W.O.I Tours - THE WISHING WELL - Another Weaver Tale by KAI STRAND

About Book

Molly Minstrel is treated worse than Cinderella by her mom and sisters. When Molly meets the magical creature, Unwanted, she wishes her problems away. However, you must first understand what you need before knowing what to ask for. Molly will have to look within for the solution to her troubles.

Where to buy:
Guardian Angel Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing
ISBN Number(s): Hardcover 978-1616333010
                          Softcover 978-1616333027
Publication Date:  July 24, 2012
Genre of Book: Juvenile Fantasy

click image for tour schedule

I am scheduled to review SAVE THE LEMMINGS on November 7, 2012.

About Kai

Kai Strand writes fiction for middle grade and young adult readers. Her debut novel, The Weaver, was a finalist in the 2012 EPIC eBook Awards. She is a (very lucky) wife and the mother of four amazing kids. The most common sound in her household is laughter. The second most common is, "Do your dishes!" She and her family hike, goecache and canoe in beautiful Central Oregon, where they call home.

To find out more about Kai’s books, download companion documents, find links to her published short stories and discover all the places to find Kai both virtually and in person, visit her website: www.kaistrand.com. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to send her an email or visit her facebook page, Kai Strand, Author. 

My Thoughts 

Eleven year old, Molly Minstrel is responsible for all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and ironing in her home. Even though she has two older sisters, Eva and Hannah, their mother, Greta does not want the two older girls to demean themselves by doing chores. Molly is verbally abused by Greta and Hannah. The abuse is name calling and snide remarks on a daily basis. If only she had a nice family she would be happy. 

Does this sound like a cinderella story? Well there is no Fairy God-Mother but there is the UNWANTED, he is blue and looks kinda like an elf/troll and he does grant wishes under special circumstances.

Do you think the UNWANTED could grant Molly a wish?  Would this solve her problems?  What would her wish be if she could find him?

The characters of Weaver Tale are known for the tales they weave.  Will Molly weave a tale?

I enjoyed this book with one exception and that was in chapter seventeen where Molly weaves a tale to Sir Edward.  I felt that the sexual implications in this tale are inappropriate for the target readers, ages 8-12 years old.  I would advise parents to read the book before deciding if the book is appropriate for your child.

The author told a tale that many children may be experiencing themselves and it was a very good tale indeed!

I recommend this book as PG.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:
I received a free copy of this book from WOI Tours/Author for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  It is my own opinion.

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The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin illustrated by David Shannon

Author & Storyteller 

Rafe Martin is the author of over 20 books that have been translated into many languages including Swedish, French, Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans, Korean, Japanese and Portuguese. Speaking as both an author and a storyteller, Rafe has appeared in thousands of schools, libraries, festivals, and conferences in nearly every state—including Alaska and Hawaii—and as far away as Japan.

In schools he works with all grade and ages, kindergarten through college and adult, telling stories and sharing an empowering vision of language, writing, creativity, and imagination. He leaves listeners with an awareness of their own power to create. He offers writing, storytelling and professional development workshops, as well as adult and family performances.

Among the many prestigious festivals, conferences, and institutions at which he has been featured are: The National Storytelling Festival; The Joseph Campbell Foundation Festival of Myth, Folklore, and Story; The P.E.N. American Literary Center, The American Museum of Natural History, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Ganondagan-NYS Historic and Sacred Seneca Site, The Chautauqua Institute, The Three Apples Storytelling Festival, Sharing the Fire Storytelling Conference, The International Storytelling Institute, The Sierra Storytelling Festival, The Vassar College Summer Institute on Children’s Book Publishing, The Talking Island Storytelling Festival of Honolulu, Hawaii-to name just a few!

His keynotes and workshops at library and reading conferences include: The American Library Association, the New York Library Association, library/media conferences in Michigan, Utah, Alabama, Tennessee and New York; The National Council of Teachers of English; and The International Reading Association International Convention.

Rafe Martin’s writing has appeared in Parabola: The Magazine of Myth and Tradition; Blind Donkey; The Sun; Enquiring Mind; Storytelling Magazine; Mountain Record; Zen Bow; Buddhadharma; Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and The Animals’ Voice as well as in the books Who Says? Essays in Contemporary Storytelling; Between the Lines: A Modern Midrash; Peace Tales; Stories for the Spirit; Stories of the Heart; The Ghost and I; Read-to-Tell Tales, More Best-Loved Tales from the National Storytelling Festival and in A Treasury of Stories Recorded Live at the 20th Anniversary National Storytelling Festival.

Rafe has a Master’s degree in English literature from the University of Toronto where he studied with such notable figures as Northrop Frye and Marshall McLuhan. He was the first person to ever be granted Highest Honors in English from Harpur College (now Binghamton University) where he graduated magna cum laude.

Website: http://www.rafemartin.com/
Published by G P Putnam & Sons 1992
Where to buy:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Illustrated by David Shannon

David Shannon grew up in Spokane, Washington and graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1983. He has written and/or illustrated over 25 books for children, including the bestselling "Too Many Toys," "A Bad Case of Stripes," and the semi-autobiographical "No, David!," which received a Caldecott Honor. His newest book is "It’s Christmas, David!." David lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Heidi, their daughter, Emma, and their dog, Fergus.

THE ROUGH-FACE GIRL

An award-winning recreation of a classic Native American (Algonquin) Indian Cinderella, this is a mysterious, magical, powerful book. Many of Rafe’s readers call it their favorite of his books, and it has won much recognition in the world of children’s literature. It is the Cinderella we all know, but bears no resemblance to the Disney version.

“There are many versions of the Cinderella story,

but none is more eloquent or

affecting—or more strikingly illustrated.”

—Parent’s Magazine

My Thoughts 

In a small Indian village by Lake Ontario there was a humongous wigwam and in this wigwam lived a wealthy, handsome Invisible Being and his sister. Every single woman in the village wanted to marry the Invisible Being because of his great wealth.

Also in this village lived a poor man and his three daughters. Two of the daughters were very self-centered and made the third daughter do the chore of tending the fire. From tending the fire the young woman had burns and scars all over her hands, arms and face because of sparks flying up and on her. Her sisters teased her and called her Rough-Face Girl.

One day the two sisters dressed up in the finest their father could provide and they went to seek out the invisible being to become his bride. But they first had to answer his sisters questions correctly.

The third sister has faith that she will marry the Invisible One. So she dresses in what little her father has to offer, which was far less than her sister had. Which of the young women do you think the handsome Invisible One should choose? Why?

This is a different twist on the Cinderella tale that we all know well. The story in this book is an Algonquin Indian Cinderella tale.

I enjoyed this story with the Rough-Face Girl. Most people only saw her scars and had no idea what beauty she held within.

How many times have you looked at someone and not wanted to be their friend just because of their outer appearance?

I purchased this book for my own pleasure to read.

I highly recommend this book for ages 8 and up.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.