In 2007, a simple survey was conducted that showed that 9 out of 10 elementary aged kids are bullied at school, and 6 out of 10 have bullied others. I’m not sure what the current stats would show, but I’m guessing it’s not going to be lower. I know many schools have an anti-bully policy, including the school my own girls go to. I also know my kids still come home hurt or sad or scared about bullies hounding them.
When I set out to write the first three books in The Three Lost Kids series, I wanted them to be fun fantasies, but also relevant to the issues my own girls face. Each book is based on one of my children, and their challenges and struggles helped shape the storyline and themes present in the books.
In Lexie World, my then-5-year-old Lexie kept getting in trouble for leaving her stuff outside or leaving trash on the ground. She loves the earth and nature, so it saddened her to know that her actions were hurting the earth. We talked about what challenges Lexie World would have and came up with the Garbage Goblins, destined to destroy the world if Lexie and her sisters couldn’t break the curse and stop them. On this journey, the character Lexie had to face her own behaviors and decide what she was going to do about the litter she and others had caused. The real Lexie also took a journey while reading this book, as I hope you and your children will. She learned important lessons about herself and caring for the planet, all wrapped up in an exciting story.
In Bella World, my 8-year-old had to face the Dragon Fire in her that often burned other people. She had to look at her tendencies to horde her belongings or take things that didn’t belong to her at all. As she entered her magical namesake world, she met a Dragon who had many of the same struggles as Bella. Together they learned how to treat others, and they grew emotionally as a result.
I am so excited to finally announce the long-awaited launch of Maddie World, the third in this special edition, fully illustrated trilogy. My own Madelynne, who’s 9 years old, is most impacted by bullying at school. It’s hard for her, and she’s had times where she didn’t want to go to school at all. It breaks my heart to see my girl hurt like this, and I also know that she needed to learn to own her own strength and stand up for herself–without becoming a bully too. Thus Maddie World was conceived. In this story, a Fairy War is destroying Maddie World. The Lava Fairies have bullied the Bubble Fairies for too long and the Bubble Fairies are fighting back, but now they’ve become the bullies they so hated. Maddie has to face her fears, and be braver than she’s ever been, if she wants to save her sisters and her world.
It’s my hope that this series brings important lessons to kids without being heavy handed–that they learn, within the pages of fantasy, how to care for their world, grow emotionally and stand up for themselves. I have many plans for The Three Lost Kids, including an exciting series of holiday books coming soon. Look for The Three Lost Kids and The Death of the Sugar Fairy on October 2, 2012, The Three Lost Kids and The Christmas Curse on November 26th, and The Three Lost Kids and Cupid’s Capture in January.
Until then, here’s a sneak peek at the Halloween fun planned, as well as the cover reveal!
The Three Lost Kids and The Death of the Sugar Fairy
Halloween is here and Lexie, Bella and Maddie couldn’t be happier. But why does everything feel so different? Fewer houses are decorated and fewer kids are out trick-or-treating. Still, that’s not going to stop the three girls from eating as much candy as they can before their parents can take it away, even if that means fighting each other for it.
When they finally discover a haunted house worthy of their favorite holiday, they forget their parents’ warnings and go in alone, only to discover that the house really is haunted, and not only that, but they’ve been transported to a whole different world!
A dying Sugar Fairy in one of the abandoned rooms sends them on a quest to find her Sugar Baby and the magic Sugar Flower in order to save her and Halloween. If they fail, Halloween will be gone forever, and they’ll never return to their family.
But with Sugar Bug attacks, the Cavity Caves–where they must face their deepest fears, and giant gummy bears armed with candy cane swords, the girls aren’t sure they’ll make it.
Their only chance is to work together, using each of their strengths to help each other. Can they stop fighting over candy long enough? Or will they be trapped in the dying Sugar Land forever?
Coming from Evolved Publishing October 2, 2012
If you would like to participate in a fun Three Lost Kids Halloween Blog Tour, go to Innovative Online Book Tours to sign up!
Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Maddie World today, and if you haven’t yet, grab a copy of Bella World and Lexie World too.
To celebrate the launch, Bella World is on sale for kindle for only 99cents! The other two books are only $2.99 on kindle, so they’re still very reasonably priced. If you enjoy, please let me know! I’d love to hear from you.
Have your kids faced any of the issues mentioned in these books? If so, how did they and you deal with them?
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In other news, Evolved Publishing has also launched 6 other books today, in addition to Maddie World. To celebrate, they have 8 books on sale for only 99cents. Romance, erotica, YA, children’s lit and more… check it out here>> Evolved Publishing Birthday Launch Party!
Also, EReader News Today has featured 4 of our 99cent books, and they regularly showcase discounted books with excellent reviews. Check it out here>> Evolved Pub at ENT.
Thanks for this great post! I’m so glad you are addressing this issue in your books. I worry about my kids being bullied as well (Are these books geared just towards girls? I have boys.lol;)
Thank you! And no, these are not just for girls. The main characters are girls, but the books apply to both boys and girls and I have some big fans who are 10 year old boys 🙂
Lovely lovely books!
Thank you 😉