Tag Archives: CaribbeanReads

Read and Win! Summer competition

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Antiguan and Barbudan teens have a great opportunity to get creative this summer and a chance to win prizes.

Teens in Antigua and Barbuda, this one’s for you! As part of the Cushion Club Wadadli Pen Summer Reading Challenge, Antiguan and Barbudan teens, 12 to 18, are being invited to read Musical Youth, a Best of Books’ teen summer pick, post a musical or otherwise creative review to the social media platform of your choice, and send the link to submissions@caribbeanreads.com

Here’s what you do:

  1. Read Musical Youth (available at local bookstores)
  2. Review the book in your most creative way – write an essay, a poem, a song, create a video, however you love to express yourself best.
  3. Post your review on your favorite social media site, using the hashtags #musicalyouth #caribbeanreads
  4. Email your name, age, contact information, and a link to the review to submissions@caribbeanreads.com
  5. Possibly Win a prize!

Rules:

  • Submissions must be received by August 31, 2015.
  • Open to residents of Antigua and Barbuda aged 12-18 only.
  • Winners will be announced in September 2015 and the top three chosen entries will receive prizes courtesy of CaribbeanReads Publishing and Joanne C. Hillhouse.
  • There is no limit to the number of entries that one teen can submit.
  • Original entries only. By entering you are indicating that the submission is your own original work.
  • Each participant submitting an entry agrees to use of his/her name and/or entry by CaribbeanReads for promotional purposes in any medium without additional compensation.

More Information

This is a challenge within a challenge.

You don’t know about the original Cushion Club Wadadli Pen Summer Reading challenge?

Here it is in 50 words or less: Read as many books as you want, write a really-really-really short review of each book read, email your list of books completed and reviews to cushionclub@yahoo.com at the end of August. Maybe win a prize. There are discounts and minimum requirements; search “reading challenge” at the Wadadli Pen website (http://wadadlipen.wordpress.com) for details.

The Map Shop and the Best of Books helped compile the reading lists, so you know the books can be sourced in Antigua and Barbuda. The Best of Books and Cindy’s Bookstore are offering 20 percent discounts to anyone “taking the challenge”. Now, Caribbean Reads Publishing and Joanne C. Hillhouse – publisher and author, respectively – have made the challenge just a little more “Musical”. As Musical Youth, second placed for the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature in 2014, is targeted at teens; they want to know what teens think of this book. This additional prize – sponsored by the publisher and author of Musical Youth – will go to the most creative review.

 

 

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Free Stuff!

The Blessing of Charlie Sand CoverPublishers make mistakes. My daughter takes great pride in pointing out errors in the books that she reads and there are many, regardless of whether the book is published by large, medium, or small presses. I won’t get into the fact that small presses are held to a much higher standard than large ones so even the most minute of errors are highlighted as an indication of ineptitude. This post is not about that particular soapbox.

We have made errors at CaribbeanReads, not many, but they have existed. I remember publishing my first book, Adventure at Brimstone Hill and going back and forth with the printers about having a spine on the book although it was less than 100 pages. I was so focused on the existence of the spine that I did not notice a spelling error on it until after the first run.

Luckily there has not been anything quite as dramatic since, or at least none that we care to mention. That is up until the publication of The Blessing of Charlie Sand. We loved this story by Amanda Smyth right away, hunted down and hired the incredibly talented illustrator, Colin Bootman to do the illustrations, but for various reasons the execution of the first edition was not up to our usually high standards.

My dad used to tell the story of a Mercedes Benz breaking down and Mercedes replacing the car immediately and disavowing any knowledge of the incident whatsoever. We would love to do the same. We will be releasing the second edition of Charlie Sand in a few days, replacing all book store copies of the first edition, and obliterating the memory of edition one.

So, what about the free stuff? We’ll be hosting a giveaway in March for Charlie Sand. All you have to do is enter the contest, visit our FaceBook page and you will be entered to win a copy of the book. The giveaway starts on March 1 so keep a look out for more information.

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Expanding Our Mission

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CaribbeanReads Display

CaribbeanReads participated in the Baltimore Book Festival in October. It was on the beautiful Inner Harbor in Baltimore, a promenade that attracts a lot of people, so in addition to people who came to the festival, there were many others just wandering by.

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Build a Cell From Candy

Many of these people stopped to take a look at the CaribbeanReads booth. We had a display put on by Zapped! author, Jewel Daniel. We invited children to make a model of the cell using candy. This drew a big crowd, but most of the people who stopped just to ask questions about the books were people with Caribbean roots. One elderly couple drifted near the booth and as they moved away I overheard the woman say:

“Oh, those are books for people who want their children to go to the beach.”

Really?

“These are books for people who would like to expose their kids to Caribbean culture,” I retorted. Perhaps not the most professional approach, but my aim is to educate.

She kept walking.

