99¢ BOOK OF THE WEEK

The BIRD WITCH - The Mattie Saunders Series Book 4

August 31 to Sept. 7th

at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Can you love someone whose worldview is different from yours? Who is committed to a cause that excludes you because of your race? Simon is an Indigenous person dedicated to the struggle for justice for First Nations people. Mattie loves him but is love enough?

Birds are dying. At the Saunders Bird Rescue and Sanctuary where rescued parrots abandoned by their owners are rehabilitated and re-homed, a deadly virus has them dying in Mattie's hands. In the midst of this outbreak, she's called to investigate a mortality event where dozens of starlings fly into the pavement as if committing suicide.

Mattie looks to Simon, her rock and refuge, for support, but after spending weeks at a remote protest site, as soon as he returns home he begins working with Wendy Walters, the attractive, ambitious Indigenous politician on her re-election campaign. Mattie's just about had enough.

When Simon proposes a vacation on the Mexican Riviera, Mattie sees it as an opportunity to recover from the death of her beloved birds. She's also hopeful it's an indication Simon's reconsidering his priorities. She didn't realize while on vacation he'd want to attend the Conference of Indigenous Peoples in Chiapas. Mattie's annoyed but decides to indulge her passion and do some tropical bird watching rather than attend a boring conference.

But Simon's conference turns out to be anything but boring when a deadly firefight erupts between the Mexican Army trying to arrest suspected terrorists and revolutionary Zapatista's.

Now Simon is missing, and Mattie is determined to find him, but to do so she must first escape being kidnapped by corrupt Mexican police and avoid abduction by vicious cartel members.

The fourth book in The Mattie Saunders Series, The Bird Witch combines romance and action with environmental themes for an exciting exploration of contemporary culture and issues.

"Fantastic voice! Great writing...great discovery!"
- Bryan Fagan, author of Dempsey’s Grill

"A great book. The characters are believable and relatable... makes me want to go back and read the other three!"
- Laurie Ingebritsen, author of Unexpected Healers

"Great book. Highly recommend."
" ...it is a joy to read a character that can make you feel so many different things but still enjoy her overall."
- Goodreads review by Industry

“If you’re tired of the same old romance “formula” books that all read identically then this book could be for you. “
- Clark Wilkins, author of Survive - Love and Murder in Alaska

"A very professionally written ecological thriller book."
- Tony Parsons

CLICK TO VIEW THE VIDEO TRAILER

https://animoto.com/play/1U0ONQVndep1jn2dBgdImQ
   

FREE E-BOOK. JUNE 23 -27

The Bird Witch

Book 4 in The Mattie Saunders Series 

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY AT

https://amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Can you love someone whose worldview is different from yours? Who is committed to a cause that excludes you because of your race? Simon is an Indigenous person dedicated to the struggle for justice for First Nations people. Mattie loves him but is love enough?

Birds are dying. At the Saunders Bird Rescue and Sanctuary where rescued parrots abandoned by their owners are rehabilitated and re-homed, a deadly virus has them dying in Mattie's hands. In the midst of this outbreak, she's called to investigate a mortality event where dozens of starlings fly into the pavement as if committing suicide.

Mattie looks to Simon, her rock and refuge, for support, but after spending weeks at a remote protest site, as soon as he returns home he begins working with Wendy Walters, the attractive, ambitious Indigenous politician on her re-election campaign. Mattie's just about had enough.

When Simon proposes a vacation on the Mexican Riviera, Mattie sees it as an opportunity to recover from the death of her beloved birds. She's also hopeful it's an indication Simon's reconsidering his priorities. She didn't realize while on vacation he'd want to attend the Conference of Indigenous Peoples in Chiapas. Mattie's annoyed, but decides to indulge her passion and do some tropical bird watching rather than attend a boring conference.

But Simon's conference turns out to be anything but boring when a deadly firefight erupts between the Mexican Army trying to arrest suspected terrorists and revolutionary Zapatista's. Now Simon is missing, and Mattie is determined to find him, but to do so she must first escape being kidnapped by corrupt Mexican police and avoid abduction by vicious cartel members.

The fourth book in The Mattie Saunders Series, The Bird Witch combines romance and action with environmental themes for an exciting exploration of contemporary culture and issues.

