New Book Takes Children on the Adventure of a Lifetime with Leonardo DaVinci

What would you do if one of the most famous artists in the world landed on your doorstep? In Leonardo and the Time Travelers, cousins Jack and Nick are in Silicon Valley for a summer technology class, when they discover a secret time travel app on an old iPad. Upon using the app, they bring back the world’s first-time traveler, artist, engineer and scientist, Leonardo da Vinci, and adventure ensues!

 

This fun and entertaining book takes children on the adventure of a lifetime.  Joined by Jack’s sister Poppy, they solve problems, meet other time travelers, and have a summer they will never forget.

 

Leonardo, affectionately nicknamed “Nardi” by the kids, is shocked by his new surroundings but as a man who loves to learn, he is highly curious about the technology he discovers everywhere throughout the house. He just can’t resist the urge to play with things. And Jack’s feisty and artistic sister, Poppy, isn’t shy about sharing her artwork with the man who painted The Last Supper.

 

As “Nardi” tangles with today’s technology and traveling incognito, he and the kids bring other time travelers back from the past while facing up to challenges of their own. Nardi learns to ride a bike, makes a special drawing to tuck into a time capsule at Stanford, compares notes with the kids on delicious gelato, creates a bubble bath blizzard and gets stuck on top of the house when inspecting the solar panels!

 

As the summer ends, the kids celebrate their accomplishments with a surprise trip to the Magic Kingdom, and a tour led by none other than time traveler Walt Disney himself! Nardi upstages everyone in his final fling before heading back into history – but he leaves an enormous imprint on Jack, Nick and Poppy, his creative compatriots and proteges.

 

Leonardo and the Time Travelers is the product of a unique collaboration of five women from around the world who joined together to create a children’s book about learning and time travel during the pandemic.

 

In 2020, two grandmothers across the pond from each other decided to do something positive during the lockdown: to write a book inspired by their grandchildren. Marian Lye and Patty McGuigan share a set of lively grandkids, who were to be the heroes of a Silicon Valley adventure. But they needed an illustrator. Rebekah Reif, just turning 21 and graduating, joined the creative team. Next was Maria Mayer Feng, an incredible creative director in New York and then Kate Ryan, an editor who lives in Hawaii and understood the writers’ vision.  The Circle of Five was established: women of all different ages, from Hawaii to England coming together to create Leonardo and the Time Travelers.

 

“The pandemic has brought many changes to our world. We were determined to produce something positive out of this time,” says author Patty McGuigan. “The five of us put our creativity to work and created this fun and inspiring story.”

 

This fall introduce kids to the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci and join him, Jack, Nick and Poppy on an adventurous journey and discover the answer to the big question – how to get their time travelers back home?

 

“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”

- Leonardo da Vinci

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Patty McGuigan is the proud grandmother of four grandchildren. She is also a successful commercial real estate agent, a past high school English teacher, and active in her San Francisco Bay Area community. Patty has created numerous books of her artwork and travel memories. Her creativity has been her defining factor throughout her life, and indeed she does believe in time travel.

 

Marian Lye lives in Weymouth, England. She and her husband raised three boys, and she worked in administration for a government department for many years. Her love of history led her to write Weymouth at War, an account of World War 2 on the south coast of England. The book, now in its second edition, features the dramatic build up to D-Day in June 1944, when thousands of American servicemen set sail from the twin ports of Weymouth and Portland, bound for “Omaha Beach” in Normandy. In this millennium, the arrivals of three lively grandkids in California have been magical milestones.

 

Rebekah Reif is based in New Hampshire, where she recently graduated from the School of Art and Design at New England College. An up-and-coming artist, she has a natural talent for drawing, and amazed her collaborators on this project with every new scene she sketched out. Rebekah specializes in comics and enjoys drawing stories from battles to slices of everyday life.

 

To learn more about the creative team and Leonardo and the Time Travelers, 

visit leonardoandthetimetravelers.com

Magic & Wonder Collide, as Enchanting Books Teach Children British Etiquette

As an International Etiquette Trainer, Taryn Jahme has taught British etiquette to clients from all walks of life. However, children have a special place in her heart – not only for the unique challenges they present, but the creative and uplifting ways in which Taryn can impart her wisdom.

The ‘Henry and Kathleen’ series of children’s books is one of Taryn’s proudest resources – a series of storybooks that teach children British etiquette while engrossing them in a world where literally anything can happen!

