A writer inspired by nature and human nature

Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category

Smorgasbord Christmas Book Fair 2022 – #Poetry – Annette Rochelle Aben, Harmony Kent, Bette A. Stevens.


Honored to be featured along with poetry by Harmony and Annette on Sally’s blog today… Special thanks to Sally for featuring Liz Gauffreau’s wonderful review of MY MAINE… Thanks for stopping by to check them out at Sallys! ~ Bette A. Stevens 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Welcome to the Smorgasbord Christmas Book Fair with a selection of books from personally recommended authors on my bookshelf I believe will make wonderful gifts for friends, family and for you. 

Poetry is an art form and has been enjoyed by readers for thousands of years. Today I am sharing some of the collections on the bookshelf that I am sure you will enjoy too.

The first is A Tanka Picture Book by Annette Rochelle Aben.

A Tanka Picture Book by [Annette Rochelle Aben]About the collection

Life is alive with poetry; all the sights, sounds and smells. Blend it all together in your mind and you will begin to sing songs in your heart. You deserve a reason to smile, to feel good while pondering the magic of your world. You are closer than you think.

Open, A Tanka Picture Book! Consider the story each picture shares through its visual. Enjoy how each is enhanced with…

View original post 1,518 more words

Category:

Book Reviews, Books, Maine, My Poetry, Photography, Poetry, Writing

Aside

Ninety-seven (97) 5-Star Reviews for Award-winning Picture Book AMAZING MATILDA!


MATILDA expertly as a cirus acrobat... 2016

About the book

This “Gem of a Tale” about a Monarch Butterfly teaches kids lessons in friendship, patience and persistence as AMAZING MATILDA transforms from egg to caterpillar to butterfly. (Children’s Picture Book/Ages 5-11).

Order your copies today:

AM Celebrate Season MATCHBOOK bas 2016

Related Sites:

Related articles

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

Written

on 04/26/2022

Dog Bone Soup: A Boomer’s Journey by Bette A. Stevens


Poverty, prejudice and social justice… I invite you to visit Rosaliene’s blog, read her comprehensive review of Dog Bone Soup, and check out the nsightful comments from Rosaleine and her readers. Come join the conversation. It takes a village! ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author https://www.4writersandreaders.com 

Three Worlds One Vision

Front Cover – Dog Bone Soup: A Boomer’s Journey by Bette A. Stevens (USA, 2014)

In Dog Bone Soup: A Boomer’s Journey, Maine author Bette A. Stevens reminds us that being poor should not define who we are as individuals. With determination as well as the helping hand and guidance of those who care, we can become the person we aspire to be. Herself a boomer, Stevens takes us back to America of the 1950s and 1960s. On leaving home to enter the U.S. Army, eighteen-year-old Shawn Daniels looks back on growing up in Lebanon, Maine, where his family was scorned as “nothing but poor white trash.”

Shawn’s narrative contains no mention of the year or his age. Only his school grade records the passing years. His earliest memory is of watching mice scamper across the rafters as he lay in bed at nights. Having one as a pet…

View original post 567 more words

Category:

Book Picks, Book Reviews, Book Reviews by others, Books, DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens, Education, Families, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Literature, Maine, My Books, Parenting, Writing

Tagged with:

Aside

Book Reviews: My Maine: Haiku through the Seasons by Bette Stevens and A Soldier’s Children by Jan Sikes


Thanks so much for a lovely review of “My Maine.” Honored and delighted to be featured along with with my talented author friend, Jan Sikes. Readers, I invite you to check out the full reviews on Miriam Hurdle’s blog. Miriam is a talented poet in her own right! ~ Bette A. Stevens htttps://www.4writersandreaders.com

The Showers of Blessings

My Two book reviews –  My Maine: Haiku through the Seasons by Stevens and A Soldier’s Children by Jan Sikes.

reading-logoMy MaineA Soldier's Children

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My Maine: Haiku through the Seasons by [Stevens, Bette]My Review

In her poetry book My Maine: Haiku through the Seasons, Stevens showed the nature she experienced in the Pine State of Maine. The presentation of the book reminded me of attending a concert to watch the performance of the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s violin concerti “The Four Seasons.” In each season, Stevens opened the curtain and presented the sights and sounds in the nature. For the taste, a lobster dinner was in order. The performance of each season retreated toward the end and invited the next season to come in; and the audience gave a standing ovation.

