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The Children’s Book Review
A Little Spark
Written by Chris Parsons
Illustrated by Mike Motz
Age Range: 7+
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Zuroam Media (October 1, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1735145501
What to expect: Animal Friends, Magic, Daring Adventure
A Little Spark features a brave young mouse, a fireless fire-breathing dragon, a freezing world, and an enemy to conquer.
Plunged into a frozen existence, the only thing keeping Lake Zuron—“the land of ice”—from freezing over is the warmth of Daniel Dragon’s fire. Once a pleasant place to live, tension is rising between the classes—the Supervisors, the Providers, and the Streeters. When Oliver Owl’s magic doesn’t work to bring back Daniel’s fire, several others step up to try but their attempts all fail until young Spark, a Streeter mouse, is given a chance. He will need to go over the dreaded ice mountains inhabited by the fearsome Scabes, accompanied by the nasty weasel Veen (a Provider). Before Spark leaves, Daniel gives him some magic that can be used only twice. He will need to use it wisely if he makes it to the other side of the mountain to conquer the enemy and find a way to restore the dragon fire and peace in Lake Zuron.
“If you get into trouble, just raise your left hand, point your finger and say the magic word ‘Fotia,’ and flames will stream from your finger like a bolt of lightning, toasting anything in its way.”
Chris Parsons’ carefully plotted story is woven with action and danger that draws in the reader. The setting of Lake Zuron and the ice mountains provides an excellent backdrop for the fantastical elements, including a missing land. The characters offer plenty of layered personalities with varying traits of kindness, comradery, bravery, and even some evil behavior that allows for the development of valuable life lessons. The backmatter enables the reader to delve deeper into these lessons by offering writing prompts that would work well for personal journaling or classroom work. There are also QR codes found among the pages that link to full production story enhancing music to go with certain scenes, fun messages from the characters, and the opportunity to take a photograph with a favorite character—this interactive feature enhances the story wonderfully. Mike Motz’s full-color, bright illustrations captivate and elevate the story, too.
From danger to bravery to equality for all, A Little Spark offers just the right amount of magic and adventure to captivate readers and encourage them to venture out into the world with a spark of their own. Makes a great family read-aloud, too!
Buy the Book
Before October 1st, pre-order your copy, email the team at Zuroam Media, and they’ll give you the audiobook free so you can enjoy it while you wait for the book to arrive. You can find all the email address and links to your favorite bookstore here: https://bethatspark.com/shop/.
You can also order the book here:
About the Author
Chris Parsons grew up in the small fishing village of Flatrock, Newfoundland where he was surrounded by storytellers. When he became a father, he began creating his own children’s stories, and soon he was sharing them with a wider audience.
Over time, his audience grew up, but he continued to create his stories and colorful characters mostly for his own enjoyment. One day he had a flash of inspiration about a little mouse named Spark and began to create the world of A Little Spark.
Today, Chris lives in Dallas. He has left the high-tech world of innovation and business development behind and is focused on his real passion – to create new meaningful experiences for children centered around powerful and engaging stories like ” A little Spark.”
Together with his wife, Kathleen, daughter, Maggie, and son, Kealan, they share a love for all God’s creatures.
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About the Illustrator
Mike Motz is a children’s book illustrator and publishing professional based out of Toronto, Canada. Motz has helped writers around the world fulfill their dreams of publishing their works. To date, Motz has been responsible for the creation of the artwork for over 300 self-published children’s books.
About the Music Producer
Bruce Faulconer is a musician, composer, and record producer based in Dallas, Texas. He is the owner and founder of Faulconer Productions Music, and CakeMix Recording Studio. Faulconer writes music for orchestra, various instrumental and choral groups, along with the music for feature films, and TV series, including the anime Dragon Ball Z. He recently completed twelve songs for A Little Spark, included in a new audiobook, an interactive children’s book, and an animated feature film in development.
He resides in Dallas with his wife Lisa and is the father of two sons.
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