Pull a toddler onto your lap—or tuck it into bed—and share a tale about a house that has a mouse problem (There’s a Mouse in the House!), a gooseberry-gobbling pheasant (George, the Great Green Gooseberry Gobbler), and a cat named Ribbons who gets into trouble with a Christmas tree (Ribbons at Christmas). I’ve broken up the story about Jamaica and Jupiter (Jamaica and Jupiter) into shorter chapter stories so that the friendship between the “outside” bird and the “inside bird” can develop over time.
This small collection of short stories and poetry is from my personal collection of stories I told to my daughter and grandson. Most of the stories are based upon real-life events in our family. My grandson co-authored the opening poem.
My approach to telling stories to children is the same as my approach to talking to them: I never used baby talk or purposely avoided complicated words if they enhanced the story. If there was a question about a word we looked it up and talked about it.
All of my writing, whether it’s women’s fiction, short stories, historical, or a story for children, has humor. Also, as in all of my writing, I bring an awareness of the environment into the story content.
I hope you agree with me:
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
Frederick Douglas
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Chapter 3. Okra (the cat)
An excerpt from There’s a Mouse in the House!
Janelle M. Hooper, Jacob N. Studebaker, illustrations by Sherri Bails
There’s a Mouse in the House! Amazon Kindle
Jamaica, a little green parrot, plans lunch with Jupiter, the big black crow in the front yard…
Okra got his name when he was a kitten and Sally dropped a piece of deep-fried okra on the floor. He’d snatched it and took off running before Sally could pick it up. He thought it was a piece of fish. When he’d bitten through the crust there was no fish inside. Just something slimy and green. What a nasty surprise!
Jamaica could have told him if he’d been there but he was in Sally’s office at the time. Jamaica didn’t know what Okra would do without him. Sometimes, getting that cat through the day was a fulltime job. And sleep! Okra would sleep all day if he didn’t have Jamaica to call to him. Sometimes, he slept so soundly that Jamaica would have to fly over and bite his tail to wake him up. Once, he bit his ear, but he found out that waking up a big cat was a lot more fun if he wasn’t so close to the cat’s biting end. Jamaica knew that Okra hadn’t meant to frighten him but a cat was not a bird. He’d learned that much since he came to live with Sally.
Mostly, Okra ignored Jamaica’s attempts to make friends with Jupiter. As long as they stayed out of his bowl whatever they did was all right with him. This lunch thing that Jamaica kept talking about was going to be a big disaster. Broccoli and seeds? For lunch? What was that crazy green bird thinking?
Amazon:
Kindle
There’s a Mouse in the House!
Your toddler will love it!
Janelle Meraz Hooper Is an indie writer who writes in several genres (She wrote the traveling play, Geronimo. Life on the Reservation!). Stop by her book site to see all of her books. Paperback, Kindle.
]]>There’s a Mouse in the House!
Amazon-Kindle, Worldreader
Janelle M. Hooper & Jacob N. Studebaker
There’s a Mouse in the House! on Amazon
OVER 15,000 VIEWS ON YOUTUBE!
Jamaica and Jupiter
Chapter 1. A pretty good life
A few lines…
This is a story about birds. Three birds to be exact: a little green parrot named Jamaica, a yellow cockatiel named KoKoMo, and a big black crow named Jupiter. Little Jamaica and KoKoMo lived in a nice warm home, with lights, a color TV, and lots of music. Their gourmet birdseed came from a nearby pet shop, and they regularly received treats from the kitchen. Jamaica and KoKoMo loved the treats! They especially liked the bites of Brussels sprouts, baked potato and bread. Sometimes, they even got a bite of pizza! In short, life was good. Even the house cat, Okra, was nice to them. Actually, Okra was nice to them partly because he was terrified of the sound that the bird’s wings made when they flew. Flap! Flap! Flap! He couldn’t figure out why it was necessary for them to do that. They didn’t see him flying all over the place, did they? No. He kept all four of his paws on the ground. Like a cat should. And a bird should. At least inside birds.
Available on Kindle. $1.99 USD. Suitable to be read to toddlers ages 2-6.
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© Art- 2012 Sherri Bails
Here’s an excerpt from my children’s Kindle book of short stories. It’s a fun read!
Jamaica and Jupiter
Janelle M. Hooper & Jacob N. Studebaker
Amazon Kindle- There’s a Mouse in the House!
See my other books and stories!
Chapter 1. A pretty good life
This is a story about birds. Three birds to be exact: a little green parrot named Jamaica, a yellow cockatiel named KoKoMo, and a big black crow named Jupiter. Little Jamaica and KoKoMo lived in a nice warm home, with lights, a color TV, and lots of music. Their gourmet birdseed came from a nearby pet shop, and they regularly received treats from the kitchen. Jamaica and KoKoMo loved the treats! They especially liked the bites of brussels sprouts, baked potato and bread. Sometimes, they even got a bite of pizza! In short, life was good. Even the house cat, Okra, was nice to them. Actually, Okra was nice to them partly because he was terrified of the sound that the bird’s wings made when they flew. Flap! Flap! Flap! He couldn’t figure out why it was necessary for them to do that. They didn’t see him flying all over the place, did they? No. He kept all four of his paws on the ground. Like a cat should. And a bird should. At least inside birds. Okra was surprised to learn that the new bird could talk. Many a good nap had been spoiled by Jamaica calling, “Okra, Okra, I love you, Okra!” The first time he heard Jamaica say that, he almost wet Sally’s carpet. Never before had the cockatiel said anything to Okra, although he had heard her whistle that “shave and a haircut, two bits” tune she’d learned from Sally’s husband…
See on Amazon
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www.JanelleMerazHooper.com
Amazon- Kindle. Worldreader favorite.
There’s a Mouse in the House!
Janelle M. Hooper, Jacob N. Studebaker
Illustrations by Sherri Bails
Pull a toddler onto your lap—or tuck it into bed—and share a tale about a house that has a mouse problem (There’s a Mouse in the House!), a gooseberry-gobbling pheasant (George, the Great Green Gooseberry Gobbler), and a cat named Ribbons who gets into trouble with a Christmas tree (Ribbons at Christmas). I’ve broken up the story about Jamaica and Jupiter (Jamaica and Jupiter) into shorter chapter stories so that the friendship between the “outside” bird and the “inside” bird can develop over time. The love of words is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children.
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Frederick Douglas
See my other books and short stories!
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Amazon- Purchase on Kindle.
How exciting! My little children’s book is going to Uganda! It’ll most likely be there before it gets on Kindle (It’s in a publisher’s queue at the moment). Look for it on Kindle and iPad…or take a fast trip to Uganda! .99-cents USD. (text by Janelle M. Hooper and Jacob N. Studebaker–illustrations by Sherri Bails)
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