Trick or Treat!!!

I love Halloween night in my neighborhood. I love watching the little ghosts and frogs and cheerleaders skittering down the road with their pumplins full of candy and treats. I love the goblins and the monsters. And this year, I've met the cutest little monster ever, named Trockle. Here he is:


Trockle is the creation of Holly Jahangiri (author) and Jordan M. Vinyard (illustrator), and can be purchased from 4RV Publishing. The little monster is in the middle of his Trick or Treat tour, and I am excited that he has agreed to stop by here today!! To help him feel at home, I'm providing him with some of his favorite foods:










Eat up, Trockle!

Hey, there are prizes at this party!!! See information on what you can win and how you can enter after my review of the book below.

Stephen is a little boy who, like every child I've known, occasionally has trouble at bedtime. In the dark and quiet of night, a child's imagination has much room to work, and Stephen is certain that there is a monster under his bed. Despite his mother's assurance that the monster repellent spray she used under his bed would rid his room of any creepy crawlies, he insists that the monster is there nonetheless.
We are then taken to that other world: the world beneath Stephen's bed. And lo and behold, we find that there is indeed a monster living there. This isn't the monster that children fear, however. We learn that Trockle is as afraid of Stephen as Stephen is of him. Trockle's mother comforts her little monster while lovingly convincing him that the little boy above his bed is nothing to be afraid of.

My children have always loved books. They are older now (9 and 12) and love science fiction and fantasy, and stories about dragons. When they were little, they loved all kinds of books, but would always have those select favorites that I would read to them at night - every night. Trockle would have been one of their favorites if it had been around back then. The illustrations are big and bright and fun. Trockle is fun - especially when he describes the things about Stephen that scare him. The story will be a comfort to children with active imaginations and who have their own monsters under their beds.

One of the things that I appreciate as an adult is the message of tolerance in this book. Here you have a human boy and a little monster who live in different worlds but must cope with the idea of something strange living so close to them. Isn't it almost always the case that our imagined fears are worse than reality? Once we have been thoroughly introduced to both Stephen and Trockle, we find out that despite the obvious differences (one eye versus two, clean and cozy sheets versus a smelly old gym sock, sticky dirty hands versus neatly trimmed green pointy fingernails), the two have more in common than either of them would guess. If we would all take the time to learn about those who are different than we are, I imagine we would be surprised at the number of connections that are there.

So let's celebrate with Trockle and Stephen! Join the party!
There are prizes! Here is information on the prizes and how you can enter the contest:

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Grand Prize: A customized Halloween short story featuring your child (or grandchild, niece, nephew, or friend) with Trockle - written by Holly Jahangiri and illustrated by Jordan Vinyard.
(Note from me: I think this is SO COOL!!!!)

Second Prize: A $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

To enter, complete the following steps:
(1) Purchase a copy of Trockle directly from 4RV Publishing between 12:00 AM October 5 and 11:59 PM October 13, and

(2) Send an email to president@4rvpublishingllc.com with your answer to the question posted at Holly's blog.

You may enter as often as you like, but all completed entries must be received before midnight on October 13!

Winners will be announced at http://blog.jahangiri.us and at http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com.

The winners will be chosen randomly from all correctly completed entries (see "To enter" above) and winners will be notified by email.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Grand Prize winner will need to work directly with the author and illustrator to create a memorable gift for that special child. To include the child's likeness in the illustration, you will need to provide a digital photo upon notification that you have won. Every effort will be made to deliver the prize prior to Halloween, but circumstances beyond our control may prevent that and we do not guarantee that it will arrive by October 31.

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Time to bring out the desserts. Trockle and Stephen, you should ask your moms if you can have some first. Everyone else enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!!!! Trockle will be here all day today. Leave any questions for him (or for Holly) in my comments...