Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Children’s Books

Happy Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of The Little House on the Prairie series!

For many generations of children, their first introduction into the world of the Western genre is through The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Born in the “Big Woods” of Wisconsin, Laura spent her youth traveling across the great American prairie in a covered wagon. She watched as her father was the first to break ground on their Kansas farm and followed the construction of a railroad across the Dakotas. Laura lived an iconic American life, and lucky for us, she created stories from those memories and gave us a beloved children’s series.

Laura Ingalls was born on February 7, 1867. Today, that would make her 158 years old. Our own Dena Weigel was one of the children influenced and inspired by Ingalls, and we are delighted to have her share what she learned about the Western genre from Ingalls’ work. So cozy up around the fire and join us as Dena takes us back in time to see the world as it once was when a child crossed the country in the back of a covered wagon.

Dramatic Surroundings

For me, the most meaningful part of Laura’s writing comes through in her talent for setting the stage. Colorful sunsets, the smell of an approaching storm, or the screech of a panther as it pursues it’s prey—Laura had a special talent for describing her surroundings. Likely, that comes from years of “being the eyes” for her blind sister, Mary.

Perfect for young readers, she wrote simple sentences that didn’t condescend, and sprinkled them with slightly uncommon, but more specific, words for them to learn. It wasn’t just a pink sky; it was a salmon-colored streak across a lavender sky. For a young reader and future writer, this illustrated that word choice is impactful in both meaning and substance. It adds to the meaning of the sentence, but it also adds to the feeling the sentence provokes in the reader.

The Ingalls Family (left to right): Caroline, Grace, Laura, Charles, Carrie and Mary

Colorful Characters

The cast of characters in Laura’s stories follow the traditional hallmarks for the Western genre, enhanced by the unique voice of the protagonist.

Until this point, most imagery for the Wild West featured cowboys, gunslingers, and bounty hunters, but in the Little House series it is Laura, a girl the age of four to around eighteen throughout the series, who offers a new voice and a new perspective. That’s just the start of what makes her Little House books so special.

Given the time period, most Westerns have limited space for female characters. Teachers, wives, sex workers, and the stray “wild” woman are about all the fairer sex can claim in this genre that’s frozen in time. Laura offers something new. The main protagonist is a spunky girl with complex thoughts and a yearning for adventure. Through her experience we get a new perspective in this very familiar genre.

Ingalls rethought more than just women on the page. Other more typical Western characters set the stage for interesting challenges and interactions. Settlers, Native Americans, and townspeople bring a variety of conflict, wants, and needs that make Westerns so relatable more than a century after the era.

The differences in society’s understanding of prejudices do stand out at times in Laura’s books, and there is much worthwhile commentary on her writing. While they undeniably exist, during Laura’s day they were, sadly, common. She wrote about these controversial moments in a way that doesn’t question it, but she does present the separation of cultures that were a part of our country’s commonly accepted ethics at the time.

Exciting Plotlines

Raging rivers, fierce tornados, and roving bandits all show up in the Little House series. Always miles from the civilized world, there is plenty of opportunity to up the ante with intense plotlines. But there’s also the gentle spirit of a loving family to be a counter balance to the sudden, jarring, dangerous experiences each book brings to the table.

Reading them as a child, I often missed the level of danger Laura and her family experienced, but as an adult I understand the seriousness of the glances her parents shared when they talked of a week long blizzard or their rush to put out a prairie fire. The family was nearly murdered, almost starved to death, and much worse during their nomadic years, and Laura handles all these events with the soft truth a child requires.

Action! Action! Action!

When you think of Westerns, you think action. In the saddle, in the saloon, and on the farm. While Laura doesn’t take us into the saloon, she does provide us with the action you’d expect from a Western. Her father stands up against an angry mob while working as a railroad paymaster. A bully gets what she deserves when Laura drives her into a leech infested creek. And we see Laura racing at breakneck speed on a bareback horse across the open prairie. If your child likes the freedom you’d expect in the Wild West, Laura’s stories are a great choice. She’s bold, she’s adventurous, and she represents a childhood that both boys and girls will be excited to read about.

Just like Laura, I grew up on the Kansas prairie and the Little House series often captured many of the things I experienced there. The sound of a meadowlark in the morning, cooking over campfires, and watching as a sunset lights up the evening sky. For young readers, the Little House series continues to open the door to the beautiful landscapes, wily characters, and amazing adventures that fans of the Western genre yearn for as they ride off into the sunset.

Happy birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Thank you for introducing me to the beautiful, untamed world of Western literature.

Are you looking for a reading adventure for your children? We encourage you to dig into stories written by these Chanticleer authors.

Exostar
Rae Knightly
Grand Prize Winner of the CIBA Gertrude Warner award

It has been said that “the Golden Age of Science Fiction is twelve.” Rae Knightly’s Sci-Fi adventure, Exostar, embodies this childlike sense of wonder that the best of the genre evokes in its readers.

Twelve-year-old child-robot Trinket takes off on a rocketing spaceship straight towards danger and excitement, with the mostly able assistance of the blue-furred spy and saboteur Woolver Talandrin. Trinket is searching for identity—as all the best young science fiction protagonists do. Woolver is trying to bring down an evil empire—as all the other best science fiction protagonists do.

Together they’ve been thrust into the kind of epic tale that is guaranteed to keep young readers on the edge of their seats—including the twelve-year-old that lurks inside every science fiction fan.

Read more here!

