Children and Teens

Christmas approaches!  Are you looking for gifts for your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews?  Autographed books make treasured keepsakes, and many of these books are available signed and personalized from the authors' websites.  Check out the titles below to find the perfect gift for an avid reader in your family!

Peanut Butter for Cupcakes by Donna Nordmark Aviles

As the stock market crashes in October of 1929, Oliver Nordmark fears for his job at the silk mill. When his nightmare comes true and the mill shuts down, Oliver is hesitant to allow his wife, Estella, to take a job at the local coffee shop. When he finally gives in, with tragic results, Oliver and his children struggle to survive as the Great Depression takes it grip on the country. Peanut Butter for Cupcakes is the true story of the life of the author's grandfather and his family. Find out what lies ahead for May, Bud, Oliver Jr., Margaret, Jim and Benny as they learn their life lessons from a father who never had a parent of his own. A story that will leave you with a deeper understanding of what life was like during the 1930's and how "boys will be boys" even in the hardest of times!

Donna Nordmark Aviles is the granddaughter of Oliver Nordmark, the real life protagonist of her three novels.  She lives with her husband Bob and their children Carlo, James and Estella in Hockessin, Delaware.  She enjoys speaking to school students and organizations about the Orphan Train Movement and the Great Depression.

Reviews:

" ... bound to be a classic in its genre.  Rarely do you find in a book a story that cannot only teach your children important history lessons, but also how families in the past survived some of the hardest times." ~ Peter N. Jones, PhD., BAUU Institute

"Much of the material ... came from oral history provided by [the author's] father, Ben Nordmark, now 79, and his brother Jim, 82.  She decided to write it after her uncles kept asking, 'When are you going to tell our story?'" ~ Hockessin Community News

Learn more about this book and the preceding two novels in the series by visiting the author's website.

We Hear the Dead by Dianne K. Salerni

In mid-nineteenth century America, mysterious knocking noises haunt Maggie and Kate Fox, two teenage girls who become famous for their apparent ability to communicate with the dead.  Do the sisters have a supernatural gift -- or is it a hoax? We Hear the Dead is based on the true story of the infamous Fox sisters of upstate New York who founded the Spiritualist Movement when they invented the seance in 1848 with a mischievous prank that went awry.

Dianne K. Salerni is an elementary school teacher who has previously published educational materials. This historical fiction novel for teens came out of a lifetime love of writing and a long time interest in the paranormal. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews:

"The story's lively pace and dialogue are rife with wit, and the Fox sisters are captivating.  Insightful and a great deal of fun." ~ Kirkus Discoveries

"Gone With the Wind meets The Titanic ..." ~ Rick Barber, 850 KOA in Colorado

Awards:

First Place Teen Fiction, Reader Views 2007 Literary Awards

For more information about Dianne Salerni and the beginnings of nineteenth century Spiritualism, see the author's website.

Millicent and the Faraway Moon by Karen O'Lone-Hahn

Millicent is a sad and gloomy cow who doesn't believe she can sail over the moon like the "special cows" do. With the aide of a new friend, the fourth blind mouse (whom no one ever hears about) and some special words of encouragement, Millicent discovers her true nature. Journey with Millicent as she struggles through self doubt, unbelief , jealousy and unforeseen setbacks in her quest to measure up. A gentle, sweet and triumphant story of perseverance "Millicent" appeals to all ages.

Karen O'Lone-Hahn is a full time professional artist and mother. Primarily self taught, Karen has exhibited at the Outsider Art Fair in NYC and at the Atlanta Folk Festival. Her work has been sold and won many accolades in galleries and art shows and is being collected across the U.S. and abroad. She now lives in Kemblesville, Pa. where she enjoys raising her daughter and being an artist with the support and love of her husband Al Hahn, a local musician.

Reviews:

"The inspiration for Millicent came from a negative incident that the author experienced growing up where she was basically told she would never amount to much.  Throughout her life the author has struggled with these negative words and wrote the story of Millicent to encourage others to persevere ..." ~ Chester County Press

" ... definitely a book every parent should have for their child and for themselves ..." ~ Margaret Cummins, Delaware school teacher

Learn more about this author/artist and view her vibrant artwork at her website.

Impossible Charlie by Barbara Morgenroth

All Jackie wanted was a horse of her own. When her dream came true, Charlie was far from the perfect horse she had envisioned. He had a mind of his own and a will that was stronger than hers. Riding lessons? Disaster! Trail rides? Disaster! Sleepy summer days? Disaster! Jackie wondered if she would ever be a horsewoman worthy of Charlie.