“Spring Awakening” began with the ice slowly melted, rivers and streams sang, to the birds, animals blossoms awakened, and ended with:

Standing ovation
Awaiting next performance

View original post 866 more words

Written

on 03/17/2020

Aside

From the Poetic to the Factual: Two Book Reviews


Lovely to find My Maine featured on author Annika Perry’s Writing Blog today along with a great review of A-Z of Dumfries by Mary Smith and Keith Kirk! ~ Bette A. Stevens 4writersandreaders

Annika Perry

After a lifetime of New Year’s resolutions … and often failing to keep them, these last years I’ve steered away from making any.

However, one aspect of blogging weighs heavily upon me, my failure to review as many books as I would like, particularly indie-published ones. If my TBR pile was a real heap of books they would fill a room, I fear; luckily many are kept safe on my Kindle, hidden from immediate sight but never forgotten. I’m determined to share these books with you on my blog, a couple every month and I am happy to start with the two below.

Ironically, these are paperbacks, one a poetry book kindly gifted to me by Bette A. Stevens. The other by Mary Smith caught my interest as an unusual factual book about her local town.

“My Maine: Haiku through the Seasons” by Bette A. Stevens

‘My Maine’ is a…

View original post 595 more words

Written

on 01/28/2020

Aside

Come Join Us at the All-New Rave Reviews Book Club—#RRBC Best Book Club on the Planet


Happy New Year, followers!  

You’re invited to visit the ALL-NEW RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB at our new location > RaveReviewsBookClub.wordpress.com.
 

  • If you are an author looking for amazing support, #RRBC is the place for you!
  • If you are looking to grow as a writer, #RRBC is the place for you!
  • If you are looking for a community where your peers push for your success just as hard as they push for their own, #RRBC is the place for you! 

When visiting the #RRBC Website, we ask that you #follow our site so that you’re kept up-to-date with all the awesome news that we’ll be sharing in 2020.  
 
If you like what you see after looking around the site, then please, JOIN US!  We’d love to have you!

I’ve been an active member of Rave Reviews Book Club since January 2014 and highly recommend membership to all of my author friends. I’ll be sporting my 6 Year Membership Badge soon… If you’re looking for awesome support as an author, you’ll find it at #RRBC. I call it “The Best Book Club on the Planet.” Come join us—you’ll be glad you did!    ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author 

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

Written

on 01/08/2020

Aside

“Autumn Leaves” from My Maine (Poetry & Photography Collection) by Bette A. Stevens


Inspired by The Pine Tree State­—Maine’s diverse landscape, natural beauty, rural communities, and independent people—the author’s 150 haiku poems, along with her photographs, reflect the Maine she knows and loves. My Maine, Haiku through the Seasons by Bette A. Stevens takes readers on a poetic journey through the state’s four distinct seasons. Whether you’re a native Mainer or from away, Stevens’s short story poems and photographs will resonate.  The collection opens with Maine Pines and People. The journey continues with the rejuvenating spirit of Spring Awakenings and Summer Songs; then on to more of Maine’s extraordinary places and people in Autumn Leaves and Winter Tales. In addition to its poems and photographs, My Maine includes state symbols and interesting facts about The Pine Tree State.

Lovely poetic snapshots of Maine
“This collection of haiku takes about an hour to read, but I recommend a slower savoring of this literary treat. Arranged by season, each poem is an exquisite snapshot of life in Maine — its landscapes, wildlife, people, pastimes, heritage, and communities. They stand alone, but the book’s real beauty is how, when strung together, they create a poetic photo album that captures the heart of the state. A lovely read that I highly recommend.” ~D.W. Peach

Autumn Leaves

Selected excerpts from MY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasons (Poetry & Photography Collection) by Bette A. Stevens

Washed across woodlands
Blazing brush transforms the world
Into a canvas

Church steeples flashing
Like beacons on the mural
From the Master’s hand

Climb to the summit
Ascending steep timbered trails
Foliage at peak

Crispy, crunchy leaves
Frolic about in the wind
Carnival classics

Skycastle pennants—
Clever couriers announce
The coming tempest

Harvesting, mulching
Gardener’s work never done
But oh, the rewards

Cinnamon, nutmeg
Pumpkin confections abound
Connoisseur’s delight 

Window panes clatter
Leaves scatter in the whirlwind
Green fields turned umber

Drifting off to sleep
Reposing in tawny beds
Autumn leaves at rest

Thanks so much for stopping by to read these selected verses from MY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasons. Wishing everyone a blessed and beautiful autumn. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

Written

on 10/08/2019

Brilliant Poetry: A Review


My sincere thanks to talented author and poet Balroop Singh for sharing her reflections on my latest poetry and photography collection, MY MAINE. I invite you to visit her website (link below) to read the entire review. While you’re there, be sure to check out Balroop’s inspirational books–you’ll be glad you did. ~Bette A. Stevens 

MY MAINE Wandering through woods COLLECTION

“There was a time when I didn’t understand Haiku. I thought anybody could write those three lines, which hardly evoke any emotion till I tried to write this form and stumbled; till I came across brilliant haiku! My prejudice fell apart, as I started exploring more about this form of poetry.

