Category: iRead tour

Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love is an emotional toolbox that can help kids and parents communicate about what it means for Mama to have cancer.

About Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love

Once upon a time . . . It’s how all heroes begin their story, and you’re a hero, too! Your mama has cancer, and it’s a scary journey, but you can help your mama just by being you—special, wonderful, YOU. Your mama loves you just the way you are. You are your mama’s knight.

Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love is an emotional toolbox that can help kids and parents communicate about what it means for Mama to have cancer. The book is filled with tools and activities designed to make coping with illness easier on both parent and child, and can be personalized for each child.

My Thoughts

Mama’s Knight is a truly beautiful story for Mom and child that brought tears to my eyes. The book showcases Mom’s battle with cancer in an easy way for children to understand but still hits on the most important parts: that Mom may be tired, Mom may not be able to play and sometimes Mom may not like the same types of foods. The book starts out with a background about the child (that you would personalize for your own child) and then dives into the symptoms Mom may be having and how cancer affects her body and her treatment plan.

What I love the most is that the book gives activities to play when Mom is having a bad day, coupons for special days with just Mom and links to activities, like making a cape for your special super hero. The book has the ability to be personalized (which all kids love!) and even better there are parts where Mom can make notes and even insert photos of Mom and child. I loved the section about talking about feelings, as children can find it hard to express their feelings and this is a great starting point for them. She gives children the starting line (for example: “Today I am as angry as a goose”) and this allows Mom and child to explore these feelings and help address them and work through them.

Mama’s Knight is a beautifully crafted tool for Moms and their children as they battle through cancer. It is a special, personalized journey for parents and children to explore their feelings, their symptoms and keeping communication open and fun. Mama’s Knight is a truly special book that is the perfect guide for parents as they begin their journey battling cancer or even those who are in the midst of their battle.

You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Aurora Whittet started out as a wild red-haired girl in Minnesota dreaming up stories for her friends to read. Today, she has completed Bloodmark, Bloodrealms, and Bloodmoon of the Bloodmark Saga trilogy and started her journey into children’s books with Mama’s Knight in honor of her own mother who lost her battle with cancer. She’s a national award-winning graphic designer and birth doula in her day jobs. Aurora lives with her family in Minnesota.

Connect with Aurora on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway

Win a signed copy of Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love (USA only – 5 winners total)

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Red-Tailed Hawk is a coming of age story, the tale of a young woman’s quest to discover the source of her own longing and to understand the mystical legacy of her family.

About Red-Tailed Hawk

When Mariah Easter encounters a large hawk in her urban midtown neighborhood, her father Charlie is concerned. He can see a wild and mystical path opening before his daughter, a path he himself would never be able to resist. The hawk soon reappears: engraved with its twin on a golden thimble that has been an Easter family heirloom for generations. After the thimble is stolen at a funeral reception, Mariah and her mother Samantha set off on a road trip to find it, a journey that will bring healing to the grieving family and change Mariah’s life forever.

Red-tailed Hawk is a coming of age story, the tale of a young woman’s quest to discover the source of her own longing and to understand the mystical legacy of her family.

My Thoughts

A beautiful coming of age story – Mariah finds herself facing tragedy and out of this comes an exciting journey to understand herself, her family and her Father.

The journey Mariah and her family find themselves on, all starts with the theft of a family heirloom – a thimble. The thimble contains the image of a red-tailed hawk and the connection Mariah has with the red-tailed hawk is very important and magical at times. She is connected on this journey to the hawks and they help guide her several times throughout the novel. She meets several guides along her journey and she learns how to prepare for her journey and how to trade to find goods that will help her along her way.

What I really enjoyed was that we had this central journey with Mariah but on the way her Mother and brother explore and grow with her in their own lives. Her brother finds hope and friendship (and possibly love?) with a new woman who also has a diagnosis of autism. She teaches him so much about living in the moment. Her Mother explores her relationship, her past and her future with her Daughter.

Red-Tailed Hawk is a special and magical journey that is a pleasure to be a part of. You laugh, you want to cry and you want to reach out and help each one of them but know that this is their journey. On our journey to understand our purpose we must accomplish this alone, you feel pride in Mariah for finding out her purpose and going forward on her own to understand her journey.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Nancy Schoellkopf is the author of Yellow-billed Magpie, the first in her Easter Family series. Nancy has been telling stories and writing poems for many lifetimes. It goes without saying that she’d need a second income, so this time around she has happily taught amazing children in special education classes in two urban school districts in Sacramento, California. A full time writer now, she enjoys lavishing attention on her cats, her garden, and her intriguing circle of family and friends.

Connect with Nancy on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

“Sensory overload in a glance” is an apt description of a country that is always in movement.

About India

I have always been fascinated by the sheer beauty and diversity in Indian culture. “Sensory overload in a glance” is an apt description of a country that is always in movement. To be able to stand still in the middle of all that movement allows me to really “see” her people and absorb the flow of life from birth to death.

From learning how to make yellow ink from cow urine to watching funeral pyres burn in Varanasi, I realized that I would have to spend a lifetime here to grasp the immense value of her art, stunning architecture, fascinating food and love of all that is beautiful.

My Thoughts

A stunning collection of images of a place that is magical, full of history and adventure, India. The images are unique and look at every aspect of life in this beautiful country and it’s beautiful. Whether it is driving down the street, relaxing in the open air, a historical building or nature – Debra has captured it all. One of my favourite quotes came at the beginning of the book, “India is not an underdeveloped country…in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed country in a state of decay” Shashi Tharoor.

I can clearly see why Debra fell in love with the country. From the lifestyle to the food to the people, there is so much to love. You can see how rich the culture and heritage is just from the images alone. While view as underdeveloped, there is so much we can learn from their culture.

This beautiful collection of images will steal your heart away with its warmth, compassion, sense of adventure and history. It will leave you wanting to pack your bags to escape to the beauty of India. A very well put together and laid out album of photos!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Blurb, iTunes and her website.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Debra Schoenberger aka #girlwithcamera.

“My dad always carried a camera under the seat of his car and was constantly taking pictures. I think that his example, together with pouring over National Geographic magazines as a child fuelled my curiosity for the world around me.”

I am a documentary photographer and street photography is my passion. Some of my images have been chosen by National Geographic as editor’s favourites and are on display in the National Geographic museum in Washington, DC.  I also have an off-kilter sense of humour so I’m always looking for the unusual.

You can connect with her on her website, Facebook and Instagram.

Book Trailer

The Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.