Guest Blogging | Sharon C. Williams-Author

I will be guest posting at http://amrtaher.tumblr.com/ today. I am honored to do so- children’s books are wonderful tools for parents to use.

Author Amir Taher has written a delightful book called “Jimmy The Squirrel”. His book is similar to mine, “ Jasper, Amazon Parrot: A Rainforest Adventure”, in the sense it has life lessons for children.

Here is a copy

Today’s post is written by Sharon Williams (with help from her Amazon parrot, Jasper).

Children’s books are a great tool. In them, authors can create amazing and creative characters that leap off the pages. With characters a child can warm up to, lessons can be learned. A child can learn about family values all the way to stay away from strangers.

Every child at one point in their lives has had a stuffed animal in their room, or one they hold onto everywhere they go. It is their security blanket. They can talk to it, tell it their secrets and it keeps them company. Most importantly it can keep them safe from the monsters under the bed or in the closet at night. So when a child sees a character that is similar to their stuffed animals, they gravitate to it. It represents what their stuffed animals mean to them. They can relate on this level and that is why characters that are animals work so well. A writer can get on their level, their playing field and help share some lessons that a child can use.

When shared with a parent so much more comes into view. One benefit is the time spent between parent and their child. Another are the lessons learned and possible discussions that can come from that. Hopefully one more benefit emerges, a love of reading – a joy that is parallel to none. That alone is worth taking the time to get a book together and read it with your children.

The adventures they can come across, the places they can visit in their mind and the ability to open up their creativity in ways only a book can do is simply priceless. This is what I tried to do with my own children’s book, Jasper, Amazon Parrot: A Rainforest Adventure , which is at the editing stage. In it, Jasper, an Amazon parrot, is very similar to Jimmy of Jimmy the Squirrel. They are both likable characters who share lessons with children in a way that reaches the minds of young kids.

You can follow Sharon online, too:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NewEngland_Muse

Blog: https://newenglandmuse.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sharon-Williams/195232693863109

Today I will be guest blogging at a friend’s website. Her name is Carlyle Labuschagne and she is awesome.

Check it out

http://tinyurl.com/3drb3e6

The above guest blog has been moved to make room for others. So here is a copy.

I’m a member of 2 book clubs. The first I joined 2 years ago- it’s run out of a local library. The main reason for me joining was to become more social and meet people.

It meets the 2^nd Wednesday of each month at 10:30am. The time was a selling point for me. The first time I went was a little scary for this group had been meeting for a little over 4 years. All of the members are over 50, while the majority are over 70. So I am not just new, I am also the baby.

The 2^nd group is one I started for my women’s group about 18 months ago. At first the ladies would suggest books but now it is up to me. This is a win win for I get to place books that I want and need to read. Again I started this group to meet new people. The age is 45 years old and younger. We meet the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of each month. I do take a break during the holidays in December but if I take to long I will get calls asking when we are starting up again.

By all appearances the only similarities between the two groups is that we are all avid readers. However, if you dove in you would find a lot more. We are all willing to read outside the box, outside our comfort zone, and just plain read and discuss a book. We don’t always stay on topic and we never leave without having a good laugh among ourselves. The morning group always has lunch afterwards while the evening crowd brings food to the meetings. Anyone walking by would see a collection of people enjoying a book and most importantly each other. A sense of serenity just seems to fill the room. It does not matter what age, race, gender, political background or where you are from, you are welcomed. A simple book can bring all of that together and bring people together from all walks of life in just one room. The troubles of our lives or the world for that matter is forgotten- even if it is just for a little while.

More people should entertain this kind of social activity. For when I leave both groups and head home, I will start chuckling at a joke that was said. I will note down a piece of advice that was mentioned. I will have an inner sense of peace that I want to enjoy for as long as possible. My week is normally hectic, like most anyone’s week, so I treasure these hours . I am grateful for my book clubs.

The Musings of A New Englander