Important Children’s Books About Cancer for Kids

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Cancer is such a debilitating and sudden disease that when kids get hit, they often need children’s books about cancer to understand what’s happening to their bodies.

Author Dora Przybylek has a book titled “Luisita is Sick,” one of the best children’s books with disabled characters who remain strong and happy despite their circumstances. The story lets children and parents understand their situation and put love at the center. It certainly is worth a read for any parent or child who can relate to Luisita.

In light of this, we’ve put together a list of books for kids of various ages that will explain cancer and its impacts.

Patrice Karst’s “The Invisible String”

The “Invisible String” tackles separation and offers a mechanism for families to keep in touch, even if it is not specifically about cancer. When a loved one is receiving treatment or in the hospital, this book can provide kids with a sense of connection to that person.

It can also be beneficial if a youngster has separation anxiety because they must leave home, friends, or relatives to attend school.

Bradley Snyder and Marc Engelsgjerd’s “What Every Child Needs to Know About Cancer”

This straightforward board book discusses cancer using simple, kid-friendly language and illustrations. Additionally, it alleviates some kids’ most prevalent worries, such as “Is it my fault?” and “Can I get cancer?”

Todd Parr’s “Feelings”

Young children can use this simple picture book to name and categorize their emotions. The beautiful and straightforward illustrations enable kids to think about their feelings and serve as a tool for having safe and enjoyable conversations about emotions.

Dora Przybylek’s “Luisita is Sick”

When talking about children’s books about cancer, “Luisita is Sick” is one of the best children’s books with disabled characters. This wonderful tale of a girl with cancer and the love and care she receives from her family is told in this bilingual children’s book that has won numerous awards.

The book was created to assist both parents, and their children in coping with a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Every child or parent with cancer should get the book and read the story.

Sara Olsher’s “What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer”

The world is turned upside down when a youngster is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly, medical professionals—including nurses, child life professionals, and many technical terminologies that could make anyone’s head spin—take over our lives (and thoughts).

It only takes adding severe worry and anxiety to create the most challenging period in a family’s existence. The book “What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer” is aimed to reduce the stress and uncertainty accompanying a child’s cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Mark Unger’s First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough

First Survivor is a moving true story about a family’s battle with illness and the impossibility of a miracle that enabled their son to survive childhood cancer. This suspenseful story centers on a family’s fight to keep their young kid from receiving a “zero chance of survival” prognosis.

Louis Unger would embark on a five-year war for his young life with the assistance of the top doctors in the world and his parents’ support. His perseverance and inspiring outlook resulted in a discovery that altered how cancer is treated.

Sarah Bankuti and Kristina Dutton’s “Princess Lily Earns Her Beads”

“Princess Lily Earns Her Beads: A Book for Children with Cancer and Their Friends” is a work of fiction in fantasy and self-help. Author Sarah Bankuti wrote it with pictures by artist Kristina Dutton. It is geared toward both young readers who are autonomous and those who might need a little assistance from an adult.

It’s astonishing how much crucial, highly relatable information can be covered in a few pages. But this endearing and well-paced illustrated book does so with excellent tact and truth while discussing early cancer therapy and diagnosis.

Helping Kids by Introducing Children’s Books About Cancer

Watching a child get cancer and suffer from it is something that no parent, guardian, or family member shouldn’t experience. Cancer is so insidious and deadly that most of us wouldn’t know we had it until it was too late.

Children’s books with disabled characters that focus on people living with cancer, such as “Luisita is Sick,” helps provide insight for the child to know about the disease. If you’re looking for another children’s book-related topic, try reading our blog “How Children’s Books Create a Difference Amid Digital Age.”

The Quiet Fear of Abuse: Why Children Don’t Tell

Photo by Kat Smith

As adults, there are things that we do not wish to speak of (whether because it’s embarrassing, shameful, etc.) and try to steer any topic of it in any direction; now, imagine the quiet fear of abuse in children who don’t tell what atrocities they’ve been through.

