#163 Fourth Paperback in Lynda's Agent C Series

   
     Lucky Alana has just been published in paperback.  It is the fourth middle-grade novel in the Agent C series, and can now join Tiny Others, Pomegranate, and White Rabbit Time on your bookshelf.

   The Agent C books are non-sequential, unified by only one character.  Agent C is a tiny man with a pointy white beard who makes cameo appearances in each book. He gives the main character an important object that causes the story to change from that point forward. When an event or object causes such a dramatic change, it is called a "catalyst". 

   The "C" in Agent C stands for the word "catalyst".

   Lucky Alana is available from Amazon.com. Just enter "Lucky Alana paperback" in Amazon's search window to pull it up.  The list price is $9.95. It can also be ordered from Barnes and Noble or your favorite bookstore just before the winter school holidays.

Summary of Lucky Alana

          After Alana's father dies, she tries desperately to control her unhappy life with "lucky" finger snaps. The snaps don't seem to be helping though, because her mother can't pay the rent, and they are evicted from their motel.
          Just when everything is at its lowest low point, Alana rubs the Wizard's lamp in a national contest and wins a solid gold charm bracelet.
          Suddenly, she has grandparents, a house, new friends, and amazing success in everything she tries. Is it all due to her luck?
          Alana's new friend, Jacob, doesn't think so, and the bracelet's mysterious little charms support his opinion. They suggest instead, that she is using her more dependable powers of people, a home, health, hard work, and positive attitude.
          This illustrated chapter book encourages middle-grade readers to examine the real value of some personal support systems we may be using to deal with life's difficulties.
          Lucky Alana is the fourth novel of the "Agent C" series. The "C" stands for the word "catalyst", meaning something that causes a drastic change.
          "Agent C" is a little man who makes cameo appearances in the books of this series. In Lucky Alana, he takes the role of the Wizard at the mall who awards Alana with her charm bracelet.
          Lynda has published four other illustrated paperbacks for middle grade readers. They are:

                    Margaret's Christmas Cookies by Lynda, a short holiday chapter book
                    Tiny Others, Agent C Series by Lynda, for middle-grade readers
                    Pomegranate, Agent C Series by Lynda, for middle-grade readers
                    White rabbit Time, Agent C Series by Lynda, for middle-grade readers

Thank you for your continuing support for 

my writing and for children's literacy.

     

#162 A Paperback for the Easter Basket

Easter is less than 4 weeks away!

Lynda  has published a new paperback,

and it will fit nicely into a little basket

on April 20^th.

Order it today from Amazon.com 
or 
Barnesandnoble.com.

For more details just enter:

“White Rabbit Time by Lynda”

(without the quotes, of course)

in the search box

on your favorite bookseller's home page,

 then click on the paperback edition.

It is also available from Amazon Canada

and many of the European Amazon stores.

For details about the eBook version 

visit my other blog at

ebooks4kids.blogspot.com.

  

#161 Pomegranate in Paperback!

     
     Pomegranate is now available in paperback!

     Look for it on Amazon.com, or barnesandnoble.com.  Just enter "Pomegranate by Lynda" in the search window. Then click on the paperback version. 

     It can also be ordered at your favorite bookstore.  The list price is $9.95, but the larger markets offer it at a discount price.

     The reading level of this futuristic chapter book for middle-grade readers is 5.1, and it has a strong message about internet safety.  The story's plot also follows the Greek Myth of Persephone and Demeter.  Greek mythology is often studied as a part of the sixth-grade social studies curriculum. 

     Read more about Pomegranate and my other books by clicking on the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/author/ebooksbylynda

     
     And please keep reading...

     (Just FYI, before I published this post, I also posted another one.  If it doesn't show up below, you might want to click on "older posts" at the bottom of this page.) 

#160 Welcome to Our Many Readers

     Each pin on this world map represents one of the 62 countries that has appeared on the stats pages of this blog and/or my second one, ebooks4kids, since September 3, 2010. 

     The list of these countries is as follows:

1.     Australia

2.     Belarus

3.     Brazil

4.     Bulgaria

5.     Canada

6.     Chile

7.     China

8.     Croatia

9.     Cyprus

10.  Czech Republic

11.  Denmark

12.  Egypt

13.  France

14.  Germany

15.  Honduras

16.  Hong Kong

17.  India

18.  Indonesia

19.  Iran

20.  Ireland

21.  Israel

22.  Italy

23.  Jamaica

24.  Japan

25.  Jordan

26.  Kenya

27.  Kuwait

28.  Latvia

29.  Luxembourg

30.  Malaysia

31.  Malta

32.  Mexico

33.  Moldova

34.  Morocco

35.  Netherlands

36.  New Zealand

37.  Nigeria

38.  Papua New Guinea

39.  Philippines

40.  Poland

41.  Puerto Rico

42.  Romania

43.  Russia

44.  Saudi Arabia

45.  Singapore

46.  Slovenia

47.  South Africa

48.  South Korea

49.  Spain

50.  Sudan

51.  Sweden

52.  Switzerland

53.  Taiwan

54.  Tanzania

55.  Thailand

56.  Tunisia

57.  Turkey

58.  Ukraine

59.  United Arab Emirates

60.  United Kingdom

61.  USA

62.  Venezuela

    I want to pause to welcome my three most recent audiences from Mexico, Cyprus, and Egypt. The world-wide interest that I observe in children's literacy continues to amaze and fascinate me.

