 Dragons Are Real by Valerie Budayr
What if I told you that all of the fairy tales, myths and legends that have been told about dragons over the years are WRONG? What if I told you that Dragons are indeed REAL and that they are different than you've ever imagined?Did you know that Dragons are the master of disguises? Did you know that they love sugar and sweets (at unacceptable levels) and will do anything for treats? Award winning author Valarie Budayr brings us this fairly true story based on her childhood friendship with a REAL live Dragon. MY REVIEW: This is a very cute children's story about the "truth" and "falsehoods" about Dragons! Very beautifully illustrated by Michael Welply, the pages will certainly captivate the younf listener/early reader. I recommend this for Summer Reading Programs for children ages four to eight years. I offer a Four Stars rating. *This book was gifted me with no request for a positive review. This is my honest review.  Valarie Budayr
CEO and publisher at Audrey Press, and creative director of the popular blog and website Jump into a Book, and co-founder of Multicultural Children’s Book Day; these are the many hats of Valarie Budayr . Valarie is also the award-winning, best-selling author of Mom’s Choice Award Winner A Year in the Secret Garden and Kirkus Top Pick Dragons Are Real. As a publisher, Audrey Press has offered readers amazing and innovative titles like the YA thriller, Ascension by Hannah Rials, the wildly popular Donna Ashton book, The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook and most recently HOW TO COACH GIRLS by Mia Wenjen and Alison Foley. Alison Foley, Boston College's Women's Head Soccer Coach, and Mia Wenjen, parenting blogger at PragmaticMom to help coaches, both parent volunteer, and professional coaches crack the code of how to keep girls in sports. HOW TO COACH GIRLS focuses on the key elements to keep girls coming back next season covering topics like Coaching Your Own Daughter to Pitfalls of Choosing Captains to Developing Team Chemistry. This is a hands-on manual to help coaches keep girls in sports! Valarie's mission is to create Beautiful Books that inspire children, families, and communities to experience and create a world together while having fun. She is passionate about making children’s books come alive via original and unique book extension activities so kids of all ages can experience the stories in new and exciting ways. Website | Twitter | Goodreads |
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Spotlight, Guest Post & Giveaway for Ralphie Always Loved by Andrea Yerramilli ! [Ends 5/12/18]4/9/2018 
Book Details:
Book Title: Ralphie, Always Loved by Andrea Yerramilli Illustrated by: Samantha Van Riet Category: Children's Fiction, 32 pages Genre: Children's Picture Book Publisher: About Something Good, LLC Release date: October 28, 2017 Tour dates: April 9 to May 4, 2018 Content Rating: G Book Description: This is the story of the life, love, and adventures of a beloved family dog, and how he delighted and touched his family and everyone he met. Ralphie was born with a heart on his belly. He loves food, his family, his friends, his neighbors. He loves pretty much everything and everyone. And they love him back. And that's how it is all through his life. Read the book and fall in love with him too. Rambunctious and hyperactive, Ralphie had already been returned to the animal shelter three times, but when Andrea and her husband adopted him and gave him a loving home where he was understood, accepted, and taught, he learned fast. As Ralphie's human family grew, so did his capacity for love and the ways he could express it. He remained a loving and beloved family member who touched the hearts of the whole neighborhood until he was ready to say goodbye at the grand-old age of sixteen. Ralphie, Always Loved will remind you of all that is good, and reaffirm your belief in love's power to uplift and transform. Follow the tour by visiting Andrea Yerramilli's page on iRead Book Tours. Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Indiebound Add to Goodreads
GUEST POST: Signs of Being Always Loved by Andrea Yerramilli When I wrote the children’s picture book Ralphie, Always Loved, the story of my dog Ralphie, instead of beginning from the point when I met him for the first time, I chose to begin where I imagined how Ralphie got to be my Ralphie. He was a black dog, with white paws, a streak of white on his nose, a white-tipped tail, and a perfectly drawn white heart on his belly. I believed that the only way he could have come by those markings was if he was up in heaven, painting clouds just before he was born. And I imagined that when his earthly life was over, he would go back to exactly where he left off. After Ralphie passed on, I imagined that he was painting clouds and found myself looking up at the clouds for signs from him. And I’ve found them: heart-shaped clouds. Sometime it’s the cloud itself, and sometimes it’s in the sky between the clouds that makes a distinctive heart. Ralphie’s first birthday after he had passed was extremely difficult for me. I was missing him terribly and remembered the wonderful celebration we’d had for his sixteenth birthday a year before. I could not stop the tears. Something made me step out onto my deck and look up at the sky . . . and there it was, two clouds that, together, were shaped like a broken heart. The clouds seemed to be a message from Ralphie, who recognized that on this day—his first birthday apart from me in sixteen years—my heart was breaking. I think he wanted to let me know that he was okay and that I would be too. Of course, it could all be in my imagination, but it doesn’t matter. These signs help me and remind me that I’m always loved, just as I’ll always love Ralphie. I truly believe that those we deeply love never really leave us. They stay on in our memories and are Always Loved. And I often see hearts in the clouds to remind me of that fact. 
Meet the Author:
Andrea has always been an avid reader and that jumpstarted her imagination at a very early age. In fact she escaped to the Land of Make Believe more often than her mother liked. She is a former marketing professional who is a mom to kids both with and without fur. Andrea says that it helps to have one foot planted firmly in reality while the other is foot loose and fancy-free in Imagination Land. She enjoys the best of both worlds. In 2013, Andrea and her husband started About Something Good (ASG) as a vehicle to curate, inspire and share goodness in the world. In a world where negative images flood the media, and words like “hate” get tossed around so easily, Andrea felt she needed a space that encouraged and focused on the words like “love” and the beauty that is life. Andrea is committed to finding the good in everything and believes: that a sense of belonging to someone's heart is what makes us feel complete, that kindness goes a long way, and that keeping your mind and heart open can help when things happen that you don't understand. Andrea lives in New Jersey with her husband and children. Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
Giveaway:
Win a print copy of Ralphie, Always Loved and a $15 Amazon Gift Card (open to USA only / 2 winners total) (ends May 12, 2018) 
Book Details:
Book Title: Toddler Tootsies Take on the Day! by Marsha Nowakowski | Illustrator: Joan Coleman Category: Children's NonFiction, 34 pages "| Genre: Education Publisher: Lanier Press |Release date: January 23, 2018 Tour dates: Jan 29 to Feb 9, 2018 Content Rating: G Book Description: Welcome to the wonderful world of Matt and Mattie, where every day is a learning adventure! Just as our ten toes help our bodies balance, Matt and Mattie’s ten daily habits help toddlers learn balanced behaviors that will guide them in leading happy, healthy childhoods.
Buy at: Amazon
GUEST POST:
What sets Toddler Tootsies Take on the Day apart from other children’s books about learning life skills? The book is about them, the toddler. They recognize each of the ten activities of daily living because this is their day, every day. They can relate to the characters Matt and Mattie and see themselves in the book while having fun with some of the choices offered. It becomes an unconscious fun learning experience for toddlers to learn life skills that follow along with quotes from long ago. Ben Franklin said, “It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them Aristotle said, “Excellence is not an act but a habit.” Matt and Mattie help toddlers learn independence and confidence within their own daily activities. I think the characters of feet, Matt and Mattie, characterize symbolism of ten toes with ten activities of toddlers daily living. They bring to life adventures with our own feet and the colorful, relatable choices in balancing life, adventures, and learning. The hidden toe icons make Toddler Tootsies Take on the Day, a truly unique book. 
Marsha K. Nowakowski is a loving wife, dedicated mother to three children, and a “grammie” to her grandchildren.
This is Marsha’s debut book for toddlers. She has spent forty years in the healthcare industry, primarily as a cardiac nurse. Her inspiration for writing Matt and Mattie’s Adventures developed from her own observations that patients who recovered more quickly exhibited healthy habits and good attitudes toward life. As a mother and grammie, Marsha recognized the need for books teaching healthy habits to help young ones develop into successful people who always do their best. Matt and Mattie’s Adventures makes everyday habits fun, balanced, and adventuresome for toddlers. Marsha’s own adventures include travel, horseback riding, and reading. She also enjoys golf, baseball games, and sailing with her husband. According to Marsha, every day is an adventure! Connect with the Author: Website ~ Here is the tour schedule
Giveaway:
Win a copy of Toddler Toostsies Take on the Day (1 winner / open to USA only) (ends Feb 17) 
Below are two books offered by QuartoKnows Publishing for Giveaway to ONE Lucky U.S./Can. Winner!
Storytime: The Big Fuzzy by Caroline CastleAuthor: Caroline Castle; Illustrated by: Daniel Howarth Format: Large Paperback / softback, 24 Pages ISBN: 9781682970119 Publisher: QEB Publishing Series: Storytime Book Blurb: Little Sira dug a hole in the ice and sank her line and hook. The sun was sleeping. But someone was watching. Someone big and white and fearsome! MY REVIEW:(LAWonder10) Their mother is sick and must stay in the igloo while Sira must find food. With her baby brother bundled on her back, Sira goes ti find a place in the ice she can make a hole and fish Unbeknownst to her, a "Big Fuzzy" came and her little brother took very good care of him.. This is a very adorable children's book with a touch of humor the children will surely enjoy! Beautifully illustrated by Daniel Howarth, this is simply, yet colorfully, created design that will keep the children's attention during story-time -day or night. At the end of each 'Storytime' series book, There is 1 full page of Notes for Parents and Teachers on ways to enhance the child's appreciation of the story. I offer a Five Stars rating on this book. *This was a gift with no mention of a positive review in any way. This s my honest Review
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Caroline Castle is the author of several picture book texts as well as two novels for older children. She has also illustrated two picture books for Piccadilly Press, Elizabeth Jane Gets Dressed and Mary Ann Can. Daniel Howarth started drawing from a very early age and went on to study Art at college and then university. He graduated with a degree in Illustration in 1994 and started creating his own range of greetings cards with his wife and fellow children's author, Heidi Howarth, whom he met at university. Daniel works from his studio in Exeter and enjoys the wealth of inspiration and imagination that comes from living deep in the Devon countryside with his wife and two children. https://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Castle/e/B001HPK70K https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/110067.Caroline_Castle 
Storytime: I'm the Happiest by Anan ShuttlewoodAuthor: Anan Shuttlewood
Illustrated by: Anan Shuttlewood Format: Large Paperback / softback, 24 Pages ISBN: 9781682970164 Publisher: QEB Publishing Series: Storytime Book Blurb: All the animals are jealous of each other for things like being tallest or prettiest, but Raccoon is just happy that each of them has the gift they are born with. And that makes him happier than anyone else. MY REVIEW: This book is about a wonderfully positive little raccoon! While may different animals boast and contend who is the best for whatever reasons, Raccoon is simply just happy for them! This is a wonderful way to emphasize the importance of being happy, humble, and likable by allowing others to feel good about themselves . It also shows ways to avoid contention. The the FUN, colorful illustrations are also done by this talented author. I offer a solid Four Stars rating for this book. *This was sent as a gift and I was in no way encourages to offer a positive review. This is my honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR:
Anna Shuttlewood wrote and illustrated I’m the Happiest. She has also illustrated several other children’s books including Get Up, Tom, and Catching Flies. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7883305.Anna_Shuttlewood https://www.facebook.com/QuartoKnows
Enter for chances to WIN BOTH BOOKS with the Rafflecopter below. This Giveaway open to U.S./Can. Residents Only,...sorry!
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