Imaginative approach to storytelling injects childlike magic into everyday life

Ella’s Dance Debut brings a magical story of a young girl’s life as a dancer, but Ella is not that girl. It is her umbrella, “Ella.” This imaginative story surrounds Ella the umbrella's life, riding the bus, going to dance classes, and getting ready for Ashton's big recital. Ella loves music and motion as much as Ashton does. When Ella learns that umbrellas will be used by the dancers, she is so excited, but things don’t go exactly as planned. For those who have read other books in this series, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Book Review by Donna

Book Review: Ella's Dance Debut

This book’s imaginative approach to storytelling injects childlike magic into an everyday scenario by telling it from an umbrella’s point of view. The whimsical, colorful illustrations by Emilia Ruminska not only bring the story to life but shine with the love of dance. With Ella’s Dance Debut, Once Upon a Dance delivers another interactive, entertaining tale for young children and early readers as Ballerina Konora joins in the story with photos that encourage kids to act out movements in the story. I love this concept. 

This interaction with the story encourages imaginative play by an award-winning ballet teacher! I give this book five stars. While it is recommended for young children interested in dance as it features ballet terms and steps, I think this story will appeal to young children who love music, and those who love to pretend even if they are not involved in dance.

Other books by Once Upon a Dance that I recommend include:

Frankie’s Wish

Daryl’s Dancing Dolls

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and received a free review copy of this book in collaboration with Blackberry Book Tours. I have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About the authors

Once Upon a Dance offers movement, breath, joy, connection, and imagination through stories.

Their catalog of 25 interactive dance books highlights positive messages and role models throughout four main series:
 

Dance-It-Out! stories combine whimsical tales with movement and subtle life lessons (spans ages 4-9)
Dancing Shapes peeks at a professional ballerina’s journey, teaches ballet, and explores detail and form (spans ages 6-11) 
Ballet Inspiration and Choreography Concepts deep dives into technique, tips, and insight for aspiring dancers (ages 8-12)
Prop-Based Dance Stories for Classroom and Anytime Fun debuts in 2023 to encourage scarf and parachute play.

 

Imaginative, fun, & gets kids moving

Daryl and the Dancing Dolls brings a magical touch to everyday life. It is the believable magic of childhood that used to keep me awake to see my stuffed animals and dolls come to life at midnight. 

 

Daryl and the Dancing Dolls Book Review

Once Upon a Dance delivers another fun read for young children and early readers. The story centers on Daryl a truck driver who lives a routing life until one day when she is sent on a unknown delivery route in a special purple truck. That day, driving a purple truck on that unknown route, magic touches Daryl’s life when her cargo of dolls comes to life. I don’t want to say more to avoid spoilers but I can say this is a fun read filled with full-page colorful illustrations.

Within the pages of Daryl and the Dancing Dolls, Ballerina Konora joins the story-telling with photos and suggestions for movement exploration as she encourages kids to act out the story in their own way or to follow the dance-step photos. What a great concept. This book is entertaining and encourages interaction and imaginative play by an award-winning ballet teacher! Engaging! I give it five stars. While it is recommended for children six and up, I do think this story will appeal to children as young as four. And if they enjoy this story, I also recommend Frankie’s Wish by the same authors. It is just as imaginative, fun, and gets the kids moving.

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and received a free review copy of this book in collaboration with Blackberry Book Tours. I have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

 About Once Upon a Dance Authors

Once Upon a Dance is an award-winning mother-daughter collaboration.

Ballerina Konora climbed the ballet ladder to pro, and she’s thrilled to be living her dreams dancing with Ballet Idaho. Along the way, she danced iconic roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy and Cinderella.

Teacher Terrel taught dance for decades and was honored by her City Council for “embodying the spirit of partnership and commitment to children in our community” for her work with young dancers. She’s breathed ballet from every angle and worked in early childhood education, for non-profits supporting kids, and as a university English teacher as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Once Upon a Dance 2021/2022 Awards: Mom’s Choice Gold Award, Family Choice Award, Royal Dragonfly First Place, PenCraft Award First Place, Firebird First Place, Pinnacle: Best Book Juvenile Fiction, Independent Press Award Winner, International Impact Book Award Winner, Outstanding Creator Awards Winner, Readers Favorite Certified Great Read, Indie’s Today 5-Star Recommended, The Wishing Shelf 5-Star, Literary Titan 5-Star Award.

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The Bone Key Curse delivers a plot riddled with mystery & suspense

The Bone Key Curse by Mike Scantlebury is an adventure/thriller with a religious premise. Think of Raiders of the Lost Ark but bring it to modern day Bristol England where students from Bristol University have been excavating for years. The story centers on what they discover in the River Trym, which flows through north Bristol and empties into the River Avon. It’s an ancient ship, and it holds well-preserved secrets. Mickey and his team arrive on site due to a terrorist threat. He’s out of his element, but his co-worker, Amelia Hartliss, provides him with enough information to give him a foundational understanding of the importance of the find and why religious zealots might want to capture or destroy the artifacts. 

