Saturday, December 8, 2012

Lionel's Christmas Adventure by Paul R. Hewlett Book Review

When I was given the opportunity to review this book, I jumped at the chance because I love Christmas stories, and this one looked cute. It was so cute. Without giving too much away, the story is about Lionel, a poor kid that always gets picks on. His family is even mean to him. Until recently he never even had a best friend until Skip moved to town. This is a good story for kids to read, especially the spoiled kiddos (kids are meant to be spoiled, I spoil my niece and nephew.). It asks the question that we should all be asking ourselves this time of year, What is more important to us? Do we care more about what we want or what we already have? This is really hard for kids to understand, I think. Especially when they believe in the magic of Christmas. This book does a great job of answering that question, and there is even a visit to a very jolly man in a red suit.
The book was well written and easy to follow. It kept my attention and it will definitely keep the attention of your little ones. As Christmas gets closer and my niece and nephew want every toy they see advertised I am going to read them this book.

Please Check out Paul's other book at  http://www.freado.com/book/12594/lionels-grand-adventure-lionel-and-the-golden-rule
Guest Post:
I would like to thank Vicky for having me and Kathy at I Am A Reader Not A Writer for hosting the Got Great Giveaways Hop. Thanks also go to Candace at Candace's Book Blog and Lori at Pure Imagination for hosting the Saturday Situation giveaway linky. To see a full list of  Lionel's Christmas Adventure tour dates, click here. Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card and a 3-pack of my ebooks.

Hello everyone, Paul R. Hewlett here. I am very honored to be asked to write a guest post today. I am going to discuss writing main characters, focusing specifically on writing my main character, Lionel Snodgrass.

  Writing a main character can be tricky. First and foremost one must develop a character that can convey the message you, the author, want to get across to your readers.

In my case, Lionel is the perfect main character. My aim is to write books that entertain, and encourage children to read. I also try to address bullying and attempt to deliver a lesson in my books. In order to give me a chance to be successful I had to create a main character that was capable of delivering these things. Lionel has many faults and shortcomings. He is a bit too short, too slow, uncoordinated, chubby, you name it. Physically he is lacking. He wears his brothers hand-me-down clothes and glasses that constantly slide down his nose. He is the proverbial bully-magnet. He is an easy target for more popular and athletic kids to pick on. These characteristics enable Lionel to gain sympathy. Everyone has known a Lionel.

Lionel is also a great kid. He has a very positive outlook on life, a big heart, and is all-in-all a very happy, fun-loving boy. By combining his shortcomings and his positive characteristics, a main character has been created that is very human. None of us are perfect, and we all have insecurities. It is very difficult not to root for Lionel. 

Lionel, as a main character, is able to gain people's sympathy and understanding. People want to pull for the underdog. Everyone in their life has either known a "Lionel", or may even have been a "Lionel'. He wants to be popular and liked. Often he is forced to decide between what he wants vs. what is right. Lionel is the perfect main character for delivering my message. Readers identify with him and root for him.

My favorite story about Lionel is one where he was sitting in the booth at Jardeans' Mercantile & Confectionery. He had just ordered a cherry soda with the last of his allowance. Mr. Jardean brought Lionel his drink. Eyes cast downward, he handed Lionel the cherry soda and said, "Sorry Lionel. I ran out of cherry syrup. I'm sorry your drink is only half full." Lionel smiled and replied,"That's okay, Mr. Jardean. Don't worry about it. It looks half full to me." This sums up my main character, Lionel Snodgrass. With Lionel, the glass is always half full. 

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post about writing main characters. I enjoyed writing it and hope you found it enjoyable and entertaining. For more information about author Paul R. Hewlett click here. Hi co-authors a children's/YA blog at SherAHart: Writing As Art. You can also keep up with what's new on Lionel's Grand Adventure FB page.

I'd like to give a great big Thank You to Vicky for hosting me! Now on to the giveaway. As a thank you to the reader's, I'm  giving away a $25 Amazon gift card and 3-pack of my ebooks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 comment:

  1. Hi Vicky,
    Thanks so much for having my on your blog. I really appreciate the kind words and the fact that you took time out of your busy schedule to read and review my book. Thanks again for having me.

    Paul R. Hewlett

    ReplyDelete