Book Review: Jambalaya Comes Home by Carol Smith & Jambalaya

Jambalaya Comes Home
by Carol Smith & Jambalaya
March 31, 2023
Illustrator: Terri Kelleher
Publisher: Dragonfly-Watch Press
ISBN: 9781734561937
Jambalaya, a tuxedo cat, tells the story of his journey of living in an unhappy home, becoming a shelter kitty, and finally finding his way to his furever family. Co-written with his mom, Carol, and enriched with twenty-five colorful illustrations drawn by Terri Kelleher, Jambalaya Comes Home is a heartwarming tale sure to delight preschoolers, new readers, and animal lovers too.

Jambalaya is a tuxedo cat (black and white) who lived with a family with a bunch of cats. Except he was timid and bullied by the other felines, so the owners gave him up for adoption. He was sad until one day Carol Smith found out about him.

The pictures are colorful and lovely, and the story is simple and sweet. Children will learn from this, not about pets and the families that adopt, but about bullying and families and love. Adults will love the beautiful artwork and understand how a cat feels when adopted and loved by the right family. I think this book will be good for the whole family.

I gave Jambalaya Comes Home 5 sheep.

Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney

About the Creators:

Writer

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Carol Smith lives in Virginia, USA, with her husband Stewart, and rescue kitty, Jambalaya. She's written a number of books, from poetry to children's literature. Jambalaya Comes Home is her third children's book.

The Cat

Jambalaya Smith, a tuxedo cat, lives with Carol Smith and her husband, Stewart. He had a difficult home life before his new mom and dad adopted him. Jambalaya is now a constant source of joy for his family. Jambalaya Comes Home is his story and first children's book co-written with his mom, Carol.

Illustrator

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Terri Kelleher, originally born in Maryland, USA, moved to Ireland in 1994, where she currently lives and works. She has been illustrating children's books professionally since 2012 and, to date, has illustrated over 50 books, along with various other visual arts projects.

Children's Picture Book Review: My Cat by Carol Smith

My Cat
by Carol Smith
Illustrated by Terri Kelleher
February 18, 2022

Publisher: Dragonfly-Watch Press
ISBN: 9781734561906
Discover the amusing activities children and their pet cats do together in My Cat. Enjoy twenty-five colorful, whimsical illustrations of cats helping their human pals with all kinds of fun things. Children and the young at heart will laugh at what these talented kitties can manage. My Cat is perfect for fostering the love of reading in five to eight year-olds and storytime too.

Amazon

This children’s book has lovely colored pictures of children and their different kinds of cats, all enjoying various activities together. The pictures are a delight, and the illustrator has done a super job. The simple sentence on each page makes it easy for a young child to learn to read the book while enjoying the artwork.
If you are looking for a book for a child for their birthday, holiday gift, or just to give them, this book is lovely and simple. And who doesn’t love a book about cats?

I gave My Cat 5 sheep.




Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney

About the Author:

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Carol lives in the Richmond metro area in Virginia. She has a husband and two cats— rescues (the cats not the husband).

The desire to write struck her out of the blue one day in 2014. To date, she’s written magazine articles, fiction and nonfiction books, two collections, one of Halloween haiku poetry and one of short stories and poems, a children’s book, and stories that are included in anthologies. She’s always listening for her Muse’s next big idea.

Besides writing, Carol enjoys singing, tutors reading for adult learners, and investigates the paranormal. She taught earth science, acted in community theatre, and worked in information technology and in broadcasting as a commercial radio DJ.

Book Review: Forest Christmas Children's Book (all proceeds donated to FeedMore.org)

Forest Christmas
Author: Carol Smith
Illustrator: Terri Kelleher
Publisher: Carol Smith, Richmond, Virginia
ASIN: B00QPPOP0A
December 7, 2014.
amazon link
All the money from this book's purchases will be donated to FeedMore.Org ((https://feedmore.org/): Central Virginia Food Bank, Meals on Wheels and Community Kitchen). Ever wonder how forest creatures celebrate Christmas and the holiday season? Well, here's the inside scoop! Forest Christmas is a happy, heartwarming story brought to life with whimsical illustrations. It's for the young and the young at heart.

This is a children’s book with illustrations, written with the intent nor for the author to make herself money, but all earnings to go to a charity, Feed More. FeedMore is Central Virginia's hunger-relief leader made up of the Central Virginia Food Bank, Meals on Wheels Serving Central Virginia and the Community Kitchen. Working together to efficiently and effectively fight hunger to enhance lives in our community, FeedMore's programs provide hunger relief to our region’s most vulnerable populations, particularly children, families and seniors.

I was pleased to review this book. Right now it is on Kindle only, though I heard there may be a print copy at some point. It is about some animals in a forest getting ready for Christmas. We meet Owl, the deer family, foxes and more as they bring various things to decorate. A child from ages 4 to 6 will enjoy reading this, though I feel those younger will enjoy this as a bedtime story read to them by their parents. Even those older, but young at heart will enjoy this simple tale.

The artwork by Ms. Terri Kelleher is wonderful. The color pops and I think any child will be attracted to them, wanting to look at them as they read the story. You will be able to see three of the illustrations with this review, with permission by the author, along with the lovely cover. 

I give Forest Christmas 4 1/2 sheep.

Pamela Kinney

Find out more about the charity the book was written more at https://feedmore.org/

About the Author, Carol Smith:
Carol Smith is a Baby Boomer who hails from New York and found a home in the Richmond, Virginia area with a husband and four cats (all rescues--the cats—not the husband). She is still considering what she wants to be when she grows up.
She has acted, sang in a rock band, was a radio DJ, worked in Information Technology fixing computer hardware and software, and taught high school science. She also investigates the paranormal, tutors reading, and recently, delved into writing. She guess she’s a career vagabond or potpourri (she hasn’t quite figured it out yet). Her websites are http://amazon.com/author/carol-smith and
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pamela-K-Kinney-Author-and-Actress/243788913375?ref=hl

About the Illustrator, Terri Kelleher:
Terri Kelleher grew up in Maryland, USA and now lives in Ireland. She has been painting and illustrating for the past 16 years. Terri also writes and illustrates her own children’s books. Find out more about her at http://www.terrikelleher.com and at http://www.freelanced.com/terrikelleher