Author Cynthia J. Giachino used to be one of those kids, and she shares the horrors she’s been through in her book Quiet. Fear.: An Autobiographical Novel. In the book, she uses a character named Lilly, who serves as her heart and eyes in the dark underworld of terror she lived in. Cynthia takes readers on a journey of self-care and healing they won’t soon forget.

Today, we’ll be talking about the principal theme present in the book, which is: why don’t children tell others and adults about the abuse they’ve been through?

Why Would Children Hide Their Abuse From Other People?

According to a study posted on PubMed titled Sexual Assault Disclosure In Relation to Adolescent Mental Health: Results from the National Survey of Adolescents, around 73% of kids don’t share any information about sexual abuse during the first year. Once five years have passed, around 45% of youngsters don’t disclose what happened to them, while some never disclose any information.

The Different Reasons Why Children Don’t Talk About Abuse

While we can speculate the possible reasons for this, experts have tried to narrow down the most likely explanations. Here are some of the reasons why children don’t find it in themselves to discuss their abuse:

1. They Were Groomed at a Very Young Age

Children often experience grooming at a very young age. Unfortunately, the ones grooming them are often their guardians, parents, or family relatives since they’re the closest to the kids. Grooming is the act of earning the young victim’s trust so that they would comply with the abuser, or in this case, the groomer.

Cynthia J. Giachino explores some of her experiences with grooming. The explanation behind why grooming reduces the chances of the child sharing details about the quiet fear of abuse. What makes grooming so dangerous is that it can happen in an extremely short amount of time or by interacting with a kid in numerous instances.

2. Love for the Abuser or Predator

Love is a compelling motivator encouraging children to remain quiet about the abuse. The unfortunate truth is that around 90% of every sexually abused youngster knows, loves, or trusts the one harming them. Due to the intense feelings of love that kids have, they often tend to keep the abuse a secret.

3. Children are Told to Keep the Abuse a Secret

Manipulation is one of the main tools that predators use to instruct kids so that the abuse remains a secret. They often tell children it’s something special that only the two know. This type of tactic is utilized frequently, particularly with young kids.

4. Feelings of Shame Engulfs Them

Victims of abuse, regardless of age, can go through feelings of shame, humiliation, or embarrassment. Sometimes, these feelings get so strong they override the decision to talk about the abuse to someone else. There are adverse effects brought up by shaming that the child will carry to adulthood.

For example, shaming might make a kid feel incapable of changing. Not everyone can be, or is, a star athlete or student. It’s a given that everybody makes mistakes even if they give 110% of their effort. Shaming might make a more sensitive child feel that they’re not good enough or a failure.

5. Abuse Use Threats and Fear to Silence

One more nefarious tactic abusers utilize is to instill fear into the minds of the children they’re abusing by threatening them. Threats can manifest in many forms, including mental, physical, and verbal. Abusers can even threaten to hurt those important to the victims to “keep them in line.”

Conveying the message that items or privileges will be withheld from kids if they don’t obey the abuser is also another form of abuse. There are moments when the child is intimidated or scared of their abusers. Children are small, and their strengths haven’t fully developed, so defending themselves would be difficult.

Let Us Be Thoughtful of Kids and Keep Them Safe

We have a job to keep children safe and can do that by being thoughtful of them. Let’s check on them frequently, build trust, and ensure that they’re safe with us. Cynthia J. Giachino’s autobiography shows how vital being thoughtful to children is.

By being thoughtful of children, we can notice something wrong, address it, and help them. We can ultimately save them from suffering the quiet fear of abuse and teach kids how to be brave!

The Art of Writing: Reflections and Ruminations

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Have you ever read a book about short stories and poems and just felt your heart lighten itself or become heavy? That is the supreme power of the art of writing.

While nobody can deny the influence that a good piece of writing has on the mind, only a few acknowledge its true power and the beauty that comes along with it. 

Whether it is a work of poetry, or prose, perhaps even just a simple line or two written hastily on a piece of paper, any form that writing takes has the potential and the ability to capture one’s heart and the moment it is trying to encapsulate and transform it in a way that it resonates with the reader and throughout time and space.

The art of writing, when executed well, can take readers across different time periods, places both fictional and real, and even provoke from their many different kinds of emotions. The best writing influences us throughout our lives.

