Sophia Writes to Her Bully ~ Book Blog Tour Review & Giveaway!

SOPHIA WRITES TO HER BULLY

BY DR. MILDRED D. PEYTON

with Leah N. Peyton and Jada L. Peyton

Illustrator: Andy Hoang

Genre: Children's fiction, 24 pages

Categories: Education, Social Skills & School Life

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release date: February 21, 2017

Content Rating: G

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Sophia experiences verbal and social (also referred to as relational) bullying from her classmates during recess. Whenever Sophia attempts to play with a group of students from her fourth-grade class, she is rejected; Amber also calls her an inappropriate name. Only when Sophia takes action by confronting her bully with a letter does her victimization finally end. Want to know what Sophia was being called and how her classmates treated her? Read Sophia Writes to Her Bully and find out what her letter is all about!

Social exclusion is a form of bullying experienced by some children. When it occurs, they feel isolated, alone, and humiliated. It is important for parents to be informed and talk with their children about all types of bullying (e.g., verbal, physical, social/relational, and cyber-bullying) so they are better equipped to intervene or prevent their child from bullying others or being a victim of bullying.

To read reviews, please visit Dr. Mildren Peyton's page on iRead Book Tours.

>>CLICK TO BUY THE BOOK<<

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BOOK REVIEW:
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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Sophia Writes to Her Bully is an open and shut bullying story that has a neat and happy resolution. While at first it seems unrealistic, the structure makes it a good choice as a conversation starter between children and adults.

Quickly, the bullying behavior is established but more importantly, the impact it has on Sophia is shown, both through the words and illustrations. As the example of bullying, the author chooses a child being excluded and verbally taunted when she tries to be included. I find it interesting that despite the treatment she endured, Sophia continued to put herself in the same situation each day. She is coming to the bully, not vice versa. Again, this particular dynamic makes the story a good springboard for further discussions about bullying.

The layout of Sophia Writes to Her Bully is pleasing to the eye with the text block locations and shapes moving around from page to page. Additionally, the wonderful illustrations are sometimes drawn around the text, so it’s not boring to look at. The cursive-like font used for the letter Sophia writes could be hard for children to read given that cursive is no longer taught in school, another reason the book lends itself to being a read-along/read-aloud story. The pages are a bit text heavy at times, and there are some tense changes and punctuation liberties taken, but nothing is jarring. The grammar policewoman in me loves the generous use of semi-colons because typically, books written for that audience don’t include them and kids need to get comfortable with them.  

Illustrator Andy Hoang provides readers interesting and colorful pages that include plenty of smaller details for young eyes to dwell upon when the text feels overwhelming. The characters are multicultural, and their faces are expressive, which will tug on the heartstrings a bit – an excellent way to induce emotions from the reader. Hoang’s drawings are a perfect complement to the story.

To adults, the resolution is a bit Pollyanna-ish in the simple and successful solution it presents to correcting bully behavior; however, for this age group, it really is perfect because it is hopeful and uplifting. It shows that bullying behavior needs to be addressed and acted upon. Sophia Writes to Her Bully concludes with several pages of resources, tips, and statistics on bullying, which again reinforces that the book creates an excellent read-along/read-aloud opportunity for children and adults to be able to communicate about the topic.  I can easily envision this being the basis for a lesson in the library or classroom.

Thank you to the author and iRead Book Tours for providing me a print copy in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give. 

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Mildred Peyton is the President and Founder of Peyton Consulting, LLC. Dr. Peyton established her consulting firm, which was initially geared towards school bullying services, in March 2016. She was inspired to create Peyton Consulting and become a children's author on bullying after completing her doctoral research study entitled, "Exploring the Meaning of School Bullying Among Parents of Victimized Children."

During her undergraduate internship in 2002-2003 at Salisbury Middle School in Wicomico County, Dr. Peyton and her team developed and facilitated a mentoring program, providing one-on-one conflict resolution and mediating skills to students who were identified by the program coordinator with ongoing needs of behavioral issues. One of the key/primary areas Dr. Peyton and the other mentors focused on was educating and addressing bullying issues with bullies and victims. And in her graduate program, Dr. Peyton also facilitated a school bullying focus group in 2005 at Maryvale Elementary School in Montgomery County, to teach participants about bullying behaviors and how to avoid bullying others. She also attended several bullying workshops to learn about the latest studies while working with the students. Her passion on this topic followed her even as she served as a member on the Committee on Hate/Violence at Montgomery County Office of Human Rights, in 2013. There she developed a brochure for students and parents for the annual bullying symposium and, provided rich knowledge and skills on this topic throughout the year.