 

Book Review

 

This story explodes with action in the first chapter and introduces a plot riddled with mystery and suspense. Scantlebury weaves a web of intrigue as Mickey, and his team, follow ancient clues to catch the terrorists. The Bone Key Curse is book 7 in the Mickey from Manchester series and the first I’ve read. The story stands alone, but it would be fun to pick up this series from the beginning. I wish the characters were more developed so I knew them better and could care more about what happens to them, but overall, I give this book 4 stars and recommend it to readers who enjoy books like The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown or Altar of Eden By James Rollins. The Bone Key Curse entertains and keeps the pages turning.

 

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer. I received a free review copy of this book and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About Author Mike Scantlebury

 

Free-wheeling author Mike Scantlebury confuses a lot of readers. Most days he writes adventurous stories, but he has so many other creative interests as well, it’s hard keeping up. Sure, you can find his books in all good online book-stores, but there’s e-books and paperbacks too, as well as a slew of audio-books that he’s narrated himself. Is that why he’s on Sound Cloud? No, he’s also got songs up there, as well as podcasts. You can also find him on You Tube. Talking about writing? Of course, but also performing, (songs, yes, and he’s also made a series of short drama movies, with local friends).

For a dedicated author, it’s almost as though he has NO PLAN at all. Well, yeah, That’s why they started calling him ‘Free-wheeling’. He’s so laid back, you never know what he’ll be doing today.

Still, if you want to read what he’s written - novels, short and long - try the usual book outlets. But if you want to hear him TALK, search out audio-books, (as well as podcasts on Sound Cloud). If you want to hear him SING, it’s Sound Cloud again, (plus You Tube), and if you want to see him act, try You Tube (and Vimeo.com).

That voice? It will tell you one thing. Mike Scantlebury is from the West of England. In fact, he’s the North West’s only West Country crime writer. That sounds like fun. He deserves an Award for that in itself!

Cozy mystery filled with layers of enigmas to unravel

John J. Delaney’s murder mystery, A Dangerous Fossil (a Jurassic Jemma Mystery), is set in the small coastal town of Lulcombe, England where two-hundred-year-old seams of fossil-filled rocks from the early Jurassic period attract fossil hunters and tourists. When native-born, 43-year-old Jemma Thorne and her Springer Spaniel, Dino, head out to scour the beach for fossils following a storm, she has no idea how it will change her life. 

Dressed in heavy boots and a long-waxed coat she steps out into the dark of a windy, rainy early morning with her rucksack, dog, and hopes of beating the local fossil hunters to what the waves have kicked up on shore. Dino’s barking draws her attention to a large section of cliff that slipped during the storm, and Jemma makes a lifetime discovery. A plesiosaur skull. And it gets better. The whole skeleton is preserved. And it is huge. A major find. “Jurassic Jemma” is excited. Not only will it put Lulcombe on the map but it will also save the museum from being bought out and replaced by a large development that would ruin the sleepy little town. But time is not on her side. The tide is rising.

A Dangerous Fossil book review

This cozy mystery murder takes place in the museum. Delaney masterfully weaves a tangle of complicated relationships linking several people with possible motives in this entertaining whodunit. Jemma’s independent lifestyle becomes cramped with surveillance. All she wants is her independence back. When the police can’t come up with answers, Jemma makes a plan of her own. It puts her life at risk, but she’s willing to take the chance if she can get her life back and, if she’s lucky, get “Plessie” back in the process.

A Dangerous Fossil features a strong independent female protagonist in Jemma Thorne. Fossils are her passion and her home life as a divorced, single mom with a college-aged daughter and detective boyfriend let her personality, independence, strengths, and weaknesses shine. I recommend this page-turner to fans of cozy mysteries, detective novels, and soft-boiled mysteries. If you enjoyed reading the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths or Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series by Deborah Crombie, this book is for you. Delaney provides plenty of neatly packaged clues for readers to follow. A Dangerous Fossil is a five-star cozy mystery winner filled with layers of enigmas and secrets ready to be unraveled. 

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As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received a free review copy of this book and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About author John Delaney

 Since 1999 John has written plots for thirty murder mystery party games (boxed and downloadable) with worldwide sales in excess of 100,000 copies, mainly in the UK and USA.

John has written three musicals (Directions, Dream Home and 68 The Musical ) and a pantomime. He has also written an opera called Tir na Nog and one of the arias from the opera, This Mortal Man, was included on the composer's album which reached number 1 on the Classical charts in the UK and number 18 on the USA Billboard chart.

A Dangerous Fossil is John’s first novel and features sassy fossil hunter ‘Jurassic’ Jemma Thorne. A tale of discovery, greed and murder set on Dorset’s Jurassic coast.