Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: tara-ellis

  • 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 Dahl – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

    J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter series

    Rick Riordan – Percy 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 Lowry – The 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!

  • The MYSTERY of HOLLOW INN (SAMANTHA WOLF MYSTERY, BOOK 1) by Tara Ellis – Middle Grade Mystery, Folk Tales, Children’s Books

    The MYSTERY of HOLLOW INN (SAMANTHA WOLF MYSTERY, BOOK 1) by Tara Ellis – Middle Grade Mystery, Folk Tales, Children’s Books

    A summer vacation turns sinister for two tweeny girls far away from home.

    Twelve-year-old Samantha (Sam) Wolf and her best friend Alyson (Ally) Parker leave their home state of Washington vacation two weeks in Montana where Sam’s aunt and uncle have turned an old mansion into a hotel called Hollow Inn, after the family that once lived there. While things look pretty good initially, the girls learn from the staff that the place is haunted. Moreover, business is suffering since the last guests abruptly left claiming someone else was in their room – a ghost! Now, Sam’s aunt and uncle must deal with negative rumors and targeted vandalism.

    Sam doesn’t fall immediately into the trap of believing the mansion is haunted. Being a natural investigator, Sam happily delves into the Hollow family journal found in the attic. Her hope is to find answers, to separate fact from fiction where the Hollow family history is concerned, and find a way to boost her uncle and aunt’s business.

    While Sam’s intentions are good, situations become challenging and downright frightening when a dark presence appears in her room during her first night at the inn. The next day, the girls take a little boat out on the lake and panic when the boat mysteriously overturns. More determined than ever, Sam and Ally begin snooping around the estate in earnest to get to the bottom of the strange occurrences. Their investigation pays off when they discover a secret passageway. Little do they know, however, that their find will point them down a dangerous path.

    Ellis’ The Mystery at Hollow Inn, the first book in the Samantha Wolf Mysteries is a well-written work, filled with engaging dialogue, plenty of twists and turns, and chapter cliffhangers that champions a confident, inquisitive young girl and her friend.

    Reminiscent of Nancy Drew, Samantha (Sam) Wolf is a relatable, well-crafted character that young readers will enjoy getting to know. Level-headed, smart, and focused, Ellis’ newest heroine can consider any situation that comes her way without allowing her emotions to taint her decisions. She’s also exceptionally curious, an asset that lands her in hot water time and time again.

    Working with a small and relatively harmless-looking cast, Ellis keeps her antagonists under wraps while sprinkling red herrings and false leads throughout the narrative; and while clues (lightly laced with twists) are given, it’s a who-dun-it to the very end.

    Make room on your bookshelf next to Nancy Drew! Here comes a new series perfect for today’s young mystery fan. Samantha Wolf tackles ghosts, vandals, and a creepy sense that someone or something is watching her every move!

    Reviewer’s Notes:

    • How was the writing? (very good style, minimal errors)
    • Is there any sex? (none)
    • Is there any violence? (very low- age appropriate)
    • How is the book narrated? (third-person POV)
    • Which tense is the book? (largely present tense)
    • What’s the mood? (a classic Middle-Grade mystery that consistently builds tension)