Two New Reviews of "Magical Mea" and "Magical Matthew"

I'm pleased to post two Amazon reviews by Donna McDine of Magical Matthew and Magical Mea:

   

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming story of positive self-image and acceptance, June 24, 2014

By 

Donna M. McDine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Matthew (Hardcover)

The world through the eyes of a child is a special time. They are untainted by the misgivings of the world and have the unique knack of visualizing their surroundings in a positive manner. Young Matthew ha a secret, one he feels must remain secret. He has the uncanny magical ability to fix broken objects by just thinking them fixed. His best friend, Lily, suspects something but can’t quite put her finger on it. Does Matthew lift the burden of his secret and tell Lily or should he keep it to himself? Discover the outcome by reading Magical Matthew.

Award-winning children’s author, Penelope Anne Cole brings forth a . The imaginative illustrations by Kevin Collier make the story come alive before your eyes. Magical Matthew is a must have for homes with young children.

 

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5.0 out of 5 stars The importance of listening to others with more life experience, June 24, 2014

By 

Donna M. McDine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mea (Paperback)

Sisters can be mischievous and Mea is no exception when she takes her antics to a new level. Having obtained magical powers to fix things with her mind, Mea turned the wheels to cause chaos of hiding items instead. Ignoring her old brother Matthew’s steadfast warnings of her magical powers, Mea insists to do things her way. Matthew’s every growing frustration with Mea escalates when Mea goes off alone to most likely create havoc throughout the neighborhood. Will Matthew and his best friend, Lily, find Mea in time before she causes irreparable damage. Find out in Magical Mea by award-winning children’s author, Penelope Anne Cole.

Ms. Cole’s second book in the magical series teaches a valuable lesson to not only Mea, but to the reader of the importance of listening to others with more life experience and destructive decisions often conclude with disastrous results. Illustrator, Kevin Collier once again creates the quirky characters that have become the trademark of Ms. Cole’s Magical Matthew and Magical Mea series.

 

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Thanks to Donna and many other wonderful reviewers who keep giving my books such lovely reviews!

 

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Tags:

Magical Matthew, Magical Mea, Magical series, children's books, Kevin Collier, talent, good, helping, kind, sibling

 

A New 5- Star Review on Amazon

Here's a lovely new review up on Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for a delightful read!, June 17, 2014

By 

Karin Larson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mea (Paperback)

Magical Mea, written by Penelope Anne Cole and illustrated by Kevin Collier, is an enchanting sequel to Ms. Cole's Magical Matthew. Mea is Matthew's younger sister who has her own brand of magic. Unlike her brother who used his magic for good, Mea is a trickster with her magic and has to learn it is better to help people than play tricks on them. Mea is a prankster kids can easily relate to as all kids want recognition of some sort. Mea likes that she "gets praise for being a good finder" after she deliberately hides the items she then "finds." As with most children, life lessons are a better teaching tool than anything told or intentionally preached to them. Ms. Cole does this perfectly in her books. Magical Mea demonstrates it always feels better to earn attention and praise for doing good than negative attention for doing wrong. It is a fun story kids can learn from and parents can appreciate the lesson learned. Mr. Collier's illustrations are incredible and really bring Mea and Matthew to life. I highly recommend this darling book. Your kids will learn from and love Mea and her adventures.

 

 

Magical Mea and Magical Matthew win more awards!

I received a lovely surprise in my inbox from Creative Child Magazine:  My two Magical books won awards in the 2014 award program:

Magical Mea Book
a 2014 BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
Kids Positive Learning Story Books category

Magical Matthew Book
a 2014 PREFERRED CHOICE AWARD
Kids Positive Learning Story Books category

also,

Magical Mea Book & Magical Matthew Book
a 2014 SEAL OF EXCELLENCE
Fiction Books for Kids.

This is great good news and keeps me plugging on with more books and more outreach. 

Reading is magical!

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Tags:  Magical Books, Magical Matthew, Magical Mea, Creative Child Magazine 2014 Awards Program, Seal of Excellence, Preferred Choice Award, Book of the Year Award.

More 5 -Star Reviews for "Magical Mea" from Amazon!

5.0 out of 5 stars

Fun and adorable!

By Lisa M. on August 31, 2013

Format: Paperback

I liked Magical Mea, even though she is playing tricks on people in the beginning of the story. When she hides things and then finds them, she gets a lot of praise and she likes that. Mea wants to be appreciated. She's not like her older brother Matthew, who fixed things secretly. I think she plays tricks just to see what happens. But in the end of the story, she learns her lesson. She finally sees that it's better to help people than play tricks on them. I think it's a fun story that kids can learn from. I definitely recommend this book! 

