"Monkey Fun!" by Julia Dweck

NEW RELEASE and REVIEW

Monkey Fun!

by Julia Dweck

Monkey Fun! is Julia Dweck's latest release. You can read my review below. You can also read my earlier posts and reviews of some of Julia's other books: Blucy (blog post), Mary had a Sleepy Sheep (blog post), Humpfree: The Humpless Camel (blog post), Faux Paw (blog post), and Zippity-Zoo (blog post).

Description

Monkey Fun! proves that you're never too young to begin your learning adventure.

It’s a barrel of fun and chock full of interesting monkey facts written in easy to understand rhyming verse for toddlers ages 0-4.

Bold, colorful illustrations by Aida Sofia Barba will capture the attention of young readers and aid in story comprehension. This is an edutaining rhyming adventure that offers fun learning resources in the back of the book including, Mrs. Dweck's monkey facts and a monkey counting game.

Excerpt

That’s not a monkey who’s peeling a grape.
Bigger and tailless, he must be an ape.
Monkeys who live in a family group,
travel together and share with their troop.

Review

By Lynda Dickson

Ever wanted to know more about monkeys? Here's a fun way to entertain and educate the kids at the same time. Find out where monkeys live, what they eat, and how they interact.

Aida Sofia Barba's monkeys are extremely cute and the colorful backgrounds are stunning, a perfect complement to Julia's rhyming verse. Comes complete with fun monkey facts and a counting activity.

About the Author

Julia Dweck writes children's stories for digital and traditional publication. Her stories span the spectrum of humor, fantasy, and edutainment in rhyme and in prose. Check out her newest ebooks, Blucy, Mary had a Sleepy Sheep, Humpfree: The Humpless Camel, Faux Paw, Zippity-Zoo, and Monkey Fun!.

Julia's background in elementary education affords her the opportunity to be in touch with what children want to read and what makes them giggle. She's collaborated with leading artists in the world of children's literature to produce over twenty Amazon ebooks. Her titles have garnered placement on Amazon's bestsellers in children's color picture books multiple times with two #1 bestsellers: Pie-Rits and Zombie-Kids. These titles have been chosen by Amazon Editors for the prestigious "Kindle Daily Deal." Many of Julia's titles have earned placement on Amazon's top ranked lists based on customer review. In her spare time, Julia is a designer of educational adjuncts for children's literature, and has worked with such notable publishing houses as Penguin Young Readers. She presented at the 2011 National Center for Family Literacy for her creative use of technology in the classroom.

Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

Amazon US author page

Amazon UK author page

Facebook

Goodreads

Google+

LinkedIn

Pinterest

Twitter @juleloves2write

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"Cheeky Monkeys: The True Story Behind the Award-Winning Picture" by Susanna Ivy

NEW RELEASE
Cheeky Monkeys: The True Story Behind the Award-Winning Picture

by Susanna Ivy

I am proud to announce the release of Susanna Ivy's latest book, Cheeky Monkeys. I did an initial edit of this short book, as English is not Susanna's native tongue. I wasn't involved in the final edit, so I take no responsibility for any errors present. It's great to see the words now illustrated with Susanna's marvelous photos. 

Description

Whilst traveling the world you will see the greatest monuments ever built, meet the most interesting people you will ever met, and be amazed at the most pristine nature and wildlife our world has to offer.

Susanna Ivy captured numerous of these "magic moments" with the help of her camera during her travels. Her photos are real and alive. The reader feels like they went with her through the most remote and exotic places far beyond the life most people know.

But sometimes there are moments that capture your heart. Meeting Dorita, a handicapped orphan monkey, was one these life-changing moments. Susanna describes it as the moment she "fell in love with monkeys". Seeing this little helpless creature, a former pet living in a sanctuary and dependent on human kindness for the rest of her life, made Susanna want to help.

In Cheeky Monkeys she writes about the experiences she had and why it is not a good idea to support the pet trade.

This book contains over 30 beautifully crafted photo collages, well worth seeing. It is suitable for adults, children, and all animal lovers.

Book Trailer

Excerpt

All of the monkeys seemed to have fun out there. I realized that, being used to such a life of freely bouncing between high trees, a monkey could never be happy imprisoned in a cage. It was bliss watching them interact with each other, jumping through the trees and climbing the treetops. These animals had everything they needed. But it had not always been like this for them.

After observing them closely, I noticed that one of the squirrel monkeys had lost an arm. I later found out this was as a result of being caught in a poacher's trap put out to catch all sorts of creatures, but especially monkeys, for bush meat. The bush meat trade is a big problem around the world, especially for monkeys. Most Latin American countries are very poor. Bush meat means extra protein or extra money for the poachers' families. So people go out and hunt these monkeys. In so doing, they don't care about what they catch, whether they are endangered, or if the monkey has a baby. This squirrel monkey was lucky because he was rescued and now lives a happy life in the sanctuary amongst his own kind. Most trapped monkeys aren't so lucky.

Even Dorita was not an average monkey - she seemed somehow odd despite her cuteness. I examined her closely and noticed that she had deformed extremities. She might also have been a little simple compared to the other monkeys, except for her little buddy Pinguino, who seemed to be suffering from the same disease. The crippled extremities made them walk slower than the other monkeys, leaving them to depend on human kindness and help. These two could never live on their own again.

Review

By Joel

The book has some amazing photos and it's no surprise since the author is an award winning photographer. It gives a detailed look at the realities that face the species but it also gives a heartfelt view of the beauty that the author shares with us in intimate descriptions of her travels. I found a kinship to Jane Goodall, no doubt an influence in her work but the author is more Steve Irwin in the whimsical styling of her adventure. Well worth the price, in fact I'd say undervalued. So I am happy to write to the potential reader, get this one, you'll love it!

About the Author

Susanna Ivy grew up in East Berlin, Germany, behind the wall. She obtained a degree in Graphic Design and an MA in Cultural Studies and Art History. She is a passionate photographer and traveler. She loves scuba diving all over the world. But her biggest love is for the animals. That is why she tries to inspire and educate people around the world to protect them for future generations. At the moment, she works as a freelance photographer, designer and author.

So far, Susanna has travelled to 30 countries and has taken thousands of photos. In 2010 she won an international competition and was able to fulfill her childhood dream and travel to the Galapagos Islands. The result of that trip was her photographic essay, Galapagos Dreams: A Photo Journey. In her capacity as graphic artist, Susanna has designed the covers of numerous books. These can be seen in Book Cover: Selected. This book was followed by World Ocean Day 2012. Her newest book, Cheeky Monkeys, has just been released.

Links

Amazon US Kindle

Amazon UK Kindle

Amazon US author page

Amazon UK author page

Facebook

Twitter @susanna_ivy

Website