Book Release: The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection - Book One: Return to Coney Island by Melissa Stoller

I'm happy to be able to have ChaBooCha member Melissa Stoller announce her book release here (see below).

*****

BOOK RELEASE POST – THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION –

BOOK ONE: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND

By Melissa Stoller

Illustrations by Callie Metler-Smith

Release date July 24, 2017

On March 16, 2017, I wrote a blog post during The Chapter Book Challenge titled “Working Your Way Through ChaBooCha 2017." On May 23, 2017, Chapter Book Challenge hosted my cover reveal. And now I couldn’t be happier to announce the book birthday for my debut chapter book series THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION – BOOK ONE: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND!

It’s a story about nine-year-old twins Emma and Simon who thought they were going on an ordinary sleepover. But when they shake a snow globe from their grandmother’s collection, they are transported to Coney Island in 1928. After a series of adventures, including a ride on the world-famous Cyclone roller coaster, they must help their great-grandparents meet according to family legend on the Coney Island trolley. Otherwise the twins might never be born! This story is very dear to me as it’s based on the meeting of my own grandparents, Jessie and Jack. I pitched the manuscript to Callie Metler-Smith, Publisher at Clear Fork Publishing/Spork, as The Magic Tree House book series meets the Back to the Future movies. And luckily she loved the story as much as I did!

After many years of writing picture book drafts and collecting rejections (with time in between writing parenting articles and a parenting resource book), I finally got back to writing for children. I started to write this story as a picture book but realized that a longer story was just waiting to be told. So I turned to the chapter book format – and that made all the difference. The Chapter Book Challenge and courses such as The Chapter Book Alchemist with Hillary Homzie (through Mira Reisberg’s Children’s Book Academy) helped me hone my craft. And my critique groups – I can’t say enough about my writing pals who worked with me through various drafts of this project! The love and support from my husband, Larry, and three daughters Zoe, Jessie, and Maddie, inspired and encouraged me to keep going! And my mother Connie (Jessie and Jack’s daughter) has always been my first and best reader and editor! Check out my Dedication and Author’s Note to learn more!

Wait until you all see the wonderful illustrations by Callie Metler-Smith. Aside from being my publisher at Spork, Callie is also an incredibly talented illustrator. I had ideas about what the characters and scenes would look like, but Callie’s imagination and vision for this project surpassed my expectations and really brought the story to life!

And now this book is out in the world! What started as a story based on the lives of my grandparents will hopefully touch the hearts of many children. I’m so excited to start doing school visits and book signings. I hope the children I meet will realize they can “make good things happen” in their everyday lives, just as the twins Emma and Simon did in the story. And I hope the book will inspire children and their families to dig deeper into their own histories. I include a Book Club Guide so families can connect through discussion questions and enrichment activities, an easy snow globe project, a recipe, and ideas for further topic research.

Stay tuned for BOOK TWO – THE LIBERTY BELL TRAIN RIDE, where the twins shake another snow globe from their grandmother’s collection and are transported back to Philadelphia and San Francisco in 1915. Along with a young Great-Great-Aunt Lucy, they must help the Liberty Bell get back on track. Releasing from Spork in April 2018!

And finally, a huge thank you to Becky Fyfe for hosting the Chapter Book Challenge and for featuring me on her blog! And cheers to everyone writing chapter books . . . I look forward to seeing where this journey takes you!

*****

Melissa Stoller is thrilled to be a Regional Ambassador for The Chapter Book Challenge! She is also an Admin for The Debut Picture Book Study Group. Melissa is the author of the debut chapter book THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND (Clear Fork Publishing, July 24, 2017); the debut picture book OLIVE’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH (Clear Fork, March, 2018; and THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: THE LIBERTY BELL TRAIN RIDE (Clear Fork, April 2018).  She is also the co-author of THE PARENT-CHILD BOOK CLUB: CONNECTING WITH YOUR KIDS THROUGH READING (HorizonLine Publishing, 2009). Melissa writes parenting articles, and has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, and early childhood educator. Melissa lives in New York City with her husband, three daughters, and one puppy. When not writing or reading, she can be found exploring NYC with family and friends, travelling, and adding treasures to her collections. Find Melissa online at www.MelissaStoller.com, MelissaBerger Stoller (Facebook), @Melissa Stoller (Twitter), and Melissa_Stoller (Instagram).