 

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5.0 out of 5 stars

breaking bad

By susan,mt.view, CA on August 29, 2013

Format: Paperback

This is the second book in a series, beginning with Magical Matthew. Near the ending of Magical Matthew, we learn that Matthew suspects his younger sister, Mea, of having the gift of magic. In this story of Magical Mea, we see immediately that she does not like being told what to do by her older brother. So much so, that to be unlike Matthew, she uses her magic to create mischief, rather than good. Having this much power at a very young age can be overwhelming. But, Mea is stubborn, and advice from her brother on how to use her magic, is unwelcome. One morning Mea leaves the safety of her home, unaccompanied, and plays her tricks of hiding things on the people she happens upon along her way. Seeing her power at work is great fun and she does it over and over again. Without telling you the ending of the story, all ends well and Mea learns a valuable life lesson--that it is even more fun to do good things with her magic, resulting in her feeling proud and capable. Ms. Cole's stories allow children to learn from her characters, in a fun and enjoyable way, important life lessons. My children our looking forward to Ms. Cole's next book, and I am wondering what lesson she will teach.

My Book Bites for Kids Blog Talk Radio Interview is on today at 3 PM ET and Noon PT

 My interview with Suzanne Lieurance will be on today.  I hope you can listen.  Click here:


http://writingforchildrencenter.com/category/book-bites-for-kids/

My Virtual Blog Book Tour this week - Feb 3-5 with the National Writing for Children Center

My virtual blog book tour for Magical Matthew starts today.  

Here's the first stop, if you can stop by and comment:

http://blogcritics.org/interview-penelope-anne-cole-author-of-magical-matthew/

There are interviews and background about my book and the next books in my Magical series: 

Magical Mea
Magical Mea Goes to School, and
Magical M and M

Plus my Halloween book, Ten Little Tricksters, coming later this year.

New 5-Star Review on Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars A DELIGHTFUL READ, January 12, 2014

By 

speak4languages (Centennial Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mea (Paperback)

Magical Mea is the sequel to Magical Matthew. In Magical Matthew, the author chronicles the importance of teaching children to use their talents to do good deeds. However, in Magical Mea we see what happens when children are set in their ways.

Unlike her brother, Mea decides to use her magic to play tricks on people. Unfortunately, as much as we dream about having well-behaved children who are kind and obedient, it does not always work out that way.

Mea represents the character that is a challenge for parents and teachers, a child who is obstinate and determined to be mischievous no matter what.

Does Mea have any redeeming qualities? Can she change? Is it too late? Should her Mom and Dad give up on her completely?

I am of the opinion that it is never too late to steer a child in the right direction. Too often parents take the easy way out, leaving it to society to teach children morals. Every child is a gift from above. It is up to the parents to help direct the path of the child. In the case of Mea, her brother Matthew and his best friend Lily do a wonderful job encouraging Mea to do what is right.

The one thing that shines through the story is sometimes children do foolish things because they are trying to get attention. They also do not like to be told what to do by a sibling.

“Lily, why doesn’t Mea listen to me? After all, I know what’s best. Why can’t she be like me and use her magic to do good?

“Yes, I know she really likes to hide things and later find them. That’s because she gets praise for being a good finder,” Lily said.

Magical Mea is a delightful story. It can be a great resource for parents to teach children the value of being kind. Kevin Collier’s artwork adds life to the story.

Another Amazon Book Review

New Review on Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars Young children will be able to relate to little Mea, January 6, 2014

By 

Karen Wiesner "karenwiesner" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mea (Paperback)

“Magical Mea takes up where Magical Matthew left off. Matthew’s little sister, Mea, has discovered the joys of her own magic, but despite her older brother’s advice about using her gift for good, she enjoys her pranks too much to give them up. True, she never really uses the magic for evil. She simply enjoys a good laugh at others’ expense. As in life, we rarely learn by taking advice. We learn through our mistakes and life experiences. Again, there’s a subtle message in this story and a full story arc that takes the reader from problem to a satisfactory resolution. The illustrations add to the enjoyable story—I especially liked the vivid expressions on the characters’ faces. Young children will be able to relate to little Mea as she finds that the joy of helping others with her natural gifts is more thrilling than using them to play pranks.” ~reviewed by Karen Wiesner, author of Keri is Cute Cute Cute and First Draft in 30 Days http://www.karenwiesner.com

New Review up on Amazon!

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Magical Me, December 26, 2013

By 

Amazon Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mea (Paperback)

Although a young girl with magical powers is make believe, the desire portrayed in the book to have power over her surroundings and the ability to do things her way, is very real and will resonate with the lucky children who get to read "Magical Mea" by Penelope Anne Cole.

The pictures and story capture Mea's feelings of anger, defiance, mischievousness, and her thrill at both tricking others with her magic and being the hero when she uses her magic for good.

When Mea goes on an adventure of her own, fear and uncertainty mixes with her power to do good, causing Mea to wake from a path of trickster to a path of helping others.

Linda Derkez
Author of Manny the TV Watching Dog, Chip's Sharing Day, One Large Peanut Butter Sandwich To Go

My Wonderful Weeks of Magical Awards, Book Sales and Signings!

I've had a wonderful couple of weeks!  November 20-22nd, I went to Miami to receive my Bronze Medal for Magical Mathew!  I met some lovely authors and went to the huge Miami International Book Fair.  There were some lovely speakers (see 11/26/13 post).  Here are the official photos:

When I returned from Miami, it was a rush to get ready for Thanksgiving (overcooked the pie and stopped up the drain with potato peelings!)  Still, we had a wonderful family gathering at my brother's.

 Then it was the Black Friday weekend Book Sales and Signing with the Fremont Area Writers Club.  I sold MagMatt and MagMea books every day!




















Today was the icing on the cake:
I received my Creative Child Magazine Kids' Holiday Gift edition and found that Magical Mea won a Preferred Choice Award from Moms and Educators!

Then I received an email that Magical Mea won a Fall 2013 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award from NABE!  Woo hoo! 

 What a great couple of weeks!

Received my Bronze Medal from Readers' Favorite Award Ceremony for "Magical Matthew" and Finalist recognition for "Magical Mea"

I just returned from the Readers' Favorite Awards Ceremony and the Miami International Book Fair!  There I received my Bronze Medal for Magical Matthew and was also acknowledged for Magical Mea being a finalist, too!  It was very exciting to be there and meet other award winning writers who were also being honored.

We had the opportunity to hear some great talks on marketing:
1) Find the audience for your book and pursue it relentlessly.  Sell yourself, sell your stories.
2) Make your presentations fun and memorable.  Tell them something new.  Share.  Joke.  Sell.
3) Dress up in costume, if appropriate.  Have a memorable image, gimmick, showcase.
4) Volunteer as a speaker to community organizations (libraries, service clubs, churches, schools, book clubs, parent groups, etc ).
5) Become well-known.  You = your product; brand yourself.  (T-shirts, stuffed animals, dolls, hats?)

How to pursue adapting your book for a movie or TV show:
1) When writing your book try to make it "cinematic," with 3 Act structure and castable characters.
2) Find out who wants/needs movies/TV shows with your theme/subject; communicate marketabilty.
3) Know your target audience and how to connect with them; have significant readership.
4) Write a great two page synopsis of your vision; be persistent, but not a pest; be passionate.
5) Set realistic goals.  One no just means it's not right for that producer/film company; be gracious.

And the future of the independent author and publisher.
1) Market to the right publisher for your genre and audience.
2) Investigate self-publishing as a viable alternative with growing interest, audience, and respect.
3) Be smart with marketing and PR; find your audience and market to them.
4) Know the business side of writing (budget, design, pricing, marketing/PR, outsourcing, website).

All were short presentations, but interesting, supportive, and inspiring.  It made me want to go back next year.  But then I'll have to enter another book by May 1st, 2014!

Here I am at the Miami International Book Fair where our award winning books were displayed.

 Here I am with Debra Gaynor, Founder of the Readers' Favorite Awards Program.
We'll get the official photo of the medal being awarded on December first and I'll post that, too.  And now it's back to work on the next book!

November 2013 - Guardian-Angel-Kids.com/ - Free Online Interactive Magazine for Kids: It Must Be Magic!

Published by Guardian Angel Publishing:   

http://Guardian-Angel-Kids.com/  

Free Online Magazine.

BOOK FEATURE- The Magic Violin 

POEM- It Must Be Magic by Robert Niven; 

SHORT STORIES-A Fairy’s Flight for Firefly Freedom by Shari L. Klase; Magic Mud for Sale by Billie A Williams; A Different Kind of Magic by Felicity Nisbet; 

NON-FICTION ARTICLES; The True Magic of Nicholas Flamel by Donna Marie West; Open Sesame–Is it Magic? Christine Collier

Magical Matthew Translated into Spanish - Mágico Mateo!

Magical Matthew has been translated into Spanish and is up on the Guardian Angel Publishing website as Mágico Mateo! 

Here is the link to see the first two pages and to order from GAP:

 


http://guardianangelpublishing.com/magmateo.htm



It should soon be up on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other quality online book sellers.

If you can't wait for Amazon, you can buy softcover and ebook from GAP.

GAP Kids ezine October 2013

October 2013 Guardian Angel Kids ezine

 Down on the Farm

http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com/oct013.htm

BOOK FEATURE

The Odd Chick

POEM

Life on the Farm by Jennifer Buchet

Tractor Tour by Tracy Helixon

SHORT STORIES

Tractor goes to the City by Wendy Klein

Allie’s Farm by Felicity Nisbet

The Pig who did not want to be pink by Savannah Hendricks

NON-FICTION ARTICLE

Old MacDonald had an Alpaca by Shari L. Klase

ACTIVITY FOR KIDS

So you want to be a Farmer? by Sharon Stanley

Down on the Farm Word Search Puzzle by Tanja Cilia

thanks,

LYNDA S. BURCH. Publisher

GuardianAngelPublishing.com

Two Kid Companion Special Needs Interviews about my Magical Series

Here are two more interviews by Lorna d'Entremont (of Special Needs Book Review) about my Magical book series, Magical Matthew and Magical Mea, and me, too!

These interviews are in Kid Companions (for Kids that Love to Fidget and Chew):

 

Children’s Books: Magical Series by Penelope Anne Cole: Magical Matthew and Magical Mea http://kidcompanions.com/childrens-books-magical-series-penelope-anne-cole-magical-matthew-magical-mea/#.Ui8j7NI3uSo

Penelope Anne Cole: Author of Award Winning Children’s Books the Magical Series http://kidcompanions.com/penelope-anne-cole-author-award-winning-childrens-books-magical-series/#more-15549

 

 

New Review of "Magical Mea," by Lorna d'Entremont

I'm pleased to refer you to a lovely new review of Magical Mea, by Lorna d'Entremont on her Special Needs Book Review site. 

Here is the link http://www.specialneedsbookreview.com/2013/09/06/second-childrens-book-magical-series-magical-mea-penelope-anne-cole/ 

 

Guardian Angel Kids: An online Magazine

SEPTEMBER 2013

Anti-Bullying

http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com 

Book Feature

Benjamin Jay was a Bully by Emma Glover Art by KC Snider

Features

POEM

Chy’s Guys by Donna J. Shepherd

SHORT STORIES

Finding Frankenfeet by Jennifer Buchet

Saving Hercules by Debbie Allard

Shrimp by Felicity Nisbet

Frank and the Forever Flute by Elizabeth Glann

NON-FICTION ARTICLE

Hen Pecked by Shari L. Klase

PARENT TEACHER ARTICLE

Cyber Bullying: Its Prevalence and What to do about it? by Irene S. Roth

ACTIVITY FOR PARENTS/ TEACHERS & KIDS

Teaching Empathy Helps Stop Bullying by Kathy Stemke

Guardian-Angels-Kids.com

brought to you by

GuardianAngelPublishing.com

"Magical Matthew" is a Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal Winner 2013!

I just found out "Magical Matthew" won a Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal in their 2013 Awards Program.  http://readersfavorite.com/2013-award-contest-winners.htm#cat215

"Magical Mea" was a Readers' Favorite Finalist.

That's three awards Magical Matthew has won (and they all come with stickers!):

2013 Book of the Year from Creative Child Magazine Award Program

Summer 2013 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award from NABE

 and now,

Readers' Favorite 2013 Bronze Medal Award!

Celebrate with me by getting your own copy of Magical Matthew!

Magical Matthew wins Summer 2013 Pinnacle Book Award from NABE

I'm happy to announce that Magical Matthew has won another award -- from NABE (The National Association of Book Entrepreneurs) -- a Summer 2013 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in the Children's Interest Category!  Celebrate this with me by telling your friends.

 http://www.bookmarketingprofits.com/PinnacleAwardsSummer2013.html

Book Review by Mary Esparza-Vela

MAGICAL MEA

 

Magical Mea is a charming story--the second in the "Magical Series" by Penelope Anne Cole. Like her big brother, Matthew, Mea also has the unique ability to fix things that are broken simply by staring at them; however, Mea does not want to use her powers wisely. She seems to enjoy hiding things and playing pranks on others. At the end of the story Mea learns that it is better to do good than bad.

 

Book Review by GAP Author Mary Esparza-Vela

Award winning author of:

 
THE ODD CHICK
BEARLY LEARNING ABOUT WATER
THE TURTLE WHO IMAGINED
THE SMILING BURRO
EL BURRO SONRIENTE
YOU CANT TAKE THE DINOSAUR HOME
¡NO PUEDES LLEVARTE EL DINOSAURIO A CASA!

Purchase her new book, You Can't Take the Dinosaur Home, and one of the Space Tot Plush Dolls, by contacting Mary Esparza-Vela at:   www.luv-beams.com