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