The Ghost in the Garden
Alisse Lee Goldenberg

In Alisse Goldberg’s engaging young adult mystery, The Ghost in the Garden, a curious 11-year-old must face the challenges of moving to a new city, losing old friends, making new ones, and encountering historic specters in her new home.

Sophie Madison seems none too happy about her recent move from the bustling city of Calgary, Ablerta to the smaller, quieter landscape of Stratford, Ontario. But upon arrival with her parents, she begins noticing the charm of the place, appearing like a step back in time. Their new house in particular catches her interest, with its tall turret topped by stained glass window panes where Sophie’s bedroom will be. In addition, the wild beauty of the backyard garden draws her in.

Soon, a mysterious blonde-headed girl named Tabitha appears in the garden.

Read more here!

Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrol
Thomas R. Kuhn

Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrolby Thomas R. Kuhn follows Nate, a young boy growing up in the 1970s, whose friendship with the kid genius robot builder, Tommy Rocket, leads him into mysterious adventures.

Tommy’s father invented the Prometheus chip that gives sentience to robots, and from a young age Tommy started creating a gang of robots called the Goober Patrol. Eccentric and wheelchair-bound, Tommy prefers to tinker with his robots at home. But he befriends Nate after he saves Tommy from bullies.

When Tommy’s aptly named ‘Monster-bot’ gets loose, Nate is tasked with finding and securing the rogue bot before anyone finds out. But the two boys soon find out there is more at work than one missing robot. There’s another tinkerer in town and they’re building their own special group of robots—which look just like one of Tommy’s creations. Nate and Tommy have to find out who has gotten their hands on the Prometheus chip before it’s too late.

Read more here!

Mayday
Sue C. Dugan

In Sue C. Dugan’s middle grade adventure,Mayday: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2,thirteen-year-old Jessie and her father, Adam, take an unexpected detour when their plane crashes on a secluded island.

On their final vacation before Adam begins chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, Jessie and her father take off in their Cessna aircraft over the boundless, azure Atlantic Ocean. Jessie’s anxiety about her father’s health is on high-alert during the trip, especially when she remembers her mother’s cancerous death.

Twenty minutes into their flight, the sky grows gloomy, and the wind picks up speed from all sides.

Read more here!

If you’d like to loose yourself in tales of the Old West, we suggest these Chanticleer authors.

A Grave Every Mile, Book One of the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail
David Fitz-Gerald
Grand Prize Winner of the CIBA Series award

Each day’s trumpet blasts the predawn quiet of the sleeping wagon train, demanding that its migrating families face what’s ahead, whether incredible scenery or mortal danger, in David Fitz-Gerald’sA Grave Every Mile.

This beautifully told story mixes adventure, survival, community, and history, all shown through the eyes of Dorcas, a feisty mother of four. She’s dreamed of hitting the trail to the storied West for so long, but much about this trip and their destination remains unknown.

Another wagon travels alongside hers. Who are they? Will they remain strangers, or become friends? Now that Dorcas stands with her family at the trail’s starting point and on the brink of changing their lives forever, a tremor of doubt surfaces about what lies ahead. Is her family strong enough to face their future? Will it be everything she and her husband hoped for? That future is 720,000 turns of the wagon wheels away, and there may beA Grave Every Mile. It all starts with that first pull by the team of oxen.

Read more here!

Guarded Hearts
T.K. Conklin
Grand Prize Winner of the CIBA Laramie award

Guarded Hearts by T K Conklin is a sensual romance in the Wild West, with all the passion and excitement natural to the setting.

Sparks fly between a man with an outlaw past and a woman with a terrifying gift to heal or harm. Strykes is a man haunted both by a violent childhood and his time in an outlaw gang. But he has found a place in Rimrock, where he met LaRisa, an auburn-haired woman whom the townspeople have labeled a “witch” due to her healing herbs and rumors of her “powers”.

LaRisa has kept her distance from people, afraid of her gift of healing touch that can turn dangerous, even deadly. But, when she comes to town to deliver her medicinal herbs, she makes her way to the livery with tasks for Strykes such as shoeing her horse or fixing a spring in her wagon. He is only too happy to oblige the auburn-haired beauty. The attraction between them is instantaneous, yet they both are hesitant to act on it, fearing they would hurt the other– he from his violent past, and she from her “witch” power.

Read more here!

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Do you have a book that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.

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Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books!

February 7, 2025
I USED To BE SHY A Children’s Book: An Illustrated Story With Songs About Inclusion, Belonging, and Compassion by Mike Mirabella and Lenny Lipton, illustrated by Amy O’Hanlon – Children’s Books, Picture Books, Inclusion & Friendship

In I Used to Be Shy, from the Carla Stories by Mike Mirabella and Lenny Lipton, Carla meets a nervous boy with physical disabilities at Camp Allbelong. Through their friendship, Carla helps him become confident enough to join in the camp games in this compassionate illustrated story about inclusion told through song.

We begin with Carla’s bright yellow light contrasting with the boy’s deep, lonely blue representation. As their friendship grows, those two colors begin to mix, becoming a vibrant green that paints the heartwarming, pastoral scenes of Camp Allbelong. When the boy joins his peers in the center of these illustrations, his blue color takes on a new tone that reflects the expansive sky in the background.

Amy O’Hanlon’s delightful illustrations show how one friendship can bloom to become a garden full of many relationships.