I wish that I could convince myself that her attitude was a minority one, but the evidence did not bear this out. People who took our cards and flyers were sure to promise to pass the information on to their Caribbean contacts. Why not to their American, European, African, and Asian friends? I really hope that our customers can break the mold, share Caribbean books with their non-Caribbean friends and bring a little Caribbean warmth into the lives of the rest of the world.

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Kudos for Zapped!

Cover Front onlyIt’s been just a couple of months since the release of Zapped! Danger in the Cell but the book has been attracting high praise from educators and children alike.

Get your copy from our book store in print or kindle and let us know what you think.

If you’re in Baltimore this weekend, we’ll be at the Baltimore Book Festival at Inner Harbor.

Here’s just some of the feedback that we’ve received.

“We’ve read the book and love it!  So creative!” Representative of Port Discovery Children’s Museum, Baltimore.

“I loved it. What a wonderful concept and great read. Congratulations. I think it is really a great book for middle schoolers. It is a very complicated and complex topic. You made it much more accessible.” Susan Magsamen, Senior Advisor, Brain Science Insitute and Science of Learning Institute, Johns Hopkins University and Creator of Curiosityville.

“Zapped! Danger in the cell” written by Jewel Daniel and Lynelle Martin was a delight. The way they illustrated the function of our cells made it easy to understand. My daughter, …, rated the book as an excellent read. In fact, it was so enticing to her that she read through the entire book about three times. It has given her a new found appreciation for the essential role cells play in the body. Zapped, really zapped me. I will recommend this book to all children of specific target age to read. They will develop a most profound understanding of their biological make up. As a matter of fact, I know teachers will utilize this book as a reference material in their class rooms. Thanks Jewel and Lynelle for sharing your interesting insights with us. I anxiously look forward the sequel.” Happy parents and children.

About Zapped! Danger in the Cell.

When a mysterious machine shrinks Sonya, Lynelle, and Giselle to microscopic proportions they become so small that they slip through the walls of a cell and the three girls find themselves caught up in a roller coaster of an adventure that has them running for their lives.

Do they ever escape?

Get your copy of Zapped! Danger in the Cell to find out!

Zapped! is the first book in the Small Worlds series written by Jewel Daniel and Lynelle Martin. The book is being published by CaribbeanReads and is illustrated by Ann-Cathrine Loo. It is aimed at middle-grade readers and will be available in July.

St. Kitts born Jewel is a cell biologist, author and educator who combines her love for science and books to teach kids about the exciting microscopic world of the cell. She already has three publications under the pen name Jewel Amethyst, A Marriage of Convenience, Holiday Brides, and Pretty Little Liars: Indiscretion. Zapped is her first children’s novel.

Lynelle is the star of this show. She is a rising middle school student with an avid interest in science and adventure. Zapped is her debut novel, but she has already written the sequel and plans to work on book 3 this summer.

Buy your copy today on Amazon. For bulk orders please email orders(at)caribbeanreads[dot]com.

 

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New middle-grade book available in July

Cover Front onlyLooking for something to keep your middle-grade children’s brain active this summer? Check out “Zapped! Danger in the Cell”. (Pre-order your autographed copy today.)

When  a mysterious machine shrinks Sonya, Lynelle, and Giselle to microscopic proportions they become so small that they slip through the walls of a cell and the three girls find themselves caught up in a roller coaster of an adventure that has them running for their lives.

Do they ever escape?

Pre-Order Zapped! to find out!

Zapped! is the first book in the Small Worlds series written by Jewel Daniel and Lynelle Martin. The book is being published by CaribbeanReads and is illustrated by Ann-Cathrine Loo. It is aimed at middle-grade readers and will be available in July.

St. Kitts born Jewel is a cell biologist, author and educator who combines her love for science and books to teach kids about the exciting microscopic world of the cell. She already has three publications under the pen name Jewel Amethyst, A Marriage of Convenience, Holiday Brides, and Pretty Little Liars: Indiscretion. Zapped is her first children’s novel.

Lynelle is the star of this show. She is a rising middle school student with an avid interest in science and adventure. Zapped is her debut novel, but she has already written the sequel and plans to work on book 3 this summer.

Visit our Order page to reserve your autographed copy of Zapped! for $6.99. Shipping charges may apply for non-US customers.

 

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And then there were nine…

Caribbean Reads’ ninth book, Seascapes, is now available on Amazon just in time for the holidays. It has been hailed as a delightful collection of beautifully illustrated stories about friendship. Great for children 8 and under although my 12 year old loved it. Get your copy today!

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Chee Chee’s story

Chee Chee and I are so excited that we got the third book in Chee Chee’s Adventures finished and I cannot wait to start work on the fourth. Ann-Cathrine is loving this process as much as I am and her illustrations are more and more beautiful with every book.

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8 books under $10

CaribbeanReads now has 8 books available for the children on your gift list this holiday. Check out the full list here.

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