Author Interview: Mary Lee and her Princess series

Today's Author Interview is with Mary Lee, author of 10 published children's picture e-books. Her illustrated e-books are for pre-school aged children to 8 years old, depending on the book. :

Mary's Bio: "I am a writer, illustrator, graphic designer and a mom. I've lived in various places across the country but currently my heart is in the Bay Area. I have two sweet children, two dogs and a mini-cactus named Spike. In my free time (ha ha ha), I like to read books, jog slowly, cook badly and sleep rarely."

The Little Pup series:

Why? Because I Love You!

Sweet Dreams Little Pup

I Love My ABC's

Valerie: What is your favorite book of all time?

Mary: Oh, that's reeeeallly hard to pick one. Favorite kids book is The Giving Tree. For adults, currently I'm hoping Gone Girl becomes a movie. Crazy cool book. 

Valerie: What would the story of your life be entitled?

Mary: Hmmm, maybe Pickles and Muffins, The story of Mary Lee. Pickles is my replacement word when I want to curse around my kids, and Muffins is the only thing I've ever been able to cook well. 

The Mia series:

Surprise in the Kitchen

Not Just a Princess

Beautiful, Magical, Amazing Ballet

Valerie: What is something funny that happened while promoting your book?

Mary: I got a funny review from a kid once. It was for my book about how great

vegetables are The History of Veggies. He was a seven year old that went on a rant about how much he hates vegetables and because he hates them, this is the worst book of all time. He accidentally gave the book a 5 star rating. 

Ed the Dragon series:

The Fruit & Veggie ABC Book

The History of Veggies

Valerie: Which of your books is where you'd love to take a weekend vacation?

Mary: The Smartest Princess. It's set at a beautiful castle by the sea with a great garden and awesome library. I really needed a vacation when I did that one. 

The Princess series:

Princess ABC

The Smartest Princess

My 8 year old daughter and I enjoyed reading The Smartest Princess together, which I  blogged about here. 

Valerie: What inspires your writing?

Mary: My kids and other parents. I try to think of what other parents would want for their kids, whether it's help getting them to sleep, making them feel loved or getting them excited about ballet.

Thank you for joining me Mary Lee! You can find Mary Lee on her Blog (where she has cute princess coloring pages!), Amazon, GoodReads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

~Valerie Harmon

http://www.wantstobe.com

Children's e-Book Review: The Fruit and Veggie ABC Book by Mary Lee

Today's Children's Picture e-Book Review is The Fruit & Veggie ABC Book, written and illustrated by Mary Lee.  Ages 3-8.

My Ratings: 

Overall: 5.0 Stars

Cover and Illustrations: 5 Stars

Story: 5 Stars 

This is a book for pre-schoolers that teaches each letter of the English alphabet.

As I scrolled through each letter, I kept wondering what fruit or veggie would go with the letters V, X and Z. I recognized the Valencia Orange and Zucchini (of course!), but I didn't recognize the fruit Ximenia (a character named Squish explains how to pronounce "Ximenia," thank you!). 

Of course I had to look Ximenia up to find out what it tastes like: a sour plum best eaten slightly overripe. And now I know! And so do you.

Here is a picture of a Ximenia:

I give this book five stars for its cute illustrations, big letters perfect for little fingers to trace, and the fun character Squish who keeps showing up  on the pages with little comments.

~Valerie Harmon

(Disclaimer: Valerie Harmon received a free book in exchange for an honest review)

Children's Picture e-Book Review: The Smartest Princess by Mary Lee

Today's Children's Picture e-Book Review is the The Smartest Princess, written and illustrated by Mary Lee.  Ages 3-8.

My Ratings: 
Overall: 5.0 Stars
Cover and Illustrations: 5 Stars
Story: 5 Stars 

This is a princess book that emphasizes brains AND hearts. Three smart princesses compete in the annual princess intelligence contest (WPIC-World Princess Intelligence Challenge) and they learn from a fourth princess that kindness is a smart too.

I read this book with my 8 year old daughter. She enjoyed the pink and purple illustrations, the adorable princesses, and how the littlest was the wisest. 

I liked how this story emphasizes that real princesses have smart brains and caring ways.

The illustrations are darling, colorful and so appealing to girls. For example, the floor to ceiling books in the library were all color coordinated, a detail that I thought cute. 

The storyline is uplifting and fun to read, with an ending that I didn't predict. Kindness rules! I highly recommend this book.

~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)