Emotions through the Art of Writing

Perhaps the most brilliant aspect of writing is its profound and stunning capacity for eliciting emotional reactions from its readers. Have you ever read a book about short stories and poems and just felt your heart lighten itself or become heavy? That is the supreme power of the art of writing.

The written word is imbued with the power to subtly manipulate the myriad emotions that constantly cycle through the mind.

Simply from reading a marvelous novel alone, a person can find themselves walking the streets of another town that does not exist in reality, experiencing the joy, the pain, and everything in between that one character is being subjected to, as if the life we are reading about was our own. A poem can help us capture the essence of a moment, a memory or recount to us a commonplace experience in so few lines and in such a way that we are struck, asking ourselves, “Why didn’t I think of that?” and this realization follows us for very long. 

Even just a crude letter of love from someone we love and know is written from the heart can pull on our heartstrings in a way that speaking out loud never could.

Reflecting through the Art of Writing

Yet writing is not just a tool to induce and expand emotions. It is also primarily a mode of communication. The primary goal of communication is to express oneself, and writing is perhaps the greatest tool we have in our arsenal, aside from speech itself.

Through writing, we have a wider playground to express ourselves. Writing is a great way to share your thoughts, emotions, and experiences with other people. Reading others’ writings is a wonderful way to connect with them more deeply. When compared to simply speaking, writing can potentially be more effective and transparent because writing is more of a deliberate act than attempting conversation.

The malleability and form of writing also make it both a personal and universal work. When an author pours out their experiences into pen and paper, they may at first think that they are just revealing themselves to a wider audience–but they are also uncovering the experiences and emotions of other people.

The greatest benefit that writing provides, save for a very efficient method of delivering and keeping information, is that it acts as a bridge between people’s minds. Humans are quite varied and differ from each other by quite a lot–writing serves as an excellent way of reaching out and making our experiences more known and understandable. It is through writing that we become closer as a community and as a species.

The Lasting Influence of the Art of Writing

But perhaps the most significant trait of writing is its distinct ability to endure. Where speech can be lost in time, the written word is fairly robust and long-lasting. A novel, a string of verses, or a love letter can endure and be copied, being re-read from generation to generation and meaning differently each time it is read. This is how wisdom persists because it is written down for new readers to come by it.

The art of writing transcends time and space, creating a network that connects readers from past, present, and future and everywhere across the face of this earth and perhaps beyond the stars.

How Architecture and History Are Deeply Intertwined

Photo by Maria Orlova

The observations made by Ronald Lee Harden about Tampa’s architectural history and the black community are pretty insightful about the unity of architecture and history.

While architecture is seen more as a physical art and a field of science, it is also more than that. Architecture is akin to a mirror, reflective of the culture, beliefs, and values of the civilization, society, or people who created it. One could even say it is the literal manifestation of a given time period’s culture, history, politics, and art. As someone who’s always been passionate about art (of which architecture is an example, contrary to some other people’s views) and history, I have slowly learned to be aware of the significance of architecture in comprehending and acquiring a glimpse of the past, especially the cultures of those that came before us.

The Intersection of Architecture and History

Although I am not one for traveling much, every time I do find myself somewhere outside of my usual haunts, I try to discover as much architecture as I can, especially if I’m in a place that is known for its marvelous structures and buildings like Osaka in Japan or Bangkok in Thailand. Even just “traveling” through the internet, looking up Wikipedia pages, Google image search results, etc., I feel really happy when appreciating the myriad architectural styles that have blossomed throughout history–from the classical style that originated with the Greeks and the Romans, the austere blocks of Brutalist architecture to the paradoxically sophisticated simplicity of modernism. 

While people might have their preferences and their dislikes when it comes to architecture and the history behind it, I am always in awe of the beauty these styles have and the durability of their examples, having withstood the invariable approach of time. You see, architecture is much like a storybook (although its pages are not something everyone can read, let alone turn) in that it tells the stories and experiences of the people who built them, the materials that they used, the very techniques that went into constructing them and the purpose of their establishment.

Architecture is not only a marker of history but a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of our forebears.

The Function of Architecture Throughout History

Architecture has been one way of communicating power and authority throughout history. Take a look at the past, and I’m sure you will find many examples of these on display. Just think of the Pyramids in Giza, the monumental tombs of the dead pharaohs, the Taj Mahal in India, a reminder of an emperor’s love for his departed wife, the Great Wall of China, a massive line of defensive walls established to keep out the hostile barbarians of Imperial China, and the several cathedrals dotting Europe and South America. These and more are all symbols of wealth and power.

And while we may not be quite aware of them, they still exude the power to impress, intimidate and inspire. 

Perhaps more than its ability to communicate power, architecture is, more importantly, the reflection of the social and cultural values of the society that established them.

By examining how contemporary architecture functions and how modern people engage with them, we can compare these observations to different examples of architecture throughout history and learn how people lived their daily lives and interacted with their surroundings.

For example, looking at the recent 19th century, people still had bustling street communities, as evidenced by narrower streets as compared to today’s wider streets which are geared more towards vehicular traffic. This suggests that personal automobiles were not used as much as they were today, perhaps due to it being a new invention or the relative cost of acquiring one.

This is just a minor example, but there are several more if you just go looking for it, like house sizes, roof shapes, preferred colorations, etc.

So, to conclude, architecture is an important tool for knowing more about the history and the societies of the past.

If you are looking to read more about the intersection between architecture and history, try reading this seminal work from Ronald Lee Harden that explores several decades of unexplored black architecture and history in Tampa, Florida.

Fantastic Tips to Teach Students Poetry

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

Poetry is undeniably beautiful, and we should share it with everyone whenever possible, so we prepare some tips to teach students poetry.

Raymond Quattlebaum is a successful master poet. His book, “The Color of Love,” celebrates the beauty and love around us. This is the landscape of life by Quattlebaum that can aid readers in feeling the good things around them.

If you wish to introduce and teach students the beauty of poetry, then start here. We’ve prepared a list of tips to make poetry teaching easier and more engaging. Join us as we learn some helpful poetry-teaching tips today.

1. Take the Time to Examine Poetry to Discern the Author’s Meaning

The enjoyable part of poetry analysis is looking for the message the poet was attempting to convey. Here is when metaphorical language is helpful. The poetry’s musical-like rhythm and flow are a result of it.

The carefully chosen words flow, beat in rhythm, have a certain sequence of syllables, and evoke specific images in the reader’s head. Before attempting to teach poetry to kids, you must read the poem thoroughly for yourself.

Poetry analysis isn’t something you pick up and teach kids; some poems are tricky for grownups to comprehend, let alone ask kids. It would help if you genuinely took the time to understand the poetry by thinking, pondering, and asking questions regarding what you’ve read.

2. Inspire Students to Share the Poetry They Wrote

Once your students have finished writing their poems, encourage them to share them with everyone. When it comes to poetry sharing, teachers can pair up students, letting them share their poems. This is a fantastic way for small groups of students to help develop classroom relationships and confidence.

Teachers can also have their students read the poems they wrote to the entire class. However, we should remember that students must only be forced to read their poems aloud if they’re comfortable. If students are forced, the opportunity and tips to teach students poetry will go to waste.

Putting up their written works on the wall is also an effective method. Celebrating one’s output is one of the critical components of the landscape of life by Quattlebaum that we should follow after all.

3. Use Poems Students Can Relate to Introduce Them to It

Among the finest ways to teach poetry to teens and students is to hook them on poetry. Teachers can do this by introducing poems that students will like and can relate to. After students hear poems that speak to them, their walls of resistance will begin to crumble, allowing them to open up.

4. Offer the Kids an Opportunity to Write Their Poems

The number one way to strengthen a student’s passion for poetry, allow them to write poems. Poetry is riddled with lots of styles that teachers can make their students experiment with them. Students can use alliterations, stimulate the five senses, haikus, etc.

So long as the students are actively writing poems, teachers shouldn’t be too harsh on their analysis. It would also be best for students new to poetry to be taught that it doesn’t have to rhyme. They should focus on having fun writing poems, using them to write their interests, and the role of poetry in our lives.

