Join Us for This Book Series Tour: May 2 to May 22, 2022
Book Series Details:
Book Series Title: Fearless and Friends by Mother Melania Salem
Category: Children's Fictions (ages 3-7), 36 pages
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Publisher: Holy Assumption Monastery
Release date: Feb 28, 2022
Content Rating: G -
This is a wholesome children's book.
I just finished reading all four books in this series of heart-warming,
lovable characters, who hold your attention throughout their escapades.
After the first book, you know the member of the Pond Community behaving
badly will redeem her/himself, but how? That is the question and the
surprise and the charm of each book. Oh so subtly, young and old alike learn
that happiness comes from living graciously, with courtesy, kindness,
respect, and compassion for others. My congratulations to the author, Mother
Melania, who enables us to learn valuable lessons without lecturing us, and
to her illustrator, Cayce-Marie Halsell, who allows us to see the charming
animals of the Pond in action. Part of the charm of the illustrations is
that they look like they were done with crayons! I loved the effect. The
books are perfect for adults to read to younger children and as books for
children starting to read on their own. I bought all four for my Godson --
two for Christmas and two for his birthday in March. I can’t wait to read
them to him. - 5-Star Review on Amazon
Book Details:
Book Title: Capers and Harry: High Climbing - Teaching Values to Children in a Fun
Way
by Mother Melania Salem
Category: Children's Fictions (ages 3-7), 36 pages
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Publisher:
Holy Assumption Monastery
Release date: January 2018
Content Rating: G - This is a wholesome children's book.
Book Description:
Capers the Cat gets stuck in a tree, but is too vain to admit it. Can
Fearless the Fire Duck and Harry the Hound rescue their friend?
Book Details:
Book Title: Greedy the Crow: Finders Keepers - Teaching Values to Children in a Fun
Way by Mother Melania Salem
Category: Children's Fictions (ages 3-7), 36 pages
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Publisher: Holy Assumption Monastery
Release date: October 2021
Content Rating: G - This is a wholesome children's book.
Book Description:
Greedy the Crow's greedy ways are going to get him in trouble! Will
anybody help him?
Book Details:
Book Title: Mimi the Mynah: It's All Mine! - Teaching Values to Children in a Fun
Way by Mother Melania Salem
Category: Children's Fictions (ages 3-7), 36 pages
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Publisher: Holy Assumption Monastery
Release date: November 2021
Content Rating: G - This is a wholesome children's book.
Book Description:
Mimi knows two words - "me" and "mine." When disaster strikes the Duck
Pond, will she finally learn a new word?
Book Details:
Book Title: Bluster Blue Jay: Not My Fault! - Teaching Values to Children in a Fun
Way by Mother Melania Salem
Category: Children's Fictions (ages 3-7), 36 pages
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Publisher: Holy Assumption Monastery
Release date: November 2021
Content Rating: G - This is a wholesome children's book.
Book Description:
Bluster Blue Jay is not the easiest bird to be around. Nothing ever works
for him, but it's never HIS fault! When he joins Fearless and Grateful on
their camping trip, can they be patient with him? And will he learn a
lesson about accepting blame? Join them and find out!
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon
MY REVIEW
Amazon
MY REVIEW
I read Bluster Blue Jay: Not My Fault! for this tour, and this is my review.
Bluster Blue Jay is a bird who refuses to acknowledge his flaws or accept his faults. When Fearless and Grateful go camping, Bluster joins them and insists on being the leader of their hike, even though he's lost when he meets up with them. Fearless and Grateful agree to let Bluster lead them, but what happens when things go wrong? Can Bluster learn to be a better blue jay and help his friends? Or will he leave them to their fate?
I really enjoyed this story. It's a good lesson for young readers to learn. It's okay to make mistakes, because we learn from them and do better next time. No one is perfect, but refusing to admit that you are wrong or at fault for anything, like Bluster, can make you a very difficult person to be around. No one likes a Bluster Blue Jay.
The illustrations are wonderful, and the overall story is lovely. Inspiring and easy to read. Young readers will want to go through the whole series of books again and again.
5 stars!
Bluster Blue Jay is a bird who refuses to acknowledge his flaws or accept his faults. When Fearless and Grateful go camping, Bluster joins them and insists on being the leader of their hike, even though he's lost when he meets up with them. Fearless and Grateful agree to let Bluster lead them, but what happens when things go wrong? Can Bluster learn to be a better blue jay and help his friends? Or will he leave them to their fate?
I really enjoyed this story. It's a good lesson for young readers to learn. It's okay to make mistakes, because we learn from them and do better next time. No one is perfect, but refusing to admit that you are wrong or at fault for anything, like Bluster, can make you a very difficult person to be around. No one likes a Bluster Blue Jay.
The illustrations are wonderful, and the overall story is lovely. Inspiring and easy to read. Young readers will want to go through the whole series of books again and again.
5 stars!
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1. What inspired you to write this series?
When I first became a nun, I was asked to teach at an Orthodox Christian Classical School near the monastery. Among other things, I helped with the religion class, which included lessons on the traditional Christian virtues and vices. We were very concerned to do that in an engaging way, as opposed to presenting a rigid list of do’s and don’ts. Since I had been writing children’s books for a while, I started looking for a premise for a series on this line.
