Book Giveaway: CONNOR CROWE CAN’T LET GO by Howard Pearlstein

Howard Pearlstein has written a new picture book, CONNOR CROWE CAN’T LET GO illustrated by Stefani and published by Clavis Publishing. It will hit bookstores on March 28th. Howard has agreed to share a copy with one lucky winner living in the United States.

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 for a new book. So, thanks for helping Howard and Stefani.

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

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A cautionary tale about our obsession with electronic devices and a reminder about reconnecting with the simple things offline…

Do you ever wish you could play with your tablet non-stop? Be careful what you wish for! It might actually come true, and you might find out it wasn’t such a great idea after all!  Connor Crowe loves his parents, he loves his dog, he even loves his sister. But, most of all, he loves . . . his tablet! He plays on it when he wakes up. He plays on it when he gets home. He plays on it before he goes to bed. But one day, he wishes he could just let it go . . .

A helpful story about a boy who can’t let go of his tablet. For children ages 5 years and up.

BOOK JOURNEY:

My wife and I went out to breakfast one day and it seemed like every parent was on his or her phone rather than paying attention to their children. When the kids started getting antsy, the parents gave them their phones to occupy them. I thought this was incredibly sad to see families barely interacting with each other.

I remembered a story from when I was little about a boy who pushed vegetables onto his fork with his thumb, even though his parents told him not to. He kept doing it and one day vegetables started growing from his thumb. At first it was cool, but then the vegetables grew out of control. I thought a similar premise could work for a boy who’s addicted to his device and then realizes the consequences. I wanted this story to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of choosing devices over people – but told in a humorous and fun way.

As I wrote the story, I realized that the theme was similar to The Chocolate Touch … be careful what you wish for. This felt like a universal theme and one that would resonate with readers.

I started writing Connor Crowe in August of 2020. I thought my manuscript was pretty good, but knew it could be better, so I paid for a critique from the Institute of Children’s Literature. I received some excellent feedback, and felt like the manuscript was submission-ready in December of 2020. I figured the holidays weren’t a good time to start querying, so I sent query letters to about two dozen agents in January of 2021. After receiving nothing but form rejections or no responses at all, I started querying publishers that accepted unsolicited manuscripts.

Clavis Publishing, who had published one of my first books, Sally Ann McFidgetbottm, liked the manuscript and I signed a contract with them in May of 2021.

They recommended Stefani Buijsman for the illustrator and, once I saw her work, I knew she was the perfect illustrator. Her visuals have so much heart and life. She did an amazing job, and I couldn’t be happier with how the illustrations enhanced the story.

The book will be released March 28, 2023.

HOWARD’S BIO:

Howard Pearlstein is a picture book author and an advertising creative director who has worked with some of the world’s most popular brands. A California native, Howard now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife, Debi. Howard has three daughters, Amanda, Jacquie, and Emily, who have grown up and live across the country. He also has a dog named Maeby, who still lives at home

Howard Pearlstein is the author of 10 picture books that have been translated into five languages. In 2023, his new book releases include The Liebrary, Yeehoo Press, and The Old Man Eating Alone, Clavis Publishing. In 2024, This Book Is Not For You will be published by Familus.

Howard is also an advertising copywriter who has worked on some of the world’s most popular brands, including Toyota, Verizon and Mitsubishi. A California native, Howard now lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, Debi. Howard has three daughters, Amanda, Jacquie and Emily, who live across the country, and one dog, Maeby, who still lives at home.

STEFANI’S BIO:

Stefani Buijsman lives in The Netherlands with her husband and daughters.

For several years, she worked as a graphic designer and photographer, before discovering her passion for visual storytelling.

In her search for ways to convey emotion as strikingly as possible, Stefani is inspired by the purity of young children’s drawings.

Through them, she discovers how to express the essence of feeling.

Thank you Howard for sharing your book and journey with us. This is a very timely story with all the research being done on the addictive nature and dangers of digital devices and how they affect children. So I am glad you noticed this and wrote a book that might help children to let go of their electronic devices and find pleasures in the other things around them. Stefani’s illustrations are very entertaining and will keep kids turning every page. Good luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy