How to use this Page

Congratulations to all of the winners of the Children’s Book Week giveaways. Those who Farfaria subscriptions will be hearing from that site to start your subscription. Those who won a book will receive n email from me. Please respond with your full home address within 72 hours. If not received within 72 hours a new winner will be declared. Books are sent to the winner from the sponsoring publisher. Congratulations to all!

.

Farfaria

Winners of a 3-month subscription to Farfaria

Jennifer Hughes

C. L. Murphy

Elliot Waugh

.

.

Winner of The Shark Whisperer, from Scarletta Junior Readers, by Dr. Ellen Prager

Melody Peugh

.

Winner of Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew: The Super-Secret from Melissa Productions, Inc., by Melissa Perry Moraja

Ashley Christine Renn

.

Winner of Lately Lily, from Chronicle Books, by Micah Player

Donna Taylor

Winners of Bear’s Big Bottom, from Capstone, by Steve Smallman & Emma Yarlett

KT Amanda

Sherry Butcher

Rita Monette

Winners of Lost Little Penguin, from Capstone, by Tracey Corderoy & Gavin Scott

Esperanza Garcia Gailliard

Genevieve Petrillo

Cassie Hayes

.

Winner of The Monster Needs His Sleep from Scarletta Kids, by Paul Czajak, illustrated by Wendy Grieb

Stephanie Shipley

.

The Shark Whisperer #1: Tristan Hunt and the Sea Guardians

by Ellen Prager

Scarlett Junior Readers

978-1-938063-44-2

Age 8 to 12        288 pages

.

“Things are beginning to look up for clumsy Tristan Hunt. After falling into a pool of sharks, Tristan is invited to an ocean-themed summer camp in the Florida Keys. He soon discovers that he and the other young teens there have special talents when it comes to the ocean. When the camp receives a distress call from ocean animals, Tristan and his new friends get pulled into a daring rescue in the Bahamas. With sharks, dolphins, and quick-escape-artist octopus, can the campers outwit and evil shark-finning, reef-blasting billionaire?”

Opening

“A sudden unnatural hush fell over the crowd. All eyes were fixed on the pool below.”

The Story

Tristan spends his summer at the Florida Keys Sea Park Summer Camp. He and the other campers all have some unusual ability related to the ocean. Tristan can relate to sharks. He hones this ability during most of the summer camp. A billionaire accused of shark-finning holds three older campers hostage on his ship. The simple rescue mission Tristan and the other new campers become involved in turns out to be a more dangerous mission than originally planned. Tristan and the others may not get back to camp before the billionaire’s goonies harm them. This would not go over well with parents expecting to pick up sons and daughters at camp’s end.

Review

The Shark Whisperer takes place in one of my favorite places: waters south of Florida. Each camper has a special ability related to the ocean and its creatures. Tristan found he could relate to and understand sharks after falling into a Sea World-type amusement park’s shark tank. Tristan makes two new friends and the three bond over the summer. Friendship is a big deal in The Shark Whisperer as is loyalty, confidentiality, bravery, and self-sacrifice. The ocean life knowing how to “speak” to humans is a fascinating idea, though made up. Even though the characters and their abilities are not real, it is easy to suspend belief while reading the story.

There is much action in The Shark Whisperer, some of which is funny and a little gross. Birds help the campers with the rescue by pooping on top the billionaire’s goonies, on cue, and throwing . . .  well, that one I’ll let you find out on your own, but trust me it is hilarious, especially when the billionaire goes out on . . . there I go again giving away great moments. I loved the way the ocean and marina animals worked together, even those that are natural enemies. Once the problem is resolved, the natural order of life resumes as if nothing had happened.

Dr. Prager inserts much ocean science into the story, mostly about marine life. In the back of the book, she wrote a short note to the reader explaining what was real and what was not. You may be surprised at some of those that are real. The billionaire’s actions are real. There are those that cut the fin from sharks for a soup considered an expensive delicacy in Asia. Shark finning is especially heinous as are damaging reefs, and blasting the seabed.

The Shark Whisperer takes kids on a journey through the ocean, viewing much of it from the animals’ perspective. This is a science fiction / adventure story with real ocean conservation as the theme. At an awkward age, Tristan cannot keep up with his growing body and tends to trip over his large feet. When swimming, Tristan finds he is a marvel in the water. As his confidence grows so do his abilities. The Shark Whisperer will excite kids about the ocean and preserving it for generations to come. While not the reason for writing the book, it is a wonderful offshoot that may one day return the ocean to the glory it once was.

The author holds a PhD, is a marine scientist, and was once the chief scientist at the world’s only undersea research station in the Florida Keys. The camp is somewhat based on this research station.  All of Dr. Prager’s credentials, degrees, and experience make her one of, if not the, smartest people in ocean science today. Her writing is engaging and interesting. I hope this series has a long run. As it is, The Shark Whisperer has stayed in my head for days after finishing—in good way, if you don’t mind three kids—and one reader—itching to go back to camp.

THE SHARK WHISPERER. Text copyright © 2014 by Dr. Ellen Prager. Illustrations copyright © by Antonio Javier Caparo. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Scarletta Junior Reader, an imprint of Scarletta Press, Minneapolis, MN.

