BOOK LAUNCH for "Willa and the Whale" by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown

Happy Book Birthday to 

Willa and the Whale

by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown

Can a whale talk to a human? Willa thinks so...

After losing her mom, Willa is grieving and having a hard time living with her dad and his new family on an island off the coast of Washington State. Her dad tries to cheer her up by taking her whale watching, something Willa's mom used to do.

While all the passengers are on one side of the boat, Willa encounters a humpback whale on the opposite side. Willa feels so lonely that she starts to talk to the whale—and the whale talks back!

The whale, named Meg, quickly becomes a trusted friend and confidante Willa can speak to whenever she's by the ocean.

Meg offers sound advice Willa needs about dealing with a nemesis at school and trying to figure out why her friend Marc is keeping secrets about his family life.

Before the story ends, it will take all of Willa's courage and connections to tackle a problem that's as big as a blue whale!

Goodreads

  

My son Mikey, me, my daughter Sam,
and the authors Chad & Shelly.

My family and I were lucky enough to attend a

LAUNCH PARTY

on Thursday, February 27th, 2020

to celebrate the release of Willa and the Whale

with the authors

Chad Morris and Shelly Brown!

My kids and I getting our book signed by the authors.

The event was held at the SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium
at the Layton Hills Mall in Layton, Utah!

My daughter Sam, husband Andy, me,
and my son Mikey at the Aquarium.

Where we got to see all kinds of fun aquatic and other type creatures.

Various animals on display at the Aquarium.

Mikey, Jen, Sam & Andy with the Megladon!

It was a real fun evening!

And while I have not yet read the book,

if it is anything like the authors' previous works,

I'm sure it will be delightful!

Meg the Whale.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Chad Morris coauthored Mustaches for Maddie with his wife, Shelly Brown. It is based on the story of their daughter who faced a brain tumor with humor and optimism. He is also the author of the Cragbridge Hall series (The Inventor's Secret, The Avatar Battle, and The Impossible Race). Books in this series won the Utah Book award and the Silver Foreword INDIES award for Juvenile fiction. Chad also wrote one of the short stories in True Heroes: A Treasury of Modern-day Fairy Tales Written by Best-selling Authors. His story was based on JP Gibson, an amazing boy who faced cancer with courage, heart, and a basketball dream.

Chad grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. (Inspired by Animal from The Muppets, he has been banging on drums since he was eight years old.) Neither of those plans quite panned out. After high school, he left the Rocky Mountains to live in Brazil for a few years then returned home to write and perform sketch comedy while going to college. He graduated from BYU with a couple of degrees and became a teacher and a curriculum writer.

A native to the ocean and transplanted to the mountains, Shelly Brown has always loved children and books so it made sense when she started writing books for children. In her spare time she helps her husband, author Chad Morris, write MORE children's books. In her extra-extra spare time she loves the theater and traveling. She is also one of the worst tap dancers you will ever meet. But she does it anyway.

She has no regrets, one husband, three chickens, five children, and sixty-four Pez dispensers.

For more information, to request interviews or school visits, or for a press kit contact her at shellybrownwriter@gmail.com.

LAUNCH PARTY & BOOK REVIEW for "Mustaches for Maddie" by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

*****(5) out of 5 stars!

Mustaches for Maddie

by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

SYNOPSIS

Maddie is a normal twelve-year-old girl. Well, except for the fake mustaches she carries in her pocket. She likes to make people laugh and slapping on a mustache, especially a fuzzy pink or neon green one, always gets a smile. Maddie hopes that the class queen, Cassie, will find her mustaches as funny as she does and want to play with her at recess. She's been self-conscious lately because her right arm only feels normal when it's curled against her chest and she's constantly tripping over her feet. But that's probably just part of growing up and not something weird, right?

When Maddie's arm continues to bother her, her parents take her to a doctor who gives them a shocking diagnosis: the cause of the abnormal behavior of her limbs is a brain tumor and she must have surgery to remove it. She's understandably afraid as he describes the procedure, but knows she must find a way to be brave and must face her fears -- all of them -- at the hospital, at home and at school.

She will need all of her courage not only to face her illness, but also to face Cassie at school. Both Cassie and Maddie are auditioning for the same role in the school play, but when Cassie accuses Maddie of lying about her tumor in order to get attention, Cassie's bossiness turns into bullying.