5. Always Read Every Poem Aloud Twice or More

When it comes to poems, it’s often best to read them aloud more than once. A person’s first read will typically focus more on the story a poem conveys. Every other poetry element is pushed aside, as a person’s attention who isn’t well-versed in poetry would often miss them.

Individuals can discern and appreciate these elements during the second, third, and fourth reads (along with the other reads). Things like rhyme, meter, line breaks, number of syllables, etc., become easier to notice. After this, the poem becomes a unique piece of literature, better than it was initially perceived.

Many say that poetry is an art form that is difficult to get into, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right steps and tips to teach students poetry, the art form can become a fun and fantastic moment for everyone. A moment that will linger with anyone long after the moment is gone.

If you want to read more poems, author and poet Raymond Quattlebaum has some great pieces. Click here to visit his website, grab a copy of his book, “The Color of Love,” and enjoy the landscape of life by Quattlebaum today!

Understanding a Bully and Their Honest Thoughts

Photo by Keira Burton

Bullies can be found worldwide, and while it’s difficult or even counterproductive to do so, understanding a bully is essential for our society.

There’s no doubt that bullying is a problem, but it’ll be impossible for us to do that if we don’t understand what bullies are thinking. Caroleann Rice’s ladybug children’s book knows much about this subject. Her book “The Ladybug and The Bully Frog” discusses how to stand up to bullies.

It’s sad news that bullying is a growing issue, like a pandemic jumping from one person to another. Bullying happens regardless of status as well. Whether you are at work, at a family event, or school setting, bullying is always happening.

With that in mind, why do bullies bully others? Let’s find out and dive into the reasons for bullies!

Why Do Bullies Use Aggressive Behavior?

Children who bully often act out to get attention because they don’t get enough attention from their parents at home. Kids who are neglected, have divorced parents, or whose parents frequently use drugs or alcohol can fall under this category.

Older siblings could also bring on the issue. Older siblings are more likely to bully a younger brother. This behavior may stem from being bullied themselves, and they do it to feel less vulnerable or powerful. Furthermore, a mature role model may be a bully.

These mature role models include coaches, parents, teachers, relatives, etc. Frequently, the parents are angry, unable to handle conflict healthily, or are bullies themselves. Many children learn this behavior in their households, later becoming bullies.

Fortunately, this type of learned behavior can always be unlearned. However, it’s important to remember that some children are naturally dominating, impulsive, and aggressive. Their behaviors aren’t always indications that they’re bullies.

The Different Kinds of Bullies

Bullies abuse, use, and dominate people. They don’t have empathy or forethought, and they despise the vulnerable. They target weaker kids and take advantage of them.

People who are bullies often don’t take any accountability for their actions. They’re hungry for attention and power, like the bully frog in Caroleann Rice’s ladybug children’s book. Numerous platforms that raise bullying awareness have helped identify the different kinds of bullies, each with various reasons for choosing to bully people.

Understanding a bully entails that we identify some of the types of bullies out there, and here they are:

• Detached bullies organize their assaults and are amiable to everyone except their targets.
• Bullied bullies get a sense of relief from bullying helpless individuals and overpowering them
• Hyperactive bullies lack social skills, behave improperly, and occasionally become physical
• Social bullies possess low self-esteem and use meanness and slander to control others

Most bullies usually can’t grasp how misguided their actions are. They don’t even know what the one being bullied feels. While most bullies are also going through something difficult, bullying is still unacceptable.

Opportunities That Arise from Demystifying Bullies

We can now understand that every kind of bully has a weak foundation since a magnifying glass has been directed toward a previously obscure item.

Folks can take power away from them by demystifying the bully and realizing that most of these kids put up an iron front while utterly terrified of their flaws being exposed.

Now, bullied children can overcome their fears and rise above them. When people comprehend the bully’s genuine nature, fears, mental limitations, and hopeless need for power, they can have a better self-mastery.

When told they’re bullies, a youngster’s thoughts will shift after understanding that the bully attitude is faulty and cowardly. Once this happens, the feeling and conduct follow, changing what we portray and our body language, transforming the paradigm.

How Can Families and Schools Stop Bullying?

