New review for Charlene the Star by Delores Ayotte

I'd like to thank inspirational author, Delores Ayotte, for her extraordinary review of Charlene the Star. Here is her review:

5.0 out of 5 starsDelightful children's book!

ByDolores Ayotteon July 13, 2018

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Charlene the Star by Author by Deanie Humphrys-Dunne ( Holly Humphrys-Bajaj ~ Illustrator)

What a delightful children's book! Charlene is born into a family of famous race horses but right from the onset she is concerned about her ability to be a race horse. She is tentative when she mentions this to her mother who encourages Charlene to give it a try nonetheless. She has the opportunity to do just that with her two good friends Ann and Blossom. She quickly realizes that she can't keep up to them and is disappointed in her performance. Thank goodness that Charlene is given the opportunity to excel in another area. Her trainer suggests that she be moved to Jumping for Joy Farm to see how she does with jumping hurdles instead of racing. Elliot, her canine friend helps reassure Charlene and encourages her in bettering her jumping talents.

Author Deanie Humphrys-Dunne utilizes a creative approach to her writing that will definitely appeal to her younger reading audience. The animals are able to communicate with each other which gives the children the opportunity to feel compassion for Charlene's challenges. I enjoyed the questions at the end of the book. They are an additional educational experience sure to provide food for thought. This talented author also demonstrates the benefit of recognizing and accepting the fact that we have different talents. Great lesson to be learned in life. Lovely cover to the book too.

Inspirational Author ~ Dolores Ayotte
I'm Not Perfect and It's Okay: Thirteen Steps to a Happier Self

Charlene the Star and her mom
illustration by Holly Humphrys-Bajaj.

An interview with Hattie the chicken

Today we're going to interview one of the characters from Charlene the Star and Hattie's Heroes, a children's book told by the animal characters.

"Good morning Hattie, please tell us some of your favorite things to do.
"Hello, I'm hopping around flapping my wings because I'm excited about talking to you today.
I love wearing pretty bonnets, like the polka dot one I'm wearing on the cover of Charlene the Star and Hattie's Heroes. But another thing I enjoy is helping my animal friends do good things. For example, in the story, Wooliam the sheep raises money for charity with his lemonade stand and other things he does. All of my friends were thrilled to organize our fair to help raise money. In fact, I love organizing parties and special events.
How wonderful Hattie. You and your friends are a great team.
Tell us about your friend, Elliott.
 I love Elliott. He's a handsome dog with big brown spots and an over sized head. He loves giving his animal friends confidence to try new things. He shows a lot of wisdom because he doesn't get upset when unexpected things happen. Instead, he takes action to help solve problems. Elliott and I worked together to solve a big problem we had regarding writing a schedule for our clients' training. We'll show you the picture at the bottom of this interview.
Thank you so much for sharing the picture, Hattie. who drew the beautiful picture and the cover for your book?
Holly Humphrys-Bajaj drew the cover and all of the illustrations in the book. Aren't they fantastic?
Holly is so talented. We love how her drawings show our personalities. It's a busy day for me today, so I need to get to work, but thank you for interviewing me today.
It's been my pleasure, Hattie. Thank you so much for answering the questions."

Hattie and Elliott wring the schedule
illustration and cover by Holly Humphrys-Bajaj

copyright, 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne
website: www.childrensbookswithlifelessons.com/

Happy Birthday, America #242!

Happy 4th. of July everyone.  Please remember to celebrate America's 242nd.. Birthday today and I hope you're grateful to live in the greatest nation on Earth. Also, please take a moment to reflect and thank those in the military, past and present, who work every day to preserve our freedoms.

Copyright 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne
Website: www.childrensbookswithlifelessons.com/

My hero: overcoming fears

My dad was my hero in many ways. For one, he never tried to shelter me from new experiences. He wanted me to figure out my own way to solve problems. For example, if I fell, he wouldn’t rush to pick me up. As a child with a disability, I fell often, but Daddy knew he wouldn’t always be there to help. Isn’t it that way when you start a new venture?  You could have trouble at first, but then you sort it out.Another thing Daddy  said was  having courage didn’t mean not being afraid, but acting even when you felt that fear.

Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a champion rider and Daddy never discouraged me. Instead, he said, “You can do anything you want, if you persevere. Certain things will take longer.” He was right about some things taking a long time. For example, I rode for 6 years before even starting to jump. Looking at the tiny cross rail, it seemed as high as Pikes Peak. My horse should have worn glasses just to see the little jump. My lips quivered.”Daddy, couldn’t you make it a little lower,” I pleaded. But his response was, “If I make it lower, there’ll be nothing to jump.” Once the big white horse, Laddie and I successfully made it to the other side of the jump. I jumped around yelling, “Daddy, I jumped.” He kissed me to celebrate the first step in the long journey of overcoming fears to reach my goals.

