An Unlikely Book Full of Learning Opportunities for Kids

Title: The Frogs Buy a New House
Subtitle: an economics story for children
Author: Carolyn Wilhelm
Illustrated by Oxanna Cerra's Teacher's Clip Art
ISBN: 0999776630
Available on Amazon 
Also available at an e-book

It is my guess that most parents don't have an inkling that a teaching aid like this available and that they are most unlikely to think about it when they are in the throes of moving.  But here it is straight from a teacher experienced in helping little humans to adjust to new experiences.

It helps understand the process, what to expect from buying a new house and moving from familiar surroundings to new ones. And it does it with imagination. Imagine water as money. Imagine a book that gives a parent (or teacher) a chance to explain the word "equity!" I believe that words like this are age appropriate at whatever age a child might hear them in conversation around the house or at school.

Though a slim book--a picture book--this book is intended for guided reading, for spending special time with adults to read and discuss its contents, laugh, and start feeling comfortable with a subject loaded with learning opportunities!  As a parent and former teacher myself, I wish I this book had been available for me to read to my daughter when we moved high into the hills around Los Angeles where there just happened to be seasonal ponds full of tadpoles in spring and lots of frogs year round!

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Christmas Shopping Time with a Round the World Theme

Title: Sophia
The Christmas Eve Snow bunny and the Real Gift
Author: Wanda Luthman
Illustrated by Mara Reitsma
Genre: Children's Picture Book / Inspirational
Theme: Christmas Round the World
ISBN: 9 780998195889
Paperback: $6.99
Available on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2B7dZwT

I am fast becoming a Wanda Luthman and Mara Reitsma fan.  I love their imaginations expressed in their poetry and art. I love the rhyme (lots of rhythm but rhyme that doesn't feel forced nor cliche).

I love that children are often introduced to a new word in Luthman's books. Words like "hemisphere" in this 'round-the-world story, a theme that is often seen in Christmas books but is especially needed these days as we work to include and understand other peoples and their cultures.

Is it too early to shop for Christmas? Heavens no! Children 'round the world will enjoy cuddling up before bed to partake of this bunny story from right now through the holidays. Bunny story? Of course! No point in labeling. She even wears a Santa hat.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Jim Cox Calls The Frugal Book Promoter "Unreservedly Endorsed"

The Frugal Book Promoter, third edition

Subtitle: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher
Series:  First in the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson (https://howtodoitfrugally.com)
Publisher: Modern History Press (http://modernhistorypress.com)
Awards: USA News Best Book Award Winner, Business category; Irwin Award, USA Book News winner
ISBN: 978-1-61599-468-7 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-61599-469-4 (hardcover)

ASIN (e-book): B07X2CCTGL
Pages: 292
Endorsed by the legendary Dan Poynter and hundreds of others.
Includes: Index, Bibliography, Appendix, References
Suggested Retail: Hard cover: $36.95; Ebook: $6.95; Paperback: $24.95
Available Worldwide on Amazon (http://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII)

Reviewed by Jim Cox, Editor-in-Chief Midwest Book Review 

Synopsis
Simply stated, this newly updated third edition of "The Frugal Book Promoter" by Carolyn Howard-Johnson assures even the most novice of authors to get their book gets the best possible start in life, whether their publisher assigns zero dollars or thousands to their book's marketing campaign. Carolyn is a former publicist and draws upon her years of experience to enable authors provides no-nonsense basics to build the essentials needed to build a time-saving social media campaign and knock'em dead lists of influencers that will be more effective than anything paid advertisement you could buy. Authors can pick and choose from dozens of ideas for promotions that Carolyn developed or refined through extensive (and award-winning) book campaigns of her own. There are campaign ideas, techniques and strategies to match any pocketbook and personality considerations.

