Young Readers Books – *Mom Loves Reading*

*GIVEAWAY time! Do you have a tween-ager in the household, or maybe a niece, babysitter, or a friend with a daughter who enjoys reading? Then you’ll love today’s featured book & giveaway!

Last yr I did a promo for Cindy Callaghan’s novel, ‘Saltwater Secrets’, (*click HERE to see Instagram post) & loved it so much, I bought a copy for a friend’s daughter & she loved it! Being the super, sweet kid she is, she wanted to pass it on to another reader to enjoy as well. So today’s giveaway is for a copy of ‘Saltwater Secrets‘ & also 3 items featured in Callaghan’s 10/12 novella, ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas’: a pair of low-top Hello Kitty socks, a red Chuck Taylor shoe keychain, & a Harper Hollow Falls Christmas Countdown calendar that be reused again & again. All you have to do to make this an even MORE fantastic gift is get a copy of ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas‘ to add to the box. Thank you Cindy for my gift copy! (which I’m totally keeping!)

Cindy’s other wonderful tween novels include the ‘Just Add Magic‘ series that was made into an Emmy nominated Amazon series; the bestselling ‘Lost in…’ series that included books like ‘Lost in London‘, ‘Lost in Hollywood‘, ‘Lost in Ireland‘ & more; & the stand-alone, tween mystery, ‘Sydney MacKenzie Knocks’em Dead‘, which sells out every year around Halloween.

Now, let’s talk about Cindy Callaghan’s latest novella, released last month, ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas‘. It’s adorable, witty, warmhearted, & good ol’ festive fun! This should 100% be made into a Hallmark movie since it’s perfect for the whole family & could be watched while making sugar cookies like Mrs. Crispin, a character in the book. The book also has Stars Hollow from ‘Gilmore Girls’ vibes which makes it even more delightful & as cozy as hot cocoa!

Imagine you’re a tween visiting a small town that loves nothing more than its prize fir—a perfect Christmas tree destined for the White House. Now picture yourself accidentally destroying that tree, making you public enemy number one. Lastly, imagine that to repay your debt, you have to remain in said town for the Christmas season.
That’s what happens to Brady Bancroft.

When Brady ruins Harper Hollow Fall’s prize tree, she’s sentenced to stay in the holiday-festooned town for the month of December. At first, she couldn’t be more depressed about the whole situation; but during her month there, she is surprised to discover that there’s much more than pine needles to the little town holding her captive. In the end, Harper Hollow Falls reminds Brady of the true meaning of Christmas—and she, in turn, saves the town.

To help give one lucky follower get a boost on their holiday shopping, I’m giving away a copy of Cindy Callaghan’s novel, ‘Saltwater Secrets’ as well as 3 items featured in ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas’ (*see above for info). All you have to do to enter is go to my Instagram page (@mom_loves_reading) to enter. Click HERE to go there now.

Click HERE to visit Cindy Callaghan’s website & read more about her other amazing books.

Click any of the highlighted book titles above to add them to your Goodreads TBR lists.

Cindy Callaghan is the award-winning author of eleven middle-grade novels including JUST ADD MAGIC & JUST ADD MAGIC 2: POTION PROBLEMS, which were made into an Emmy-nominated Amazon Original series now in its fifth season & distributed world-wide via Nickelodeon. She’s well-known for the best-selling Lost In… books: LOST IN LONDON, LOST IN PARIS, LOST IN ROME, LOST IN HOLLYWOOD, & LOST IN IRELAND. Her Agatha award-winning stand-alone SYDNEY MACKENZIE KNOCKS ‘EM DEAD sells out every year around Halloween. Her 2020 book SALTWATER SECRETS, which is nominated for an Agatha Award, won Delaware Press Association & National Federation of Press Women’s awards, & two International Book Awards, is set up by a major studio. Her newest book THE GIRL WHO RUINED CHRISTMAS, (October 2021), & the upcoming MY BIG HEART-SHAPED FAIL, (September 2022), are actively being shopped to producers, networks & streamers along with Cindy’s robust portfolio of original features & series. A Jersey girl at heart, Cindy lives in Delaware with her family and rescued-pets.

It’s #MysteryMonday & today I’m featuring a young reader’s mystery w/ a heaping side of humor, featuring a protagonist w/ a disability…she was born w/ no arms.

First off, Thank You to @sterlingpublishing for the gift copy of the AMAZING book, ‘Aven Green Sleuthing Machine‘ by Dusti Bowling, w/ illustrations by Gina Perry! The book was released this past wk on 4/13 & there’s a 2nd book in this series, ‘Aven Green Baking Machine’, coming this fall. I seriously can’t wait to get it & read it w/ my boys, who are featured in this post pic. My boys have developmental disabilities (autism w/ a few other related ones) & I love that there’s books w/ diverse main characters like Aven Green.

‘Aven Green Sleuthing Machine’, by Dusti Bowling:
Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a whole month—cracking such cases as The Mystery of the Cranky Mom. But can this perceptive detective solve two cases at the same time? First her teacher’s lunch bag disappears. Then Aven’s great-grandma’s dog goes missing.
Fortunately, since Aven was born without arms, all the “arm” cells went to her super-powered brain instead. (That’s her theory.) This hilarious chapter book showcases a new side to Dusti Bowling’s unforgettable protagonist.

Bowling first introduced Aven to readers in her previous books, ‘Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus’ & the follow-up, ‘Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus’. Aven is smart, sassy, spunky & extremely likable. You’ll adore her as much as your kids will & you’ll be buying these books as gifts for young readers for years to come. I know I will!

This book & the others mentioned above should be in every elementary & middle school classroom & library. They are diverse & inclusive & remind young readers, as well as the adults in their lives, that people w/ physical and/or developmental disabilities may be different than they are, but they are NOT less than. Books like these are fun to read & teach kids inclusivity without coming off as preachy.

‘Aven Green Sleuthing Machine‘ is engaging, witty yet sensitive, refreshing & wholly original & Aven is a character that is utterly inspiring & unforgettable! I highly recommend this series & I’m looking fwd to reading this again & again with my kids.

Click on any of the highlighted book titles above to add them to your Goodreads lists.

Click HERE to visit Mom_Loves_Reading on Instagram & support the author (& my awesome boys & I) by giving my post a LIKE & consider SHARING it to your stories.

Click HERE to find ‘Aven Green Sleuthing Machine’ & Dusti Bowling’s other books at an independent bookstore near you or online using BookStoreLink.com

DUSTI BOWLING grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, where, as her family will tell you, she always had her nose in a book. She released her first middle grade novel in 2017 & hasn’t stopped writing since.
Dusti’s books have won the Reading the West Award, the Sakura Medal, a Golden Kite Honor, the Silver Nautilus Award, & have been nominated for a Cybil & over twenty state awards. Her books are Junior Library Guild Selections & have been named best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, Bank Street College of Eduction, A Mighty Girl, Shelf Awareness, & many more. Dusti currently lives in New River, Arizona with her husband, three daughters, a dozen tarantulas, a gopher snake named Burrito, a king snake name Death Noodle, & a cockatiel named Gandalf the Grey.