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Auralee Arkinsly writes in good humor about serious subjects because kids of all ages can learn a lot from laughing. Since opposites exist, she believes children can learn to identify the nature of things and get out of a risky situation. "Good Laughter sparks the mind." She reckons if she can save some from the bumps and bruises, then she has done a good day's work.
Darling Hedgehog Goes Down a Foxhole is her first early reader chapter book full of lush illustrations, illustrations which she wooed from a highly gifted 9th grader by offering good trade in exchange for the artist's first published works. Find author's bling/swag at Books For Bonding Hearts dot com
Each of the author's books features places she personally loves.
Book (3) Releasing now, GUGU GIRAFFE GOES FISHING leads the young reader by the nose on a unique fishing excursion into the Okavango River in Botswana, where the little giraffe meets a whole lot more than fish in the water. But, how does each animal know that they are not fish? Find out more about this biology-in-fiction series!
Book (2) Recipient of the PenCraft First Place (2023) Children's Fable Award, ROO'S FINE FLAPPING DAY AT FLAKY ACRES FEATHER FARM is hooting, jumping, scratching, and crowing with delight! Find out more about this special Aussie adventure with Auralee Arkinsly.
Book (1) DARLING HEDGEHOG GOES DOWN A FOXHOLE
Book review by Barbara Bamberger Scott
"It crossed Darling’s mind that maybe a friendship with Miss Fox was not meant to be."
Darling—a young, innocent hedgehog—loses track of her parents and is searching for them when she falls into a hole and winds up with Miss Fox, who seems all too pleased to have a hedgehog visitor, even offering Darling, whom she keeps calling “Dumpling,” a pink tutu and a ribbon for her hair. She’s so kind that Darling naively begins to try to figure out a way to reciprocate her hospitality. Then Darling offers to eat slugs, her favorite and something the fox despises—the perfect solution. Miss Fox doesn’t mind that all that eating will make Darling plump. All goes well until Darling accidentally wanders into Miss Fox’s kitchen and makes a horrifying discovery. From that, she learns a valuable lesson: “Not every stranger can be a friend;” foxes will be foxes, no matter how friendly they seem.
In this, her first early reader chapter book, Arkinsly has created a clever tale with an important message for its audience: be careful whom you befriend. The illustrations gracing every page are the creation of Julia Swazy and show great promise for that young artist. Darling is charming, with big, beaming soft eyes, while Miss Fox’s eyes are slitted and evoke suspicion. The hedgehog child is easily swayed by appeals to vanity and eager to please, but in a situation of true danger, she comes through heroically, a quality that the author would doubtless like for young readers to emulate. Using the “sly fox” as a symbolic lure appeals to the wider folklore of that animal in classic children’s stories, while Darling’s demeanor combines happy-go-lucky goodness combined with her strong determination to find her missing parents. This story will be an engaging read-to for younger children, with enough sophistication for older children to read, enjoy, and understand on their own.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
"Good Laughter is Sheer Romance."
"I wrote this quirky little business book about the passion of being new, idealistic homeowners, about searching for the perfect house, about belonging and restlessness in neighborhoods, because I've experienced it all and more! Yes, "Before Long, Let's Move!" is a study in consumer behavior and personal economics. It's a story that reads like a comic strip, like Garfield, like British comedy because sometimes it's just better to laugh than cry.
I have suppressed it. I have bullied my way to it. I have begged the good Lord for relief. Finally, I wrote about it. If you have experienced any of these love it or list it longings and limitations, I hope you get a laugh from "Before Long, Let's Move!" too."
This Groundhog Day-styled parody is a first experimental storybook for Auralee Arkinsly. Having built and renovated several homes in unique situations, she is well-versed in the realistic idealism of buying and owning a home. Sometimes it is better to laugh than cry. And, then there's gold!
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