Synopses:

‘A Magical London Adventure’ - Siblings Henry and Kathleen are lively and imaginative, but also a little mischievous. The Magical London Adventure by Taryn Jahme tells the tale of how, following a spot of trouble due to poor table manners, the children write a story of apology. This story within a story tells of an exciting magical adventure in which Jasper, a friendly dragon, explores London. The story culminates with a grand feast at Buckingham Palace where the children succeed in demonstrating their refined manners.

‘High Tea Through the Tunnels of London’ - Henry and Kathleen are invited by their Aunty Kerry and Granny Fay to sample High Tea at the Ritz Hotel. While there, they get trapped in a lift—from which they are rescued by Detective Fox, one of the animals the children watch play at the bottom of their garden. Detective Fox enlists the help of his friends Lady Badger, Sir Rabbit, Mrs Mole and Mr Hedgehog to whisk Henry and Kathleen on an adventure through the tunnels deep below London.

‘Little London Pirates’ - Henry and Kathleen enjoy playing in one of London’s most prestigious play-grounds at Kensington Garden’s. Magic turns the playground’s fabulous and famous pirate ship in to a real ship, setting sail upon the River Thames on a great and exciting adventure! Embarking upon a twisting and epic journey, encountering Pirates and mermaids and sea monsters., Henry and Kathleen are in for a wild time. Famous ships which are ‘dotted’ around London join the battle on the River Thames to save the children from the pirates. Will the children manage to get away?

‘Royal Air Force Day’ - Henry and Kathleen are extremely excited to go and see the ‘Red Arrows’ flying at ‘Royal Air Force Day’. Dad is flying a red arrow which has the Queen of England watching in awe. Whilst Dad is flying, Henry and Kathleen are on an epic and thrilling journey in a world famous ‘London black taxi’ which magically grows wings! Flying through the skies, Henry and Kathleen are in a race with the Red Arrows! With the crowds cheering excitedly, amazed that a London black taxi is flying through the air at such ‘high speed’, will Dad realise who it is?

‘The Raven Tea Party at the Tower of London’ - Henry and Kathleen are having a fun picnic in beautiful Richmond Park. They adventure further away from their picnic spot arriving at a ginormous old oak tree. Little do Henry and Kathleen realise that the animals that live in the branches are truly magical creatures. After meeting the magical animals for tea, the children fly on the backs of the ‘Great Wise Owls’, soaring high towards the Tower of London. A truly marvellous party hosted by the Tower’s world famous ravens takes place with all the Tower of London’s historical animals, dancing and singing. With only a limited amount of time to get back to their picnic spot, Henry and Kathleen are against time to find hidden clues throughout the Tower of London’s narrow passages, dodging laser beams, hidden tiny rooms and with many twists and turns. Henry and Kathleen’s aim is to find the Crown Jewels before it’s too late! Getting chased out of the Tower by the Queen’s medieval metal armoured Guards and setting off alarm bells, Henry and Kathleen finally get saved!

“I wanted to create a fun-based learning experience that would embed important etiquette lessons in stories that young children actually want to read,” explains the author. “Each story puts the fun and adventure first, and then intelligently weaves wisdom around the experiences, characters and challenges that the child, Henry and Kathleen encounter.”

Continuing, “Social skills are of course the bedrock of anyone’s success in life, and etiquette is one piece of the puzzle that is often missing when we bring up children either personally or professionally. These books plug that gap in a way that will have youngsters curious to continue the enchantment!”

The entire ‘Henry and Kathleen’ series is available now, from the author’s official website.

Book Tour & Giveaway - Uncle Bear's Mystery Valentine

What’s a bear to do when he has no money, but wants to give a gift to thank his secret admirer?

Buy on Amazon

 

Author Bio:

Clarice Williams whose pen name is C. JoVan Williams, was born and raised in Chicago, IL, but now resides in New Jersey as an Air Force spouse, with a blended family of six. She credits her writing inspirations from her experiences as a military spouse, mother, college graduate, Government worker, silly daughter, and an overbearing older sister to many. She also writes for Military Spouse Magazine. Her books are available on Amazon.   What people are saying: It is an endearing story of three friends and their plan to find out the secret Valentine. The story is narrated in pictures like comic strips. The illustrations are colorful and lively. It gives a personality to all the characters in the story and breathes life into the scenes. It is a good bedtime story for children. The scenes are descriptive, helping children visualize the scenes with clarity. The book also tells children about friendship and how friends help each other whenever necessary. - Reader's Favorite

To catch up with the author please visit:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/iwrite_2 Facebook: www.facebook.com/chefreceejay Website: www.carbmonkey.com

Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card for 1 Reader a Rafflecopter giveaway