Bullying is a problem that is getting worse and is harming our communities and schools. Online bullying is becoming more prevalent, increasing the number of bullied and tormented youngsters, especially among older kids. Bullies may be able to conceal themselves online, but the objects of bullying are undoubtedly unsafe.

To help stop bullying, families and schools can start by building a school culture that celebrates and embraces diversity. There should be zero tolerance for behaviors tied to bullying. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) opportunities must also be embedded into the system.

Understanding a bully opens our eyes to the many adverse effects bullying has. Bullying should never be pushed aside and downplayed. Even Caroleann Rice’s ladybug children’s book understands how detrimental bullying can be.

The book focuses on letting Milton, the bully frog, realize the error in his ways using the incredible voice of love. Discover more details about the book by clicking here to visit Caroleann Rice’s website and purchase a copy!

Fascinating Theories About the Wonderful Atlantis

Photo by Francesco Ungaro

Atlantis is a mysterious city buried underneath the waves, and there are many fascinating theories about the wonderful Atlantis.

Kenneth J. Sousa wrote a book titled Man-Dar of Atlantis, where he mixes science fiction and adventure. There is also another book titled Black Menace by Kenneth Sousa, which is just as interesting as Man-Dar of Atlantis. But today, we’ll focus on Atlantis and discuss Black Menace on another date.

With that in mind, let’s take the time to look at six of the most distinguished theories regarding Atlantis and its lost civilization. We guarantee that you’ll be amazed by these theories.

Theory #1: Atlantis Was Formerly Antarctica

The first theory we’ll be tackling today is the one that says Atlantis was a temperate version of what we now call Antarctica. It’s based on Charles Hapgood’s work, whose 1958 book titled Earth’s Shifting Crust even had a foreword written by Albert Einstein.

Hapgood claims that the Earth’s crust moved about 12,000 years ago, moving the region that formed Antarctica from a place further north where it is now. The residents of this advanced civilization lived on this more temperate continent, but they perished when it abruptly moved to its current icy position.

The Atlanteans and the wonderful city were buried beneath layers of ice. Hapgood’s “shifting crust” notion was generally consigned to the periphery of Atlantean ideas because it was developed before the scientific community fully understood plate tectonics.

Theory #2: Atlantis Isn’t Real and was Invented by Plato

Most historians and scientists have concluded that Plato’s description of the mythical Atlantean kingdom was fictitious. It’s arguably one of the most accepted theories about the wonderful Atlantis.

This argument holds that the Greek philosopher created Atlantis as his ideal society and meant the account of its destruction to be a warning about the gods condemning human hubris.

In addition to Plato’s dialogues, none of the many other works from ancient Greece that have survived have recorded accounts of Atlantis. Furthermore, no evidence of such a drowned civilization has been discovered despite recent advancements in ocean-floor mapping and oceanography.

The Black Menace by Kenneth Sousa doesn’t talk about Atlantis, unlike his Man-Dar of Atlantis. Kenneth wrote a fine tale that counters this theory, showing Atlantis is a real city in a world of science fiction.

Theory #3: Atlantis was a Continent in the Mid-Atlantic Swallowed by the Ocean

There was a shift in belief during the later years of the 19th century, mainly that Atlantis had been an actual historical location and not merely a myth made up by Plato first emerged.

Ignatius Donnelly contended that the achievements of the ancient civilizations (such as metallurgy, language, and agriculture) must have been passed along by an earlier advanced civilization. Ignatius further posits this idea in his book Atlantis, the Antediluvian World, published in 1882.

He believed that the ancient people back then weren’t advanced enough to create such technologies by themselves. Donnelly presented a continent swamped by fluctuating seawater that sank in the precise location Plato claimed it happened.

Presuming the Atlantic Ocean was merely a few hundred feet deep, the sinking happened when the two rocks that signified the entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar, called the “Pillars of Hercules,” collapsed.

Theory #4: Atlantis is the Tale About the Minoan Civilization

One of the more recent Atlantean ideas focuses on the Minoans, who lived more than 4,000 years ago on the Greek islands of Thera (now Santorini) and Crete, and were named after the mythological King Minos.

