Author: bek-castro

  • CELEBRATING CHILDREN’S BOOKS with GERTRUDE WARNER Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Magic, School, Sci-fi

    CELEBRATING CHILDREN’S BOOKS with GERTRUDE WARNER Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Magic, School, Sci-fi

    Here at Chanticleer, we love Children’s literature! There is just something about a truly well-told story that sparks the imagination of the young – and the young at heart.

    So, as we celebrate Children’s Book Week – May 4 – 10, 2020, allow us to bring along a few friends and share with you some really good books.

    Gertrude Warner Children's Chapter Books

     

    Did you know that 2020 marks the 96th anniversary of the first edition of the first book The Boxcar Children by Gertrude C. Warner?

    It’s true! We titled the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) division for middle-grade readers The Gertrude Warner Awards in honor of the author of the well-loved children’s The Boxcar Children Series.

    I guess you could say, we’re fans. BIG fans!

     

     

    We love Gertrude and so many others! Here’s a little list of some of Middle-Grade Children’s authors you probably already know: 

    Ron DahlCharlie and the Chocolate Factory

    J.K. RowlingHarry Potter series

    Rick RiordanPercy Jackson and the Olympians

    R.J. Palacio Wonder

    Lemony Snicket – The Series of Unfortunate Events

    Madeleine L’Engle A Wrinkle in Time

    Louis Sachar  – Holes

    Kelly Barnhill for The Girl Who Drank the Moon

    Neil Gaiman – for so, so many books!

    Lois LowryThe Giver

    Now – a very special treat! Please take the time to find out about some of our very own personal favorite Middle-Grade Children’s Authors: 

    The Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – FINALISTS for 2019 – are 

    • Amber L. Wyss – Phoenix Rising     
    • M.J. Evans – PINTO!   
    • M.J. Evans – The Stone of Wisdom – Book 4 of the Centaur Chronicles
    • Beth Stickley – Tarnation’s Gate    
    • Rey Clark – Legends of the Vale   
    • Laura M. Kemp – Burnt Feathers   
    • Alex Paul – The Valley of Death, Book 5, Arken Freeth and the Adventure of the Neanderthals
    • Trayner Bane – Windhollow and the Axe Breaker (Windhollows, Book 3)
    • Carolyn Watkins – The Knock…a collection of childhood memories
    • Liana Gardner – 7th Grade Revolution
    • Nancy McDonald – Boy from Berlin
    • Wendy Leighton-Porter – The Shadow of the Tudor Rose 
    • Kit Bakke – Dancing on the Edge
    • Mobi Warren – The Bee Maker
    • C.R. Stewart – Britfield and the Lost Crown
    • B.L. Smith – Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business

    These titles are in the running for the First Place positions of the 2019 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers

    – and one will be named GRAND Prize Winner!

     

     

     


    The 2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Grand Prize went to Jules Luther – for the unpublished book, The Portals of Peril

     

    2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category Winners

    • Keelic and the Pathfinders of Midgarth by Alexander Edlund
    • Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend by Cheryl Carpinello
    • The Portals of Peril by Jules Luther
    • From the Shadows by KB Shaw
    • Tallulah’s Flying Adventure by Gloria Two-Feathers
    • Vampire Boy by Aric Cushing
    • The Adventures of Rug Bug by Kay M. Bates

    Paul Aertker took home the CIBA GRAND PRIZE 2017 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Grand Prize for

    BRAINWASHED: CRIME TRAVELERS SPY SCHOOL SERIES 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    2017 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category Winners

     


     

    The 2016 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Grand Prize was won by Alan Sproles & Lizanne Southgate for their work, The Train From Outer Space.

     

    2016 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category Winners are:

    Are you interested in seeing how your Middle-Grade book stands up to the competition? Submit them to the Chanticleer International Book Awards and we will choose the best among the entries!

    Click here for more information about The CIBAs! 

    Gertrude Warner Children's Chapter Books

    The deadline to submit your book for the Gertrude Warner awards is May 31, 2019. Enter here!

    The deadline for 2019 submissions has been extended to June 15, 2019. Grand Prize and First Place Winners for 2019 will be announced on September 5, 2020, at the CIBA Awards Banquet.

    Any entries received on or after June 16, 2019, will be entered into the 2020 Gertrude Warner Book Awards.

    As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your Middle-Grade Reader deserves!  Enter today!

    The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards – the CIBAs.

    All Finalists and First Place category winners will be recognized, the first-place winners will be whisked up on stage to receive their custom ribbon and wait to see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of dinner, networking, and celebrations! 

    Don’t delay! Enter today!

  • FLOWERANTHA by Bek Castro – Childrens’ Intermediate Readers, Sword & Stone Fantasy, Magic & Fantasy

    FLOWERANTHA by Bek Castro – Childrens’ Intermediate Readers, Sword & Stone Fantasy, Magic & Fantasy

    Beautiful and imaginative, Flowerantha is a magical tale of two young girls who fall through a portal into an unknown world. With the help of restless boy Mash and aspiring soldier Bushraal, Beverly and May Lynn must travel among rising tensions to make it home safe.

    No visitors have traveled to Flowerantha since its last visitor turned corrupt and started a war ten years prior. Mash is a young tree dwelling boy who desires nothing more than to go to the strange land that the visitors come from. When Mash finds out there are visitors, he volunteers to help them get home with the intention of following them through the portal.

    Getting Beverly and May Lynn home is not as simple as initially believed. Magic is weakening, and Bushraal, ready to prove his worth as a future soldier, sees Mash as a burdened addition to his quest. All must put their particular prejudices aside to keep Flowerantha off the brink of another war and to keep two innocent girls protected on their journey home.

    Bek Castro is a skillful writer who excels at building a world that feels alive. Flowerantha is a world saturated with magic and is in everything from the flowers that cover the sprawling landscapes to the wishing abilities of its people. The success and beauty of this short novel come from its central theme that no matter if a family is small, big, or adopted, they are all still family. Loss of loved ones is also prevalent and is not simplified for the sake of young audiences.

    Settle in a comfy car during a rainy spring day and learn all about the world of Flowerantha as the rain feeds the flowers outside.

    Floweranta won First Place in the 2017 CIBAs for Early Readers, the Gertrude Warner Awards.