Barbara Morgenroth is the author of more than a dozen books and has spent her life writing to support the horses she so dearly loves. Impossible Charlie was first published in hardcover by Atheneum in 1979 and is now available in paperback to a new generation of horse lovers. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.  Charlie, you know who you are!

Reviews:

"A heartwarming story of a girl and the horse she loves. Impossible Charlie will have you laughing in your saddle and smiling from ear to ear." ~ B. Passaris, author and educator

Learn more about this book and see a trailer at the author's website.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs by Christine Blake and Jill Lopez

Travel with Falling Rock, Bended Arrow and many others as they have adventures through the beautiful state of Colorado leaving signs for us to follow. The stories will entertain and delight children and adults with the great places, eras, and majestic sites as you travel the roads through mountains and plains of Colorful Colorado.

Christine Blake and Jill Lopez grew up together in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in Littleton, Colorado. Friends since they were young,

Reviews:

"Christine Blake brings the folklore of Colorado’s road signs to life in these enchanting stories that will keep children captivated and their imaginations peaked.. A must have for families planning a road trip through the Western States!" ~ D. Aviles, author of Fly Little Bird, Fly

Learn more about this book at the author's website.

56 Water Street by Melissa Strangway

Melissa Strangway divides her time between raising her children, writing, and designing an exclusive line of one-of-a-kind clothing for girls. Raised in Saskatchewan, she now lives in southwestern Ontario. 56 Water Street is the debut novel in Strangway’s Derek and Ravine Series.

Reviews:

"I couldn't put the book down and it kept me wanting more. In some parts of the book, it was scary, but Halloween scary, which means it was fun at the same time. This book was not scary enough to give me a nightmare which is a good thing. 56 Water Street is a fun book to read about ghosts who haunt old houses." ~ Reader Views, reviewed by a YA reader

"This isn't just a ghost story; it's the story of friendship, of things lost and found, of sadness and happiness. It is extremely well-suited to juvenile readers. For a first novel, Strangway has created excellent characters and ... dialogue that sounds real and consistent with the characters. Her ability to tell her story and to drag her reader along from scene to scene is superb." ~ Paul Harris, Carlisle ON CANADA
 

Awards:

Second Place Teen Fiction, Reader Views 2007 Literary Awards

Visit the author's website for more information on Melissa Strangway and her mystery series.

Collinsfort Village by Joe Ekaitis

Dennis Pearson grew up reading the stories of popular author Karolyne von Frankenburgh, but no one had ever seen Fräulein von Frankenburgh — until now, maybe. When Dennis finds a revealing clue (a portion of a letter from Frankenburgh’s publisher), he enlists his two closest friends, Bear, a lovable Suburban-driving grizzly who works for the local cable company, and Griff, twenty feet of half-eagle, half-lion, dragon-slaying griffin who reads stories to children at the local library, to help him solve the mystery. But Dennis soon realizes that there is more than just one secret in his hometown of Collinsfort Village. And in the process, he learns the value of trust and the true meaning of friendship as he, Bear, and Griff face mistaken identities, cover-ups, a bit of espionage, and the history of a dragon who hasn't flown for nearly one-hundred years.
 

Born in Pennsylvania in 1955 and now living in Southern California, Joe Ekaitis is the middle child in a family of seven. His father William is a retired steelworker and his mother Frances retired from the founding staff of the library at California State University, San Bernardino. Joe discovered early in life that he enjoyed entertaining others. He entertained college students as the on-air personality "Jojo Scappezzi" at KVCR-FM, San Bernardino, California, and appeared as a six-foot singing raccoon on Chuck Barris’ The Gong Show. Today, he maintains business communications systems for a Fortune 500 financial institution—but he hasn’t lost his love for entertaining. He is currently the lead male soloist for the St. Mary’s Catholic Church choir in Fontana, California, whose director is his wife, Cathy.

Reviews:

"Young readers will willingly follow the novel adventures of Dennis and his two friends -- Bear the suburban-driving grizzly bear who works for the local phone company and Griff the dragon-slaying griffin who reads stories to children at the local library." ~ Midwest Book Review

"The intermingling of both humans and mythical creatures - set in a modern-day, make-believe world - makes one long for such a parallel universe to actually exist. Having characters like Bear and Griff converse with humans like Dennis (and even Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show"!) seem like 'second nature' to all concerned; and yet, it still leaves the imagination open to readers, such as myself. (After all, what sort of topics would YOU discuss with a twenty-foot-tall griffin?)" ~ Amazon Customer Review

Learn more about Collinsfort Village and read a sample chapter by visiting the Amazon product page.

