Dancing Moon Press Children's, Young Adult and Middle Grade

Bend Daycations

On sunny day on Woodpecker Farm, the eggs hatched and the baby chicks tumbled out into the world. But not all of the mama hens had babies of their own. Sometimes it takes kindness and a little bit of magic to make a family.

How do you explain to a child that their family may have been created differently than other families but is still just as beautiful? A new children's picture book was created by a mom who asked herself that very question. The Magic Egg Book, by Shauna Nicholson-Kelly, tells the story of a mama hen and a baby chick who find one another in a special way.

"Bandito the Puppito Dreams of a Home" (Bandito el Perrito Sueña con un Hogar) tells the real-life adoption story of a rescue pitbull named Bandit. The children's picture book is in English and Spanish, and 100% of the profits are donated to Born Again Pit Bull Rescue.

Every January, Skye Clancy’s mother slips into despair on the anniversary of a devastating storm that claimed her sister. But no one may talk about it, or any of the other strange deaths that haunt the family. This January, days before Skye’s 14th birthday, a new set of vicious storms unleash upon her Oregon Coast town. Clues begin to appear, and Skye realizes the weather is tormenting her family above all others and has been for decades. As a family legacy of death and destruction by terrible weather is revealed, in the face of nature’s fury, Skye embarks on a journey into the wild woods—and into the past—to solve the mystery and reverse the curse.

Bend Daycations

One woman’s quest to make something of herself, already. During naptime. 

 

Me: Mother, wife and writer watching forty climb the front steps like a peddler pushing time, and me with nowhere to hide. The writer part used to come first, the forty used to be thirty, and marriage and motherhood were abstract activities I thought I’d try someday. Will I pull this author thing off? Or will I ditch writing, adopt a Xanax habit, abandon my own identity and live the rest of my life vicariously through my children?

   Hmm, let’s find out.

Mason is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi whose loyalty is split between his master and a neighbor dog named Daisy. Both farm dogs born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Mason and Daisy love to spend their days herding farm animals, which on Sundays means herding sheep, chickens, and occasionally pigs to the farmers market. Little do they know that their lives are about to change when a series of unexpected events take them on an adventurous voyage to a foreign land. Mason and Daisy pledge their devotion to each other, and pray that someday, they will find their way back to their place of birth.

Bend Daycations

We know fables mostly as those morality stories going back to a 550 BCE Greek slave named Aesop. We still admire them as a source of human-nature wisdom. They were once used to induce good behavior in children. Cautionary tales today come in the form of medicinal side-effect warnings. "Hip Hop Aesop" is meant to be in the Aesop tradition. It may lack the moral instruction, but it relies on the same animal wit and wisdom. We hope we have followed the Aesop rule of "being useful to life and true to nature." Aesop lived about the same time as the Buddha, so we like to think of our stories as Zen-like, if they're like anything. We think of the book's artwork as more inspiration than illustration. 

Eighth-grader, Alec Ponders, is furious when a skinhead white power gang uses property damage, racist graffiti, and hate fliers to vandalize his hometown of West Valley, a multi-ethnic suburb of Los Angeles. They threaten his non-white and mixed-race friends, especially his Latina crush—the girl next door.

In an old house in Laguna Seca, Qu joins the Pale Betrayal white power gang and gets a tat signaling his loyalty to racism and passion to beat down all minorities in Southern California. He is ready to do whatever it takes to prove he’s down with white power.

“It’s ugly, Alec. Real ugly. Pale Betrayal attacks people of color. They’re a nasty bunch.” “I hate them.” “Hate’s a deep emotion, Alec. Is your hate so different from Pale Betrayal’s?” “All I want is revenge. I'll let my fists do the talking.”

A random encounter in the San Gabriel Mountains ultimately brings Alec and Qu face-to-face in the Teens In Process Program where they are forced to confront their own prejudices and begin to understand and tolerate each other—which illuminates the curious treasures of social studies.

Follow Ricky as he “saves the day” with kindness and learns to be kind to himself, others, animals and the earth. Sigue a Ricardito mientras “salva el día” con amabilidad y aprende a ser amable consigo mismo, con otros, con los animales y la tierra.

A children's book, illustrated by children, about magical thinking and making choices. Through the use of simple verse and colorful illustrations, this book asks questions that stimulates the child's imagination and promotes rational thought. By addressing the element of transformation and asking the child to make decisions about these changes, this book facilitates discussion between parent and child.

Danny Lawson is not thrilled about coming to Ash Hollow. Moving in the middle of a school year is never easy and it is even harder for Danny, who has trouble expressing himself when nervous or in a tough spot. His love for playing hoops helps him overcome his struggle. But what is the mystery behind the black metal box dropped by a strange, caped figure during a wild thunder and lightning storm? Join the Trail Blazers, Danny’s new study group, as they work on a school project about the Oregon Trail and the founding of Ash Hollow in eastern Oregon. Meet Kaley Ash, the girl who is always there for Danny when he needs a friend. Gary Covey was an elementary school teacher and boys basketball coach for several years. He is retired and lives in Salem, Oregon, with his wife, Cameron, and their two Siamese kitties.

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