Little Red Reads

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission Blog Tour and Review

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I received this book for free from Cedar Fort in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission Blog Tour and ReviewI Hope They Call Me On a Mission by Benjamin Hyrum White, Corey Egbert
Published by Cedar Fort on March 20, 2015
Genres: Children's, Picture book
Pages: 30
Format: Hardcover
Source: Cedar Fort
Buy the Book • five-stars
It s never too young to prepare! This charmingly illustrated picture book teaches children what it's like to be a missionary, from riding a bike to studying the gospel to having a companion, and everything they can do now to be ready so that when the time comes, they ll be the best missionaries they can be. Colorful and cute, it's a perfect gift for baptisms and birthdays.

little red reads review

I Hope They Call Me on A Mission by Benjamin Hyrum White is the perfect way to prepare your young ones to serve a full-time mission. With colorful, amazing illustrations it asks at the bottom of each page “What Can You Do Now? ” There are realistic small bite sized goals and examples of ways each child can get ready now for the days ahead as a missionary. We loved this book and the principles taught…you will get rejected, it’s important to serve, you can practice now for a companion by getting along with others. We also found out “sometimes you have to eat strange foods.” As a family we all give it thumbs up. Go now and get this book!

 

little red reads rating

 

Benjamin Hyrum White was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He labored in the Colorado Denver North Mission and was employed at the MTC Benjamin_whiteduring college. Ben met his wife, Keenan, while they both were dancing with the International Folk Dance Ensemble at Brigham Young University. They each graduated from BYU with a degree in Family Science. Brother White is a seminary teacher and recently received his master’s degree in religious education from BYU, where he wrote the history of Preach My Gospel. Ben and Keenan reside in Utah with their four children.

Find him at http://www.benjaminhyrumwhite.com/

Chronicles from Chateau Moines by Evelyne Holingue Blog Tour

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Welcome to my tour stop for Chronicles from Chateau Moines by Evelyne Holingue. This is a middle grade historical fiction. The tour runs March 2-13 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page.

About the Book

September 1970: Scott’s mother has recently died and his father gets the crazy idea to move his family from California to Normandy. Now Scott has to learn to live without his mom while adjusting to France. In his seventh grade class there is only Ibrahim who comes from another country. Scott doesn’t even want to play his guitar anymore. Why does his father think that life will be better so far from home?

Scott has no idea that his arrival is also a challenge to Sylvie. While her best friend is excited to have an American boy at school, Sylvie cannot say one word to Scott. She can’t even write good songs in her notebook anymore. Why is life so different since Scott moved to Château Moines?

Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War protest era and told from the perspectives of twelve-year old Scott and Sylvie, this is a story about loss and friendship, music and peace, and also about secrets.

Although this is a work of fiction, the cultural, social, and historical background of the early 1970s in France and the United States inspired the writing. At the end of the book the reader will find a list of the songs, the names of singers, and bands mentioned through the novel as well as some elements about fashion, immigration in France, the Vietnam War, and other cultural, social, and historical facts relevant to the period of time.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Excerpt

Sylvie Meets Scott for the First Time on Back to School Day (page 13-14)

His faded bell-bottom Levi’s hug his hips, and a turquoise T-shirt matches his eyes. I’ve never been south of France, but Papa has sent me postcards. This boy’s eyes rival the color of the Mediterranean Sea. He doesn’t wear any socks with his Indian-style sandals. He’s got a perfectly worn-out army bag with buttons and badges. I recognize the peace sign and the names of big American cities, which make me feel small and ignorant. A pair of roller skates is tied to the straps of his bag. With his shaggy haircut, he belongs more in Mademoiselle magazine than in Chateau Moines middle school. I must have looked as stunned as Saint Bernadette when she saw the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, because Scott points at his chest.
“Je suis Scott Sweet,” he says with the same exotic accent.
“Non, non.” Annie switches to a patient tone. “In French, you say: ‘Je m’appelle Scott Sweet.’”
Scott flashes a Paul Newman smile. “Juh mahpell Scott Sweet,” he repeats.
I’m positive that I am hallucinating, but when I peek, the new boy is standing one meter away from me. A nice but strange smell wafts to my nose. I must have flared my nostrils, because Scott says, “Patchouli.”
Despite his smile, he looks confused, and I wonder how it feels to be the new kid at school and to be a foreigner.
Annie turns to me and clasps her hands together.
“We have a new boy at school,” she says. “And he speaks French with an American accent! J’adore!”
I don’t adore Annie at all right now, but I can’t blame her. She saw him first at the bakery. Then she found his name on the list. And she can speak some English.
For some reason, I have the feeling that this first day of school marks the beginning of a lot of unpleasant firsts.

