Honorable Monkey Free for Kindle Fire Sept 24-28 HANA'S YEAR - resisting peer pressure

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sept. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Find HANA'S YEAR  Free at amazon.com or www.childrensebooksbyjoan.com


“How grateful Kenji and his grandmother were that Hana had saved the kimono cloth.  Hana would always remember that day – how grandmother patted the top of her head and how Kenji bowed to her once again.  ‘O-saru-sama,’ he said.  ‘Very honorable monkey.’”


5.0 out of 5 stars If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?
By Gillybean)
Hana's Year is a wonderful story about a little monkey who follows her other monkey friends and they all end up getting into trouble. Does Hana learn her lesson? Read this book with lovely illustrations to find out! I will definitely be reading this book over and over to my 5-year-old while hoping to encourage her not to fall into peer pressure.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated, valuable morals, and entertaining story
By Joe Angstadt
This book was well written and beautifully illustrated. The characters are developed and deliver a straightforward set of values. The story also gives insight into another culture. This would be a perfect read aloud for a classroom.


4.0 out of 5 stars Honorable Monkey
By MileStones (Central Coast, CA)
This is a sweet tale that is well written. While it is an obvious lesson, it is not a trite story.



HANA'S YEAR

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Fully Illustrated Version

Picture Book for reading with the younger child - ages 3-6

This version of HANA'S YEAR includes all the luminous illustrations just waiting to enchant children of any age, and especially the read-to set.

If the text-only version is better for your needs, then please click on HANA'S YEAR in the Text-Only Version for the serious young reader - ages 6-9.

Happy reading in either Version.

RESISTING PEER PRESSURE

In a timeless corner of Japan, a monkey learns to accept responsibility for her actions.

Hana is one year old-old enough to get into plenty of trouble. Especially when she falls under the bad influence of the mischief-maker Tampopo, whose favorite words are "Follow me!"

Hana follows this rascally leader and her band of little monkeys into one misadventure after another. But when Tampopo leads Hana to betray her new friend, the boy Kenji, Hana decides that she had better learn to rely on her own judgment-even if it means being alone.

Illustrator Itoko Maeno returned to her native Japan to study its remarkable macaque monkeys and to visit its rice fields and rustic farmhouses. She has depicted in brilliant watercolor the peaceful valley where Kenji and his grandmother live and create traditional indigo-dyed kimono cloth and the wild mountainside where Hana plays and learns.

Author Carol Talley's charming and sensitive story begins on this mountainside among the hopeful cherry blossoms of spring and moves through the rambunctious days of summer's bounty and the wistful loneliness of autumn. It ends in the glistening snow with Hana's triumph, when it is her turn to say "Follow me!"

As Hana's seasons unfold, young people learn a valuable lesson about resisting peer pressure and taking responsibility for their own actions. They learn with Hana that everyone makes mistakes and even a monkey may sometimes fall from a tree, but a wise little monkey learns when to say "No!"

A SURPRISE and added bonus is the "Enrichment Information" which includes lots of facts about Japanese Folk Textiles on such topics as weaving, hemp spinning, dyeing, stenciling, indigo dye and kimono making. This is fascinating detail that did not make it into the story itself, but is very rich in colorful descriptions of Japanese culture and daily life.

A second big plus is the "Letter to Parents and Educators" which includes many relevant questions and comments to facilitate conversation with the young reader about the message of the story - resisting peer pressure. So even though on the surface, this is just an engaging story for children, it is also truly helpful in a real way.

MAKING THE CASE FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION

If you are tired of bullying, teasing, youth violence, gangs, vandalism, drug abuse, sexual misconduct…

If you are tired of the crisis with our older youth…

If you want to help make a difference one tiny step at a time…

Then this is the eBook for your children ages 3-9.

Read WITH your children and grandchildren, discuss the concept and message…

and know that you are part of the movement sweeping America to bring back our important values by restoring character education in our homes and schools.

(signed) The Thoughtful Parent
JOAN'S eBOOKS LLC


LITERARY MERIT

This book is one of a series of 25 luminously illustrated children’s books, each with an animal protagonist, a compelling geographic location, an important life skills message and multicultural enrichment materials.

Each serious lesson is embedded in an exciting colorful adventurous story...subtle, indeed.

ALOHA POTTER!
AMAZING MALLIKA
BAILEY’S BIRTHDAY
BASTET
BEA’S OWN GOOD
CLARISSA
EMILY BREAKS FREE
FEATHERS AT LAS FLORES
FOLLOWING ISABELLA
GUMBO GOES DOWNTOWN
HANA’S YEAR
INGER’S PROMISE
JACKSON’S PLAN
JOMO AND MATA
KIKI AND THE CUCKOO
KYLIE’S CONCERT
LUDMILA’S WAY
MOLLY’S MAGIC
PAPA PICCOLO
PEQUENA THE BURRO
PLATO’S JOURNEY
STANLEY’S “THIS IS THE LIFE!”
TESSA ON HER OWN
THANK YOU, MEILING
TOAD IN TOWN
These books are cleverly and skillfully written by published authors with a high level of literary talent and wit.  The books have been proofed and re-proofed for the most exacting standards of accuracy in grammar, punctuation and fact checking.  They have been reviewed…pre-publication…by teachers and librarians for relevance and the power of the message.

Visit www.childrensebooksbyjoan.com    



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carol Talley lives in Hermann, Missouri, where she works as a writer and editor from the vantage point of her porch overlooking the Missouri River.  A former teacher of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Talley has been writing educational materials since 1989.  Gumbo Goes Downtown is her fourth children's eBook.  She is the author of eBooks Clarissa, Papa Piccolo, and Hana’s Year also  published by JOAN'S eBOOKS LLC.


ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Itoko Maeno is the illustrator of more than two dozen children’s books, including Papa Piccolo,  Amazing Mallika,  Molly’s Magic, Thank You, Meiling and Plato’s Journey.
Born in Tokyo, Japan, she received a B.A. in graphic design from Tama Art University.  Since her arrival in the United States in 1982, Maeno has focused on watercolor illustration.  This award-winning illustrator is the subject of Meet the Artist: Itoko Maeno, produced by Marsh Film Enterprises, Inc.