Topsy Turvy Land

Connie Arnold Highlights "Where is Salami?"

Today Connie Arnold is featuring "Where is Salami?" illustrated by Jack Foster (Guardian Angel Publishing ).

Connie Arnold , Children's Author: Where is Salami?: "My friend, Donna Shepherd, is the author of many delightful picture books. A new one has recently been published by Guardian Angel Publishin..."

Vote for the Sibilant Snake! Pleas-S-S-S-e?

Sully's Topsy Tale eBook is up for an award! Go to this link to vote for him. At the top of the page are some e's. Hover your mouse over those and hopefully, you will give it five e's which will say "you've gotta read it." Thanks!

http://awardsforebooks.com/book-writing-contest/fiction-childrens-picture-books/sullys-topsy-tale/

I'm interviewed!

I'd love for you to visit Kai's fun blog called "Strands of Thought" and leave a comment after my interview. It was a different and fun way to be interviewed.

Three Times a Charm with Donna J. Shepherd

I'm interviewed on "Write What Inspires You."

Today, I'm interviewed on Donna McDine's blog "Write What Inspires You!" Stop by and leave a comment if you get a minute.

http://donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/2011/05/childrens-author-donna-j-shepherd.html

Thanks, Donna, for the boost!

Mother's Day Hidden Picture Puzzle/Coloring Page

A special treat! A hidden picture puzzle and coloring page for Mother's Day by Liz Ball. To order books with her hidden picture puzzles or other books (like Topsy Turvy Land) from Hidden Pictures Publishing, click HERE. Enjoy!

*Click on the picture, then print! It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on the picture, and then 'save picture as...' and then you can print it out using your photo program.

"Where is Salami?" Coloring Page

*Click on picture, then print! It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on picture, and then 'save picture as...', then print it out using your photo program.

Where Is Salami? - Availaible Now!

Beth's little brother has so many pets, he's lost track of a few! Children will delight in finding the animals in the vibrant illustrations and discovering hidden pictures on every page. Humorous rhymes entertain and inform with fun facts about the creatures. Of course, the animals all show up in the end - or do they?

To Purchase from Publisher:

http://www.GuardianAngelPublishing.com/salami.htm

Print ISBN: 978-1-61633-147-4; 161633147X

eBook ISBN: 978-1-61633-148-1; 1616331488

March 2011

Published in the United States of America

Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

12430 Tesson Ferry Road #186

Saint Louis, Missouri 63128 USA

"Where is Salami?" ..is a cute rhyming story for children ages 2-5 years old that shows the importance of keeping your pets in their cages and teaches kids more about the animals. The bright and colorful pictures add to the enjoyment of the book. The readers are sure to have fun finding the hidden objects in every picture. Parents and kids should both enjoy the book and I suspect they will find themselves reading it over and over. -- Nancy A. Cavanaugh, Once Upon a Book Review; Click HERE to read the full review.

Coloring Page - Dotty from Dotty's Topsy Tale

*Click on the picture, then print. It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on the picture, and then 'save picture as...' and then you can print it out using your photo program.

Word Search - No More Gunk

Click puzzle to enlarge and print.

Another Real Life Hidden Picture

My Facebook friend, Dee Dyess, took this photo. Can you spot the hidden animal?

Topsy Turvy Word Search

A Word Search using words found in the picture book Topsy Turvy Land. Have fun!

Click to enlarge and print out.

Word Search - Bradybug

Click on puzzle to enlarge and print.

Illustrator, Kit Grady's Blog: Kit Grady Creations: BRADYBUG

No More Gunk & OUCH! Sunburn Crossword Puzzle

Click on crossword puzzle to enlarge and print.

Click HERE for answers.

Topsy Turvy Moment with Ellie Braun-Haley

We've all had moments when our life, career, or writing journey turned topsy turvy. Things change - many times for the better, although it might not seem so at the time.

Today my guest is Ellie Braun-Haley. Let's read about her life-changing and touching moment she shared when I asked, "Have you had a time in your life, career, or writing journey where everything turned ‘topsy turvy’?"

The day my world turned upside down was a day when everything felt "off" and I could not understand why it felt that way. I was away in another city for a day and when I returned home, my 17-year-old son was not home. He had been away for the day competing but he should have been back. The "off" feeling grew stronger and I felt like the world was ending. Everything was weird and my feeling of panic increased.

When the police came to my door, I could not accept the news they handed me. "Please don't tell me my son is dead. Just take me to him. He's really in the hospital and he's going to be all right."

But they would not take me to him and he was not all right. He had been killed on his way to compete. All that day when I was feeling out of sorts, it was because my world, as I knew it, no longer existed. Jason was gone!

I was very close to my son and when he died in a vehicle accident at the tender age of 17, I thought I would never see him again nor hear his voice, but I was wrong in my assumption. Life often holds more for us than we could ever imagine, and God in His wisdom, gives us opportunities we need to heal us and to move forward.

It was God who helped put my world back together again. My Heavenly Father led me, comforted me, and sent others to help me find my way back to harmony. God used this new time in my life to introduce me to things I had never even dreamed of. He walked with me and helped me to "see" again, but with a new perspective. And God introduced me to hundreds of people who talked to me and shared wondrous stories, stories that I recorded and eventually published in a book.

Five years after Jason's death God gave me something else I desperately ached for. Jason, of course was never far from my thoughts and one day, the pain of missing my son returned so abruptly I broke down, sobbing. Between huge gulps, I spoke to God in prayer, begging Him to give me a dream where I could once more see my tall, beautiful, blond-haired son. I pleaded. I begged. I cried. “It is very easy for you, God. This is so simple. Please, please give me this dream. I miss him so much. All I ask for is a hug. That’s easy for you, just one hug in a dream.” I cried on and begged as if my life depended upon this one thing. In those five years since his death, I had dreams every night, but not once had Jason been in any dream. I ached with a mother’s heart, yearning to see my son, to hold him, if only in a dream.

God answered my prayers and I indeed got my dream. Strangely though in my dream, Jason was not the tall 17-year-old son. He was much younger – he might have been seven years old. In the dream, I was chastising him for something he had done. I said, “Jason, don't do that. Do you want to get killed?"

And this little blue-eyed boy, my son, looked at me and spoke the most compelling words he ever uttered, “But Mom, death isn't forever."

I awoke and immediately felt upset. I thought, “Five years without a dream and now I don't even get a hug!”

Then as I became more fully awake, it dawned on me I had just been given something far better. Jason had returned to me as a child to comfort me. My son had given me words that have filled me with hope again and again ever since that night. Any time I ache for reassurance and comfort, I need only recall that one sentence from Jason, “But mom, death isn’t forever.”

My topsy turvy world had righted itself, with help from God!

Thank you, Ellie, for sharing your Topsy Turvy Moment. Be sure to check out her web site for more stories.

St. Patrick's Day Hidden Picture Puzzle/Coloring Page

A special treat! A hidden picture puzzle for St. Patrick's Day by Liz Ball. To order books with her hidden picture puzzles or other books (like Topsy Turvy Land!) from Hidden Pictures Publishing, click HERE. Enjoy!

*Click on the picture, then print! It will print out full size ready to be colored. If that doesn't work with your printer, right click on the picture, and then 'save picture as...' and then you can print it out using your photo program.

Would you like to know more about St. Patrick? Click HERE to visit History.com to read all about him.