Critique
It should be noted that the Midwest Book Review is positively cited three specific times as a valuable and valued resource for an author's book marketing campaign, along with a positive endorsement citation for Carolyn's work on her previous 'how to' books for authors and publishers. That said, this new third edition of "The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher" continues to be an unreservedly endorsed and recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing instructional collections. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, it should be noted for personal reference and reading lists that this new edition of "The Frugal Book Promoter" is also available in hardcover, in a paperback edition (9781615994687, $24.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.95).

Editorial Note
Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension's world-renown Writers' Program.

The books in her How To Do It Frugally series of books for writers have won multiple awards. including from USA Book News, Readers' Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books, and the coveted Irwin award among others

Howard-Johnson is also the recipient of the California Legislature's Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community's prestigious Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing and Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly's list of "Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen."

Of particular interest for the publishing community is a complete listing of her published works which can be found at:

http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/published_works_almanac.htm

Admitting to carrying a pen and journal wherever she goes, Carolyn's website is www.howtodoitfrugally.com. Those interested can subscribe to her free #SharingwithWriters newsletter by sending an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject

#TheFrugalBookPromoter #CarolynHowardJohnson #HowToDoItFrugally

Romuald Dzemo Reviews "Publish with a Purpose"

Publish with Purpose

Subtitle: A Goal-Oriented Framework for Publishing Success
Author: Tara R. Alemany
Publisher: Emerald Lake Books https://emeraldlakebooks.com
ISBN 9781945847158

$13.99 PB; $2.99 Kindle

126pp 

www.amazon.com

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Midwest Book Review,
Readers' Favorite

Publish with Purpose: A Goal-Oriented Framework for Publishing Success by Tara R. Alemany is a practical guide to a successful writing and publishing career. With the number of book publishing options in the market, authors still find themselves trapped, unsure of what to do when it comes to getting their book in front of the right audience. While writing can be hard work, marketing a book can be even more demanding. Making the right decisions when it comes to publishing tools and an effective marketing strategy is the secret to not only getting books to the right audiences but building a career that is fruitful. In this self-help book, the author offers great advice and helps authors with tools they need to create a winning publishing strategy.

Tara R. Alemany breaks ground for both new and existing authors and discusses the importance of knowing why they write and connecting that why to the needs of their audiences. This book will help any writer learn the art of defining their purpose of writing, of knowing who their audience is, and of writing a book that addresses concrete needs while helping the author reach specific goals. The author explains the framework in this book and what it is designed to achieve: reader experience and the experience the author wants them to have, the author and their business, and the overall impact of the book. The ideas in this book are well arranged and the bullet points, combined with the step by step process, make a great working tool for readers. Publish with Purpose: A Goal-Oriented Framework for Publishing Success is written in an easy-to-understand conversational style that makes for a great reading experience. Filled with wisdom and insight, it is an excellent companion on the publishing path.

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG, AND ITS BENEFITS FOR WRITERS

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too.

#TheNewBookReview #TheFrugalBookPromoter #CarolynHowardJohnson #GreatBookReviews #GettingGreatBookReviews #HowToDoItFrugally #SharingwithWriters

Dr. Bob Rich Bones Up on Marketing

The Invisible Brand
by William Ammerman
McGraw-Hill Education
ASIN B07K3YH6YG
ISBN-13: 978-126044125
Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich originally in his Bobbin’ Around newsletter. 
This book was offered to me for review by the Nonfiction Authors’ Association. I was tempted to turn it down, because marketing is not a particular interest of mine, but read the first few pages, and realized that yes, it is highly relevant to me, because it is highly relevant to everyone. I started reading the book to review it. I kept reading with interest and even fascination because I needed to know what it taught me.

I am an immensely non-consuming person. Marketers have no influence on me -- or so I thought. All the same, Mr. Ammerman has shown me that I am as vulnerable as anyone to covert, invisible manipulation. And if I am, you are, too, only probably more so.

