Saturday Book Review: “DANCING ON DEWDROPS”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of Books, Reviews, Etc:

Dancing on Dewdrops:  Rustic Poems, Prayers and Elegant Short Stories

That Provide Inspiration and Strength

by Mark John Terranova

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 978-1478747185

Synopsis:

Critique:

This is a lovely book of poetry, prayers and short stories. Some of the stories bring about the emotions of joy, sadness, hope and some are humorous. It’s not just for people that love poetry but anyone that needs a moment of peace. A moment to reflect. A moment to really think about the different poems and short stories. It is a heart warming book that you can read one poem at a time or read several in an evening. When you’re feeling a little down, take the book off the shelf and find a poem or short story to bring you some comfort and hope. This is also good for children. It has some life value lessons. Take the time to stop and think about each one as you read it. It’s a lot of food for thought. You may find yourself thinking of what you’ve read long after you’ve read it.

I would give this book 4 STARS.

[ reviewed by Gayle of Books, Reviews, Etc  ]

Here’s what another reviewer is saying:

There are two sections to this book, the first is a collection of short poems and the second a set of short stories. I found the poems nice and the short stories great, the poems cover many topics, but most refer to a boy growing up where there were open spaces to play in.

The short stories are in two categories, the first relate youthful experiences of the author when he and his brother went fishing with their father. His father worked six and seven days a week and spent nearly all his extra money indulging his hobby of saltwater fishing. The stories are not about bringing back a major catch, the topics are epic failures when what can go wrong did go wrong. Especially when inexperienced children are taken on fishing trips. The stories are amusing as often what goes wrong is far funnier than events that go right.

The second set of stories are two nature stories written for children. The first is about a community of panda bears in China and how they came together to select a new leader. In this selection process, the current leader Wise Bear is being challenged by Strong Bear. Their names indicate which characteristic is most dominant in each of the candidates. Each of them is issued a challenge and their solution strategies are a lesson in wisdom over strength.

The second story for children is about the community of butterflies in a time of drought. With very little water available one of the butterflies forms an alliance with a dragonfly in order to locate one of the few wells that has not dried up. Accessing the well is not easy, for it is in the middle of an open field surrounded by trees containing a large flock of birds that like to eat butterflies. Only through cooperative efforts between the swarms of butterflies and dragonflies can the problem be solved. This is a lesson in the value of cooperative behavior, not only between the members of a family but also between disparate groups that share a common purpose.

While the poems are good, the last two stories are excellent tales for children. Assigning human characteristics to animals always has a strong appeal to children and this book is worth purchasing just for that feature.

– Goodreads Reviewer Charles

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Thanks for reading!  Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space every Saturday!

Self Publishing Advisor