For more on this story, please click:

www.childrensbookswithlifelessons.com/

Photos from "My Life at Sweetbrier"

copyright 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Before you win, you begin

A view of Sweetbrier from "My Life at Sweetbrier"

Have you ever noticed the hardest thing to do is to begin? It could be you’re writing a book and you’re dreading the beginning. What if you fail? Remember, before you win, you need to begin. No matter what project you’d like to start, you must first overcome your fears and plunge ahead.

Let’s talk about something from my childhood. You may remember I was born with cerebral palsy, which made walking difficult. My single passion was to become a champion horseback rider. In order to reach my goal, I’d need to start. What happened in the beginning?  My legs got tired and I’d slide off my pony, Little Man. Guess what I hated most? Falling off for no reason. It made me feel better if Little Man did something unexpected and I fell off. But just sliding off because my legs felt tired, was horrible, in my mind. One thing Little Man loved to do was relax. In fact, he relaxed so much, he’d lie down with me on his back! At first, I couldn’t tell when he was getting ready for his nap. But, finally, I noticed he walked slower and slower right before he’d lie down. Hooray,problem one was solved.

What happened when I began learning to trot on Little Man? Visualize a little ball bouncing up and down. That’s what it felt like to me. It seemed like forever before I learned to rise and sit, or post, in rhythm with Little Man. But it was another tiny victory along the long road to success. more on this post, please click:

www.childrensbookswithlifelessons.com/

copyright 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Celebrate the small things

Hi everyone,
I hope you had a great week. What happened that was exciting?
Here's what we're celebrating this week:

• Good weather
• chats with our boys
• Father's Day is coming
• Flag Day
• My sister in law is doing well recovering from a fall.

Be sure to stop by LexaCain.blogspot.com to say hello to Lexa and keep her spirits up. She's had so much to overcome. I know she'd be happy to hear from you

copyright 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

website; www.childrensbookswithlifelessons.com/

New interview on Laura Hilton's blog featuring Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Tell us about the book:

My Life at Sweetbrier is my personal story about the power of perseverance, family support and horses. I grew up at a riding school called Sweetbrier. I loved the horses and my singular dream was to compete successfully in shows. But, I didn’t start walking until After my dad told the doctor his strong views on that opinion he said not to worry because he would teach me to ride horses and I would be fine. That decision changed my life. He and I set out to prove the doctor wrong.  The family motto was “The Humphrys don’t give up,” so surrender was never an option. It was a challenging journey, but so rewarding.

The story would appeal to families, teachers, dads, anyone with a disability, as well as horse lovers. It shows perseverance is the key to success.

  

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

My objective is to entertain children with books that inspire them to reach for their dreams. I want readers to welcome challenges and realize that many goals can be met if they don’t give up. All of my fictional stories are told by the endearing animal characters. They emphasize things like setting goals, helping others, kindness, and perseverance.

What is your current work in progress?

I hope to publish my first picture book, with my sister, Holly Humphrys-Bajaj, as illustrator. She beautifully illustrated all of my fictional books and their covers.

What three things about you would surprise readers?

• I was a voice student for many years and performed in recitals.
• I love waltz music and the dresses women wore during that era.
• I studied medical coding.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I’m an avid Yankee fan and I try not to miss any of their games. I love spending time with my family. Music and singing are enjoyable for me, as well as watching equestrian events and figure skating competitions along with reviewing and editing books for fellow authors.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

In the beginning of my writing career, I lacked the confidence to explore becoming an author. But I remembered my dad saying “What’s the worst that can happen?” In this case, I felt if my first book wasn’t published, I’d investigate why and correct the issues. Also, I found doing recorded interviews was difficult because I felt so nervous, but with practice, I became somewhat more comfortable with being interviewed.
for more of Laura's interviews, please check her website: 
Lighthouse-Academy.blogspot.com/

Share your bio:

 Deanie Humphrys-Dunne is an award-winning children’s book author with six books published at this time: My Life at Sweetbrier, Charlie the Horse, Charlene the Star, Charlene the Star and Hattie’s Heroes, Charlene the Star and Bentley Bulldog and Tails of Sweetbrier.  All of her books offer positive messages for children, such as; setting goals, perseverance, sharing and friendship. Her sister, Holly Humphrys-Bajaj, beautifully illustrates all of Deanie’s fictional books and designs the covers.  The fictional stories are told by the memorable animal characters, who keep readers entertained with their endearing personalities. The animals find creative ways to help their friends.  All books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You may also order signed copies from Deanie.

 My Life at Sweetbrier is an inspirational award-winning memoir about a little girl whose one desire was to become a champion equestrian, in spite of her handicap. This book is a revised, expanded version of her first book, Tails of Sweetbrier.

Deanie is a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature. Her books have won a number of awards and recognition including her latest awards for My Life at Sweetbrier; The gold medal in the New Apple Book Awards, and the gold medal in the Mom’s Choice award, the Reader’s Favorite silver medal, and two cover awards. Other awards are listed on Deanie’s website:

www.childrensbookswithlifelessons.com/

Links:

Amazon Author page:

https://www.amazon.com/Deanie-Humphrys-Dunne/e/B003FFS15S/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/DeanieHDunne/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/DeanieHDunne