Summary: A boy washes up on a mysterious, seemingly uninhabited beach. Who is he? How did he get there? The boy can’t remember. When he sees a light shining over the foreboding wall of trees that surrounds the shore, he decides to follow it, in the hopes that it will lead him to answers. The boy’s journey is a struggle for survival and a search for the truth—a terrifying truth that once uncovered, will force him to face his greatest fear of all if he is to go home.

This is book is so heartfelt, so immediate that readers can’t help but get drawn into the tale of the boy who wakes up on a beach not knowing who he is or where he came from. Though we don’t know his name – yet – we feel his pain and grief and anxiety as he tries to piece together his past and faces the sometimes terrifying challenges of the present. And hanging over everything is the mystery of what it all means, where his parents are, and why he can’t remember. This book is perfect for fans of The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari – both are workouts for the heart.

THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST is out now.

Read This!: THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER by Jen Wang

June 20, 2018Read This, Reviewsjen wang, THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKERkathymacmillan

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Summary: Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!
Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances―one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend?

I am not generally a huge fan of graphic novels. (I’m not snobbish about them, I swear! They just aren’t generally my thing.) But I tore through this sweet tale in one sitting. There’s so much to love about this story – two intensely likable characters making discoveries about their world and their place in it, a tender friendship/romance that blooms alongside conflict but never takes over the story, a historical setting that brings to life parts of the past that have been hidden for too long. There are no easy answers to either Sebastian’s or Frances’s dilemmas, but both find happiness anyway when they learn to be true to themselves. A compelling, unique, funny, and touching story.

THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER is out now.

View all my reviews

NITA’S FIRST SIGNS releases today!

June 15, 2018Little Hands Signing series, Nita's First Signskathymacmillan

Available now from Familius Press!

Text by Kathy MacMillan
Illustrations by Sara Brezzi
ASL/Deaf Culture Advisor: Dr. Barbara Kannapell

American Sign Language makes it easy to communicate with your child, and Nita makes it fun! Nita’s First Signs teaches ten essential signs for every parent and child to know, including eat, more, hungry, milk, all done, ball, play, love, please, and thank you. A simple story about Nita and her parents teaches each sign in context, and repetition throughout each story makes them easy to practice. Even better, each page slides open to reveal accurate instructions on how to make each sign, plus tabs on the side of each page make it simple to locate every sign for later reference.

Betsy Diamant-Cohen, creator of the award-winning Mother Goose on the Loose early literacy program, says: “This book will appeal to children and adults of ALL ages for the simple story, the lovely illustrations, and the access to American Sign Language that it provides.”

Makes a great baby shower or new baby gift!

Preorder now at amazon.com | barnesandnoble.com | indiebound.org

Read This!: INKMISTRESS by Audrey Coulthurst

May 23, 2018Read This, Reviewsaudrey coulthurst, inkmistresskathymacmillan

Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst

Summary: Asra is a demigod with a dangerous gift: the ability to dictate the future by writing with her blood. To keep her power secret, she leads a quiet life as a healer on a remote mountain, content to help the people in her care and spend time with Ina, the mortal girl she loves. But Asra’s peaceful life is upended when bandits threaten Ina’s village and the king does nothing to help. Desperate to protect her people, Ina begs Asra for assistance in finding her manifest—the animal she’ll be able to change into as her rite of passage to adulthood. Asra uses her blood magic to help Ina, but her spell goes horribly wrong and the bandits destroy the village, killing Ina’s family. Unaware that Asra is at fault, Ina swears revenge on the king and takes a savage dragon as her manifest. To stop her, Asra must embark on a journey across the kingdom, becoming a player in lethal games of power among assassins, gods, and even the king himself. Most frightening of all, she discovers the dark secrets of her own mysterious history—and the terrible, powerful legacy she carries in her blood.

INKMISTRESS is quite simply one of the most beautiful fantasy novels I have ever read. A big-hearted protagonist grappling with her own power, a complex cultural and political system, a series of conflicts that pit our heroine’s deep desire for family against her determination to save her kingdom, two compelling love interests – who could ask for more? That one of those love interests is male and one is female, and that so many of the primary romantic relationships in the story are same-sex, is almost beside the point – except, of course, for the fact that gay and bisexual characters rarely appear so matter-of-factly in epic fantasy. The real strength of the book, to me, is the way it engages the mind in Asra’s moral dilemmas while equally touching the heart. (Because Hal = SWOON.) If you’re looking for a light-hearted fantasy novel full of your favorite tropes and clear-cut good guys and bad guys, look elsewhere. INKMISTRESS trades in deep, nuanced characters, moral complexity, and a story that often surprises in the best way, keeping the reader hooked until the incredibly satisfying conclusion.

INKMISTRESS is out now.

View all my reviews

NITA’S FIRST SIGNS Press Release

May 20, 2018Little Hands Signing series, Nita's First Signskathymacmillan

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Let’s Talk Family.

Contact: Kate Farrell, Publicist, Familius LLC kfarrell@familius.com

Review copy available upon request
High-res cover photo available

How Do I Sign? Nita, Show Us More!

From using her manners to communicating instead of crying, Nita shows little ones how to communicate with your grown-up.

SANGER, Calif., June 15 2018 – Baby sign language makes it easy to communicate with your child, and Nita makes it fun!

Nita and her parents teach ten essential signs in the context of a fun story, using repetition to encourage learning and to help break communication barriers between parents and preverbal children.

Even better, each page slides open to reveal accurate instructions on how to make each sign. Tabs on the side of each page make it simple to locate every sign for later reference.

Words include:

eat
drink
more

Written by a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter and teacher whose websites provide bonus tie-in resources, this book is the essential start to your baby’s sign language collection!

About the Author: Kathy MacMillan is a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, writer, teacher, librarian, and storyteller. She is the author of nine books for parents, librarians, and educators, including Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together (Huron Street Press, 2013). Her debut young adult novel, Sword and Verse, was published by HarperCollins in January 2016. She has presented American Sign Language storytelling programs for children and families since 2002. Find more resources for signing with young children at her websites, www.storiesbyhand.com and www.storytimestuff.net.

About the Publisher: Familius is a family and parenting media publisher devoted to creating content that helps build strong values and happy families. As a digitally savvy, multi-media publisher, we share our family-driven content in multiple formats, including print, e-books, audio books, videos, articles and apps. Let’s Talk Family. http://www.familius.com

Book Details:

Title: Nita’s First Signs

Author: Kathy MacMillan

Illustrator: Sara Brezzi

ASL/Deaf Culture Advisor: Dr. Barbara Kannapell

Publisher: Familius

Publication: June 15, 2018

Price: $14.99

ISBN: 9781945547676

12 pages; Board book includes tabbed pages that split open to reveal instructions for each sign

*Available beginning June 15, 2018 from bookstores, online booksellers and www.familius.com

Stories By Hand with Kathy MacMillan

Read This!: THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST by Samantha M. Clark