Today, the company has expanded its services to target workplace bullying as well. With the experiences of others and Dr. Peyton's personal experience with adult bullying in the workplace (which caused her to resign from her employer in 2016), she believes attention, guidance, and solutions are also critical in this area. Dr. Peyton holds a Ph.D. in Human and Social Services with a concentration in Social Policy Analysis & Planning. She has a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and Sociology and a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology. Dr. Peyton is committed to using her knowledge and skills to influence positive change among students and adults.

Connect with Author

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

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BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:
Oct 8   - Library of Clean Reads - review of Sophia Writes / author interview / giveaway
Oct 9   - A Mama's Corner of the World - review of Sophia Writes / giveaway
Oct 10 - I Love A Good Book -  review of Sophia Writes and Bully on Schoolbus/ giveaway
Oct 11 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 15 - 100 Pages A Day - review of Sophia Writes / giveaway
Oct 15 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of Sophia Writes / guest post / giveaway
Oct 16 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 17 - Reading is My Passion - review of Sophia Writes / giveaway
Oct 18 - Library of Clean Reads - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 18 - Locks, Hooks and Books - review of Sophia Writes / guest post / giveaway
Oct 18 - Books Direct - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 19 - Reading is My Passion - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 19 - Hall Ways Blog - review of Sophia Writes / giveaway
Oct 19 - One Frugal Girl - review of Sophia Writes / giveaway
Oct 22 - Hall Ways Blog - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 22 - Books Direct - review of Sophia Writes / giveaway
Oct 22 - Reading Authors - review of A Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 23 - Bookworm for Kids - review of Sophia Writes / author interview / giveaway
Oct 24 - Bookworm for Kids - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 25 - One Frugal Girl - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 26 - 100 Pages A Day - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
Oct 26 - Locks, Hooks and Books - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway
TBD     - Reading Authors - review of Sophia Writes / giveaway
TBD     - Breath Of Life - review of Sophia Writes / guest post / giveaway
TBD     - Breath Of Life - review of Bully on School Bus / giveaway

RELATED:

CLICK FOR HALL WAYS REVIEW

Truth Kills ~ Audio Book Blog Tour, Review, & Giveaway!

TRUTH KILLS

ANGELINA BONAPARTE MYSTERIES, #1

BY NANCY RATHBUN

Narrated by Kieren Calland Metts

Publisher: Dark Chocolate Press LLC

Released: Nov. 17, 2017

Length: 9 hours 17 minutes

Sub-Genres: Modern Detective / Mystery

A murdered mistress. An accused mob boss. Can two detectives put their differences aside to find the real killer?

Angelina Bonaparte is starting from square one. After a messy divorce, the middle-aged librarian put down her books and picked up a new gig as a private investigator. When a mob boss heads to jail for his mistress's murder, she has no issue with the womanizing scumbag rotting in prison. But when the suspect's pregnant wife swears his innocence, Angelina can't find it in her heart to refuse the case.

Already reluctant to get involved, her frustration grows when she's forced to work alongside Ted Wukowski, a homicide detective who thinks a crime scene is no place for a woman. In the search for clues along the mistress’s long record of broken hearts and promises, Angelina’s natural charm is the perfect complement to her temporary partner's take-no-prisoners interrogation style. And before long, she and Ted can feel their grudging respect transform into an undeniable attraction.

To solve the case and catch the murderer, the PI and the cop must learn to trust each other completely before an innocent man goes to jail for a crime he didn't commit…

Truth Kills is the first book in the suspenseful Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries series. If you like fierce female detectives, unlikely partners, and nail-biting whodunits, then you’ll love Nanci Rathbun’s gripping crime thriller.

Buy Truth Kills today, and ride along with a hard-hitting detective who’s not afraid to reinvent herself!

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HALL WAYS REVIEW. Audio book review. Truth Kills by Nanci Rathbun is a blast! Rathbun’s detailed descriptions of the characters, combined with narrator Kieran Calland Metts’s accents and attitude, bring real pop to this story.

“While on the job, I can look like… the neighborhood old lady gossip. Off the job, I’m a fifty-something hottie. Gravity has taken

a small toll, but who notices in candlelight?”

Main character Angelina is super confident yet still has the same concerns of many middle-aged women, including “post-thirty chin hairs,” and vacillates between caring and not caring about what other people think. She’s raised her children and loves her grandchildren, but her life is her own and not about them anymore. And best of all, even at age fifty-something, she’s just getting started and reinventing herself!

I typically avoid reading romances, but Truth Kills is a little different and that romance element, which is not the primary force in the book, worked for me. Truly, it wasn’t much more than a few thoughts and one about-to-get-steamy scene, but it was a natural progression and realistic for how two people of those ages and life experiences would come together. They’ve been there, done that, and know what they want. Plus, I like that it depicts a 50+ protagonist as on fire and shows that there are men in that range looking fabulous, too. Refreshing.

Author Nanci Rathbun writes some fabulously rich characters who will bring forth a wide range of reactions from the readers. She infuses enough humor throughout the story to keep it from feeling too heavy on the procedural side, and she is clever in using literary quotes (ranging from Flaubert to Jenny Joseph’s “I shall wear purple”) to set the tone for each chapter. Rathbun conveniently uses Angelina’s propensity for list making to give readers a nice bring-to-date on all the suspects in the murder case. Though readers might not be surprised by the whodunit part, they likely will be for the why.

“My drug of choice was not only effective, but legal.”

BONUS POINTS AWARDED: As if having a 50ish-year-old main character isn’t enough for me to feel at home (admittedly, I can’t relate to some aspects of her life *cough*), Angelina is also a coffee drinking former librarian! Granted, she doesn’t speak highly of the profession (though she’s clearly proud of the master’s degree), but I won’t hold it against her…unless she bashes it in the next book!

Truth Kills is an entertaining and engaging story with plenty of action but just as much interest coming from the main character’s reactions to her life circumstances. I highly recommend it to fellow readers-of-a-certain-age who will appreciate and chuckle at the perks and pitfalls of mid-life. I have already started listening to the second book in this series, Cash Kills, and it feels good to be back with Angelina again.

ABOUT THE NARRATION: Initially, I thought the book seemed like it was being read to listeners and not performed. However, it soon became apparent that narrator Kieran Calland Metts was establishing the voice of Angelina, who is matter-of-fact and not overly expressive in her voice. This voicing grew on me and ended up being perfect – and I am so glad to see that Metts is back to narrate the next two books in the series. As readers meet more characters, Metts gives each of them enough of an accent that each remains distinct from others without any being over the top. I mostly listened at 1.25 speed, but this was due more to my impatience than anything else.  

Thank you to Audiobookworm Promotions and the author for providing me an audio download in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.

I received this audio book as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Nanci Rathbun. The gifting of this audio book did not affect my opinion of it.

Nanci Rathbun is a lifelong reader of mysteries – historical, contemporary, futuristic, paranormal, hard-boiled, cozy … you can find them all on her bookshelves. She brings logic and planning to her writing from a background as an IT project manager, and attention to characters and dialog from her second career as a Congregationalist minister.

Nanci grew up an Army brat, living in Germany, France and Korea, as well as several states in the U.S. After her dad retired from the service, the family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There, Nanci raised her daughter and son, while working at AT&T. She never expected to move, but when her second grandchild was on the way, she wanted to be closer. One of her greatest joys is hearing her three granddaughters shout "Nana" when she comes in their front door in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Nanci and her Maltipoo, Teeny, now live in Wellington, Colorado. No matter where she makes her home, she will always be a Green Bay Packers fan.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads

Kieren Calland Metts is addicted to audio books. She has almost 1,000 in her Audible.com library and has listened to most of them! She tends toward mysteries of all kinds, especially cozies, and YA dystopia.

She grew up a diplomat brat, traveling to tours in Baghdad, Iraq; and Kabul, Afghanistan. After several more moves in the U.S., the family settled in Ohio.

Kieren has a background in copy editing, book & newspaper design, and web production, adores arts and crafts, and has a weakness for fluffy orange kitties.

$25 Amazon Gift Card⎮Runs Oct. 16th-Nov. 5th⎮Open internationally

The Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card



Oct. 16th:
Bound 4 Escape
The Book Junkie Reads . . .


Oct. 17th:
Dab of Darkness Book Reviews
A Page to Turn
Hall Ways Blog


Oct. 18th:
Turning Another Page
Sefina Hawke's Books

Oct. 19th:
2 Girls and A Book
Lynn's Romance Enthusiasm
T's Stuff

Oct. 20th:
Writers N Authors
The Book Addict's Reviews
Page Princess


Oct. 21st:
Book Addict
Jazzy Book Reviews

Oct. 22nd:
Lilly's Book World
Blätterflüstern

WATCH FOR HALL WAYS BLOG'S REVIEW OF BOOK TWO, CASH KILLS, ON THE OCTOBER 29, 2018 STOP OF THE AUDIOBOOKWORM PRODUCTIONS TOUR! 

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RELATED:

Hall Ways Review Coming 10/29/18!

Hall Ways Review Coming 11/5/18!