Oct 17, 2016

e-book Covers


These are the original concept covers for the series.
I always liked them and thought it would be fun to give them
a turn gracing the e-books.

                   

                                                                                             
                                                  AMAZON                                                                 AMAZON
                                                    iTUNES                                                                    iTUNES
                                             BARNES & NOBLE                                               BARNES & NOBLE










COMING

SPRING 2017








Sep 9, 2016

The White Belt Society

In honor of Maine Day at the Big E, September 17, 2016, 
will be released at the 
State of Maine Building on States Avenue
 at The Big E in Springfield Massachusetts.




story by

illustrations by



Set on the coast of Maine, The White Belt Society is the fifth 
collaboration of Pendleton and Block.  

Children's. North Country Press.  

In honor of Maine Day at the Big E, September 17, 2016, 
will be released at the 
State of Maine Building on States Avenue
 at The Big E in Springfield Massachusetts.




Maine Day festivities include performances by 
Amanda Landry,  Denny Breau, and the Gym Dandies Children’s Circus.  
The day culminates with the parade featuring Maine’s Commodity Queens and Princesses, Maine Day Enhancement Floats, L.L. Bean Bootmobile, Gym Dandies Children’s Circus, and Maine 4-H members! 



 We're delighted to join the festivities for Maine Day on the 100th Anniversary of The Big E!

#maineday #thebige  #thebige100  #ese
#whitebeltsociety

Oct 11, 2015

Reginald the Railway Rat!





REGINALD the RAILWAY RAT

at the

Boothbay Railway Village

Thomas Block carves this magnificent pumpkin grown at the Boothbay Railway Village 
for the 
Fall Foliage Festival.

Reginald the Railway Rat 
is the 
story of a conductor 
on the train 
at 
Boothbay Railway Museum.

REGINALD the RAILWAY RAT
by 

illustrated by 






 


Thomas, working his magic







See more 
photos of event by 
photographer 


The Owl at the Blacksmith Shop
photograph by Karl Marean


Reginald the Railway Rat
November 2015

May 3, 2014

Post Time!







Post time for the Kentucky Derby 2014 is approximately 6:24pm (ET)































And of course ...













*For the finest selections, Anita Hopkins:
A hat is a revolution on your head ... then the party begins -  Anita Hopkins Mission 
Hand made, one of a kind hat sculptures for the crown chokra!



Feb 22, 2014

Book One is #Free!






Discover The Black Ledge Series 
Book One is #Free!



Grab this magical adventure! 



Free apps for all their devices 
(phones, tablets, laptops) 

#KindleKids #NookKids #iTunesKids*

*tons of #Free books
 It's like having a library in your pocket!

Feb 16, 2014

The Red Paint People

 
     Elves?  Dwarves?  Vampires?  We don't have Vampires* in Maine.
     What are you talking about, Paige Pendleton?
     I'm used to the strange looks, but it's all true, and the story begins long, long ago.  In the time of the Red Paint People.  

     The Red Paint People were a tribe of indigenous people who lived on the coasts of  New England and Atlantic Canada regions of North America thousands of years ago.  
     The name The Red Paint People arose from their use of Red Ochre to decorate their belongings, and themselves. They decorated tools, clothing, and the bodies of their dead in burial preparation. 
      The Red Paint People were bold seafarers. Swordfish bones discovered in archaeological sites tell us they were navigating deep and treacherous waters in the Atlantic. Thousands of years ago, in canoes.
      

      And here's where the plot thickens. Archaeological excavations in Norway have unearthed tools and belongings with similar red marks/patterns to those discovered on the coast of Maine. Eerily similar red markings. Other clues point to trans-Atlantic travel. Rune Stones in North America that date long before the defined Viking Age.  A breed of domestic cat (the Maine Coon) shares DNA with the Norwegian Forest Cat. Strong similarities between some Native American and Ancient Norse myths suggest they gathered around the same campfire more than once.  


     

     Did Elves and Dwarves stow away on one of the return trips to Maine?  It appears they did. 

     Our story then takes a darker turn, as things tend to do on the coast of Maine, but our Once upon a time began in a land far, far away



*Technically, they are Noctivagi, not Vampires.  The differences are subtle, but...


The Keeper and the Rune Stone 
is #Free!  4.7 stars

Our story then takes a darker turn, as things tend to do on the coast of Maine ... 

Grab it today! 


Kindle:              The Keeper and the Rune Stone
Nook:                The Keeper and the Rune Stone
iTunes:             The Keeper and the Rune Stone



"something wicked is going to happen.." EAD
"Hell, yes" KZF
"cracking tale of mystery and adventure" JBW
"Basically, I loved this" MF


Feb 10, 2014

Review of The Keeper and the Alabaster Chalice!







5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the waitJune 2, 2013
By 
This review is from: The Keeper and the Alabaster Chalice (The Black Ledge Series, Book II) (Kindle Edition)
Saturday morning was momentous for I woke up to a message saying this book was now live. It was the moment I had been waiting months for and yes, I totally fan-girled out. I squealed and had a huge grin on my face for well over an hour. You see, The Black Ledge Series is wonderful. If you haven't read the first one, The Keeper and the Rune Stone, then you really need to. It tells the tale of four children who become "aware" of the world around them. Wakening in them the ability to see all the Beings around them that are out there. Things happen and the children are needed to help set it all right. I said it in my review of that book months ago and I'll say it again: Gunnr is my favorite character in this series. That didn't change with the second book and I'm happy to report that he's in this one even more!