First Duty by Marva Dasef

Years ago, Robert A. Heinlein thrilled millions of younger readers with his YA novels filled with adventures among the stars. Remember The Star Beast? Citizen of the Galaxy? Podkayne of Mars? Starman Jones?  Now comes a YA novel from Marva Dasef that is surely the adventurous equal of those long-ago tales. First Duty is the story of Nyra Hutchings, a young woman born into a life of servitude on a repressive factory planet, who is desperate for a different life. When she's accepted into the Space Service Academy, run by the organization that enslaves her planet, she discovers the truth behind generations of rebellion. Now, she must decide what to believe, where her first duty lies, and fight for more than her life against impossible odds.

Marva Dasef lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her husband and a fat cat. She has dabbled in a variety of genres, with fantasy, science fiction, romance, literary, children's, and historical fiction published in a variety of on-line and print magazines. First Duty is her breakout into longer fiction.

Reviews:

"Nyra Hutchings, ambitious daughter of low-level working-class parents on a dead end mining planet, manages to join the Space Service, the military arm of IncPlan, the all-controlling governing entity of the 23-planet federation. It doesn't take her long to realize the authoritarian nature of the regime, and to learn of active bodies of resisters determined to overthrow it. As she awakens to her people's bleak plight, her sympathy for the rebels grows until she finally joins them. The conclusion of this slightly young adult novel leaves plenty room for sequels, as the struggle is only beginning." ~ Al Past, author of The Distant Cousin series

Buy First Duty at The Genre Mall or visit the author's website for more information on the work of this prolific writer and blogger.

My Dear Phebe by Janet Elaine Smith

A war was coming! Ten-year-old Phebe Irvine was just plain scared. It was all anyone talked about. But war didn't really mean much to Phebe; it was something a long ways away from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The letters from her Uncle James, who lived near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, brought it much closer to home. And then her best friend, Sarah Tuttle, had to say goodbye to her father, who left to join the army. In MY DEAR PHEBE, children learn how war affects everyone, even if there were no battles nearby. Phebe learns how to deal with the fears, anxieties and pain caused by the war, as well as having personal problems in her own family. In the face of whatever terrors face today's youth, they will learn to cope with them by visiting another war, the Civil War, enabling them to better handle today's problems and threats. My Dear Phebe is based on the actual letters Phebe Irvine received from her Uncle James.

During her lifetime Janet Elaine Smith has been a missionary (who now writes romances), a wife (of one husband only), a mother (of three now-adult people, who refuse to be called "children"), a musician (of piano, organ and accordian), a Tupperware saleswoman (until the squirrels ate her sample kit), a teacher (of genealogy and creative writing), a translator (of Spanish, although she knows enough of a few other languages to get her in trouble), a social worker (in the strict sense of the word, not just being a "social creature"), a magazine writer (with over 2,000 published articles to her credit), a survivor (of the Great Flood of the Millennium in Grand Forks, ND in 1997), and that is just for starters.

Reviews:

"An enlightening and historical look at the turmoil of the Civil War. Included at the end are the actual letters between the real Phebe and soldiers in the war." ~ Armchair Interviews

"This fact-based YA novel looks at a much-described period in U.S. history from a little-used viewpoint, that of a young girl on the home front. It mixes and contrasts matter-of-fact daily life (which of course had to go on) with war's horrific events, and makes the reader feel the ebb and flow of Phebe's spirits right along with her." ~ author Nina M. Osier

Learn more about this novel and other works of this prolific writer at the author's website.

The Stone Beach by Kim Chatel

When Caroline begins her last year of middle school, she barely recognizes her best friend. Brenda dresses differently. She blows off classes, homework and friends. But has Brenda really changed, or is Caroline just seeing her with new eyes? Caroline has worries that Brenda doesn’t even understand. Her fifteen-year-old cat, Casey, is sick and the vet has been hinting that it’s time to put him to sleep. How can Caroline lose her two best friends at once? In the next few months, Caroline learns that some friendships are not worth keeping, others are worth fighting for, and still others will endure into the afterlife.

Kim Chatel is a Canadian born novelist and picture book author. She now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter and assortment of animals, which, until recently, included an alarmingly orange tabby cat named Casey.

Reviews:

"Part coming-of-age tale, part ghost story, all enthralling reading, this is one of those special novels not easy to forget. Long after you’ve finished reading it, you’ll find it stays with you. You’ll remember the way it moved you. You’ll look around for your own Stone Beach. " ~ ReviewCentre.com

Find out more about Kim Chatel and her writing at the author's website.

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