As Mirabella notes, children with disabilities, such as his and Lipton’s own two daughters, are often left out of social activities. The story’s message of making space for everyone shows through Carla, who befriends the boy and encourages him to open up to the other children. As a result, we can see how quickly his mood changes to excitement and friendliness. With the compassion of his fellow campers and accommodations made by the staff, he even joins games like kickball that could otherwise prove difficult for someone who needs crutches to walk.

I Used to Be Shy encourages readers to sing along with the playful lyrics by Lenny Lipton, composer of the classic Puff the Magic Dragon, as they follow this meaningful story of acceptance.

Written as a duet, this song is shown in easy-to-read colored text that reflects the characters’ emerging friendship, with each singer trading verses, then as alternating lines as the two characters connect with one another. Mirabella & Lipton’s lyrics create a back-and-forth rhyming scheme which makes this song particularly fun to sing with old or new friends. Sheet music in the back of the book provides readers with a way to learn this song– as well as a bonus song called “Little Brown Pony” using instruments.

I Used to Be Shy is a sweet tale about opening up to those around you and finding friendships that extend well beyond words alone. Inspired by the daughters of Mirabella & Lipton, this book is for any child who might share the boy’s shyness. A must-read showing how wonderful it is when we all belong.

February 7, 2025
The 2023 Book Series First Place Winners Roundup

The Series Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Genre Fiction (and now Non-Fiction). The Grand Prize Winner, David Fitz-Gerald’s Series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Series contest page year ’round!

The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

While these Award Winning Series are all Multi-book sagas, we are going to showcase the most important part of a Series. The beginning. Having a good start makes it memorable. The first book is the foundation, laying the first stitches into what later becomes a whole tapestry, telling their story.

Join us in celebrating the 2023 First Place Series Winners!

John J. Spearman – FitzDuncan

Introducing Casimir “Caz” FitzDuncan, a resident of the medieval kingdom of Aquileia. He makes his living retrieving things when the law will not help.

A woman has come to him, seeking his assistance in escaping a contract to marry a nobleman with a foul reputation. After their meeting, she is kidnapped not far from his residence.

Caz is accused of abducting her and forced to investigate her disappearance. Aided by his friend Freddy, Lord Rawlinsford, and Freddy’s mysterious cousin Lucy, Caz works to find the kidnapper.

Be careful Caz, the closer you get to finding the truth, the more tangled you are in a web designed specifically to trap you.

In this fantasy adventure book series you will be whisked away in a medieval time of magical realism, masters of sword fighting, and action & adventure that won’t allow you to put the book down.

Will Caz be able to rescue an innocent victim and save himself when skill with a sword is not enough?

Find it Locally and on Amazon

James Hutson-Wiley – The Sugar Merchant

When Thomas’s family is annihilated in a raid, his life changes forever. Wandering for days, starving and hopeless, he is rescued by a monk and is taken to live at the abbey of Eynsham. There he receives a curious education, training to be a scholar, a merchant and a spy. His mission: to develop commerce in Muslim lands and dispatch vital information to the Holy See.

His perilous adventures during the 11th century’s commercial revolution will take him far from his cloistered life to the great trading cities of Almeria, Amalfi, Alexandria and Cairo.

But the world in which he lives is chaotic. Struggling with love and loss, faith and fortune, can Thomas carry out his secret mission before conflict overtakes him?

Spanning the tumultuous medieval worlds of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, The Sugar Merchant is a tale of clashing cultures, massive economic change and one man’s determination to fulfil his destiny.

From Chanticleer: 2019 Chaucer 1st Place Winner

Narrated by a boy who grows up in a monastery and is trained to be a spy, The Sugar Merchant is set in the late 11th Century when the Great Crusades were on the verge of erupting in Europe and the Middle East.

When Thomas is forced to flee after rebels attack his family, he is finally discovered, ragged and starving, by a giant of a man named Leofric. Taken under the wing of the monks at Eynsham Abbey, Thomas is educated while accepting the strict discipline of the Benedictine order. In his late teens, he is surprised and disappointed to learn he will not join the Order but will be employed as an agent and spy. His task will be to find, secretly copy and send back manuscripts written by Islamic scholars. These documents contain knowledge that the Catholic Church needs to maintain its control.

Accompanied by Leofric, who taught him the arts of war based on his own checkered past as a mercenary, Thomas travels to Spain, to the city of Granada (called Gharnatah at the time). His travels will take him through the known Catholic realms and beyond, and, paradoxically, afford him the chance to meet, befriend and be aided in the abbey’s mission by good men of other faiths, both Muslim and Jew. As a cover for his work for Eynsham, he adopts a persona as a merchant of sukkar, or sugar, a commodity that will soon have excellent trading value. When a beautiful Muslim girl crosses his path, all that he has been taught will come into question as he strives to do what he believes to be right.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Alice McVeigh – Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel

Sixteen-year-old Susan Smithson – pretty but poor, clever but capricious – has just been expelled from a school for young ladies in London.

At the mansion of the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she attracts a raffish young nobleman. But, at the first hint of scandal, her guardian dispatches her to her uncle Collins’ rectory in Kent, where her sensible cousin Alicia lives and “where nothing ever happens.”

Here Susan mischievously inspires the local squire to put on a play, with consequences no one could possibly have foreseen. What with the unexpected arrival of Frank Churchill, Alicia’s falling in love and a tumultuous elopement, rural Kent will surely never seem safe again…

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Tom Burkhalter – Everything We Had

November 1941: War is coming to the Pacific.