This book is a map to a new, foreign land where monsters lurk. You need the book to avoid being eaten. Here is just one quote: “The science of persuasion is uncovering these unconscious reflexes that trigger specific behaviors. In fact, these reflexes can be so powerful that, even when we become aware of them, we find them hard to overcome.” (p 50)

Computers can now beat world champions in the real thinking games: chess and Go. They can get you to love them. The same tools, applied to making us into puppets is a marketer’s dream, but more like a nightmare to me. I think my Luddite intuition is correct: I am not welded to a phone, and apart from banking, only use the internet for purposes I don’t mind being known to the shadowy puppet-masters.

It is a difficult task to write engagingly, even amusingly about a highly technical subject, but Mr. Ammerman manages to do so. For me, it is a good day when I learn something new. This book taught me lots, much of it very useful to protect myself in a Brave New World.

About the Reviewer

Dr. Bob Rich is a Professional Grandfather with many hundreds of grandkids all over the planet. His 18 books, 5 of them award-winners, are part of his work to create a survivable world for them, and a world worth surviving in. A strange thing about Bob is that he has no sense of humor whatever. However, he proves that most other people do: they keep laughing at his writing. You can be informed, inspired and entertained — but never bored — at his blog, Bobbing Around https://bobrich18.wordpress.com
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Dr Bob Rich
http://bobswriting.com
Bobbing Around https://bobrich18.wordpress.com
@bobswriting
Commit random acts of kindness
Live simply so you may simply live
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MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG


 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Howl's Moving Castle Book and Movie Discussion Questions

Howl's Moving Castle Book and Movie Discussion Questions

This month we have a book and film that fit in nicely with the Halloween theme, although it is not intended for just this time of the year. Howl's Moving Castle is a good book for readers who may be overly fond of and idealizing Harry Potter, as it shows the good and bad in magic. In fact, the heroine, under an aging spell, has a very difficult time through most of the book. That darn Witch of Waste! How mean of her to do that to poor Sophie. Of course, in the end, as the intended audience is in the middle grades, there is a happy ending . . . before books two and three in the trilogy.

Print Length: 448 pages

Publication Date: September 25, 2012

eBook ASIN: B008LV8TSU

Audio Book ASIN: B001LFBO1C

Paperback ISBN-10: 0061478784

Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0061478789

Movie ASIN: B074121MFT

Here are the movie discussion questions, followed by the book discussion questions. October is great for Howl's Moving Castle, movie or book!

• Thank you for reading, 

Questions by I-Reid of the Wise Owl Factory

I. Reid is the pen name of an insatiably curious, overeducated homo sapien who much to the dismay of family and friends has never outgrown the why phase (or how phase if applied to how a thing works). As I. Reid is gainfully employed and considered a productive adult in polite society, I. Reid guest blogs on occasion guided by whatever is the curiosity of the nanosecond.

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• Carolyn Wilhelm, BS, MA, MS Wise Owl Factory

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  More About The New Book Review Blogger
  
  
  
   The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) It has 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

  
  This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shoutout praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines in the left column of this page or in the tab at the top of the home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
  
  
  

  Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at: cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too! 
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  MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS AND ANOTHER FREEBIE

UK Poet James Sale Reviews American Poets Latest Poetry Book

Chronicles in Passing
Author: Carol Smallwood
Paperback: 102 pages
Publisher: Poetic Matrix Press, 2019
ISBN-10: 1733702539
Available on Amazon

Reviewed by James Sale

Carol Smallwood’s latest collection is full of her wonderful inquisitive and challenging response to the world. I particularly like her strong sense of form, which is evident throughout the collection, especially her use of repetition in her Villanelles, which is masterful as each lines draws out more implications and meanings for the reader. She is what might be termed a space and time poet. In other words, she is sensuously aware of her immediate topical environment, whether that be the shops or stores open nearby; or the flowers that are growing in the woods. At the same time, she has a wonderful historical imagination as she peels back the layers of history to interrogate Herodotus, Homer and even Gilgamesh; and not just people—the artifacts (for example, the Pyramids) too. 

This gives her collection its enormous range and sweep in terms of forms, times and place. Alongside all of this are her formidable powers of observation, as she notes all that is particular in what she sees. We may remember Thomas Hardy’s famous line: ‘he was a man who used to notice such things’. Well, Carol is a woman who notices such things. From the quotidian to the sublime, there is something here for everyone to resonate with.

 MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

James Sale has had over 40 books published. His poems have appeared in many UK magazines as well as the United States media. He was the winner of The Society of Classical Poets Poetry prize for 2017, and winner of their Prose prize for 2018. Learn more at:
https://www.amazon.com/James-Sale/e/B0034OVZ5I

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG, AND ITS BENEFITS FOR WRITERS

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too.

#TheNewBookReview #TheFrugalBookPromoter #CarolynHowardJohnson #GreatBookReviews #GettingGreatBookReviews #HowToDoItFrugally #SharingwithWriters

Love to See You at the Beach and at My Writers Workshop

This is the perfect place for the many authors who frequent this blog to learn more in one place and take a vacation, too!  There are presentations, panels, agent interviews, and I'm doing this workshop.  Kathleen Kaiser is the director. If you should decide to go, be sure to introduce yourself to me. Wouldn't that be fun!

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The 805 Writers Conference TOOLS — SKILLS — RESOURCES Delivering the information you need to succeed in publishing

Are you an indie author with a self-published book or are thinking of doing so soon? Want to learn how to maximize books sales? Pictured above from left to right: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, bestselling author on book marketing; Zhena Muzyka, author and former publisher; and, Penny Sansevieri, bestselling author and book marketer. Learn more about the sessions and register now! Amazon, your primary sales outlet, has lots of twists and turns but these speakers will tell you how. Two even have a bestselling book title on Amazon RIGHT NOW,  Penny Sansevieri is both a bestselling author and top book marketer. Her new book is an updated version of HOW TO SELL BOOKS BY THE TRUCKLOAD ON AMAZON—Learn how to turn Amazon into your 24/7 sales machine! (This book is #1 in Direct Marketing on Amazon) Penny will be leading two sessions at the conference- MASTERING AMAZON: Optimizations, Ads, and the Perfect Book Launch, a two-hour session where Penny will walk you through what you must do. This will be the keynote on Sunday.   Another part of making sales is Penny’s second session, Building Your Street Teams – The Secrets to Selling More Books, on Saturday afternoon. She will walk you through how to attract followers and turn them into people who promote your books. Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a bestselling author (her latest is #4 on Amazon Direct Marketing). Her session YOUR BOOK’S FUTURE: Great Starts and Great Reboots will take you through how to launch and most importantly, how to re-launch your book with sales begin to lag. This will be a three-hour hands-on workshop limited to 20 people on Saturday afternoon and is a separate ticket from the conference. Zhena Muzyka is an award-winning, purpose-driven social entrepreneur, teacher, author, executive coach, public speaker, and former publisher of Enliven Books, a new Mind-Body-Spirit imprint from Atria/Simon and Schuster. Zhena’s critically acclaimed book, Life by the Cup, chronicles her experience growing a multimillion-dollar fair trade tea company, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, as a single mom with $6 to her name in hopes to inspire others to achieve their most audacious dreams. Life by the Cup is in development for a TV series by Mark Wahlberg’s production company, creators of HBO shows Boardwalk Empire, Entourage, Ballers, and In Treatment. She will be the keynoter on Saturday, showing you have How to funnel sales through your author platform to maximize sales. These three sessions and workshop are presented to give you options for what you can do to increase your sales and establish yourself as an author. Publishing is a business, and you need to have an understanding of the world you are working into. Even with a deal with a traditional publisher, they will expect you to have a platform and use it to market your book. The days of New York arranging everything died this century.  It’s not magic, and it’s only a mystery if you don’t have the people with resources to show you how.  The 805 Writers Conference brings you the tools, skills, and resources to succeed!  "The 805 Writers' Conference was an incredible value and I would definitely recommend it to new or established authors. Unfortunately the day went by too quickly!  I had an amazing experience and accomplished everything I wanted to, and then some." Register NOW Sponsoring literary groups

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG


 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing