Tagged: childrens books
Set in Ethiopia, The Crystal Fountain by David Morgan Williams is the story of two children, Omo and Asha, rescuing an ibex from a landslide on Mount Ras Dash. The injured ibex is brought back to health with the help of the two children and Henry, the hippo, and Crocus, the crocodile and some magical bubbles from the crystal fountain.
‘I wanted to write a humorous and entertaining story for young readers, which is also educational.’ explained author David Morgan Williams.
‘The animal characters are based on real-life animals who are a part of a group recognised as an endangered species ’ he said, ‘There is also an increasing deforestation threat, particularly in tropical countries where the rainforests are disappearing at an alarming rate. The depletion leads to changes in the atmosphere upon which all life depends.’
‘There is also the growing problem of poaching, the killing of wild animals so that their parts can be sold illegally for profit’ added David.
The book is aimed at readers between the ages of 5 and 7 years of age.
‘I hope the story will fire up my young readers’ imaginations.’ said David, ‘To me, this is what picture stories for young readers are all about, discovering new worlds and finding themselves, through the joy and excitement of adventure to be had through words and pictures’
David Morgan Williams was born in Cwm near Ebbw Vale, and now lives in Cwmbrân, Gwent. David is a graduate of University College of Wales, Aberystwyth; a former geography teacher; a senior lecturer in education at the University of South Wales, tutor for the Open University and visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, USA.
The Crystal Fountain by David Morgan Williams (£5.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
Lucy Owen’s first children’s book is published in aid of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity
By , 2016-11-01
A familiar face on BBC Wales, Lucy is also an Ambassador for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity and all royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to the charity.
Children from the hospital will be invited to celebrate the launch of the new book and enjoy a storytelling session with Lucy and husband Rhodri Owen, whose Welsh adaptation of the book, Bw-a-bog yn y Parc , will also be launched on the same day.
Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity Director Suzanne Mainwaring says,
“Lucy is such an incredible advocate of the Noah’s Ark Charity and we’re hugely thankful to her for choosing us as the beneficiary of her first book. Reading and telling stories is a central part of every childhood and as a charity that has children at the heart of everything it does, this seems like the perfect fit.
“We hope that families for generations to come will enjoy hearing the story of Tom and his monster, just as many will benefit from the proceeds it helps to raise.”
Boo-a-bog in the Park is a wonderful, reassuring, rhyming story about a little boy called Tom who finds it difficult to make new friends.
When asked what inspired her to write the book, Lucy explains that,
‘This story is about a little boy getting through a difficult time. But with the help of his imaginary monster friend Boo-a-bog, Tom finds his strength. For me, the theme of the story felt like a lovely fit with the Noah’s Ark Charity. It would be wonderful if the book helps raise money for this very special facility we have for children in Wales.”
The heart-warming story is beautifully complemented by Andy Catling’s illustrations and has already gained praise from some well-known personalities including Wales Football Team Manager Chris Coleman who said,
“A delightful, rhyming story with excellent imagery which I’m really looking forward to reading with my children.’
Hollywood actor Matthew Rhys also enjoyed the story and the positive message it conveys,
“This is a beautiful song of hope for the Tom in all of us… If only there WERE Boo-a-Bogs in adult life too. Lucy's obvious flair and talent for rhyme lets this poem of hope fly.”
Boo-a-bog in the Park is available from all good bookshops and online retailers.
For more information, please visit www.gomer.co.uk
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- Lucy Owen lives in Cardiff with her husband Rhodri Owen and their son, Gabriel
- Lucy is a familiar face on BBC Wales as she presents the BBC Wales evening news and consumer show, X-Ray
- Before moving to BBC Wales, Lucy co-presented Wales Tonight on ITV Wales
- Known for her charity work she supports many charities and is an Ambassador for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity
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The Legend of Finndragon’s Curse is the first book in a unique, two book fantasy adventure series and is a fast paced, engaging and thrilling page turner. The story races along with plenty of twists and turns as it heads for the prophesized confrontation between the children and the evil Finndragon himself.
Americymru spoke to author Richard Phillips about the book and his ongoing ''blog tour''.
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AmeriCymru: Hi Richard and many thanks for agreeing to talk to AmeriCymru. How did you become a writer and what attracted you to writing young adult fantasy fiction?
Richard: Diolch. I guess I was always a writer, but didn''t realise it. Well not until my children persuaded me to turn the magical bedtime stories I told them, into a book.