And as Maddie's surgery approaches, she begins to worry more and more about the outcome. What if something goes wrong? What if the doctors don't get all the tumor out of her brain? What will happen to her family? What will happen to her?

It will take all of Maddie's vibrant imagination, a lot of kindness - both given and received - and of course, the perfect mustache to overcome the tough stuff ahead of her.

REVIEW

I found this to be a wonderfully entertaining book, full of life and love and hope!

The majority of the book is a pretty ordinary tale of a relatively normal girl who has to deal with the somewhat typical life of a middle-schooler.  There are family issues to deal with (comprising a couple of parents and four rather pesky brothers), school stuff (including teachers, homework, fellow students, and one big-time bully), and all of the other day-to-day life challenges that a 12-year-old girl has to face.

But it becomes a whole new ballgame when Maddie is diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Suddenly there are a lot more things to worry about and potential outcomes a lot more serious than anything she’s had to deal with before.  The authors bring all of Maddie’s hopes and fears, triumphs and trials to light in a very unique and believable way.  The reader really becomes immersed in the story and is able to put themselves in Maddie’s shoes.

While full of humor and fun, the book is still at it’s core about a young girl facing a brain tumor.  As such, there is a lot of strong emotion to be felt, including some genuinely sad and concerning parts.  Even knowing the outcome of the story ahead of time (since this story is based on the real-life experience of the authors’ daughter, who is still alive and well), there were several times when I was overcome by the emotion of the moment, and some instances that made me breakdown and cry.

About the only part of the book I did not like was the closing scene.  I couldn’t entirely decide if this was supposed to be a dream or a conscious fantasy of Maddie’s, if it was based of actual events happening in real life or was totally fabricated in her imagination, or what.  Despite all of the made-up segments throughout the story, to me this one just didn't seem to jive with the rest.  And while I understand the authors’ reasons for ending the book on such an ambiguous note (since not all such stories have the happy ending that theirs did), I still found it very unsatisfying from a reader’s viewpoint.

Still, the book dealt wonderfully well in a realistic and yet hopeful way with some really delicate issues, including the health crisis faced by Maddie, as well as the bullying problems she faced at school.  Overall, I greatly enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it for all audiences.

~

My family was lucky enough to attend one of the launch parties for 

"Moustaches for Maddie" 

ahead of its October 3, 2017 release date.

Here's me and my son Mikey with Maddie, Chad & Shelly!

The authors also rolled out a new anti-bullying and pay-it-forward initiative of theirs titled CIA: Compassion in Action! 

You can learn more about it, and get a Compassion in Action Reader's Guide to "Mustaches for Maddie" at MustachesforMaddie.com.

Here's the rest of my family in attendance at the 
"Mustaches for Maddie" Launch Party!

~

I received a free eBook version of this title from the author 

and have willingly provided an honest review.

LAUNCH PARTY for "Potions in the Pizza (The W.H.O. Files, #1)" by Mikey Brooks

Over the weekend, I was priviledged to attend the Launch Party for

"Potions in the Pizza  (The W.H.O. Files, #1)" by Mikey Brooks!

Synopsis:

10­-year-­old twins Ethan and Emmy’s parents have never told their kids what they do for a living. Then just before Halloween, while their parents are away on an emergency business trip, Ethan, Emmy, and their best friend Jax discover a HUGE secret: could the twins’ parents actually be . . . witch hunters?

Meanwhile at school, a new team of glamorous lunch ladies arrives on the scene, serving meals that taste way too good to come from a school cafeteria. There’s only one logical explanation: they’re witches, and the meals they serve are spiked with a dangerous potion! Why have witches come to Roosevelt Elementary? Where have Ethan and Emmy’s parents gone? Can it be a mere coincidence that their parents left just as the witches arrived? Whether they’re ready or not, Ethan and Emmy have only one option if they want to save their school and find their parents: become witch hunters themselves.

W.H.O. Files on Goodreads!          Mikey on Facebook!

LAUNCH PARTY for Shelly Brown's "Ghostsitter"

I attended the Halloween Launch Party for Shelly Brown's "Ghostsitter" today 

with my son, and we had a delightful time. She and her hubby are both so sweet!

I have to admit that I haven't yet read "Ghostsitter," 

but my son loved it and I am looking forward to it!

I have, however, read all of the "Cragbridge Hall" series, and they were a blast!