A Real Allidog?

This weekend (starting tomorrow June 7 through Monday June 10th) my third Kindle book, The Alligator Who Wanted To Be A Dog is free on Amazon. In honor of the promotion, I give you this real life Allidog:

Alright, it's only partially real. But isn't it such a cute costume?

This one is a little less cute, but VERY eye-catching:

Yes, that's a real dog, and a life-like Alligator costume. I can't stop laughing at the long-suffering expression on the dog's face. That costume is definitely for the humans!

Enjoy the free e-book, if you don't have a copy of The Alligator Who Wanted To Be A Dog yet!

~Valerie Harmon

Children's Book Review: Hello Bella

Today's Children's Picture e-Book Review is Hello Bella, written by Nicole Foster and illustrated by Erik Skinner, for Ages 3-9.

My Ratings: 
Overall: 4.0 Stars
Cover: 4 Stars
Illustrations: 4 Stars
Story: 4 Stars

Bella is a curious dog who goes on a walk and hears greetings in different foreign languages as she tries to eat the foreign foods (she has to wait to eat until she gets home).

This is a simple book with cute cartoonish illustrations. It's a basic introduction to the word "Hello" in Spanish, Italian and French. There's no pronunciation guide, so it's helpful if you already know how to say the words "Hola," [O-la] "Ciao," [chow] and "Bonjour," [Bon Jur].

My 8 year old read it to herself and she liked the Italian Pizzeria illustration best, but she didn't know how to pronounce Ciao--a great learning opportunity.

~Valerie Harmon, The Kindle Book Review

(Disclaimer: Valerie Harmon received a free copy of the this book in exchange for a fair and honest review)

Our Third Best Seller!

Today the third book in our WantsToBe children's picture book series, The Alligator Who Wanted To Be A Dog, hit the #1 Best Seller list (within its category on Amazon)! 

From This...

When we get to add the gold #1 Best Seller badge, well, it feels good. Real good. 

To This!

THANK YOU to all of you who enjoy our books and have sent Snorse, Ellabee and Allidog to #1 Best Seller status. It is a compliment of the highest order!!

Meme and Fan Photo: The Dachshund Who Wanted To Be A Doberman

Dog: "They told me I could be anything, so I became a Doberman"

A friend of mine, S R., posted this photo on my WantsToBe  Facebook page  because it reminded her of my books. LOL! If Alligator (the main character in my latest book The Alligator Who Wanted To Be A Dog, had met this dog first, the ending might be more unusual than it is now. Allidog on stilts?



Credits: I believe this photo (without the meme) comes from this website.

Children's Picture E-Book Review: Lucky by Craig Inglis

Today's Children's Picture e-Book Review is Lucky, written by Craig Inglis and illustrated by Richard Kinsey, for Ages 3-9.

My Ratings: 

Overall: 4.5 Stars

Cover: 5 Stars

Illustrations: 5 Stars

Story: 4 Stars

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13263582-lucky
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/luckythebook

Lucky is about a lonely man who befriends a dog and names him Lucky. They have lots of fun together until tragedy strikes and Lucky loses a leg. Lucky has to re-learn how to walk, but the man loves him through it and they end happily ever after.

The illustrations are whimsical and adorable, Kinsey has a distinct style in his art that really adds to the story. I'd love to see more illustrations from him. I read this book to my 4, 7 and 10 year old. We enjoyed it, except we found the end a bit odd when Lucky relearned to walk on three legs and was even better than before and he felt like he was flying. I assumed it was metaphorical, but kids were confused. Did Lucky really learn to fly? Or did they feel like they were flying because of their close friendship and happiness at being together? The odd ending kept this book from a 5 star rating on the story.

I interviewed author Craig Inglis, and this is what he said:

Why did you begin writing? I began writing about 10 years ago. I was interested in the biographies of people who had overcome disabilities to lead productive lives. I had a book about FDR and one about Christopher Reeve that I was shopping around to publishers. 

Why did you write about Lucky? I was always interested in children's books, especially  picture books. I had studied Children's Literature in college and read stories to the children when I was a teacher in pre-school. So when I hit the wall with biographies, I turned to writing children's stories. "Lucky" was my first. 

I took the idea of disabilities and gave it to the character of a dog, who, in the book, overcame his disability. I engaged the help of a friend who was an artist with a whimsical side to his art and we completed "A man and His Three-Legged Dog." I shopped it around for a while with no success and then tried a few other stories with no success. Then, one day I was listening to [the song] "Lucky" by Jason Mraz. I suddenly realized that "Lucky" was the perfect title for my dog book and also re-wrote the story emphasizing love and determination.

What do you hope your readers will think about Lucky? I hope that children will come away from reading the book with the belief that they can overcome obstacles in their lives with the love of friends and with plenty of determination. When things are tough, maybe schoolwork or sports, don't give up!  Also, I hope that kids gain some respect for the disabled people that they meet.

Fan Photo: The Dog Who Wanted To Be A Fish

A Fog? A Dish? No, A Seal!

I was sent this photo by Susie R. since this meme reminded her of my books. I could title it, The Dog Who Wanted To Be A Fish! Makes me want to go Awwww.

But naming its mashup Dog-Fish would be hard. Fog? Dish? Nope. It's already a Seal. Well, I won't be writing a book with the mashup already done by nature (sorry for those of you who've suggested a Platypus), but I do enjoy the meme.


The original photograph came from National Geographic, but I don't have a link to the original meme.