Undawnted Presents: A WordCrafter Blog Tour, My Backyard Friends, Meet Heather Hummingbird & Review of "Heather Hummingbird"

Introduction

Heather Hummingbird is a busy little hummingbird bird who earns the nickname Hyperactive Heather which her forest friends have given her. She’s constantly on the move, gathering insects and nectar, chasing bees, or migrating from her winter to her summer home and back. But she always finds time to help out her friends, even when her help is only grudgingly accepted.

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Mini-Interview with Heather Hummingbird
[Interview with Heather Hummingbird]

Forgive me if I don’t perch for very long. You see hummingbirds have lots of energy, so if I zip away suddenly, don’t worry. I’ll be right back. I’ll just be working up energy that is building up, like this .Zwippp.

Ziiing.

Were you afraid to speak to an eagle?

Well, no. I’d seen Ethan around the forest. He’s a big bird, but he’s a fledgling. I might even be older than him, so I wasn’t scared of him. Zwiiiipp.

Ziiiiiing. I couldn’t help but notice his curious behavior and when I realized I could help him, I did.
 

How did it feel to make a friend?

Well, I was glad to have him as a friend that autumn, when I couldn’t fly south on my own. That’s for sure.
 

How did it feel when you had to part with your new friend?

The trip south was a long one, and I felt really close to Ethan by the time we arrived. I knew he had to go back to the forest he knew, but it was sad watching him go. But I didn’t let it keep me down because I knew I’d see him again the next spring, and I did. Zwiiip.

Ziiiing

Thanks for having me here today, but I need to go find some flowers to recharge. You’d be amazed by how much nectar is required to keep up this pace. Bye. Zwiiiiip Zwing.

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My Review

My Backyard Friends, Heather Hummingbird edition, is a cute read for adults and children alike. Heather goes on her own adventure as she zips around the landscape. She meets other animals to be her friends.

Beautiful and insightful, this book guides readers on a path toward wisdom only found with a wildness full of backyard friends. 

Be sure to Pre-Order your copy below.

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Fun Facts About Hummingbirds

• Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly forward, backward, sideways and upside-down. They are also the only birds that can hover in mid-air.
• They have the highest metabolism of any bird species. They consume twice their weight each day.
• Hummingbirds can beat their wings 70 times per second, and 200 times per second when diving. The males do elaborate aerial acrobats during the mating seasons to attract the females, traveling high up into the air and looping around to dive back down toward the ground, making a high-pitched whistling.
• Some species of hummingbirds migrate up to 2,000 miles twice a year.
• Their hearts can beat up to 1,260 times per minute.
• Hummingbirds migrate great distances from their summer to winter homes and back, up to 3000 miles each trip, 6000 miles per year.
• Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, averaging 8.5 cm long and weigh between 2.5–20 grams.
• Hummingbirds have forked tongues and have tiny hairs on the tips of their tongues to help lap up nectar.
• “On most hummingbirds, the coloring of the feathers does not come from pigmentation, but instead from prism-like cells within the top layer of feathers.
• The colors you see depend on the angle of the light when it hits the feathers.
• When hummingbird feathers reflect light, which make the gorget (throat patch) look like it’s glittering from certain angles, but at other angles will make the feathers look dull.” (Southwest Audobon. “Fun Facts About Hummingbirds”. 
• https://southwest.audubon.org/conservation/fun-facts-about-hummingbirds)
• When they are low on energy and no food source is available, hummingbirds go into a torpor state to conserve their reserves.

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Pre-order the My Backyard Friends books here:

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/u/471vzj

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/u/3LL5K7

Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home (Ages 6-8): https://books2read.com/u/md2YLO

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About Kaye Lynne Booth

Kaye Lynne Booth is a freelance writer, editor, multi-genre author and independent publisher. She holds dual MFA in Creative Writing – Genre Fiction and Screenwriting, and an M.A. in Publishing. To earn her publishing degree, she worked under the mentoring of International Bestselling author, Kevin J. Anderson on the Gilded Glass: Twisted Myths & Shattered Fairy Tales editorial team from Western State Colorado University and WordFire Press and she compiled and edited Weird Tales: The Best of the Early Years 1926-27, under Jonathan Maberry.

 

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Find out more about Robbie Cheadle on her blog here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

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Undawnted's DL Mullan can be booked for your online Blog Tour, Book Event, Book Review (w/ARC), Interview, Writing Conference, or Genre Convention. Ms. Mullan has years of experience in public speaking, readings, presentations, events, and tours.

Book a quality author and presenter with Undawnted: Bookings online form. 

Undawnted Presents: WordCrafter Blog Tour, Haunted Halloween Holiday by Robbie Cheadle

Book Trailer

 

Summary

 

Count Sugular is delighted when the Sugarpop Bats invite his family to a Halloween party at the Haunted House. He and his wife, Witch Honey, decide to hire a caravan and enjoy a weekend away with their family.

Includes some fun limericks to introduce the various characters.

 

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Interview

 

Some writers write for the "moral of the story." In your children's books, do you write for the imaginative aspects of the narrative, or do you also prescribe to having a teachable moment in your books? If so, how and why?

Thank you, Dawn, for this interesting question. My books do all have elements that can be picked out as teaching points. I think that all stories have these elements as they all rely on certain human behaviours and characteristics to bring the plot to a successful conclusion.

My characters meet new people and form friendships and working relationships with them. They identify issues, solve problems, and find ways around obstacles in their path. They learn to be patient and understanding as well as determined and resolved, depending on the circumstances.

My plots, however, to not revolve around morals or ethics. The settings and storylines in Michael and my children’s books are fantasy adventures.

In Haunted Halloween Holiday, Count Sugular and his family are invited to a Halloween party and take the opportunity to turn it into a family holiday. At the party, they meet up with old friends, dance and have fun, and see some beautiful artwork.

Everyone at the party is different and has a unique skill set. Some bake, some cook, some make music, and others are artists, but they are all appreciated for their talents, and they all contribute towards making the party a big success.

It is all about teamwork and acceptance as well as not pigeonholing people. Trolls can learn to cook and can open a restaurant if they work hard at it and are determined. People who are sad and depressed can find ways of seeing the brighter side of life and sharing their talents with the world.

I deliberately chose to write fantasy books and I want the books to be fun and engaging and expand the imaginations of the readers.

The illustrations in Haunted Halloween Holiday are all made from Fondant, biscuits, sweets, and cake. I have found that my illustrations encourage creativity in children. Some children want to replicate what I have done, others attempt to make the characters from other mediums like play doh and even mud.

It is amazing how innovative and creative children can be from all sorts of different backgrounds and economic circumstances.

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What is a lesson from your childhood that comes out in your writing, as a conscious or unconscious theme? When did you notice this trend?

I was a lonely child. I moved schools fourteen times over my twelve-year school career and only two of those moves were during my high school years. During my primary school years, I sometimes moved schools twice in one academic year. My shortest stay at a school was six weeks.

Moving schools was not easy for me. It was new environments, new peers, and new teachers all the time. The schools don’t teach the syllabus consistently so I would miss sections and repeat sections following a move.

I didn’t form close friendships and I was a lonely child, playing mainly with my three younger sisters.

To this day, I don’t have close female friendships. I don’t think I ever learned how to deepen friendships with people. I have always viewed all my relationships outside of my direct family as transitional. I have closer friends in my on-line world than in my physical world. I can take on-line friends with me wherever I go and reach them often and timeously.

I think my childhood loneliness and anxiety to fit in comes through in Michael and my stories. They all have a strong focus on acceptance of difference, teamwork, being helpful and supportive, and friendship. I have taught my sons to be kind to others, to invite them into their friendship groups and offer them support when they can see a need.

Thank you, Dawn, for the great questions and for hosting my book tour today.

(Anytime!)

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Review

Another wonderful installment of Robbie Cheadle's children's book series. This time, it's autumn for her sugarland family! The sinister season is not complete without a Haunted Halloween Holiday.

In this story, everyone in the community works together for a common goal: well, a party of course! Join in with her culinary characters as they win over your heart, and appetite, with their rhymes and times. Because people who play together stay friends forever!

If you like family friendly content, then her children's series is for you. It is a family affair as Robbie and her son, Michael, write these fantastical stories for other children to enjoy. 

Be sure to purchase your own copy!  

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Purchase
TSL Publications
Lulu Books

 

 

To Enter the Giveaway... go to Writing to be Read and leave a Comment.  

 

For a chance to win one of three US$10 Amazon vouchers or one of three paperback copies of Haunted Halloween Holiday just leave a comment to show you were here.

Follow the tour and comment at each stop for more chances to win.

The prizes will be given away in a random drawing.

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Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet with ten children’s books and two poetry books.

The eight Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.

Robbie has also published two books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.

Robbie has two adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories, in the horror and paranormal genre, and poems included in several anthologies.

Robbie Cheadle contributes two monthly posts to https://writingtoberead.com, namely, Growing Bookworms, a series providing advice to caregivers on how to encourage children to read and write, and Treasuring Poetry, a series aimed at introducing poetry lovers to new poets and poetry books.

In addition, Roberta Eaton Cheadle contributes one monthly post to https://writingtoberead.com called Dark Origins: African Myths and Legends which shares information about the cultures, myths and legends of the indigenous people of southern Africa.