Book Giveaway: THE STORY OF AUDREY HEPBURN: An Inspiring Biography for Young Readers by Natasha Wing

Natasha Wing has a new 64-page non-fiction biography chapter book, THE STORY OF AUDREY HEPBURN, illustrated by Marta Dorado published by Callisto Kids this week on June 11, 2024. Natasha has agreed to send a copy of the book to one lucky winner in the US.

All you have to do to get in the running is leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, or reblogging really helps spread the word about a new book. Thanks for helping Natasha and Marta.

If you have signed up to follow my blog and receive it every day, please let me know when you leave a comment, and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Discover the life of Audrey Hepburn―a story about grace, passion, and helping others for kids ages 6 to 9

Audrey Hepburn was a famous actress, fashion icon, and humanitarian. Before she became a movie star, she was a young girl in Belgium who wanted to be a ballerina. She lived through a world war and many other difficult times, but never gave up on her dreams and was always kind to everyone around her. This Audrey Hepburn kids’ book explores how she went from hiding her identity to being one of the most beloved celebrities in the world.

BOOK JOURNEY:

This book assignment arose from another I wrote for this series, “The Story of Eliza Hamilton.” I was contacted by Callisto Publishing (an imprint of Sourcebooks) to write a story about Audrey Hepburn. I have always admired her grace and talent, and her sense of fashion, but I didn’t know how involved she was in UNICEF. The great thing about writing biographies is you get to know so much more about a person.

The Story of series is designed to read like a chapter book yet contains additional educational prompts such as timelines, quizzes, a glossary, maps and myth busters. Writing one of these books takes more than writing up a narrative of a person’s life. The author needs to be a fact finder and create interesting sidebars as well which for me was part of the fun.

For these books, the publisher has strict deadlines, so I pretty much had to put other writing aside to meet them. But they generously provide an outline that you write towards which is super helpful. The author is also required to be involved in marketing the book (like I am now) and finding reviewers.

You work for a fixed fee with no royalties, but the best part is you can write and have a book published in about a year!

The Story of Audrey Hepburn almost didn’t make it to print. The day after  I turned in the final draft I was contacted that the publisher decided not to go ahead with the project. I was sad and disappointed but thankful that I learned so much about Audrey Hepburn. When the project was resurrected I was thrilled that kids would learn more about this incredible woman! Plus I just love the cover illustrated by Marta Dorado – fabulous!

NATASHA’S BIO:

Natasha Wing writes children;s books. She was born in Connecticut and now lives in Colorado. After graduating from Arizona State University, she worked in advertising for a number of years. It wasn’t until 1991 that she decided to write children’s books. Luckily she sold her first book within six months and has been writing children’s books and articles ever since. Some of her books have even ended up on bestseller lists, including the wildly popular The Night Before series.

“I’m curious about many things – people, holidays, underdogs, little known historic figures – and translate my excitement for a topic into books for kids to enjoy. Story ideas are popping into my head all the time, so you never know what my next book will be. But that’s what’s so fun about writing.”

Natasha Wing has multi-millions in book sales from her 32 year career as a writer. She loves writing biographies and has published An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers, and When Jackie Saved Grand Central, and the upcoming The Wire Zoo. Check out her other books on www.natashawing.com.

MARTA’S BIO:

Marta Dorado was born in Gijón (Asturias, Spain) in 1989 and raised in a nearby village. She later moved to Pamplona to attend University, where she still lives. After graduating in 2014 with an HND in Graphic Design, Marta started a career as a graphic designer in the advertising industry while developing her skills as an illustrator in her spare time. She also became a self-tough motion graphics animator, and in 2018, she gets a job in a marketing agency in the role of illustrator and animator.

In 2020 she decides to establish herself as a full-time freelance illustrator. Her childhood, surrounded by nature and close to the sea, strongly influences Marta’s work. She’s also inspired by music (classic and folk), beauty, and magic. Marta is an avid learner who is always delving into her varied interests from learning to sew to financial education or the Stoics’ philosophy.

Natasha, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. I love that this book introduces Audrey Hepburn to another generation of children. She is such an iconic figure. Children will love learning about her and adults will find joy in reading and remembering her.

It is sure to open conversations between parents and their children. Kids will be fascinated with how a young girl in Belgium who wanted to be a ballerina ended up being an actress, Academy Award Winner, fashion icon, to a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) traveling all over the world to for UNICEF to help orphaned and starving children who were victims of war. Audrey knew what it was like to be hungry since she grew up during World War II. It was her way of paying back UNICEF for delivering food that saved her from starvation.

Her story is so inspiring that children will read this book and remember how she plowed through life’s troubles and became famous, but she did it all while being kind to the people around her and loving children and animals. Audrey sets a wonderful example for kids as they go forward in their own lives.

The way Natasha wrote Audrey’s story, breaking it down into short chapters and simple language will help kids 6 to 9 learn to read on their own and while learning new words, they will also learn to be independent.

I love the illustrations Marta Dorado created for this book. The cover alone will have children and adults picking up this book.

Good luck marketing THE STORY OF AUDREY HEPBURN and getting it in many hands.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy