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Friday, August 4, 2017

Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver Blog Tour (interview & giveaway)


I'm thrilled to have the Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver Blog Tour stopping by today! This blog tour is hosted by The Children's Book Review and sponsored by AmberJack Publishing...



Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver
Written by Lorri Horn
Illustrated by Agnieszka Grochalska

Dewey Fairchild isn’t just good with parents, he’s great with them. He’s so good at handling parents that he’s built a thriving business out of it. He even has a secretary, Clara―a great alibi and an even better baker. Dewey settles the most troublesome of cases, from an overprotective mom who won’t let her child go to class on her own, to a dad who can’t stop picking his nose any chance he gets!
Dewey has no problem handling other people’s parents, but when he overhears his parents talking one day, he faces a challenge he never expected. Dewey can solve any problem parents may cause, but what will he do when the parents who are causing problems are his own?

Ages 9-12 | Publisher: Amberjack Publishing | August 8, 2017 | ISBN-13: 978-1944995164

Available Here:



Q1. What three words best describe your book, Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver?

Amusing, perceptive, delightful

Q2. Grab a copy of Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver and answer the following:
Favorite chapter?

“Tiny Developments”—The title is ironic in a number of ways: Pee Wee’s size, what a big development it must be for Seraphina, and meanwhile, all that is happening internally for Dewey as he puts his trust in Clara. It turns out no one needs Dewey’s help this chapter, and I think that’s a compelling development as well.

Favorite page?

Page 41—I like how once Seraphina’s mom finally crosses over, it seems simple—“that was that.” From there, the rest of the page follows with the simple proposition that remains the backbone of the story: Dewey is a Parent-Problem-Solver if you ever need one. And everyone pretty much needs one of those.

Favorite place/setting?

Dewey’s office with the air conditioning ducts the clients crawl through and get cookies along the way as they enter.

Flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser:

“When we return: one father’s near encounter with utter ruin, only it was all a big joke. Can children abuse their parents? When we get back . . .” (75).

Q3. Tell us a bit about your character, Dewey Fairchild. What makes him special and what do you love about him?

Dewey Fairchild equally loves a good challenge and a good snack. He possesses a natural curiosity, and his mind easily wanders sometimes from one idea to another as he free-associates. To some in his life, this might prove frustrating, but it’s part of his charm and enables him to become the problem-solver he does. Dewey is a fixer, not just a suggester—which, evidently, I find much more satisfying. We all have our foibles. When we can acknowledge them, laugh about them, apologize for them, the better everyone fares. Dewey Fairchild is the liaison between parents and kids because sometimes we parents don’t always do those things as well as we’d like. No one really wants to admit to her kid she was picking her nose and rolling a booger into the carpet, you know? But Dewey helps us be the better person who can say, “Gosh, how embarrassing! I was just picking my nose right then! I felt so caught when you asked that I actually lied and said I wasn’t!”     

Q4. Fill in the blanks:
I’m really awesome at analyzing ideas and people.
I’m really embarrassed to admit I’m not a good speller.
The last great book I read was My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

Q5. If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

I just spent an hour baking a prototype Dewey Fairchild cupcake. I dumped it though. You’ll never taste it. I’ll tell you why. Because I can’t bake just a single cupcake. I’m a baker. I bake a dozen. Maybe half a dozen. No sooner had I taken the Fairchild out of the oven to cool for you to taste, I panicked in that way I do. What if I want to open a bakery and make a Dewey cupcake or a Wolfie cupcake or a Clara, Colin, Seraphina or Pooh Bear one, and I baked just a single cuppiecake never considering how the rest of the batch needed to turn out? I just tossed a cupcake into the trash right now, and in doing so, may have salvaged the future of some other cupcake’s destiny. It’s possible, you know. Don’t rush me. I gotta rethink the whole Fairchild cupcake now. I don’t want to reveal too much, but I just dumped a perfectly dense, delectable, tender, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth marbled chocolate and vanilla cupcake with the tiniest dancing flecks of salt into the garbage, and I think those of you who read Dewey Fairchild will know soon enough why that would have been a disaster of a choice come the day I want to open a bakery of my own and have a cupcake called Wolfie. Clearly, he’s a black and white! I don’t know what I was thinking. Clearly, I wasn’t. I had my nose straight in the batter. Close call.



About the Author
Lorri Horn is an educator and an author. She has a degree in English, a teaching credential, has been Nationally Board Certified, and has taught pubic school for over 14 years. She loves cheese (and wants it to be its own food group, which made working on a vegan book a challenge), humor, baking, books, and spending time with her family. Lorri’s background as a career schoolteacher and instructional leader make her especially sympathetic to the needs and perspectives of children, and this sensitivity features in her work as an author. Lorri blogs on her website,lorrihorn.com. Her work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, Phi Delta Kappan, The College Board and Mayim’s Vegan Table. Lorri lives in California with her husband, son, and their dog, Wolfie.




About the Illustrator: Agnieszka Grochalska is an illustrator living and working in Warsaw, Poland. As a child she wanted to be an astronaut or a jet pilot. Eventually she changed her mind and dedicated her keen eye and steady hand to drawing precise and detailed compositions reminiscent of classical storybook illustrations.
She received a MFA in Graphic Arts in 2014, exploring traditional painting, printmaking, and sculpting along the way. Currently she works predominantly in digital medium, striving to make it look as natural as her works drawn traditionally. Her illustrative works were featured in group exhibitions both in Poland and abroad.
Agnieszka enjoys travel and cultural exchange with people from around the world, referencing those experiences in her works alongside the Slavic folklore of her homeland. When she isn’t drawing or traveling, you can find her exploring the worlds of fiction in books and story-driven games.
Agnieszka’s works can be viewed in her online portfolio at agroshka.com.


Enter to win a Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver themed prize pack!
One (1) winner receives:
  • A copy of Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver, by Lorri Horn
  • A Dewey Fairchild themed gift pack. Includes items such as cookies, gum, notebooks, pens/pencils, Tootsie Rolls, Monopoly game etc.

Giveaway rules:
  • NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
  • Enter between 12:00 AM Mountain Time on August 1, 2017 and 11:59 PM on August 31, 2017.
  • Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older.
  • Winners will be selected at random on or about September 3, 2017.
  • Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
Prizes provided by Amberjack Publishing.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE

The Children's Book Review
8/1
Teacher Dance
8/2
Jrsbookreviews
8/3
Word Spelunking
8/4
To Read, or Not To Read
8/7
Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
8/8
icefairy's Treasure Chest
8/9
Tales of A Wanna-Be SuperHero Mom
8/10
ShootingStarsMag
8/11
LitPick Student Book Reviews
8/14
The Fairview Review
8/15

3 comments:

Lisa Maucione said...

This book sounds funny. I think kids will be amused.

Danielle H. said...

I love the premise of this book and how the author ramps up the tension by making the trouble parents Dewey's own parents. This will be fun to read.

David McMullin said...

What a fantastic idea. I look forward to reading this one.