Okay, I wrote a lot of poetry when younger, which gathers dust in the dark recesses of my hard drive. I might take them out one day and see if any are worthy of publication. I also wrote a couple of ''underground'' satirical magazines at work, lampooning my colleagues and their antics. These were great fun, but had a very limited readership.
I actually started writing a sci-fi novel about fifteen years ago, but ran out of steam after just 4,000 words. I don''t think I truly believed in myself back then.
When a very close friend died suddenly aged 42, I wrote some blog posts describing our fantastic (and almost unbelievably true) adventures. These stories are definitely not suitable for younger readers and the blog has long since been removed. However, I think it would be a great to write a work of fiction based on some of the events. If you can imagine something between Twin Town and Grand Slam you''d be on the right lines!
It was my daughter Katie who first started nagging me to write a book about the bedtime stories. These tales always centred around three children named Emma, Megan and Scott, (my kids'' middle names) and their adventures, which usually involved characters ''stolen'' from their favourite TV shows such as Doctor Who. I don''t know quite how, or even when it happened, but the seeds of an idea started to grow. What I did have were the three protagonists. Their characteristics and personalities are based upon my children, albeit older versions.
I wanted the story to be deeply rooted in Wales and also wanted to write about places I knew. That''s where Morlais Castle comes in. It was in my thoughts when describing Castell y Mynydd and is a great starting point for the story. Most importantly, I was writing it for them, so the story had to be suitable for my kids to read. At that time, I didn''t really expect or intend for anyone else to ever read it.
AmeriCymru: Care to introduce the ''Tales of Finndragon'' for our readers?
Richard: Tales of Finndragon is a unique two book fantasy series set firmly in, and under, a fictional 21st century Welsh town named Crafanc y Ddraig. Although written for young adults, the story is suitable for children aged 9 years upwards and has also been very well received by adults who like fantasy books such as Harry Potter.
Book 1, The Legend of Finndragon''s Curse starts with the Davies family, who are still trying to come to terms with the unexplained disappearance of their father and husband.
There is a local legend which has been passed down from generation to generation. It tells of the mighty 6th century, medieval Kingdom of Morgannwg, which was ruled by King Dafydd the Defiant, and his impregnable castle, Castell y Mynydd. Dafydd had a powerful wizard called Finndragon, who cursed the kingdom after being banished and it was swallowed up and sank into the belly of the earth.
One day the siblings, Emma, Megan and Scott discover an ancient scroll and a photograph of the nearby mountains, hidden amongst their dad''s belongings. Realising that these are clues to his disappearance, the children set off to find him and the lost Kingdom of Morgannwg. And that''s where their fantastic adventure begins.
There are many twists and turns over the course of the two books, as the children encounter Finndragon''s terrible demons, magical creatures, and are helped by an inept wizard''s apprentice and by King Dafydd himself.
AmeriCymru: Where can people go online to find your work?
Richard: The books are currently available for kindle via Amazon and will shortly be available in other ebook formats and in print. You can read the first few chapters of each book for free.
AmeriCymru: You have a ''blog tour'' running until the end of June. Care to explain how this works for our readers? How can people participate?
Richard: A blog tour is a virtual book tour, where an author visits several book blogs rather than bookshops. I decided to plan my own tour in order to promote the release of my second book, Return to Finndragon''s Den on 29th May. I sent countless emails to book bloggers and put together a schedule which started 15th May and runs until the end of June.
There are lots of reviews, interviews, guest posts, free ebooks to win and an ambitious and unusual competition.
You can find the schedule on my blog My Name''s Not Earl . I would be grateful if you could checkout all the blogs, it''s not to late to visit the earlier posts. If you like what you see, please support the bloggers by joining their sites. They have been kind enough to help and support me and I want to return the favour in any way I can. If you want to tweet or share the posts on Facebook or via other social media, you will usually find links after the posts.
AmeriCymru: Apart from your blog tour, how are you promoting your books?
Richard: I recently took my son Jonathan to Morlais Castle for the first time, retracing the steps I first took with my own father as a young boy. I have posted some photographs on the Americymru website.
Looking at the photographs gave me an idea and I created a book trailer, which can be viewed on Youtube and on my Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads pages.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Richard Phillips? Any new titles in the works?
Richard: I want to continue writing young adult fantasy (or possibly sci-fi) for the foreseeable future. I have a few ideas for stand alone stories, one of which will probably be a short story or novella, and hope to get started once the blog tour is over.
In the longer term, I''d like to write for an older audience (although most of my current readers are adults who love fantasy).
Whichever genre I write, I''m sure to be influenced by the people and places I know and love.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Richard: Thank you for taking an interest in me and my books. I''m always delighted to hear what people think about my books, blog, book trailer and anything else for that matter. You can find me on:
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AmeriCymru: Hi Marly and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. When did you decide to take up writing childrens'' fiction?
Marly: I created stories for my own children, Catrin and Gareth Owain when they were at primary school age, but it was not until my twin grandchildren Ava and Daniel arrived six years ago, that I really began to take the whole thing seriously.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about the ''Little Gam'' series?
Marly: My inspiration for the Little Gam series came from life with my partner Jeff, who is a seventh generation Gower farmer. While developing the stories, we created a ''Little Gam Model Village'', pictured first in Spring and later in Winter. Three films were made, in English and Welsh, complete with narratives, now showing on Youtube. Each book has a seasonal theme and are centred around the village, its unspoilt countryside,colourful characters and mischievous animals.
AmeriCymru: The books are set in the Gower peninsula, south Wales. Care to describe the area for the benefit of our American readers? Is ''Little Gam'' based on any particular Gower village?
Marly: ''Little Gam'' is based loosely on the very quaint village of Murton, in Bishopston, in an area of outstanding beauty. It is a typical Gower village with a post office, inn, bakery, farm, church on the Green, smithy, and school.There have been some changes.
AmeriCymru: You are also a poet. Can you tell us a little about your poetry?
Marly: Writing poetry was my first passion, and this occured earlier in my life. I wrote many poems and some were published.I took my inspiration from life.
AmeriCymru: Where can people go online to buy your books?
Marly: My books can be bought via my book website:- www.talesfromlittlegam.wordpress.com
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Marly Evans? When can we expect to see the next in the ''Little Gam'' series?
Marly: The next book is entitled '' Summertime'' and will be on sale in a few months.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Marly: In my books, I have tried to create a world, which illustrates Welsh village life with all its humour and daily goings-on. All the stories are true and in many ways, quite unique.
Both the Welsh Books Council and the National Museum have chosen the debut novel by author Sheila Harries as their July Children’s Book of the Month and Book of the Month respectively.
Over 50 shops have signed up to the Welsh Books Council’s scheme and Cathryn Gwynn, editor at Pont Books says
“We are delighted that The Picture that Made Time Fly has been chosen as the first English-language title since the scheme was launched in March.
“Pont publish English-language books that have a strong Welsh identity and our aim is to build a connection between the young people of the different cultures of Wales and their country through great stories and lovely books”.
Originally from Northampton and a former school librarian in Oxfordshire, Sheila Harries has had many years’ experience of talking to young people about what makes a good book, and has welcomed great authors and illustrators such as Philip Pullman, Malorie Blackman, Caroline Lawrence and Nick Sharratt into her library to inspire and entertain.
Now living in Penarth, the author is a frequent visitor to the National Museum of Wales which is where the novel opens, with a group of children on a school trip.
It was just another picture in the art gallery – or so Megan and Rhys thought, as they stared at it long and hard. But it wasn’t…
All of a sudden, a normal school trip day at the museum turns into a spinning vortex through time, dragging them both into a strange place where they have to survive on their wits.
Embroiled in dangers and facing challenges far away from the present, the question is always there… can they ever get back? How?
The Picture that Made Time Fly is available from all good bookshops and online retailers and is suitable for readers aged 8 – 11 years
For more information, visit www.gomer.co.uk
About the author
It’s fair to say that Sheila Harries loves books. In her career as a school librarian in Oxfordshire, she has had many years’ experience of talking to young people about what makes a good book, and has welcomed great authors and illustrators such as Philip Pullman, Malorie Blackman, Caroline Lawrence and Nick Sharratt into her library to inspire and entertain. Now she has written an entertaining and inspiring book herself. The book, like Sheila, is based around Cardiff and reflects her love of history, languages, and art – and a good adventure. Living in Penarth, she is a frequent visitor to the National Museum of Wales which is where the novel opens, with a group of children on a school trip. It’s a familiar scenario to her as someone who enjoys taking her grandchildren to see interesting places. She is also a keen traveller herself – but loves coming back to her garden and the cats!qwdqwedq