In Europe, the Nazis are triumphant. England is under siege by air and sea. France has fallen to the Nazi Wehrmacht, which in turn fell on Soviet Russia. The Red Army is reeling in full retreat, with the Nazis at the gates of Moscow itself.

In the Pacific, Japan has been at war with China since 1937. Her war industries depend upon imports of scrap metal and oil from what are now the Allied nations. When an embargo is placed on imports to Japan, they are left with a year’s supply of oil to supply their armed forces.

Japan surrounds American possessions in the Philippines on three sides. The US Army is making a desperate, last-minute attempt to reinforce the Philippines garrison, but the clock is ticking for the Japanese, with their oil running out. The armed forces of Imperial Japan may attack the Philippines at any moment.

Two brothers, Jack and Charlie Davis, are pilots in the US Army Air Forces. They are part of the reinforcements sent to the Far Eastern Air Force, charged with air defense of the Philippines.

For Jack and Charlie, in a time when the US is on the brink of world war, a simple question must soon be answered: what will I do when the Japanese come?

From Chanticleer:

Everything We Had, book one of Tom Burkhalter’s No Merciful War series is an inexorable thrill that will grip readers tight. It starts with a poker game, through which a main character’s luck soon becomes evident. But will that luck hold out?

Jack—the poker player—and Charlie—Jack’s older brother—have been separated by war, even though that war has yet to be declared. Everything We Had focuses more on the machinations leading up to US involvement in World War II than on actual combat. The gears of war that have so many young men caught in them move with gradual but inevitable force, and so Everything We Had takes a more thoughtful approach to a historic moment in time.

Connecting with the characters is a gradual process as you get to know the intricacies that make up their individual personalities. This sets the reader up to feel the emotions of the characters as they face an uncertain fate, and throughout the book the author’s clear and methodical research shines with details such as specific views, locations, and—most notably—comprehensive descriptions of the airplanes Jack and Charlie pilot. This allows the reader to become deeply familiar with the motivations of the characters and the capabilities of the airplanes they fly.

The importance of their family gradually emerges, too, through their mother’s letters and their memories of their father who flew racing planes. The more readers learn, the more attachment they feel to these characters, giving weight to the growing danger they face.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Dave Lager – Ro’s Handle

An overzealous rookie cop. A biased old-boys club. Will she have to shoot her way in? Ro Delahanty never let her dream of becoming a cop out of her sights. Between years of black-belt judo lessons and sharpshooting championships, she thought she could handle anything the academy threw her way. But as the only female rookie on the force, she soon discovers it’ll take a warrior’s determination to get out from behind the desk and into the action.

Knowing she’ll have to work twice as hard for half the respect, she refuses to let distractions like a new boyfriend block her target. And her sacrifices will be well worth it if she can secure a “handle” that brands her as an equal instead of the butt of a joke. When a simple field assignment spirals into a heavily-armed hostage standoff, will Ro and her trusty Sig Sauer P229 .357 aim true or will she miss the shot she’s trained her whole life to take?

Ro’s Handle is the first book in the gritty Ro Delahanty police procedural series. If you like tenacious heroines, crime scene drama, and high-octane shootouts, then you’ll love David Lager’s torn-from-the-headlines tale. Buy Ro’s Handle and test your aim on a straight-shooting criminal case today!

Find it on Amazon

Jode Millman – Hooker Avenue

2022 Clue 1st Place Winner

Being a Good Samaritan is hazardous.

Amid a violent Hudson Valley thunderstorm, Jessie Martin discovers a woman lying unconscious in a roadside ditch. The badly beaten victim, Lissie Sexton, a local prostitute, claims she’s escaped the attack of a killer.

Jessie’s more than a casual driver who passes by; she’s a criminal-defense attorney. And Lissie is more than an ordinary hooker. She’s the key witness in a cold case under investigation by Jessie’s estranged longtime friend, Detective Ebony Jones.

And now Ebony can’t find her witness. Jessie’s new boss has sent Lissie into hiding. If Jessie reveals Lissie’s location she compromises her client, her firm and her professional ethics. If she doesn’t, she risks alienating not just Ebony but the entire police department backing her.

A simple act of compassion forces Jessie to choose between her duty and her friend.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Mark A. Gibson – A Song that Never Ends

Home.

For over three hundred years, that’s what the Hamilton family has called a shrinking swath of farmland in the Appalachian foothills of South Carolina.

Home.

That’s the failing tobacco farm where Walter and Maggie Hamilton choose to raise their three children. Walter has big plans to make the farm more profitable, but his plans are interrupted by World War II and family heartbreak. Walter returns from the war a changed man and finds Maggie, too, has changed, neither of them for the better. But at least their family is together again at…

Home.

More than anything, that’s where their eight-year-old son, Jimmy Hamilton, wants to be. However, after an unspeakable tragedy, he’s sent away from the only life he’s ever known to live with a kindly uncle in North Carolina.

Home.

That’s where Jimmy is finally going to be, unless fate has plans of its own…

A Song that Never Ends is the first installment of the Hamilton Place series, an epic family saga extending from the Great Depression to present day. Through war and peace, love and loss, triumph and tragedy, follow the Hamilton family on their journey from a run-down farm in South Carolina, through the jungles of Vietnam, to the top of the world in New York City, and beyond the gardens of stone at Arlington.

From Chanticleer:

A Song That Never Ends, the first volume of a two part series by Mark A. Gibson, opens a dramatic fictional saga of the Hamilton family from the late 1930s Depression era, to 1967 and the Vietnam conflict. Here against the backdrop of a South Carolina tobacco farm, we come to witness a family in turmoil.

