sister. I plan to suggest this series to my local library.

Genre/Theme:  Children, Educational (numbers), Spy/Mystery

Reading Level: CHILD 
Profanity:  NONE 
Sexuality:  NONE 

Other: None