 

About the Author

evelyne0115I was born and raised in Normandy, France, where I spent most of my childhood reading.
My first published piece of writing was a poem about a man spending Christmas behind bars. I was eleven years old and wasn’t paid for my work, but I was hooked.
I studied French Literature at the Université de Caen and at the Sorbonne in Paris and worked in a publishing house before moving to California, following my husband.
It was a challenging time in my life as I was leaving my own career, my family, my friends and my beloved Paris behind.  But how could I say no to the dreams of the man I love?
Readers enjoy escaping the familiar for the unknown.  Being a foreigner is discovering the unknown day after day, not only for the time of a book. However, since most things in life come with a silver lining, I credit this move for giving me the opportunity to write. Through my words, I share my affection for my native and adoptive countries that I love equally.

www.evelyneholingue.com 

 

Giveaway 
Two (2) kindle copies of Chronicles from Chateau Moines (INT)
Ends March 18th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Tour Schedule

3/2
Little Red Reads – Excerpt
Mind-Ventures – Review
3/3
WS Momma Readers Nook– Author Interview
3/4
Shelf Life – Review
3/5
3/6
Sher A. Hart: Written Art – Review & Excerpt
CBY Book Club – Excerpt
3/7
3/8
Ishiee’s Book Blog – Author Interview
Book Lovers Life – Excerpt
3/9
Met in Eleven – Excerpt
3/10
Buried in Books – Review
3/11
Book Sense – Review
Every Free Chance – Review
3/12
Log Cabin Library – Review
3/13

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

 

 

Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand by R.S. Mellette~ Blog Tour

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Welcome to Little Red Reads’ stop for Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand by R.S. Mellette. This is an upper middle grade, lower young adult sci-fi adventure novel that’s perfect for the whole family. This tour runs Feb. 9-20th with reviews and interviews. Check out the tour page for more information.

About the Book

Billy Bobble Version 4“E = mc2 is no longer the most powerful force in the universe. Your wand is.”
 Twelve-year-old Billy and his best friend Suzy Quinofski didn’t mean to change the universe. Billy, a quantum physics prodigy, just wanted to find a way to help his hoarding, schizophrenic mother – and maybe impress a coven of older girls in high school. Suzy, his intellectual equal, wanted to help her friend and cling to her last remnant of childhood, a belief in magic. Together they made Billy a real, working, magic wand, and opened a door to the Quantum World where thoughts create reality, and all things – good and bad – are possible.

 Amazon | Goodreads 

Author Interview

Tell us what you wanted to be when you were a child and how that changed over time.
I have to answer this question by telling a story that happened to me a few years ago.
I was walking on the moon.  (True story).  I was walking on the moon and ran into an old man who was having trouble making his way.  It’s very difficult terrain, so I gave him a hand.  This was quite an honor, as the old man was… still is… revered in his profession.  Among those in the know, just the mention of his name brings respect, so I paid particular attention to the conversation as we walked.
It turns out that his story was very similar to mine.  As a kid, he wanted to an astrophysicist, so did I.  He took advanced science classes in high school, so did I.  He didn’t do very well in them, neither did I.  He decided that if he were ever to get into space, it would only happen in an imaginary world, and so did I.
The old man was the great cinematographer, Dean Selmer.  The moon was on Stage 26 at Universal Studios.  We were working on Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.  We had both made it into space.
What are your all time favorite reads?
I’m dyslexic, so growing up reading was actually a chore.  “Have you don’t your reading today?”  I hated that question.  The thing about being dyslexic is that your thoughts are whip-fast, so fast most people don’t know what you’re talking about because they haven’t caught up yet.  While your brain moves quickly, all of the mechanics of reading do not.  This makes reading slow and boring.
That said, I was tutored at a young age, and read fine now.  Besides the Harry Potter series, I tend to like books by authors I know.  Check out Goodreads shelf by the same name.
What is your main character’s personality like?
You’ll have to read the book to answer that one.  I tend to write from the gut, so I don’t analyze my characters that much.  I don’t think about what they are going to do, I just do it.  Call it the Nike school of writing.
Do you use a critique group or outlining to write your books? What is the process like?
I tend to write a very detailed outline, then not look at it again.  If I get stuck, I’ll go back to it, but some of the best stuff comes when I stray away from the outline.  Case in point, I’m working on the sequel now, Billy Bobble And The Witch Hunt.  A subplot about a teacher being fired and the Witches of Winston High coming to her defense was not in my original outline, but it has become a major part of the book.
I don’t have a formal critique group, but I wish I did.  I do have some friends from Agent Query Connect who have given me some feedback and I hope to turn to them for the sequel – but a lot of them are published now, so I hope they don’t get too busy.
 
Where does Billy‘s magic come from?
It takes me the first half of the book to answer that question, but let’s see if I can’t condense it.
Time and Space are like two data sets in a computer program, with key numbers that connect them.  The connection keeps us locked in linear Time.  If you break that connection you create a Cartesian Product between two infinite sets.  Are you still with me?  Kids will learn a lot reading this book!  By breaking the connection, the person with the wand goes into a Quantum World, where the energy of thought creates reality.
As Billy defines magic, it’s “seemingly unrelated cause and effect.”
What’s the most magical place you’ve ever been and why?
Two places:  One is the Magic Castle in Hollywood, because… duh! It’s a magic castle!
The other is the world of pure imagination.
 
About the Author 
R.S. Mellette has written, directed, designed and acted in theatre, film, television, and publishing for over 30 years. His credits in various jobs include XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS, BLUE CRUSH, and his own JACKS OR BETTER, which won Dances With Films Best Screenplay award in 2000. He has been working with the festival ever since.
His novel, Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand, released in December 2014 from Elephant’s Bookshelf Press. For novelists, Mellette blogs for From The Write Angle. For filmmakers, he writes for Dances With Films.
 Also find him on Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter and Facebook.
 
Giveaway
1st Prize- *signed* copy of Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand
2nd Prize- Season two of Xena: Warrior Princess
Open to US onlyEnds 2/25/15
a Rafflecopter giveawayThis event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.