The calm and reserved Walter Hamilton and his rebellious, impulsive wife Maggie strive to build a life and raise a family. But the couple is tested by a series of misfortunes—miscarriages and stillbirths, and Walter’s enlistment during WWII leaving him with guilt-induced PTSD as he deals with the memory of fallen comrades.

At the center of this heartfelt story is James, the middle child, who at the tender age of eight is forced from his home due to a horrific accident and sent to live with a widower uncle.

James proves to be an extremely intelligent and talented youngster who longs for a connection to his family. In the meantime, he learns from his gracious uncle to deal with dire situations and unexpected circumstances in life, as well as the importance of having a charitable heart. Under the tutelage of this kind, caring, and nurturing man, the story begins to evolve into a coming-of-age tale.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2023 Series First Place Winners!

Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

Got a great Fiction Book? The 2024 Series Book Awards are open through the end of October!

Submit to the Series Awards Today!

October 27, 2024
The 2024 Book Series Awards Spotlight for Fiction and Non-Fiction Series
Books!

Betcha can’t have just one!

We’re ready. Is your series?

We are Delighted to Celebrate the 2023 Winners of the Series Award!
- John J. Spearman – FitzDuncan
- James Hutson-Wiley – The Sugar Merchant
- Alice McVeigh – Warleigh Hall Press Jane Austen Series
- Tom Burkhalter – No Merciful War
- Dave Lager – The Ro Delahanty Novels
- Jode Millman – The Queen City Crimes Series
- Mark A. Gibson – Hamilton Place
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 SERIES Awards is:

Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail

by David Fitz-Gerald

We are so looking forward to celebrating these incredible book series!

First though, let’s celebrate some recent books in a series that have come our way for review!

SUMMER CYCLONE: Magic at Myers Beach Book 4
By Alan B. Gibson

The citizens of the three fairy kingdoms clash, forced to live shoulder-to-shoulder alongside ungoverned Outliers. In Summer Cyclone, fourth book of Alan B. Gibson’s Magic at Myers Beach series, unassuming tea-shop manager Stefán tries to find love while keeping all of fairy society from fracturing.

The three fairy kings, Theos, Zsombor, and Christophe, evacuate their people to Myers Beach. It’s only here that they have any chance of recreating fairy dust after their old sources had been poisoned, and saving every fairy life. They take in the Outliers, remnants of a fallen kingdom, and at first find good will between the groups. But with thousands of fairies moving in, they have to keep everyone on a short leash or else risk humans catching wind of their new neighbors. Resentment of these strange Outliers builds.

Stefán, a close confidant to Theos, struggles to keep anti-Outlier sentiment at bay with the help of some enigmatic and knowledgeable new friends. Rumors of him giving the Outliers special treatment grow stronger as some fairies begin to suspect that he’s actually one of them.

Read more here!

SEA TIGERS And MERCHANTS: Salem Stories Book 2
By Sandra Wagner-Wright

Two families vie for power in mercantile 18^th-century Salem. Sea Tigers and Merchants, the second book in Sandra Wagner-Wright’s Salem Stories series, returns to a world of treacherous storms, tantalizing wealth, and the demands of high society on its children.

Elias Hasket Derby, Sr. has kept his promise to his wife Eliza—they rule Salem. Hasket’s merchant ships bring in great fortune, while Eliza holds court as the most influential woman in the city’s social spheres. And their ambitions have grown to meet their station. Hasket launches his riskiest endeavor—the Grand Turk, a ship so massive she’s nearly too heavy to be pulled out of the docks. Meanwhile Eliza, snubbed by George Washington’s stay at another family’s mansion, insists they build a house so grand it will put all others to shame.

Such success, of course, draws the envious eye of Hasket’s competitor.

Read more here!

MAYDAY: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2
By Sue C. Dugan

In Sue C. Dugan’s middle grade adventure, Mayday: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2, thirteen-year-old Jessie and her father, Adam, take an unexpected detour when their plane crashes on a secluded island.

On their final vacation before Adam begins chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, Jessie and her father take off in their Cessna aircraft over the boundless, azure Atlantic Ocean. Jessie’s anxiety about her father’s health is on high-alert during the trip, especially when she remembers her mother’s cancerous death.

Twenty minutes into their flight, the sky grows gloomy, and the wind picks up speed from all sides.

Read more here!

DREAMS And ILLUSIONS: Gabrielle Dorian Mysteries Book 1
By Rebecca Olmstead

Dreams and Illusions by Rebecca Olmstead is a delicate interplay of mysteries balanced on an emotional undercurrent, exploring the immutable ebb and flow of life to find resilience in the shadow of misfortunes.

In the bustling town of Whitman, Gabrielle co-owns the boutique Belle Femme with her best friend, Kate. Radiating the tranquil aura of an empowered business owner, Gabrielle is a caring woman, but burdened with a secret she hides from everyone. Gabrielle is blessed—or perhaps cursed—with prophetic dreams.

Almost as if they are a glimpse into the future, Gabrielle wrestles with dreams that foretell an ominous fate. Soon she is confronted with a series of distressing events that thrust her into a mystery.

Read more here!

We can’t stop reading books, so please send us more!

Enter the Book Series Awards by the end of October!

This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!

