Something For The Younger Readers #children's_book #melissa_keir #RB4U

Something For The Younger Readers

Do you have a child or grandchild who loves to read? My favorite part of being a guest teacher is sharing my love of books with students. This past year, I read George's Marvelous Medicine with a first grade class. They asked about it even when I wasn't in their room. 

After eight years as a romance writer and twenty years as a teacher, I combined my love of children with my love of books and wrote two children's books. 

Huzzah-A Pool Mouse came about last year when my husband and I visited historic Williamsburg, Virginia. We stayed at a hotel and while I was swimming in the pool, the idea for the story came to me. I shared it with my husband and then asked my daughter to illustrate the story for me. 

Amazon

My other book, Maple's Colors, came from a talk my husband and I had one night about a tree who didn't want to go to sleep for the winter. We talked through the idea many times until I finally decided to throw caution to the wind and write the book. With Maple, I reached out to a wonderful design company and set about selecting an illustrator to bring the story to fruition. Amazon

Both stories are filled with meaningful messages of "being yourself" and "accepting differences". The illustrations are colorful and evoke the emotions of the stories. The books are penned under my childhood nickname and maiden name- Missy Watling and feature a childhood photo of myself on the author page. 

During this past year, I have been able to share with Country Elementary School, the path I took, the illustrator's journey and the final products, which now sit on display in their library. I hope I provided motivation to those young writers to reach for their dreams. 

Enjoy your summer and Keep Reading,

Melissa Keir

www.melissakeir.com

Inspiring the Next Generation @melissa_keir #RB4U

Inspiring the Next Generation

Welcome to my first post on RB4U in 2017! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, spent time with loved ones, friends and family, stuffed themselves on delicious foods, and have set some goals for this year!

My 2017 has begun with a long-term substitute position at a local elementary school. The teacher has his hip replaced and I'm guest teaching in his class of wonderful fifth-graders. I do love teaching. It gives me a unique chance to interact with the next generation. I can be creative and silly. But one of my favorite parts of teaching is being able to share my love of reading and writing with the students.

The class knows I'm an author and that my books aren't suitable for their age level, but that doesn't stop me from sharing books which are perfect for them. Many of them are my favorites from way back! Last week, I brought in the first and second book of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. The students enjoy fantasy stories at this age as well as sarcasm and puns. Piers includes those in his books in such a way that the students will chuckle but also adults will see them differently, deeper. Immediately, one student picked it up and began reading it. Hopefully, I've shown them a new series which will entertain them for many years.

This week, I'm going to share another series...The Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This series will appeal to fans of the Rick Riordan- Percy Jackson series. I can't wait to read the blurb to the kids and give them a chance to borrow the book. I know I'll have some takers!

Then I'll have one more week to share another book! Ohhh...It's so tough to choose. :) I have so many wonderful books to share. And best of all, I'm encouraging them to read as well as exposing them to new authors.

If you could share a favorite book or series with a group of young adults, which one would you share and why? 

Until next month, take care and be sure to stop by my website for my latest releases and blog posts.

Hugs,

Melissa