Book Nook: Normal Nina and the Magic Box

How often do you wish you were someone else - or at least wonder what it would be like? I know I often wondered that as a kid, and occasionally now, even though I'm pretty satisfied with life. But sometimes this wondering can go to far, or be the product of poor self-esteem. That's what Normal Nina and the Magic Box hopes to help.

I had a chance to review this cute little book, written for early elementary students, with a lilting verse that makes the book fun to read and listen to, and a powerful message about wanting to be someone else. She finds a magic box and is granted three wishes - and finds out that what she wishes for doesn't always work out how she hopes.

After a successful career in the world of professional services in London, Ian Sadler has turned his time and attention to one of his most rewarding hobbies—creating humorous, rhyming stories for children. He brings to life his colorful, fun-loving characters and overlays gentle messages for daily living in the family and at school. With a presence, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, his publishing company originally focused on his stories written when his own kids, Alice and George, were growing up.

Artist Adrienne Brown, always loved to look at books with drawings and paintings early on in her childhood. She carried that with her and studied Graphic Design & Illustration at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS receiving her BFA in 1992. Her favorite medium is watercolor but uses many. She started with a small graphics company “C3” and helped design children’s meal bags and toys for some clients such as “Sonic”, “Bonanza”, and “California Pizza Kitchen”. She has been a graphic designer and freelance artist for 25 years. She often donated paintings for charity fund raisers. Through the years of many illustrations and many graphics she still has the inner “tingle” for illustrating children’s books.