Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving Prayer




PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Walter Rauschenbusch

O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water,
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds,
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thornbush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.


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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist









Wednesday, November 14, 2012

iTunes for iBooks – The Doll Violinist Picture Book by Mayra Calvani



Just in time for the Christmas season, award-winning children’s picture book now available through iTunes for iBooks. Enhanced with real aloud sound, The Doll Violinist is available for download on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iBooks and on your computer with iTunes. Books must be read on an iOS device.

About The Doll Violinist: Five days before Christmas, Emma is captivated by a doll in a shop window. Each day, she sneaks out of the orphanage to check if it’s been sold, but the shop owner, Madame Dubois, sends her away. Will the magic of Christmas bring Emma, Madame Dubois, and the doll violinist together?


About the author: Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen books, some of which have won awards. Her stories, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared on numerous publications such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal, Multicultural Review, and Bloomsbury Review, among many others. Her love for the violin has inspired her to pen three “violin” children’s picture books: The Magic Violin, Frederico the Mouse Violinist, and now the latest, The Doll Violinist www.violinandbooks.wordpress.com/books-i-wrote.

Visit her website at www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com and get the first two lessons of her popular Walking on a Rainbow Picture Book Workshop free! 

Title: The Doll Violinist
Author: Mayra Calvani
Illustrations: Amy Cullings Moreno
Apple ID: 560908783
Published: September 1, 2012
Level: P-3
Pages: 28
Price: $4.99
ISBN: 9781616331870
Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-doll-violinist/id560908783?ls=1
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/doll-violinist.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist









Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Sharon Stanley Announces Debut Children’s e-Book ~ Olive Ann


Sharon Stanley Announces Debut Children’s e-Book ~ Olive Ann
Children’s author Sharon Stanley, a self proclaimed non techie, embraces new e-Book format.
Seizing the opportunity to jump on the e-Book bandwagon, children’s author Sharon Stanley collaborated with illustrator Barb Dragony to create a uTale entitled, Olive Ann. uTales is a new world of picture books for kids; a world one can access anytime, anywhere. It’s both a website and an app for your laptop, iPhone and iPad, and soon tablets and phones operating on the Android system. It’s a way of making picture books for kids modern and engaging…it doesn’t replace traditional books, it’s another option.

About the book: Olive Ann is a small rabbit who wants to be big. She makes several clever attempts to grow but in the end, is it really necessary? This brightly illustrated story follows Olive Ann as she thinks through her dilemma and tackles the problem head on in her own unique and humorous way.

Title: Olive Ann
Author: Sharon Stanley
Illustrator: Barb Dragony
Publication Date: October 2012
Pages: 37
Price: $2.99 e-Book
Publisher: uTales.com http://utales.com/books/olive-ann

Sharon Stanley and Barb Dragony live with gratitude and appreciation for others and to celebrate the release of their book Olive Ann they are proud to announce that 10% of their proceeds will be donated to the Pencils of Promise charity. To learn more, visit www.pencilsofpromise.org.

About the author: Although Sharon Stanley has been writing for years, it was only after her youngest graduated high school that she got serious about it. She picked up her pencil and paper, joined the SCBWI and got busy. She has two picture books under contract and looks forward to seeing them published. Sharon lives with her husband, two grown boys, three dogs, three cats and lots and lots of cows on a working farm in Virginia. Her life is a crop circle of craziness that affords her a never-ending supply of subject matter for all the stories she writes. She enjoys all sorts of artistic and creative endeavors and blogs about her publishing journey and farm life at www.sharonstanleywrites.blogspot.com.

Be sure to visit with Stanley and download a FREE coloring sheet and word search activity to celebrate the release of Olive Ann.

About uTales: uTales is a worldwide community of authors and illustrators who together are building a library of digital picture books. Readers can visit the uTales website (utales.com) and download their favorite picture books or get unlimited access to the entire uTales library with a monthly subscription. And since all books are approved by their editorial panel, uTales is perfectly safe.


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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist









Thursday, November 8, 2012

Book Review: Caves, Cannons and Crinolines by Beverly Stowe McClure



Title:                     Caves, Cannons and Crinolines
Written by:           Beverly Stowe McClure   
Ages:                    12 and up
Publisher:             Twilight Times Books
ISBN:                   1-60619-112-8        
Published:             September 2009
Soft cover:            153 pages
Price:                    $16.95

The year 1863 finds outspoken, 14-year-old, Lizzie Stamford at a crossroads of what her parents believe to be acceptable behavior for a young lady, and secret desire to join the Confederate Army disguised as a boy. Her two brothers, Willie and Joseph willingly joined the Confederacy to defend Vicksburg from the Yankees and Lizzie longs to be part of the glory. Her blind courage brings her into the midst of a battleground at nighttime. Much to her dismay war is not what she believed it to be. The horrific acts of violence overwhelm her and she runs away as quickly as she arrived.

Her emotions and beliefs that all Yankees are evil is put to the test when an unexpected encounter with a Yankee soldier has her doubting her belief system. Will Lizzie come to terms of the ever changing world and circumstances which surround her? And what is to become of her beloved brothers and the city of Vicksburg?

