BOOK NOOK REVIEWS: Genevieve Petrillo

**This week's BOOK NOOK REVIEWS shines a spotlight on great books provided by some of the authors participating in my annual FREE AUTHOR PROMOTION event held each May in my city. Help support these new and established authors by checking out their books!***

Title: Keep Your Ear On The Ball

Author: Genevieve Petrillo

Illustrator: Lea Lyon

Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
 

Ages 9-11

"Davey looked like every other new kid that ever came into our class. Ms. Madison walked him in and said, 'Boys and girls, this is Davey.' He was medium height. He had medium brown hair and medium brown eyes. A regular kid."

  

Synopsis: It's hard being the new kid. It's even harder when you're legally blind. All Davey wanted was to be treated like everyone else but his new classmates kept wanting to do everything for him. It takes a simple game of baseball to teach all the children a handicap doesn't have to hold you back unless you let it.

Why you should read it: Wanting to be accepted for who you are is a universal theme and Ms. Petrillo allows us a glimpse into a world where being different doesn't mean being an outcast. Readers will empathize both with Davey's wish to be independent and the other children's attempt to help their new classmate feel welcome. A lovely story to help introduce children to people with disabilities.

 

Like-O-Meter Rating: 5 out of 5...Grab it!

Oh No! My Blog's On Fire!

 

Being told something is on fire is not  always a good thing.  When it is a batch of cookies you didn't prepare correctly so it dripped on the bottom of the oven while your parents are away and almost catches the entire house on fire is NOT a good time to be told something is on fire. When you ask your teenage son to put on a pot of beans to cook so dinner will be ready when you get home from a long day at work and you are greeted with the smell of charred beans when you come in the door to find your child obliviously listening to music in the next room is NOT a good time to be told something is on fire.

But when someone decides to shine the spotlight on something you work really hard to make the best it can be, then being told something is on fire is DEFINITELY a good thing!

My friend, Cupcake, and her mom, Genevieve Petrillo, ( http://cupcakepetrillo.wordpress.com ) gave me the Blog On Fire Award recently and I'm happy to know they are feeling the warmth of my writing efforts.  The rules of this award to is tell you five things about myself you may not know and then pass it along to five other blogs which caught on fire for me.  Here's the five things:

1.  I went to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show every weekend for an entire year when the movie originally came out.

2.  I once ate so many carrots over a six month period that my skin literally turned orange and my doctor told me I wasn't allowed to eat them any more.

3.  I married my ex-husband on a steamboat while running a 103 fever and battling such a severe case of strep throat  I had to whisper my vows.

4.  I once dressed up as a gypsy and read the palms of customers if they signed up for a J C Penney credit card account.

5.  I have always wanted to learn American Sign Language and even took a free class once but it was soooo hard I just couldn't get it.

And here are the five blogs I think deserve to share the warmth of this award as well;

1.   Laura Barnes (http://laurabwriter.blogspot.com)

2.  Tara Lazar (http://taralazar.wordpress.com)

3.   Erik (http://thiskidreviewsbooks.com)

4.  Rena Traxel (http://www.renajtraxelblog.com)

5.  Tamson Weston (http://tamsonweston.com/blog)

There you have it...five little tid bits about me.  Not exactly a life on fire with exciting things happening all the time but more like the warm glow of a life well lived.  I guess I'll leave the fire works to my writing!