Your Book Deserves to be Discovered!
October 21, 2024
YIMBY: Yes! In My Back Yard! by Sheryl Recinos, illustrated by Amanda Ravensdale – Children’s Books, Homelessness, Community Organizing

In YIMBY! Yes In My Back Yard!, Sheryl Recinos presents a simple yet powerful story that speaks to the heart of human kindness and the need to help our fellow man.

Most people are familiar with the term NIMBY, the acronym for “Not In My Back Yard”, referencing opposition to the construction of something perceived as undesirable in one’s neighborhood. But this passionate and heart-warming children’s book offers a positive transformation to the word.

Alongside quality illustrations by Amanda Ravensdale, this story explores the concept that people everywhere, both young and old, need our help.

Whether a homeless man in the park accepting food or a warm coat in winter, an elder woman getting help from a teen to climb the stairs, or an adult and child being welcomed by a family offering shelter, each scene emphasizes that “everyone needs a place to live sleep and stay safe.”

In another instance we see a father and his children admire their work after they transform a small structure into a freshly painted safe haven for someone. To show just how far reaching the homeless problem is, one image depicts a Native American looking out over the vast western landscape dotted with mountain ranges and roaming bovine.

Ravensdale’s illustrations are brightly colored, with fine detail and texture.

From the close perspective of a doe-eyed girl sipping a warming drink, to the mixed gathering of community members, all pictures reflect the story’s core sentiment.

In this engaging work, Recinos also includes suggestions for helping those who need housing in our own communities.

Consider food and clothing drives, sack lunch programs, and letters to legislators voicing concerns about the homeless. Further interaction includes questions posed to the reader about additional help they might offer. Several organizations are listed to further the cause of ending homelessness, including havens for both the young and old, as well as programs for homeless veterans.

The final page depicts colorful drawings and bios of the author and illustrator.

Recinos’s own experience with homelessness as a teenager is clearly reflected in her choice of subject matter. Ravensdale was born into a multicultural family and was influenced by an artist father. Growing up in countries around the world gave her a vast exposure to a variety of people.

With the Supreme Court’s recent debate regarding ticketing the homeless, YIMBY couldn’t come at a more pressing time. Though written for children, the book’s message offers a thought-provoking and compelling experience to be shared by young and old alike.

July 19, 2024
Celebrating the Evolution of Fatherhood on Father’s Day with Chanticleer

Celebrating Dads on Father’s Day

Fatherhood has changed dramatically over the last century. Once limited to being a hands-off leader of the family, fathers have become a loving, supportive, involved parent that we turn to for help, advice, and sometimes the keys to the car. This Father’s Day, June 16th, we celebrate all the amazing fathers and father figures in our lives!

The Evolving Role of Fatherhood

Let’s look back at the fathers of yesterday to celebrate the great dads we have today!

Fathers from Colonial Times to the Civil War

Traditionally, fathers in the US were stoic figures who taught their boys to work and found suitable husbands for their daughters. While showing the love they had for their children at home was discouraged, soldiers from the Civil War expressed their true feelings toward their children through letters from the battlefield.

Fathers of the Progressive Age

The industrialization of the nation freed up a father’s time to spend with their children, but World War I and II forced many fathers to leave their families to fight overseas. During the turbulent times of the Great Depression that followed gender roles became more flexible, allowing fathers more time with their children while their wives worked outside the home to support their families.

Fathers After WWII

Parenting went under the microscope after WWII, with many studies focused on parental roles and their affects on children. Results found that fathers of this time participated more in the lives and development of their children than ever before, but traditional parenting stereotypes were still in place.

60’s Fathers

Cultural and political shifts impacted fatherhood tremendously in the post-WWII baby boom, but the Vietnam War stymied the movement to further expand a father’s role in the family. Time away from their families and undiagnosed PTSD issues kept many fathers from fully participating in family life.

Fatherhood by 1999

Fathers evolved rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. Economic stability gave fathers more time to spend at home and participate in their children’s lives in new ways, setting up new expectations for their children and encouraging them to chase their dreams. Harsh discipline was traded in for guidance and encouragement to do better.

Fatherhood in the 21st Century

The gender equality movement of the 21st century has allowed fathers to push aside the old concepts of being a sole provider and disciplinarian in favor of becoming an equal co-parent alongside their significant other. Today’s dads are now involved in all activities of the home, from child rearing to grocery shopping, allowing them to be more confident, emotionally available, and playful with their children.

And then there is Vatertag in Germany

In Germany, Father’s Day always takes place 39 days after Easter Sunday which makes it happen on a Thursday. Father’s Day is also the same date as Ascension Day. Vatertag is also known as Mannertag in the east part of Germany.

Participants go for walks and treks with handcarts, wagons, wheelbarrows, bicycle trailers, and other modes of transporting beer, grills, pretzels, snacks, portable speakers, etc. Also, it is tradition to decorate the carts with birch branches. The story is that in the old days, men would take to the fields for a fruitful harvest. In true German tradition, after the prayers, celebrating with beer, mead, and ale would commence.

Hats off to all the great fathers out there on Father’s Day!

Chanticleer Celebrates Father’s Day with Inspiring, Fun, and Compelling Stories about Fatherhood!

Want to Read some Great Books about Dads?

Check out our Father’s Day Reading List!

GOD, THE MAFIA, MY DAD, AND ME
By Lori Lee Peters
2022 Grand Prize for Shorts

God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me by Lori Lee Peters begins in the voice of a child, compelling not just for its narrative honestly, but for the fact that it might not be reliable. As the book opens, we learn that this narrator firmly believes she will be killed.