1. What inspired you to write this series?
When I first became a nun, I was asked to teach at an Orthodox Christian Classical School near the monastery. Among other things, I helped with the religion class, which included lessons on the traditional Christian virtues and vices. We were very concerned to do that in an engaging way, as opposed to presenting a rigid list of do’s and don’ts. Since I had been writing children’s books for a while, I started looking for a premise for a series on this line.
What did provide the premise?
The monastery where
I became a nun is in a fire-prone area.
One year we had to evacuate the monastery for a few days. On the way home, some of the sisters stopped
at a novelty store to pick up toys for children visiting the monastery. Among the toys was a rubber duckie wearing a
fireman’s jacket and hat. One of the
nuns said, “There you go. You can write
books about Fearless the Fire Duck saving his friends from their vices.” We all laughed, but then thought, “You know,
that might just work.”
So, tell me a little about Fearless.
He’s an excellent
leader – fearless (of course!), but level-headed; decisive, but willing to
listen to others. He’s patient, too, but
that’s something he has had to work on.
He needs to take a lot of deep breaths to get through all his adventures
without saying something he’ll regret!
Are there any other characters that stand
out for you?
Charity the Church
Mouse. She is the heart of the
community. She radiates charity in the
older sense (from the Latin caritas), which is the love that Christ means when
He says “Greater love has no man than this – that he lay down his life for his
friends.”
And Grateful the
Crow (originally Greedy the Crow) because he’s a work in progress just like me!
What are your hopes for these books?
Well, I wrote these
books to teach our students about virtues and vices. An older sense of virtue is power. So, my hope is to present the virtues as what
they are – powers that allow us to live the lives of joy and love that God
meant us to live.
Meet the Author:
Mother Melania is the Abbess of Holy Assumption Monastery in Calistoga,
CA. She grew up in a house that always had tons of children around, her
poor parents had to read to her till they were hoarse, and from the moment
she learned to read, she always had her nose in a book. So, it was only
natural for her to grow up to write children's books. In her books, she
strives to teach virtue in a fun, non-preachy way.
Tour Schedule:
May 2 –
Cover Lover Book Review
– book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT! / giveaway
May 3 –
Splashes of Joy
– book review of CAPERS AND HARRY: HIGH CLIMBING / giveaway
May 4 –
Cover Lover Book Review
– book review of GREEDY THE CROW: FINDERS KEEPERS / giveaway
May 4 -
Bound 4 Escape
- book review of MIMI THE MYNAH: IT'S ALL MINE! / giveaway
May 5 –
Fur Everywhere
– book review of CAPERS AND HARRY: HIGH CLIMBING / giveaway
May 6 –
Bigreadersite
- book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT! / giveaway
May 6 -
Literary Flits
– books spotlight / giveaway
May 10 -
Baroness' Book Trove
– books spotlights / giveaway
May 10 –
A Mama's Corner of the World
- book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT! / giveaway
May 10 -
Reading is My Passion
- book review of GREEDY THE CROW: FINDERS KEEPERS
May 10 -
Gina Rae Mitchell
– book review of CAPERS AND HARRY: HIGH CLIMBING / guest post /
giveaway
May 11 –
Cover Lover Book Review
– book review of MIMI THE MYNAH: IT'S ALL MINE! / giveaway
May 11 -
Rockin' Book Reviews
- book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT! / guest post /
giveaway
May 11 -
Kam's Place –
book review of GREEDY THE CROW: FINDERS KEEPERS
May 12 –
Jazzy Book Reviews
– book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT! / author interview /
giveaway
May 12 -
@twilight_reader
- book review of MIMI THE MYNAH: IT'S ALL MINE! / giveaway
May 13 –
Lisa's Reading -
book review of MIMI THE MYNAH: IT'S ALL MINE! / giveaway
May 13 -
The Phantom Paragrapher
- book review of GREEDY THE CROW: FINDERS KEEPERS
May 16 –
fundinmental –
books spotlight / giveaway
May 16 -
Library Lady's Kid Lit
– book review of CAPERS AND HARRY: HIGH CLIMBING / guest post /
giveaway
May 17 –
Older & Smarter?
– book review of CAPERS AND HARRY: HIGH CLIMBING / giveaway
May 17 -
Locks, Hooks and Books
– book review of GREEDY THE CROW: FINDERS KEEPERS / giveaway
May 17 -
Books for Books
- book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT!
May 18 -
Cover Lover Book Review
– book review of CAPERS AND HARRY: HIGH CLIMBING / giveaway
May 18 -
Sandra's Book Club
- book review of MIMI THE MYNAH: IT'S ALL MINE! / giveaway
May 19 –
Triquetra Reviews
– book review of MIMI THE MYNAH: IT'S ALL MINE! / guest post / giveaway
May 19 -
Ravenz Reviewz
- book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT! / giveaway
May 20 –
Library Lady's Kid Lit
– book review of BLUSTER BLUE JAY: NOT MY FAULT! / giveaway
May 20 -
Sefina Hawke's Books
- book review of CAPERS AND HARRY: HIGH CLIMBING
Enter the Giveaway:
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