My Books for Kids

I don't often mention my own books, but decided to do it once in a while. They're all available online at places like Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and local bookstores can get them through their distributors.

The Peril of the Sinister Scientist is about a kid in Middle School who thinks he was cloned from the blood on the Shroud of Turin. He needs to know What Would Jesus Do. The publisher rushed it into publication so I could have it ready for a group book signing so the kid on the cover doesn't look at all like the main character.

Secret Service Saint is about Nicholas, who discovers the fun of doing secret good deeds. It's a surprise at the end that he becomes known as Santa Claus, so this might be a good time for kids to hear the story and learn the truth about Santa Claus.

Signs of Trouble is about kids who get separated from their Special Ed class on a field trip and use what they've learned about recognizing signs and following safety rules to get reunited. It has educational information in the back that would be helpful for classes and home schooled kids.

Slime & All is about a giant, talking worm who wants a friend and a boy who helps him. It's written at second grade reading level and I hope it encourages kids to accept people who are different.

A Shadow of Fear is about a boy who must face his fears to help a friend with a special need when her "helper dog" is lost. (It's not an official Service Dog.)

It's just a coincidence that all my books for kids have the letter, S, in the titles.

My Books for Kids

    I don’t usually talk about my own books here but, since Christmas is approaching, I thought some people might like to consider them as gifts for kids. They’re all available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and can be ordered at local bookstores.

    Signs of Trouble is about kids with learning disabilities who get separated from their class on a field trip and use what they’ve learned about safety to get reunited. Educational material for early readers is included at the end.



    Slime & All is about a giant, talking worm who wants a friend and a boy who helps him. It’s an early chapter book at Second Grade reading level.

  















The other books all have Christian content.

    Secret Service Saint is especially appropriate for this time of year. It’s about Nicholas, who

discovers the joy of doing secret good deeds and eventually becomes known as Santa Claus.

















  The last two books are for readers from 8 to 13 years old.

    The Peril of the Sinister Scientist is about a boy who thinks he was cloned from the blood on the Shroud of Turin because a scientist who worked on that experiment is stalking him. The concept is, what would Jesus do in middle school? (The kid on the cover does not look like the main character.)

    A Shadow of Fear is about a boy who needs to face his fears to prove he’s mature enough to go to camp and also to help a friend with Special Needs.

   

Signs of Trouble

Now that school has started again I thought people might be interested in my book, Signs of Trouble.

It's about kids with learning disabilities who get separated from their class on a field trip and use what they've learned about safety rules and signs to get reunited with them.

Educational material at the back of the book can be used by teachers or homeschooling parents to teach children about safety, help them recognize signs, and to understand and accept others who have special needs.

Children usually enjoy the story and find the ending amusing.

The book is for kids from three to eight years old. It can be read to the young kids and the older ones can read it themselves.

Here's what the cover looks like:

The book is available online or through local bookstores.

My Favorite Child

If you're a writer you probably know writing a book is similar to birthing a baby in some ways. It can be painful, especially if you get rejections, and takes a lot of effort, but it's joyful and amazing to hold the result when the book has been published. And the work has only begun because you have to   promote the book. At least that usually doesn't take as many years as raising a child.

I've had four books for kids published, but one of them is my favorite. It's Signs of Trouble.

Anyone who knows me is probably aware that I care a lot about people, especially kids, with Special Needs. I met lots of children like that when I was a kid myself and sent to the Stanford Convalescent Home because of my severe asthma. That experience has influenced the rest of my life.

Signs of Trouble is for young children but it's loosely based on field trips I took while working as an aide in a Special Ed class for older kids. In the book the main characters get separated from their class on a field trip and use what they've learned about safety rules and recognizing signs to get back with them. Of course nobody ever got separated from the class on the field trips the real class took.

The book also contains some educational information and suggestions for activities at the end.

My tagline is "Opening Eyes, Opening Hearts" and I hope this book helps open the eyes and hearts of the kids who read it or have it read to them. It's available online and through distributors to bookstores.

Why Do They Appear?

Although I didn't plan it, all of the books I've had published seem to deal with Special Needs in some way.

In The Peril of the Sinister Scientist one of the main characters uses a wheelchair.  

Signs of Trouble is about kids with learning disabilities who get separated from their Special Ed class on a field trip.  

Secret Service Saint isn't specifically about  Special Needs, but the main character secretly helps someone who is sick.

Slime & All is about a giant, talking worm who wants to be accepted and lots of kids with physical, mental, or emotional limitations can identify with him.

And I have a story in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book, I Can't Believe My Dog Did That, about a deaf dog who helps a child.

So, why do things like that keep appearing in my writing?

Well, when I was a kid I had severe, chronic asthma and was sent to a convalescent home where I met lots of kids with handicaps. (Yes, I know that term isn't politically correct now. Too bad.)

In high school I volunteered with the local Society for Crippled Children. Later I worked at California School for the Deaf so my husband and I raised several Deaf foster kids who had various special needs. I worked as an aide in a Special Education class, then became a substitute teacher and worked in lots of other Special Ed classes.

I guess all that experience somehow got into my subconscious. Those "Special" people have been part of my life for so long they pop up in my mind when I'm writing. They aren't unusual to me.