Readers can easily see through the childlike hyperbole, but that doesn’t detract from the intrigue. How did a kid come to such an extreme conclusion? Is there any seed of truth to it? These questions will hook readers from the start.

Author Peters set out to write a book about her dad. God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me tells the true story of her father, and his fascinating work helping the FBI tackle Mafia activity in Lodi, California. Yet in the end, this is a memoir in which the compelling lead character – young Lori – overshadows her father in many ways.

Continue Reading here

ONE OF FOUR
By Travis Davis

Based on real people and events in 1918 France, One of Four by Travis Davis begins with a young French girl, Camille, who stumbles upon a diary lying next to an unknown American soldier. He was killed among his comrades in a German ambush near the banks of the Aire River, as he tried to protect his fellow soldiers. When Camille comes of age, she leaves her hometown to seek a better life in Paris. There, she is killed after joining a German resistance group. But before her death, she tucked the soldier’s diary in her Bible and hid it in a local bookstore.

Decades later, a man by the name of Walter travels to France with his son, Alex, to whom he’d become estranged after the painful divorce from Alex’s mother. He hopes this will be a journey of healing and exploration and that their time together will revive their shaky relationship. While there, Alex purchases the Bible left by Camille many years ago. By reading the hidden diary entries of the soldier together, Alex and Walter’s relationships takes an unexpected turn.

Continue Reading here

TROUBLE THE WATER
By Rebecca Dwight Bruff
Overall Grand Prize Winner

Robert Smalls’ life should have been one for the history books.

Smalls was born a slave in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. When the first shots of the Civil War were fired upon Fort Sumter, Smalls was an experienced helmsman aboard a small cargo ship plying the coastal waters of South Carolina and the neighboring states. Once the war broke out, he found himself working to support a cause that kept him, his wife, and their children locked in chattel slavery.

But in a daring escapade that fell somewhere between a raid and a rescue, Smalls planned, with the help of his fellow crew members (also slaves) aboard the CSS Planter, to abscond with the ship, its cargo of munitions taken from Fort Sumter, and bring their families. The plan was to sail the ship as though its white officers were still on board, pretending to be carrying out their orders—at least until the ship was out of the reach of Fort Sumter’s guns.

Continue reading the review here.

THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS
By Robert Dugoni

Robert Dugoni’s novel,The World Played Chessexamines the demands of society and family, through the dawning adulthood of three different men in three different eras.

Vincent Bianco, a Southern California lawyer raises his teenage daughter and high-school-senior son. He unexpectedly receives the Vietnam journal of William Goodman, with whom he had worked construction in 1979. Goodman scribbled the journal in pencil during desperate breaks in his service in Vietnam. This record describes Goodman’s harsh initiation and horrifying acclimatization to the war.

Mirroring the Marine’s rapid maturation in the jungles of southeast Asia, Bianco recalls his own privileged coming of age. He compares it with his son Beau’s coming of age in present-day 2016 and 2017.

Continue reading the review here.

A STORY OF WHOA
By Chris Corbett

In A Story of Whoa, Chris Corbett shows one way that parents can explain the often loud and frightening problems of the world to children, and how anyone can make a difference.

Whoa watches the news every night with his father, where tragedy, injustice, and cruelty so often take center stage. Seeing these terrible things happening on TV, Whoa decides the time has come to step up. With his father’s support, he learns every martial art he can, ready to do battle with the toughest challenges in the world!

With patience and encouragement for Whoa’s many KERPOWS!!!, his father helps him discover that fighting injustice often goes beyond physical strength.

Continue Reading here

We would like to wish all fathers, fathers-to-be, stand-in fathers, and those who possess the fathering instinct, a very Happy Father’s Day!

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the Fathers in our life!

Do you have a book with fathers that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!

Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.

Have an Award Winner?

Submitting to Book Awards is a great way to get your book discovered! Anytime you advance in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, your name and book are promoted right here on our website, through our newsletter, and across social media. One of the best ways to engage in long tail marketing!

Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books, and to fathers and father figures around the world! You are so loved and appreciated!

June 16, 2024
AKASH And MILA And The BIG JUMP by Anthony C. Delauney – Children’s Books, Self-Respect & Determination, Gymnastics

In Akash and Mila and the Big Jump by Anthony C. Delauney, best friends Akash and Mila excitedly start their first class together at TRIumph Gymnastics.

They enter a building full of athletes of all ages, shapes and sizes. But they also see captivating trophies, banners, and prizes that gymnasts from the school have won over the years, and hope to eventually have their own trophies, too– that they’ll be winners.

Though excited to learn today during this special event the school is holding, they’re both nervous to start because they both have never had any gymnastic training.

A fellow friend, Dash, does the springboard and lands with a perfect pose. Akash tries the same, but lands flat on his belly. He’s worried what the others will say of his first attempt. Mila decides to take a pass on her turn until she feels more comfortable and confident.

Dash learns that Akash and Mila are scared to try because they don’t want to be made fun of by the others. He has the perfect solution. Dash introduces them to his friend and fellow gymnast, Lulu, and he explains that he felt the exact same way when he started doing gymnastics, but Lulu helped him learn to succeed at the floor exercises.

Akash and Mila, feeling a bit more adventurous, both try to do the springboard this time.

The bright and vibrant illustrations allow readers to get fully engrossed in this wonderful children’s story.