.

Lean more about The Shark Whisperer HERE.

Buy The Shark Whisperer at Amazon—B&N—Scarletta Press—your local bookstore.

.

Meet the author, Dr. Ellen Prager, at her website:     http://www.earth2ocean.net/

Meet the illustrator, Antonio Javier Caparo, at his website:  http://www.antoniocaparo.com/ 

For more books by the publisher Scarletta Junior Reader, go to their website:  http://scarlettapress.com/

.

DON’T FORGET TO ENTER – WIN THE SHARK WHISPERER

How to Enter? – Leave a comment. For more entries, return through the 18^th, comment on the posts, and then again click on the Rafflecopter link here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

.

.

Here are the prizes you can win during Children’s Book Week by leaving a comment and using the Rafflecopter at the above link:

1 of 3 3-month subscription to Farfaria, unlimited stories for your child.

a copy of The Shark Whisperer, the new series from Scarletta Press by Dr. Ellen Prager,

a copy of Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew, the new book by Melissa Perry Moraja,

a copy of Lately Lily, the new book  from Chronicle Books by Micah Player

1 of 3 copies of Bear’s Big Bottom, a new book from Capstone by Steve Smallman & Emma Yarlett,

1 of 3 copies of Lost Little Penguin, a new book from Capstone by Tracey Corderoy & Gavin Scott,

and a Surprise Pack from your host, Kid Lit Reviews.

.

Leave a Comment,

Check out the Rafflecopter,

Return Tomorrow, and if you are interested in more giveaways, the giveaway hop has more than 100 great giveaways. If you leave a comment on one of those blogs, let me know in a second comment (too verify) for an extra entry. li

If you are like me and never win a contest or a giveaway, this week could be your turn to win a prize!

Monday kicks off this year’s Children’s Book Week, May 12 to 18, 2014.

“Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes — wherever young readers and books connect! Children’s Book Week is administered by Every Child a Reader, a 501(c)(3) literacy organization dedicated to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children. The Children’s Book Council, the national non-profit trade association for children’s book publishers, is an anchor sponsor.”

In conjunction with the Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop 2014, hosted by Youth Literature Reviews and Mother Daughter [and Son] Book Reviews, Kid Lit Reviews is once again celebrating children’s books and the reading of children’s books. The Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop 2014, features links to giveaways for fabulous children/teen’s books, gift cards, cash, and other prizes. What better way to celebrate Children’s Book Week? Enter for these prizes using the linky at the end of this post. It can also be found on both host sites.

Just like last year, KLR has some terrific giveaways, one for each day, but you don’t have to wait to find out what they are.

• From FarFaria – A 3-month subscription to this online library of children’s books.
• From Scarletta Kids: The Monster Needs His Sleep by Paul Czajak, illustrated by Wendy Grieb
• From Chronicle Books:  Lately Lily, the Adventures of a Traveling Girl by Micah Player
• From Capstone Books:  TBA
• From Scarletta Junior Readers: The Shark Whisperer by Dr. Ellen Prager, illustrations by Antonio Javier Caparo
• From Kid Lit Reviews:  A Special Prize Pack – who knows what it could be?

How do You Win a Prize?

Each day a Rafflecopter Entry System will be on the post. There you can “earn” entries by following the directions at each level. Some levels will be worth more entries than others will. A few entries will be daily, while others are a one-time deal. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received by Sunday, May 18, at midnight EST. Only one prize per entrant.

Each day, an additional entry can earn by leaving a comment below that day’s post. All comments must be posted by Sunday the 18th at midnight, EST to count as an entry. See below for Special Entries. Only one comment per post equals an entry, but additional comments are always welcome.

*** Special Entries ***

For every Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop 2014 blog site you visit and comment on, you will also earn you one entry per day. In the comment area below the KLR post of that day, leave the website name and the Blog Hop # for verification. This is a MUST! (this does not count as an entry comment on KLR). Sites and numbers can be found at:

Youth Literature Reviews: http://youthlitreviews.com and Mother Daughter & Son Book Reviews http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com, or use the Linky Tool:  Click here to view the complete list of participating bloggers and authors.

Children’s Book Week is more than our Giveaway Hop. That is our way of expressing our interest in kid’s books, our desire that every child learn to read and enjoy reading, and our gratitude to be involved as authors, illustrators, reviewers, readers, and parents. To help the Hop have a great week, please tweet about it and your activities for Children’s Book Week using the hashtag #KidLitGH
.

Important

• Open only to those living in the United States.
• Kids may enter but if they win, a parent or guardian must accept the prize.
• Winners will be notified by email and have 48 hours to verify their information.
• Unclaimed prizes will be re-drawn from non-winning entries until a winner is established.

.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Shark Whisperer, a new middle grade series by Ellen Prager, with illustrations by Antonio Javier Caparo, released yesterday, May 1, 2014.  To help promote this incredible ocean tale, Scarletta Junior Readers, an imprint of Scarletta Press, has released a sneak peek for Kid Lit Reviews’ loyal readers, visitors, and friends. “Follow Tristan Hunt and his …