     When I watched the ceremonies and performances of athletes from around the world at the Sochi Olympics, I thought again of my own diverse audience of readers from around the world. Sixty-two of those same countries had exhibited an interest in children's reading. What a civilized world we are becoming! 

     Often the international television news is less than positive however, and I can only hope that children in troubled areas might find books to be an escape and comfort from their lives of daily misery.

     This type of escape into the world of books is sometimes needed by youngsters on our own doorsteps as well.  As a teacher, I once welcomed a new student to my second-grade classroom.  He was living in a shelter with his mother, and resisted being physically close to the other children.  If someone passed too closely to him, he would push them away or shout at them.  

     This child was bright but had retreated into his world of books. He became especially interested in a biography of Louis Braille, and his mother helped him request a packet of information about this inventor of writing for blind people.  When he received it in the mail, he found enough confidence to share it with the class, and by the end of the year, he was even becoming something of a class leader.  

     I'm sure that books helped him to survive a difficult time in his young life, and the experience reminded me that books can mean many things to many different people.  

     Please keep reading, and appreciate all that books can do for us....

       

        

#159 Looking for Tablets, eReaders, eBooks, or Paperbacks for kids this Christmas?

      Many of you are considering buying a tablet for your kids this Christmas. Are you aware that Google offers a wealth of good sites with information about each of the devices?

     After you make a decision to invest in one of these electronic learning tools, you will want to include  some age-appropriate reading materials.  

     I have published eight eBooks for kids listed at  https://www.amazon.com/author/ebooksbylynda.  The following photos display two of the titles that are also published as paperbacks.

     Thank you for thinking of children's literacy when you do your Christmas shopping this year.  It is an investment for a lifetime.

    And please keep reading...

     

     

#158 New Holiday Paperback for Children

     I have just published Margaret's Christmas Cookies in paperback. 

     It is currently available on Amazon.com (or on most of the international Amazon store sites) and BarnesandNoble.com, The list price is $7.95 in the USA. Just click on one of the links above and enter the title in the search window.

     Within a month or two the title will also appear on lists for libraries and those of retail booksellers.

     This short holiday chapter book has a reading level of 4.8 and offers readers some thoughts about the true meaning of gifts and gift-giving not just at holidays, but throughout life.

     For more information about the story and my other titles, please visit Amazon's Author Central.  The link is:

       https://www.amazon.com/author/ebooksbylynda

*****

     Tiny Others, another of my titles, is also out now in paperback from the same vendors.  Its list price is $9.95.

     My other six books are currently sold only for Kindle and Nook eReaders, but the two paperbacks above can also be found in that format. The prices for all eight of the eBook versions are either $2.99 or $3.99. 

     Pomegranate, the second of the Agent C novels, will be the next to appear in paperback.  I will announce its publication on this blog within a few weeks.

     And, as always, please keep reading. 

     

#157 Favorite Halloween Books

     Before I begin to list a few of my favorite Halloween books, I want take a moment to welcome a new member to our reading audience. My stats page indicates that someone from Belarus has recently joined us.  I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I rejoice in this demonstration of world-wide interest and support for children's literacy.  

     This blog at Jumpup2chapterbooks.blogspot.com and my other one at, ebooks4kids.blogspot.com currently have a total of 59 countries in their two reading audiences.  That is amazing, isn't it?!

     Now about Halloween.  The holiday is not without controversy, of course.  As a teacher in a public school, I always tried to be sensitive to my parents' concerns.  We celebrated with a Fall Festival that included pumpkin math and home-made root beer in my classroom.

     However, as a parent, I sewed and glued amazing costumes each year for our two daughters.  I escorted them around the local neighborhood so that they could "Trick or Treat". I also accepted the responsibility of inspecting all of their "loot" for a small percentage of the take.

     Therefore, with only a few days left before October 31st, I will go ahead and recommend a few books on the subject.  If I am not leaving you enough time to order them, I suspect that they are available at your local bookstores or libraries.

     And another thing, please consider giving a few of these titles to your favorite goblins in lieu of candy treats! Remember, a book is a lasting treat.

*****

     For children of all ages:

        The Ghost Eye Tree, by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault (a lovely picture book with illustrations of a time- gone-by, written in gentle verse)

     For emergent readers:

          BOO and I MEAN it! with Junie B. Jones, by Barbara Park

          Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (A Magic Tree House Book) by Mary Pope Osborn

          Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry G. Allard, Jr. 

     And for independent readers:

          The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (The 1959 Newbery Winner)

          Jennifer Murdley's Toad by Bruce Coville

          Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

*****

     In future posts I will recommend some of my favorite Thanksgiving and other holiday books.  

     And for now, as you begin to look forward to Christmas, it may interest you to know that my own short chapter book, Margaret's Christmas Cookies is out in paperback.  It is currently available on Amazon.com and on Barnesandnoble.com. I will feature it in my next post.

     And as always, please keep reading.