Hello
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Tonya Duncan Ellis and her
new book, “Sophie Washington: Queen of the Bee”! For other
stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner
above or any of the images in this post.
Be
sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back
daily to interact with Tonya and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
Sophie Washington:
Queen of the Bee
Queen of the Bee
by Tonya Duncan Ellis
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GENRE: Children's (Middle Grade)
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BLURB:
Sign up
for the spelling bee? No way!
If
there’s one thing 10-year-old Texan Sophie Washington is good at, it’s
spelling. She’s earned straight 100s on all her spelling tests to prove it. Her
parents want her to compete in the Xavier Academy spelling bee, but Sophie
wishes they would buzz off.
Her
life in the Houston suburbs is full of adventures, and she doesn’t want to slow
down the action. Where else can you chase wild hogs out of your yard, ride a
bucking sheep, or spy an eight-foot-long alligator during a bike ride through
the neighborhood? Studying spelling words seems as fun as getting stung by a
hornet, in comparison.
That’s
until her irritating classmate, Nathan Jones, challenges her. There’s no way
she can let Mr. Know-It-All win. Studying is hard when you have a pesky younger
brother and a busy social calendar. Can Sophie ignore the distractions and
become Queen of the Bee?
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EXCERPT TWO:
“Turn
the television off, and you two go get the newspaper and pull the garbage can
up to the garage,” says Mom, shaking her head and pouring more pancake batter
into the skillet. “All this arguing is going to make me burn breakfast.”
I
clench my fists to keep from wringing Cole’s neck. “Did you tell Mom about the
contest?” he loudly yells over blips and bleeps. He is playing a Video Rangers
cartridge on his Nintendo DS game now that the television is off.
“What
contest?” asks Dad, entering the kitchen.
“Oh,
it’s nothing really,” I say. “Just something Mrs. Green was talking about at
school on Friday . . .”
“It’s
the big spelling bee, and they want all the kids in the third grade and up to
be in it,” pipes up Cole. “Mrs. Green said she hopes Sophie signs up, since
she’s such a great speller.”
“That
sounds like a wonderful opportunity for you, Sophie,” Mom says. “You are really
good at spelling.”
“Sign
up first thing Monday morning,” says Dad. “Maybe we can start you studying this
weekend. Did they give you a list of spelling words?”
“I
need to check my backpack, Dad. It’s out in the garage,” I say, trying to
change the subject.
“Come
on, Cole, Mom told us to get the paper.”
“Why
can’t you go out to the driveway by yourself?” he complains. “We’re not even
through eating.”
“Go
help your sister,” Mom commands.
We
head out the garage door to the driveway. “You are such a tattletale,” I say,
nudging Cole once we are out of earshot. “Why’d you have to tell Mom and Dad
about the spelling bee?” He elbows me back.Then we both stop in our
tracks.Three hairy pigs are running around our front yard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVIEW:
This
book was such a fun, exciting, happy, suspenseful, enjoyable read!
This
book mostly revolves around the main character, Sophie Washington, and her
family. Sophie is a smart, funny, 10-year-old,
fifth grader who gets straight A’s, wants to have fun, ride her bike, and play with
her friends. Since Sophie is an excellent
speller, her parents strongly urge her to sign up for the spelling bee. However, Sophie wants nothing to do with
it. Well, that is until her annoying
classmate Nathan Jones, aka Mr. Know-It-All, challenges her. Now the game is on and Sophie is determined
to study hard, because she is not going to let that pesky Mr. Know-It-All
actually win. However, Sophie’s busy family
life, irritating little brother, and crazy schedule seem to keep getting in the
way of her studying. Will these
distractions keep her from learning the words to win or will she be able to
come out on top and be the next spelling bee champion aka the Queen of the Bee?
I
remember entering a spelling bee when I was in second grade. It was down to me and this boy, Greg. We didn’t really get along. I remember it went a couple rounds back and
forth between us before I got the word, “children,” and I spelled it “childran.”
[sic] Yes, I have never spelled that word wrong again lol! Totally makes sense though, child-ran. Oh, well, second place wasn’t horrible, I
still got a ribbon, a certificate, lunch with the principal, and a book. Anywho, when I heard about this book I was
thrilled to read it since it sounded like a great read and I thought I could
relate to it a bit.
I
loved the main character, Sophie Washington.
She sets a wonderful, positive role model for girls. At a time when young girls are carefully watching
and following the lead of their role models it is important that we are providing
them with ones that are not only realistic, but also ones that demonstrate
confidence and leadership skills.
I
really liked that this book had so many underlying messages. For example, this book focused on hard work,
respect, determination, positive attitudes, self-improvement, confidence,
appreciation, overcoming obstacles, being a team player, and so much more.
I really
liked the family dynamic of the book. I
enjoyed seeing how Sophie’s family meshed together. Her family wasn’t perfect, but they were fun,
corky, silly, crazy, and, well, typical.
I
loved that the author used so many Houston and Texas references throughout the
book since the book does take place in the Houston Suburbs. I have been to Houston many times, and I have
lived in several parts of Texas before.
So, I really enjoy when I read a book from there that the real Texas is
found in the pages – and it sure was!
The author did a great job listing things like restaurants, local spots,
culture references, and even the rodeo!
You definitely know you’re in Texas lol!
I
think the best part of this book being for middle graders, is that it’s a fun, cool,
intriguing, suspenseful book for them!
It’s not a dumbed down kid’s book and it’s not a book that a parent can
be worried that their kid is reading. It’s
a book that a kid will want to read, won’t be embarrassed to read in front of
their friends or their parents. It’s the
right kind of a book a kid should be
reading and the right kind of book their
parent will be glad they are reading!
This
book is book one of the Sophie Washington Book Series. I was thrilled to be able to start with the
first one as I can totally see more Sophie Washington books in my near future!
This
book is “G” rated as there is no swearing, no violence, no adult situations, and
no sexual content.
I
would absolutely recommend this recommend for middle graders as I think they
would love this book and the Sophie Washington Book Series!
This
book is marketed towards middle grades and I totally agree! However, I might even go as far as to suggest
this book for readers in third grade to seventh grade as they too would also
easily enjoy this book and book series as well!
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as
helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R2U9Z9L5SHTNQM
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AUTHOR BIO:
Tonya Ellis loves
reading so much that as a child she took books with her everywhere rather than
put them down. She knew she wanted to become a writer after an article she
wrote was published in her hometown newspaper when she was fourteen years old.
Since then, Tonya has worked as a journalist, written for newspapers and
magazines and won awards for her books. She is the mom of three spelling bee
champions, and has judged several spelling bee events. SOPHIE WASHINGTON: QUEEN
OF THE BEE is her debut novel in a series about Sophie and her friends.
Currently, Ms. Ellis lives in Missouri City, Texas with her husband, daughter,
and two sons.
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CONNECT WITH TONYA:
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Tonya will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway. I appreciate the opportunity to win.
ReplyDeleteGood luck James! Glad to see you on my tour
DeleteI enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour and I hope it is a fun one for you :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you Lisa! Thanks for stopping by my tour!
DeleteThanks for featuring me on your blog Ally!
ReplyDeleteOh and I love your review Ally! I can totally see you as a cute second grader in your own spelling bee! :)
DeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking it out Rita!
DeleteGreat review! I've really enjoyed following the tour for Queen of the Bee and I'll definitely be sharing this with friends who have children!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate it Victoria. Thank you! 😄
Delete