I wish everyone would feel that way and treat them as they do everyone else.

Signs of Trouble

I don't often post things about my own books because I don't want to be a bragger. But I've recently been in some Special Ed classes at local schools and was reminded why I wrote Signs of Trouble. It's about kids on a field trip who get separated from their Special Education class and use what they've learned about recognizing signs and following safety rules to get reunited with them.

Many years ago I worked as an aide in a Special Ed class that took similar field trips and later I took my preschool students on similar trips. Of course no kids ever got separated from us in real life.

The educational activities in the back would be useful for teachers of kids with various special needs and any young children because it helps them learn how to stay safe and develop beginning reading skills. It would also help children who don't have special needs learn to understand those who do.

And when I've read it aloud the laughter and other reactions show the story is enjoyable.

Local bookstores can order Signs of Trouble, it's available at the usual online stores and can be ordered from the publisher at http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/signs-of-trouble.htm

More About Learning to Read

One of my books, Signs of Trouble, can be helpful in teaching kids to read. Although the text is at second grade reading level and the book is intended to be read aloud to younger kids, it contains some helpful activities at the end that can be used with very young children.

The story is about kids who get separated from their group on a field trip to a shopping mall where the class was supposed to recognize signs they had studied in school. My preschool classes went on field trips around the neighborhood to find familiar signs, and a special education class I worked with did the same thing so I know that method helps.

Besides being an exciting story and helping children understand others who have special needs, the activities in Signs of Trouble can help kids learn to read. And, since reading to children often is the most important thing they can do to help them become fluent readers, I hope lots of parents will read this book to their kids.

What For?

About a year ago I was trying to figure out a tag line that would apply to all the writing I do. The one factor that has been consistent in both my writing and my life is caring about people who are different, often because of special needs, and helping others to understand and accept them. Maybe that's because I had severe chronic asthma as a child and was often teased and bullied.

The tag line I decided to use is "Opening Eyes, Opening Hearts" and I hope my books do that for kids. The Peril of the Sinister Scientist has a protagonist who doesn't know who his father is and features another character who uses a wheelchair. Secret Service Saint shows the young man who later became Saint Nicholas helping people dealing with illness and poverty. And Signs of Trouble, my newest book, is about kids with learning disabilities who get separated from their class on a field trip. Besides helping children understand learning disabilities that book also shows them ways to stay safe themselves.

Soon I'll be going back to substitute teaching and will probably work in a lot of Special Education classes because of my experience in that area.

I hope both my writing and my teaching will help to open people's eyes and hearts.

Signs of Trouble

A review of my newest book, Signs of Trouble, appeared on Children's and Teens Book Connections today. Here's the link:

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/signs-of-trouble-by-janet-ann-collins/

Books That Change Lives

Someone in a Yahoo group I belong to recently posted something about a book she read at a difficult time in her life changing her attitude. Looking back, I can remember many books that made a difference in my life in similar ways, and I hope the things I write will do the same for others.

For example, my newly published book, Signs of Trouble, is an exciting story (I hope) but the included educational activities are intended to help kids learn safety and reading skills and to understand others with special needs.

However writers often never know how things they've written have influenced others. Sometimes even the readers themselves don't realize that something in a book or article has made a tiny difference that will ultimately combine with other influences to make a big change in their attitude or behavior.

When we are aware that something we read has helped us, if only in a small way, letting whoever wrote it know would make a positive difference in that author's own life.

Since this is the season of Thanksgiving why not send an e-mail message or even an old-fashioned letter to someone whose writing has been helpful to you?

Signs of Trouble

I'm so excited! This morning my editor notified me that my newest book is ready to go to the printer.

Although I've already had two books published and my work has appeared in lots of periodicals, I still get excited about seeing something I've written in print for the first time.

The newest book, Signs of Trouble, is about kids who get separated from their Special Education class on a field trip to a shopping mall. It also contains some educational activities that can be used to help children learn about safety rules, creative writing, basic reading skills, and to understand people who are different from themselves.

That last part is very important to me and I hope the book will be helpful to lots of kids.

It will be a while before I actually get copies of the book. When that happens I'll announce it here, although that probably won't be necessary. My shout of joy will probably be heard all over the world. ;-)

Craft Fair

As you read this I'm probably in a booth at a local craft fair (hopefully) selling lots of my books.

Secret Service Saint is a Christmas picture book about Nicholas, who discovers the joy of secret giving and eventually becomes known as Santa Claus. I'm hoping it will help children realize Christmas isn't just about getting presents.

The Peril of the Sinister Scientist is a book for older kids based on the question, what would Jesus do in Middle School. It's about an imaginative kid who thinks he was cloned from the blood on the Shroud of Turin because a scientist who worked on that experiment twelve years ago is stalking him.

I'll also offer some books I wrote and self-published years ago.

It's too bad my next book, Signs of Trouble, hasn't been published yet. It will be out soon. That book is about kids with learning disabilities who get separated from their class on a field trip and is written at a second grade reading level. It includes some educational activities at the end of the story.

It's always fun to participate in events like this because I get to meet lots of nice people.