Marlow and the Monster Blog Tour: Review, Giveaway & Free Kindle Book!

When I think of monsters, two polarized images pop up in my head, one savage and scary as we see in horror movies and the other cute and cuddly as in animation and cartoons. In fact, I often call my son "little monster" with affection. My son hasn't really been exposed to the intimidating side of a monster, so he appears to be fearless. But most children will go through a phase when they worry about monsters, ghosts and other creepy imaginary creatures that might be lurking in their bedroom. To help parents cope with this issue, Sharon Cramer wrote Marlow and the Monster, her fourth children's book following her award winning series Cougar Cub Tales.

The story is about a little boy named Marlow and a monster that keeps visiting him at night and creates all kinds of mischief like turning the lamp on and off and bouncing around the room. Mom and dad insist that there is no such thing as a monster, so Marlow takes the monster to his little sister Sarah, who helps him make peace with the not-so-scary monster.

One unique feature of the book is that it's illustrated in quill pen and ink with only the monster in vivid watercolor. Sharon explains that it's because only the children can see the monster. It takes Sharon 30-40 hours to create each illustration. That's an incredible amount of hard work!

My son really enjoyed reading the book with me. He thinks the monster is silly, funny, clumsy and loveable. There seems to be no reason to be scared. I like how the story takes a positive spin on a fear factor. It encourages children to befriend their own monsters and to stand up to the things they are afraid of.

Marlow and the Monster is a 42-page hardcover retailing $14.95. But between now and 8/17, you can get the Kindle version of the book for free! You don't have to own a Kindle to read the ebook.

To learn more about Sharon Cramer and his books, please visit www.talkingbirdbooks.com. Follow Sharon on Twitter or Facebook if you love her work.

The Giveaway

Sharon has generously offered to give one of my lucky readers a hardcover copy of Marlow and the Monster! It's great book to read and keep!


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Disclosure: I received free book to facilitate my honest review. No monetary exchange took place. Views and opinions expressed are my own and may differ from yours.