"Fantastic voice! I'm not typically a "series" reader but loved this author's voice. Simon is an Indigenous native who struggles for justice for First Nations people. His character study is VERY interesting writing. Great writing...great discovery!" FIVE STARS

"A very professionally written ecological thriller book." FIVE STARS "

"... a great book. The characters are believable and relatable and continue to evolve as the story progresses. ...I didn't have to read the other three books in order to step into the main character's journey. Although, having read it, it makes me want to go back and read the other three! "...a great job of weaving the complexities of relationship into the story, and I could really feel the push-pull Mattie and Simon experienced between their desire for relationship and a need to pursue their passions."

"Great book. Highly recommend."

"Mattie, despite being severely flawed (on purpose)... her faults do not make it harder to root for her although, at times, it's easy to find yourself annoyed with her. ...it is a joy to read a character that can make you feel so many different things but still enjoy her overall." "Simon, was my absolute favourite character ... sweet and kind and endearing and patient and so well written" "One of the subplots in this book was romance and it was honestly so well done...interesting and refreshing and sweet."

"The writing ...was so nice, witty, and refreshing. I thought it was lovely."- Goodreads review by Industry

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

https://animoto.com/play/1U0ONQVndep1jn2dBgdImQ

Over 250 Chicagoans came out to The Chicago Lighthouse to celebrate the release of the new book Chicago Treasure which stars local children, many of whom are preschool students at The Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Disabled. In this inclusive hardcover book, photographs of Chicago children have been digitally imposed into fairytale illustrations, classic works of art, and photography of Chicago landmarks to create a colorful world where every child, regardless of ability, ethnicity, gender, or age is free to see themselves take on great roles.

The young stars enthusiastically flipped through the pages of Chicago Treasure until they found their pictures, then proudly shared them with friends and family. Chicago Treasure creators Larry Broutman, Rich Green, and John Rabias happily signed autographs until their hands hurt for the never-ending line of eager book buyers. But the fun didn’t stop there.

VisionQuest, a rhythm and blues band made of members of The Chicago Lighthouse Adult Living Skills Program, gave a dynamic performance that had the crowd cheering for more. Elsa sang “Let It Go” with some help from talented and starstruck youngsters. Tinkerbell and Peter Pan even stopped by to pose for pictures with their new young friends.

A puppet show, face painting, balloon animals, arts and crafts, ice cream sundaes, cupcakes, and cotton candy were enjoyed by the young and the young at heart.

The Chicago Lighthouse President & CEO Dr. Janet Szlyk and Board of Directors Chairman Gary Rich spoke to the crowd about Mr. Broutman’s support of The Chicago Lighthouse over the years, which includes serving on the Board and donating proceeds from Chicago Treasure and his three other books of photography to The Chicago Lighthouse and Access Living. Access Living President & CEO Marca Bristo joined in the praise of Chicago Treasure and reminded the crowd of the necessity of telling everyone’s story. Coming to the podium after thunderous applause, photographer and author Larry Broutman shared that the idea for this innovative project came to him in a dream to which a supporter in the crowd yelled, “Keep dreaming, Larry!”

Chicago Treasure is available now from publisher Everything Goes Media, on Amazon, and in Chicagoland bookstores and gift shops.

Find out more at:

https://www.everythinggoesmedia.com/product-page/chicago-treasure

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Treasure-Larry-Broutman/dp/1893121798/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546910366&sr=8-1&keywords=Chicago+Treasure+Larry+Broutman

*Photographs appear courtesy of Othervertical for The Chicago Lighthouse.

In this touching video created by The Chicago Lighthouse, photographer and author Larry Broutman shares his inspiration for creating the children’s book, Chicago Treasure, and what the process taught him about what inclusion truly means. Diverse children take the lead roles in classic fairytales and nursery rhymes when photographs of the kids are digitally imposed with colorful fairytale illustration backgrounds by Rich Green. Local children and their parents explain why seeing their faces in the pages of this book is so meaningful. Interspersed throughout are scenes from the Chicago Treasure Book Launch where 250 Chicagoans came to The Chicago Lighthouse to celebrate the release of this enchanting book.

Lexile Measure:

530L

Reading Level:

PreK-3rd

Summary:

New Shoes for Silvia is about a little girl named Silvia, who received a pair of shoes from her Aunt. She loved every bit of her new, red pair of shoes. However, there is only one problem! They do not fit! Silvia learns to improvise with her new shoes everyday, until they suddenly fit. Silvia learns a great lesson from this situation. Although; she couldn't wear her shoes when she wanted to, they came in handy for other things. 

Idea: I plan on using this book to integrate aspects of different cultures into my classroom. I will also provide activities on gratefulness and improvisation, during this time. I absolutely love this book, and plan on using it for any grade that I teach up to 3rd grade!