Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Cleo Can Tie a Bow by Sybrina Durant - Book Tour & Review + Giveaway


 

Join us for this tour from Apr 6 to Apr 19, 2021!

Book Details:

Book Title:  Cleo Can Tie a Bow by Sybrina Durant
CategoryChildren's Fiction (Ages 3-7),  38 pages
Genre:  Children's Picture Book
PublisherSybrina Publishing
Release date:   Sept 27th, 2020
Content Rating:  G for everyone.

 
 

Book Description:

Cleo can tie a bow. She learned from a rabbit and a fox. They can help you learn to tie one, too. Great parent-child activity for learning to tie a bow with any ribbon or string - including shoe laces.

Buy the Book
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My Review
Cleo Can Tie a Bow is an educational children's book about a little girl who loves bows. And she learned to tie a bow thanks to a story about a fox and a bunny. Bunny has long ears that drag on the ground. She's sad that they're always dirty. But Fox comes along and teaches her a trick. She can tie her ears in a bow and keep them clean and off the ground. This makes Bunny happy. 
Kids can use the guide in the book to learn to tie their shoes, or maybe tie a bow in their hair, or maybe even a bow tie. It's helpful and easy to follow along. Parents may want to try it out a few times, though, before letting kids have a go at trying to tie a bow.
Also, while the author does note that tying bunny ears is not a nice thing to do to actual bunnies, and is actually very bad, I think parents should definitely reiterate that and reinforce the idea that bunny ears are not meant to be tied in real life. It's harmful and abusive to bunnies. I would hope kids wouldn't actually try this with a real rabbit.
Other than that, though, I liked the story. The illustrations are cute. The story is easy to read. And the guide is relatively easy to follow along with.
5 stars!

Author Interview
What was the inspiration behind your latest children’s book, “Cleo Can Tie A Bow?”

 I am the author of the “Learn To Tie With The Rabbit and The Fox” series of books. Most of those books focus on tying a knot in a neck tie by following the moves of a hungry fox chasing a rabbit through a forest.  I tried, for years, to come up with a book that would teach how to tie a bow, using a similar method but I just couldn’t make it work.  Finally, one day, I realized that I didn’t have to use the same exact method that I’d used in my other books. In this book, there’s no hungry fox. There’s no chase. This story focuses on a friendly fox that helps a long-eared rabbit keep her ears from dragging on the ground. She is a fox beautician of sorts. As the book came together, the illustrator Pumudi Gardiyasam turned out to be an inspiration for me, too.  We worked together effortlessly. I was very fortunate to have found her.

 

  1. How do you get into the mind of a child to create a fun reading experience? 

 My youngest grand child is 10 years old now so I’m not around little bitty kids much anymore.  Even after I came up with the initial idea for Cleo, I had to write and re-write it many times before it became the story that is now published.  I must give credit to the multitude of beta readers – nearly all mothers of young children – who helped me understand the sensitivities and concerns of parents during the year 2020. It has truly been eye opening for me.

 

  1. What was your favorite book as a child?

 Fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen were my favorites.  We weren’t very sensitive back then.  I loved the Brothers Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin. From that list it looks like Walt Disney loved them, too! Then, there was Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea and so many others. Growing up in a very poor family, stories like those really enriched my life. Those and others like Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz and even Aesop’s Fables set my imagination free. Thankfully, there was such a thing as a library, where books were free to anyone who wanted to read them. And thankfully, you can still get a library card for free today. Speaking of libraries. . . for those of you who don’t know. . .if you publish the epub version of your ebook through Smashwords, they will distribute it to online libraries like Overdrive for you.

 

4.      You are very active on social media platforms, especially on Pinterest, where you have a board for bow crazy girls. How does that board relate to your book?

Pinterest is my very favorite means for presenting my book in the best possible light. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. When people see the hundreds of pictures of the different ways to wear and otherwise utilize a bow, they can’t help but smile at all the positive images. Those pictures might just contribute to many more young people wearing and decorating with all kinds of bows, just like Cleo does.

5.      Some people believe that children no longer care to read and, with the availability of affordable e-readers, many believe that, sooner or later, children will no longer even want to hold books in their hands. Please comment.

