With temperatures in the 90s and 100s for weeks now, my kids have spent way too much time indoors this summer. Their tendency, of course, is to sit in front of the TV or play games on the computer, but I would much rather encourage the kids to dig in to a good book.
Author Victoria Simcox shared her debut children’s novel, The Magic Warble, with me and my family, and a few of us have been reading it this summer. What we have discovered is an adventurous story, fun characters, and a good, clean book for kids of all ages (but particularly great for ages 9-13).
The Magic Warble synopsis:
Dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and an evil queen – all these and more can be found in The Magic Warble, an enchanting tale of adventure and friendship.
Twelve-year-old Kristina Kingsly feels like the most unpopular girl in her school. The kids all tease her, and she never seems to fit in. But when Kristina receives an unusual Christmas gift, she suddenly finds herself magically transported to the land of Bernovem, home of dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and the evil Queen Sentiz.
In Bernovem, Kristina not only fits in, she’s honored as “the chosen one” – the only one who can release the land from Queen Sentiz’s control. But it’s not as simple as it seems. To save Bernovem, she must place the gift she was given, the famous “Magic Warble” in its final resting place. And she must travel through the deep forest, climb a treacherous mountain, and risk capture by the queen’s “zelbocks” before she reaches her destination. Guided by her new fairy friends, Clover and Looper and by Prince Werrien, a teenage boy, as well as an assortment of other characters, Kristina sets off on a perilous journey that not only tests her strength but her heart.
To get a taste of The Magic Warble, you can read excerpts at themagicwarble.com/excerpts.
The Magic Warble is available in paperback or you can purchase The Magic Warble on kindle (the kindle ebook sells for just $2.99, which is an amazing deal for children’s fiction!).
We’re looking forward to continuing the adventures of Kristina and Prince Werrien in the magical and exciting land of Bernovem in the sequel, The Black Shard (which is also available for $2.99 on kindle).
What is a Warble?
My kids were curious about the title, so we looked up warble in the dictionary. Some warbling occurs in the first couple of chapters, so my kids were excited to make that connection!
WARBLE (Noun)
1: a melodious succession of low pleasing sounds
2: a musical trillWARBLE (Verb)
1: to sing in a trilling manner or with many turns and variations
2: to become sounded with trills, quavers, and rapid modulations in pitch
Meet the author of The Magic Warble:
Victoria was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She now lives in Western Washington with her husband, Russ and their three children, Toby, Kristina, and William.
Her other family members are a Chihuahua named Pipsy, and two cats named Frodo and Fritz. Besides being an author, Victoria is a home-schooling mother of twelve years and an elementary school art teacher of eleven years.
In her spare time, Victoria enjoys managing her two older children’s Celtic band. She also loves writing, reading, painting watercolors, hiking, good movies, and just simply hanging out with her family and friends.
Win The Magic Warble in Paperback (US only)
Victoria was gracious enough to offer 4 books to give away (one paperback, US only, and three ebooks – your choice of platform – worldwide). To make it easier to chose a winner, I’ve made two separate entry forms. Enter the first form if you live in the US and would like a chance to read a paperback copy of the Magic Warble. Enter the second if you live anywhere in the world and love to read books on your ereading device.
One winner will receive a paperback copy of The Magic Warble:
Win The Magic Warble EBOOK (Worldwide – 3 winners!)
Three winners will receive an ebook version of The Magic Warble.
Connect with Victoria Simcox:
Blog: victoriasimcox.blogspot.com
Magic Warble on FB: The-Magic-Warble
Victoria Simcox on Twitter: @VictoriaSimcox
Disclosure: Victoria Simcox is providing four copies of her book for giveaway (see details above). She also offered to provide me with a free eBook copy, but I went ahead and purchased the kindle edition on my own, to support Victoria. No other compensation was received, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
© 2012, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.
The last book I read on my ereader was Enclave. I didn’t particularly like or dislike it.
Fablehaven
“Goodnight Moon” and “The Polar Express”!
Love Amy;s eyes , last of the whangdoodles and Black stallion series
vmkids3 at msn dot com
I’m sure my cousins would love this.
I enjoyed Mother Goose as a kid
I just read Descended By Blood by Angeline Kace and loved it.I read a lot of the ya books to make sure they are appropriate for my kids.
We love the books like Bridge to Terabithia,Lord of The Rings,Twilight,Diary of a Wimpy Kid.I have 4 kids so each one loves different things.
horton hears a who
The kids enjoy the Percy Jackson series, and others. This one would be very interesting for them.
The last book I read on my Kindle was the Jaycee Dugar story (cannot remember the title, written by her). I really enjoyed hearing her story from her.
We love the Uglies series. We loved The Hunger Games series before there was any mention about a movie.