Without a doubt, readers will be cheering Akash and Mila on as they make their attempts at learning the springboard. This book teaches children that, if at first you don’t succeed, you should keep trying until you get it right– even if you’re worried what others might say or think of you. Be your own individual and just know that you tried and gave it your all.

The author wrote this as book 5 in the Owning the Dash series, which skillfully teaches children that it’s important to have confidence in yourself because you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Akash and Mila and the Big Jump is a compelling and effective learning tool for children, without making the learning process to obvious.

The characters were very believable and fun to get to know, allowing children to want to become friends with Akash, Mila, and the other gymnasts at the school. Akash and Mila and the Big Jump was written for ages 4-8 years and fits perfectly for children within that age range.

May 1, 2024
DASH And NIKKI And The JELLYBEAN GAME by Anthony C. Delauney – Children’s Picture Books, Money & Savings, Children’s Educational Books

First in the Owning the Dash Kids’ Book series by Anthony C. Delauney, Dash and Nikki and the Jellybean Game teaches children the importance of patience.

One morning, Dash and his sister Nikki wake up to a surprise from their parents. They find two plates with jellybeans, and a note telling them if they don’t eat them, each hour until dinner time five more jellybeans will appear. Dash and Nikki must choose between enjoying the jellybeans now or waiting for a bigger reward later in the day. Will they be able to resist the instant gratification of sugary goodness? As the two try to stay patient throughout the day, they will also learn the benefits of helping others over themselves.

Author Anthony C. Delauney, a financial advisor, wrote Dash and Nikki and the Jellybean Game and other tales to teach children important financial lessons.

Delauney uses situations and ideas familiar to children, such as the desire for jellybeans, to help them understand more complex ideas of patience and risk.

Illustrator Chiara Civati fills the pages with colorful and inviting illustrations.

Civat’s art highlights the emotions of Dash and Nikki as they play their jellybean game, inviting young readers to follow along on the course of their day.

Dash and Nikki and the Jellybean Game focuses on important lessons that help children build skills for making decisions. These skills extend beyond jellybeans, of course, and into a healthier financial life as they grow up. This story is a fun start to a new series and succeeds in its mission to teach.

July 10, 2023
SORA SEARCHES For A SONG by Once Upon a Dance – Children’s Dancing Books, Picture Books, Children’s Adventure Books

Sora Searches for a Song from Once Upon a Dance will delight children and adults with its synthesis of story and movement.

Once Upon a Dance features several creative works that combine reading with physical activity, and this book delivers that pairing with gusto. Beginning with a beautiful overview of a marsh, we are introduced to Sora, a little cricket who everyone says has no imagination. In place of imagination, however, this cricket has the remarkable gift of transformation. Sora discovers the ability to turn into living beings like birds and fish, which allows for a greater understanding of the different songs sung by all creatures.

The charming storytelling is paired with two sides of dancing instruction.

Ballerina Konora demonstrates a movement in image, and a written description not only explains the motion but also how it relates to the current moment in the story. Konora’s careful instructions are perfect for both visual and auditory learners, as the reader can easily walk their children through the steps.

Sora’s transformations lead to a wonderful gain in confidence that is sure to be mirrored by those who dance along with the story.

With a strong message of celebrating oneself, being open to learning new skills, and finding a place of belonging, Sora Searches for a Song is a book you will read again and again. A worthwhile installment of the wide collection of books from Once Upon a Dance.

May 1, 2023
GALDO’S GIFT: The Boovie by Eleanor Long & Trevor Young – Animated, Picture Books, Children’s Fantasy Stories

In Galdo’s Gift: The Boovie, Eleanor Long & Trevor Young create an interactive animated story that helps children learn about their unique gifts through an imaginative tale and diverse vocabulary.

The first page opens with a poem sharing a personalized gift with the reader. Then, we meet the frog King, and his kingdom Galdovia. His land is “where the wild wind whistles while the songbird sings” and he narrates the story, voiced by Brian Murphy.

The townsfolk of Galdovia move on the page in textured illustrations. They need a hero to undertake an important adventure, with the promise of a gift from the King to whoever completes this quest. Enter four great heroes who start their journeys in the hope of earning the King’s reward.

The four fearless heroes of this story are hilarious!

Any child or child at heart will notice the innocent humor in this story. Even their names (Strompoff, Brendara, Mustafo and Doogood) are silly, along with their exaggerated physical appearances.

The four are hysterical to watch as they employ clever alliteration-described skills to obtain the king’s gift. The animations show deliberate attention to a child’s curiosity and imagination. Overall, the story is a very joyful read.

By helping children to see their individual gifts, it empowers them to become better people.

We do not all share the same gifts as the fearless four, but individually we learn our strengths and purpose. Galdo’s Gift teaches us to hone our abilities while growing up.

Often adults convince children they must become something they are not capable of or comfortable with. Long & Young foster a child’s worth and esteem as inner flames which must be stoked. We all admire great heroes, but once we play to our strengths, they show us the heroes inside ourselves. This story teaches us this lesson without sounding overpowering or insensitive to a child’s curiosities and insecurities.

More importantly, by encouraging a child’s strength, we empower and boost their confidence. Galdo’s Gift encourages us to use our strengths and magical gifts, one adventure as a silly great hero at a time.

Galdo’s Gift: The Boovie by Eleanor Long & Trevor Young won Grand Prize in the 2019 CIBA Little Peeps Book Awards for Early Readers and Picture Books. This interactive masterpiece is available on Apple i-Tunes.

July 13, 2022