I personally don’t believe that printed books will ever go away. I remember, as a teenager, reading a book by Ray Bradbury called Farenhiet 451. In it, to possess an actual printed book was illegal. In fact, nearly all books had been destroyed. That only made people want them more. Throughout time, the feel of a book’s pages between your fingers or the scent of paper as it ages have become embedded in the fiber of humanity. I believe that even children whose parents read them stories, still enjoy cuddling together with a real book and helping turn the page to see the secrets that lie hidden. Holding a book in your hand is an emotionally satisfying experience.

6.      What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

If you have a book in you… something you want to share with the world… do it! Do it now. You are living in the best time for writers and readers. Take your idea and run with it. The internet is full of all kinds of information and services to help you make your book the best that it can be. There are editors and book cover designers and formatters ready to help you make it look great. There are self-publishing services and print on demand services galore. There are thousands of great artists out there waiting for you to find them.  And you can easily find them through provider services like Fiverr or through illustrator groups on Facebook and other social media sites.  Just start looking.  If you want songs for your books, you can find composers and singers the same way.  If you want video book trailers, you can have them just as easily. If you think it, you can get it built. That’s just a little play on build it and they will come. Remember, your book is ultimately a product that you must sell. So, after you’ve published, don’t forget the marketing and promotion angle. It’s the only way that anyone will ever know your book actually exists. And there are wonderful bloggers and book reviewers who are happy to share a little bit about you and your book with the world. Today, if you want to write and become a published author, there is no excuse not to. Now, go write!

 

  1. How do you promote and market your books?

 One of my marketing techniques is to have online stores related to each of my books on my blog.  They are The Rabbit and The Fox Book Store, Girls Love Bows Gift Shop (hundreds of unique gifts for the bow-crazy girl), and Sybrina’s Unicorn Book Store. I list about 1,000 unicorn books (yes! There are that many!) and hundreds of unicorn themed gifts grouped in age categories for that one.  Since I am an Amazon Associate, I can pick and choose exactly which products I want to present to my visitors. Anyone can easily apply to be an Amazon Associate and can do the same with ideas from their own books. Something for all you other authors out there to think about. I also auto-schedule posts to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. On the weekends, I create hundreds of posts – enough for a couple of months. I also auto-schedule a couple of months worth of blog posts at a time.  I can share those blog posts on all of my social media, including Pinterest. Auto-scheduling allows you to have a constant stream of postings which helps with keeping your book consistently on the minds of your followers as well as gaining you new followers over time.

 

  1. What are your goals for the future?  More children’s books?

I think I’ve reached the end of my “Learn To Tie” series. You never really know, though. I had nearly given up on Cleo when she suddenly arrived in all of her glory. Regarding picture books, I still have a couple that I would like to write.  One is an alphabet book to compliment my counting book, “ 123 Count With Me: Fun With Numbers and Animals” with illustrations by Parbonni.  I’ve got a book in mind about clouds and a few others. I also want to finish something for my unicorn series called The MarBryn Compendium.  I think most of my time will be taken up promoting and marketing the books I already have.  That’s pretty much a full-time job.

 


Meet the Author:

I've been writing creative and technical works for years. Many of my songs are on Youtube and Itunes. Two of my books are available as ebooks online. They are "Learn To Tie A Tie WIth The Rabbit And The Fox" and "Sybrina's Phrase Thesaurus".

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ pinterest ~ instagram ~ goodreads
 
Tour Schedule:

Apr 6 - Laura's Interests – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Apr 6 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / giveaway
Apr 6 - A Mama's Corner of the World – book review / giveaway
Apr 7 - Rockin' Book Tours – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 7 – Lisa's Reading – book review / giveaway
Apr 8 - Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Apr 8 - Cover Lover Book Review - book review / author interview / giveaway
Apr 9 – Hall Ways Blog – book review / giveaway
Apr 9 - Books, Tea, Healthy Me – book review / guest post / giveaway
Apr 12 – Splashes of Joy – book review / author interview / giveaway
Apr 12 - Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight
Apr 12 – Kam's Place – book review
Apr 13 – Chit Chat with Charity – book review / author interview
Apr 13 - The Bespectacled Mother – book review
Apr 14 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / author interview / giveaway
Apr 14 - The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway
Apr 15 – Reading is My Passion – book review
Apr 15 - The Book Review Crew – book review / guest post / giveaway
Apr 16 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Apr 16 - icefairy's Treasure Chest - book review / giveaway
Apr 19 – I'm All About Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 19 - Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway

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3 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and allowing me to share mine about Cleo Can Tie A Bow with your readers. :)

    ReplyDelete

Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.