McClure balances the emotions of the Confederate and Yankee characters with such in-depth feeling the reader will find themselves switching sides throughout the perilous journey of Lizzie Stamford and her family, and their quest to reclaim Vicksburg.

To learn more about Beverly Stowe McClure visit: http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com/


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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist









Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Book Review: Carla’s Cloud Catastrophe by Beth Bence Reinke












Title:                            Carla’s Cloud Catastrophe
Written by:                  Beth Bence Reinke
Illustrated by:              Ginger Nielson
Soft cover:                  24 pages
Ages:                           4-8
Publisher:                    4RV Publishing, LLC
Print ISBN 13:            978-0-982-8346-0-2
Published:                   June 2011
Retail Price:                 $13.99

A joyful birthday celebration long planned comes to a screeching halt when it appears the sky is falling. Not to be stalled by the clouds that have blanketed her town, Carla is determined to make her way home with her special birthday cake.

However, her father, the Director of Transportation has other plans. Taking the lead in solving this unusual catastrophe they join the mayor at town hall for an emergency meeting. Will the adults practical solutions or Carla’s imagination solve the cloud catastrophe in time to enjoy Carla’s birthday party or will the town stay blanketed by clouds forever?

What better way to spark the interest of science in our young muses but through this imaginative story. Children’s author Beth Bence Reinke brings the questions “what is a cloud” and “how do they float” to life in this laugh out loud story, which will surely create lively discussions both in and outside the classroom.

Carla’s Cloud Catastrophe would not be complete without Ginger Nielson’s vivid and clever illustrations; making Carla’s story a true gem for libraries, classrooms, and homes throughout the world.

Author: Beth Bence Reinke

Illustrator: Ginger Nielson

Publisher: 4RV Publishing http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com
4RV Publishing online bookstore: http://4rvpublishingcatalog.yolasite.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist









Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Book Review: Taconi and Claude by M.E. Finke



Title:                Taconi & Claude: Double Trouble
Author:            M. E. Finke
Soft cover:      104 pages
Publisher:        Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. / January 2011
Print ISBN:     978-1-61633-130-6
e-Book ISBN: 978-1-61633-131-3
Price:               $8.95

The fear of the unknown sends Taconi’s mind into the darkest corners of his imagination. Will his ever changing life continue to spiral out of control? Finding his one true place while saddling the life as an aboriginal in the Australian outback and then as a Jackaroo in the white man’s world is a constant struggle. With the anticipation of his man ceremony, Taconi fights his inner thoughts to be worthy of his aboriginal customs; all the while, striving to understand his father’s need to become the head cook on the Coorparoo Cattle Station.

The fight for balance becomes quite confusing for young Taconi in his determination not to forget his heritage and accepting the need to live in the white man’s world. Along the way he finds comfort and direction in an unlikely companion, the outspoken Claude the cockatoo. This unlikely and heartwarming friendship is wise beyond their years and will have the reader cheering for Taconi’s one true quest, acceptance. Will Taconi be able to weave customs from both worlds into a comfortable fit?

Author, M.E. Finke expertly brings forth her expertise of the Australian outback in this fast paced fictional story transporting the reader with the perfect blend of description and dialogue. For a deeper understanding of the Australian, author M.E. Finke provides a glossary of Australian terms, which will surely bring out the love of reading to the most reluctant reader.

Taconi & Claude: Double Trouble available at:



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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist









Thursday, November 1, 2012

Children’s Ezine Guardian Angel Kids: Volunteerism – November 2012 Issue



Do you remember the first time you volunteered? Perhaps you volunteered to help mom in the kitchen. Could it be that you offered to lick the spoon after she made fudge? Dad might have been making sandwiches for lunch and you made the tremendous sacrifice to eat the leftovers.

This kind of volunteerism is wonderful, but do YOU have a ‘spirit of service’? How would that look? The next time your local food pantry serves meals to the homeless, you could go help make the sandwiches. You could serve the meals and thank God that you have a home and food to eat. Do you look for ways to help others that do not benefit you, other than the tremendous satisfaction you’ll receive from truly thinking of others? That’s a spirit of service.

This month, GAK is all about volunteerism and having a spirit of service. I know you will enjoy this month’s issue and will want to share the articles, stories, and poetry this month by clicking the 'share' button at the bottom of each page. Be sure to send the link to the GAK Ezine to your friends, too! And I hope this issue prompts you to think in a new way about volunteering and developing a spirit of service.
Surf on over to Guardian Angel Kids today www.guardian-angel-kids.com, enjoy a child safe ad free Ezine and visit the writers and illustrators in the Guardian Angel Kids November 2012 issue and enjoy the inspiring poetry, stories, articles and activities.

We also invite you to stay connected with Guardian Angel Kids through our Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guardian-Angel-Kids-Ezine/163785080346247.

Please feel free to drop Editor-in-Chief, Donna McDine an email at submissions@guardian-angel-kids.com and let them know what you think of Guardian Angel Kids and what you'd like to see in the future. They aim to please.

The Guardian Angel Kids Ezine staff and contributors look forward to your visit. Thank you for your time and interest.


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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award & Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention & Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist