Monday, May 13, 2013

Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop with Squirrels!


I am thrilled to celebrate and promote Children's Book Week by taking part in The Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop.

I am Sara Shafer. I've read to my children since they were infants. Books are a huge part of our lives and our connection to each other. As an author, nothing gives me a bigger thrill than having my little one jump up and down (on the bed, of course!) because she is so excited and rooting so badly for the little squirrel in the story I had written and am now reading to her.

Why squirrels? Well, that's kind of a funny story in itself. I'd never thought twice about the squirrels running around our yard until they decided to move in and make themselves at home in our attic. Then I couldn't stop thinking about them. When I knocked on the ceiling and they scratched back, I was hooked. I began imagining what they thought and felt, and The Bravest Squirrel Ever was born.

Pippi the squirrel isn't brave and has no interest in earning the title of "The Bravest Squirrel Ever." Scared of thunder, lightning and being "flopped" by the humans, Pippi only wants to return to Mama's warm, cozy nest. Instead, she stumbles on a better nest. There's only one problem. It's in dangerous, forbidden human territory. The attic nest is too perfect for Pippi to resist, and she moves in. The humans soon discover her. Instead of driving her out, they seal off her only exit, trapping her inside. To escape and to survive, Pippi must face her fears and depend on herself for the first time in her life. In doing so, she learns just how brave a little squirrel can be.

I'm happy to announce, my attic is currently squirrel-free. However... the squirrels outnumber the humans in my neighborhood and could decide to take over at any moment. I watch for signs of invasion as I plot my next story of squirrel bravery. For fun squirrel facts and information about The Bravest Squirrel in the Forest starring Pippi's brother Max, visit my website. 

To keep updated on future installments of The Bravest Squirrel series and on promotional discounts, follow this blog and like my Facebook page. To win a copy of The Bravest Squirrel Ever, please leave a comment with a your favorite squirrel memory. I'll pick one random winner from the comments. Make sure to include your email address and your preferred file type (Kindle, Nook or pdf) in your comments. Contest is open internationally.

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
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20 comments:

  1. Sharon LedwithMay 13, 2013 at 7:43 AM

    OMG - I didn't realize you were in this hop! Love to see your squirrels get the recognition they deserve! My fav squirrel memory has to be when a squirrel found its way into my screened-in porch. After an hour of trying to coerce the little flying acrobat out the way he came in, I had to get a neighbor to help me remove one of the screened porch panels. Yup. He flew right outta there, and we had to reinforce the porch with a stronger screen! Gads! Best wishes on the Hop, Sara! Will tweet and share! Cheers!

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  2. UnknownMay 13, 2013 at 7:53 PM

    My favorite squirrel memory was one time at the zoo, I walked up to this squirrel laying on its belly sprawled out like it was sun bathing. It was so cute I had to take a picture and I've just remembered it since. :)
    Thorton12(at)hotmail(dot)com
    Nook

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  3. UnknownMay 14, 2013 at 1:58 AM

    When I was younger their were a lot of stray cats in our neighborhood, and a lot of forest and creeks.. and squirrels. I remember a cat attacked this squirrel. My friend and I found it and we couldn't just watch it die. So we bandaged it up, nursed it back to health and released it back into the wild. Cant say for sure but after that the tree right over our house always had a squirrel in it.
    michelleakoerner@yahoo.com
    nook

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  4. MaureenMay 14, 2013 at 10:47 AM

    My favorite squirrel memory is watching the squirrels collect nuts and acorns in our yard in the fall. We also have a squirrel currently living in our yard who is a bit "off". He has a stubby tail (looks like a bunny) and doesn't act like the other squirrels but he is really neat!

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  5. UnknownMay 14, 2013 at 5:53 PM

    One of the funniest squirrel stories happened to my daughter in law, she called my house in a panic, said she heard noises in her bathroom toilet and that she opened to toilet lid and found a squirell in the commode, she called her daddy lives closer than we do and he came over and chased to squirrel out and out of the house, she has looked in the commode everyday since and is almost afraid to pee for fear that the squirrel will return. Needless to say we all got a big laugh out of it..

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  6. JamboMay 15, 2013 at 4:27 PM

    I hope you have a wonderful book week. Hopping over from the KidLitGH

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  7. MicheleMay 15, 2013 at 11:07 PM

    My mom was picking up the pecans from the tree in our yard which angered the squirrel in the tree. It threw pecans at her!
    shermie40 at yahoo dot com

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  8. SueFitzMay 15, 2013 at 11:36 PM

    Look like great books

    suefitz1 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  9. UnknownMay 16, 2013 at 12:08 AM

    my dad and his brothers had a "pet" squirrel when they were kids who hated my aunts lol. and they hated the squirrel right back! i like when they start reminiscing about it!

    qtksjkmommy at gmail dot com

    kindle format

    thank you!

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  10. Uranium MelatiMay 16, 2013 at 8:40 AM

    when I was child I had squirrel . my squirrel was very cute. but unfortunately, oneday my squirrel escaped from my house :(

    viandarimaretty at yahoo dot com
    PDF format

    thank you :)

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  11. UnknownMay 16, 2013 at 11:52 AM

    I live on a campus full of squirrels. When spring comes I swear there are more squirrels than students and I'm thankful they don't plan a revolution! I'm so excited about this giveaway! I'm an Elementary Education major looking to build my classroom library!

    allicat0818[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  12. UnknownMay 16, 2013 at 5:23 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. Maegan MorinMay 17, 2013 at 9:30 PM

    Adorable! I like in the middle of nowhere so squirrels are a common site. My kids think they are fantastic and I know they would really enjoy this book! I would like the kindle edition please :D

    megnate at telus dot net

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  14. ChelseaMay 18, 2013 at 1:17 PM

    We love the squirrels in our yard... One day the girls saw a squirrel fight with the birds for the food we threw in the grass... it was pretty cute :)

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  15. KatMay 18, 2013 at 3:55 PM

    I used to visit some gardens where squirrels would come and take monkey nuts right out of your hands.

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  16. dawn keenan (newnameford) May 19, 2013 at 10:22 AM

    A squirrel got into our house when I was a kid, and since we were on vacation, it ate all of our window sills in an attempt to get out.

    kindle please.

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  17. UnknownMay 19, 2013 at 1:07 PM

    My aunt Melissa used to have a squirrel that was orphaned as a baby, so she raised him. His name was Chatter. He would come back every spring and hang around the house, waiting for her. He would even come in the house, if you left the door or window open. One time he scared the crud out of some workmen who were coming to do something to the house - when they cam in the yard, hatter chased them and scolded them hard!!

    Thank you so much for this opportunity! I do prefer Kindle....
    Karen(dot)arrowood(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

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  18. Lady In ReadMay 19, 2013 at 3:54 PM

    My favorite memory - my son and my mother-in-law were keeping out cookies (when he was two) for one squirrel which visited everyday. We were not aware of this ritual as we were at work. One day, they forgot - it was a weekend, and the door was closed - we heard a furious tapping on the patio door with angry chitter - there he was - the squirrel they forgot to feed that day!!

    PDF for me please.. and ladyinread(dot)98(at)gmail(dot)com

    And do hop on over to my blog as well (in this giveaway hop) for a chance to win amazon cards - http://myrandrspace.blogspot.com/2013/05/magic-monday-childrens-book-week.html

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  19. daveshir2005May 19, 2013 at 8:52 PM

    While planting flowers in pots, the squirrels aren't afraid of me because I feed them. One came up and started undigging the flowers I had just planted.

    daveshir2005@yahoo.com
    fb/ shirley greenawalt zolenski

    ReplyDelete
  20. UnknownMay 30, 2013 at 2:44 PM

    Oh my gosh, you all have great squirrel stories. Love, love, LOVE them! Since I'm so slow in picking a winner, I've decided to make everyone a winner. I've created a Smashwords coupon code for The Bravest Squirrel Ever, so you can download it in whatever format you like absolutely free. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91932 Use coupon code LE22A from now until June 30, 2013 to download your free copy.

    ReplyDelete

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