“The inspiration came from my blogger friend Bette A. Stevens who evoked my interest with her brilliant haiku that she keeps sharing at her blog. My Experiments with Haiku seem to fade into insignificance when I read My Maine: Haiku through the Seasons by Bette Stevens. There are some books that leave a profound impact on you, that stay with you long after you have read the last page. Bette’s new release is one such book and I would like to share my reflections about this book..”

Click below to read the entire review on Balroop’s blog

via Brilliant Poetry: A Review

 

Category:

Book Reviews, Books, Guest Post, MY MAINE: Haiku through the Seasons by Bette A. Stevens, Photography, Poetry

Tagged with:

Aside

Release Day for MY MAINE by Bette A. Stevens (A Poetry & Photography Collection)


Maine Poetry & Photography Collection 

Get ready to vacation 365 days a year!

 

My Maine, Haiku through the Seasons by Bette A. Stevens

Available in paperback ($16.00) today!

Pre-order eBook ($4.99)—delivered on July 1, 2019.

Early Review

“Bette Stevens has used the bounty and beauty of the seasons in her home state of Maine as inspiration for lyrical and charming haikus that touch the soul and enliven the senses. From the windowsill seedlings and crowned crocus choirs of spring to the lady slippers and salamander spots of summer… from crispy, crunchy leaves and pumpkin confections of autumn to the white weighted branches and icicles weeping of winter… Bette Stevens’s imagery draws the reader into her world of wonder and delight. This is a collection to be slowly savored, made even more delicious with her original drawings and photographs. I can’t remember enjoying a book of poetry more.”—N.A. Granger, Professor Emerita, University of North Carolina

Blurb

Inspired by The Pine Tree State­—Maine’s diverse landscape, natural beauty, rural communities, and independent people—the author’s 150 haiku poems, along with her photographs take readers on a memorable journey. The collection travels through Maine’s four seasons and includes state symbols and interesting facts about The Pine Tree State.

CLICK links below to order your copy today!

MY MAINE

Haiku through the Seasons by Bette A. Stevens

“The Way Life Should Be”

 

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

Written

on 06/24/2019

Aside

Celebrate National Puzzle Day with “The Tangram Zoo & Word Puzzles Too!” by Bette A. Stevens


Happy National Puzzle Day! This celebration is held every year on January 29th. It’s an opportunity to reflect on those puzzles, games and even challenges in life that we embrace every day but sometimes take for granted. Puzzles also offer us a great way to spend quality time interacting with family. In fact, puzzles are an awesome way to celebrate any day! ~Bette A. Stevens

Looking for some awesome fun with the kids or grandkids? Need some quality ‘together time’ on a rainy day? Visit THE TANGRAM ZOO AND WORD PUZZLES TOO! (On sale at YOUR AMAZON for only $6.99) … for hours of creative learning and hands-on fun. Solve 18 puzzles and riddles, make your own tangram puzzle pieces; then write your own riddles and add your own animals to THE ZOO! Solutions and project ideas included.

Although, this [The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too! by Bette A. Stevens] is a very clever and educational book for children, I appreciated the added bonus that an adult can sit down and enjoy it with the kids!~D.L. Finn, author

REVIEW

The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too! by Bette A. Stevens

January 2, 2018

Very Clever! 

I bought this book to give as a gift to my grandchildren. Reading through the book before giving it to them, I found it taught me a few things, too. First, I had no idea a tangram is a seven-piece puzzle with specific shapes. A pattern is provided to cut out and get started along with the history of it. There are many ways to put the pieces together, but the book supplies shapes to make– with clues or riddles as to what they are. Although, this is a very clever and educational book for children, I appreciated the added bonus that an adult can sit down and enjoy it with the kids! ~D.L. Finn, author

Ready to give Tangrams and Word Puzzles a try?

Here’s the handout the author uses with students.
Click the link or the image below.
Download, print and you’re ready to go…

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

Written

on 01/23/2018

Tag Cloud

%d bloggers like this: