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:
Gramma Darling
by Lissa Schroeder
illustrated by Doron Ben-Ami
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 9781478757900
Congratulations to Lissa Schroeder & illustrator Doron Ben-Ami for winning a CIPA EVVY Merit Award in the Children’s Picture Book category, as well as Outskirts Press’ Best Book of the Year Award! You can learn more about the book at www.grammadarling.com as well as by visiting the book listing in the Outskirts Press bookstore.
Synopsis*:
It is truly extraordinary, the difference one woman can make in the life of a child. Beautifully written and stunningly illustrated, this delightful book for children, parents, and grandparents paints a nostalgic picture of unhurried summer days at a dear grandmother’s house. Seen and felt through the eyes of a child, every discovery is full of innocence and wonder; from an attic brimming with treasures to running through the fields at twilight catching fireflies. You will laugh and remember your own childhood and feel as though you are there sharing in all the small adventures of her little world; the baby birds, the gardening, the stormy days, and bedtime baths. And through it all, in the background, is Gramma Darling and her laughter. You sense the atmosphere of nurturing, protection, and worth that she provides; and far more importantly, you get a glimpse into the wisdom of a woman whose genuine genius for simply loving, inspires wholehearted lifetime devotion. It will leave you uplifted and looking for ways to spend quality time with the little ones in your own life.
* courtesy of Amazon.com
Featured Review:
– reviewed by Alyssa Elmore for Readers’ Favorite
Other Reviewers Are Saying …
This book is an absolutely WOWZER! if there is such a word. I was very stunned and drawn in right from the start by just taking a picture walk. The illustrations are so detailed. You think they are real. They come alive. They make the story. As an adult the whole way through reading the book, I was going back and reliving my childhood. There is a warm, nostalgic mood through out this book. It is an amazing book. Beautiful in message and illustration. Just take a picture walk and see for yourself watch the book trailer below.
– reviewed by Apple Blossom for The Blended Blog
Schroeder’s reminiscences of childhood days spent at her grandmother’s house make a wonderful picture book. Whether it is the memory of playing in the enclosed front porch during a rain storm while Gramma works at her sewing machine, or Gramma tucking kids in at the end of another long summer day, the memories are full of love and warmth. Anyone lucky enough to have a grandmother like Gramma Darling will feel an instant kinship with the remembrance of delicious desserts made with lots of love or the safety of performing a song or skit knowing that she is always there to applaud. The circular nature of the story is a reflection of the “circle of life,” with the book opening on the scene of a grandchild just learning to walk across the rug and into Gramma’s arms, and closing with a similar scene -but this time with a great-grandchild toddling into those arms.
Doron Ben-Ami’s illustrations are so clear and crisp readers may double-check to make sure that they are not really looking at photographs. The happiness on the children’s faces as they explore in Gramma’s yard, the pleasure on her face as she watches them eat her homemade pie, and the love beaming from her smile as she waits for those hesitant steps to carry her grandchild across the room and into her arms are all captured perfectly. This is a book that will become a family tradition among readers. And what’s better than snuggling in a grandmother’s lap for a read-aloud? (Although offering the recipe for Gramma Darling’s Chocolaty Cherry Cake is also very nice.)
– Amazon Reviewer Suzanne R. Costner
Book Trailer
Thanks for reading! Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space!
Self Publishing Advisor
Self Publishing Advisor 