The Keeper and the Alabaster Chalice continues where The Keeper and the Rune Stone The Keeper and the Rune Stone (The Black Ledge Series) left off. The children, Rob, Eleanor, Jack, and Flora, are out of school for the summer and are guaranteed to get into plenty of trouble. I would say that it finds them when they least expect it but... They kind of go looking for it sometimes. All in the name of the greater good, of course.

Eleanor is working with Gunnr (a Noctivagus - read: a vampire) who, along with the Queen of the Elves and Camedon (did you know that Camden, ME is named after him? Little known fact for you there.), think she is more special than she realizes. Without giving away spoilers, since I hate reading reviews containing them, it's hard to say much about a book other than it was great. So I'll leave you with this:

Warning: This book contains Elves - some evil and some awesomely great, a Keeper that has more things to do than time, a witch that can change her appearance to suit her inner feelings, an old dragon with more bark than bite, Brownies that *try* to stay hidden, a seal that reminds me of the turtle in Finding Nemo (but smarter), and an ancient gargoyle named Motte that I'd love to be friends with.

If you want to know how all of this ties together then you should buy The Keeper and the Alabaster Chalice. In fact, you should purchase both books in the series (so far) and read them for yourself, to your kids, or even start a library group reading to kids that aren't yours. You'll inspire a love of books from a tiny spark that is The Black Ledge Series.

To see Amanda's review of The Keeper and the Rune Stone, Book I in The Black Ledge Series, click HERE.


Thank you, Amanda!  We're tickled!



Dec 16, 2013

Catch us .. .



... on  

 





       Star of Wonder
   



Photo by Karl Marean




A Belted Galloway 
calf is born on Christmas Eve at
Aldermere Farm.



















Star of Wonder

 STAR OF WONDER on Facebook 

 Available at:


207 is a news magazine show produced by WCSH6 in Portland Maine. 
207 is hosted by Rob Caldwell and Kathleen Shannon. 



Follow 207 on twitter: www.twitter.com/207TV 

Visit the site: www.wcsh6.com

Miss the live interview?  Catch it HERE.

Nov 25, 2013

Star of Wonder



In time for Christmas, a little Beltie Magic!


Illustrated by Thomas Block


Available locally at:

and






With illustrations by Thomas Block this book is a must
for all the children on your Christmas list.    
David Mills RCN America Network






A portion of the proceeds of this story will be donated to Aldermere Farm.






                                                                STAR OF WONDER on Facebook                                                                              on Facebook


Nov 24, 2013

Now on Nook!










TheKeeper and the Alabaster Chalice 

now available on Nook! 


The Black Ledge Series
Magic, Mayhem, Murder, and Mystery on the coast of Maine
#ReadLocal



Nov 18, 2013

Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah

     Chicken.
     Scaredy Cat.
     Turkey.
     Kids crack me up.
     I'm getting ahead of myself ...

    Gone are the days when families raised food for their family's consumption, but years ago most families did. Most had some sort of garden and raised animals for meat. Even families who resided "in town" and were spatially challenged kept smaller animals such as fowl for meat and/or eggs. Chickens and turkeys were as familiar to most children, then, as cats and dogs are to children now.
     And for generations, taunts derived from this knowledge have echoed in America's school yards. Chicken. BOOOCK! BockBockBock. Superficially, a simple insult, yet when one pauses underlying complexities are apparent.
     The kid who's a chicken is a vastly different creature than the kid who's a scaredy cat and the kid who's a turkey.
     Chickens are stupid and afraid of anything unfamiliar. That makes them "flighty". It's an inherent quality and the one word is sufficient.
     Scaredy cat. Two words. Cats are smarter, more complex creatures than chickens, and  an adjective is required to accurately convey the taunter's intent. What kind of cat? A scaredy cat.
     Turkey - again, one word. A living, breathing, flesh and blood domestic turkey is possibly the dumbest animal on earth. It is apt to die at any given moment because it's too stupid to be afraid. It walks right into the danger with a skip in its step and a song in its heart. Turkey is the proper moniker to assign to the class fool oblivious of the consequences of his* actions. You know this kid's going to spend a lot of recesses with his head on his desk, but he's good with it because he's making nose prints on the desktop.  
     Kids don't need to think about any of this. They just know it. Even while taunting, they know there's more purpose in taunting the scaredy cat than the chicken because the chicken is long gone - it flew the coop. The scaredy cat is still hanging around assessing the situation before committing. And it isn't necessary to taunt the turkey cause he just went ahead and did it. He will either die or get in big trouble and as each has entertainment value to kids, the turkey has a certain bizarre social standing.  
     The most fascinating thing about all of this, though, is the staying power of these taunts. Generations later they are still used. Children who've never even driven by a farm use these with acumen. They get the subtleties. They wield the taunt with wit and precision.
     Or maybe it's come full circle. Maybe it's a chicken/egg situation. Are children calling little Johnny a turkey because they know turkeys are fools, or, do little Johnny's antics teach children that turkeys are fools? 
     Our world has evolved and the family farm has all but disappeared. Amazingly (thankfully) memories of days gone by linger on. We owe that to children, and I tip my hat.

     Enjoy your turkey without guilt or remorse. It had a happy life. Killing that bird was a kindness, really. Something would have gotten him.


Happy Thanksgiving!


* often gender specific