The Minoans were the first Europeans to adopt a written language (Linear A), build magnificent palaces, and pave roads, making them considered to be Europe’s first great civilization. But the Minoans abruptly vanished from history at the pinnacle of their glory.

The mysterious vanishing has encouraged the idea that something cataclysmic event destroyed the empire and is connected to Plato’s Atlantis.

Atlantis is a city that inspires writers to write their novels. Even though Black Menace by Kenneth Sousa wasn’t inspired by Atlantis, his other book Man-Dar of Atlantis, has a premise revolving around the lost city.

The mysteries behind Atlantis might never be uncovered, but we shall never stop contemplating them. We will continue to make theories about the wonderful Atlantis. It’s like a literal “Call of the Abyss,” pulling in scientists, historians, and writers alike.

The Gripping Firefighter Story in On Call

Photo by Denniz Futalan

On Call is a book about the bravery, stories, and life of firefighters that most people don’t get to see.

Rotha J. Dawkins, author with multiple genres (for her books On Call and Treats & Tales), showcases the life of firefighters in her book. She tackles what it’s like to be “on call” whenever fires occur. Readers can expect a genuine tale within each page.

Let’s look deeper into the book and what makes it fascinating for readers. If you’re a reader who likes real-life perils and stories of heroism, then this book is for you. With that said, we’ll go ahead and dive in now!

What is On Call All About?

“ON CALL” explores the experiences and daily life of firefighters. This will sustain you through exciting, tragic, and utopian situations. You’ll adore the characters because they work so hard to become believable.

The true art of protecting people and property is battling fires. No matter how big or small a circumstance, these heroes hurry to do their unknowing jobs.

“ON CALL” is brimming with daring, danger, and unexpected events that inspire empathy. Their private feature of spending every waking hour together is acknowledged through repeated allusion to the in-house manner of life that is always available.

Firefighting is not just Being a Public Servant

Thanks to their tireless efforts to save lives and property from fire, firefighters are more than just government employees; they are heroes in their communities. The true art of protecting people and property is battling fires. Regardless of how grand or minuscule the problem is, firefighters always rush to the fierce heat.

Any reader who reads the heartbreaking book by Rotha J. Dawkins, an author with multiple genres, will come to respect the courage of fireman personnel as they learn about their lives and tales outside of their 24-hour duty. “On Call” emphasizes the skill and beauty of combating fires.

Rotha knows how to create relatable and compelling characters as an author with multiple genres. “On Call” brilliantly characterizes the stories of the firefighters that work there. Readers will experience a rollercoaster ride of tragedy, excitement, and paradise as they follow the book’s plot.

The Fantastic Themes Readers Can Delight In

Rotha J. Dawkins’ book is replete with parts that support the themes of courage, bravery, fear, and surprises that instill compassion. Towards the conclusion of each chapter, Dawkins delights her readers by including recipes as a tribute to the “Fire Family Life.”

She considers it an honor to share the inspiring tale of a firefighter’s life and career. Anyone looking for motivation should read this book, particularly those who have family members who are firefighters.

Let’s Talk a Bit More About the Author

Rotha J. Dawkins is a Lexington, North Carolina native. When she was only eighteen, she had her debut fashion show in Lexington using twenty-five items of clothing she had created and constructed.

Along with designing for Greensboro Mfg., Jimmy Prince Originals, and Neshia in New York, Rotha founded the lingerie company Le’ Joy. Publicity about the Belk-Martin-sponsored event spread across the state.

Rotha eventually graduated from the Mayer School of Dress Design in New York City and New York University with a draping and fashion design degree.

Rotha J. Dawkins — A Jack of All Trades in the Best Way

If one were to call Rotha J. Dawkins a jack of all trades, then that would be an understatement. Rotha had created costumes for Las Vegas showgirls before she became an author. She was also an organizer and winner of beauty pageants.

Throughout Rotha’s life, she has remained to be observant and imaginative. These traits flung her into writing and significantly improved her writing skills. She has written over ten books, including On Call and Treats & Tales, a book full of recipes for dog lovers.

What Can Readers Expect from the Book?

Readers can expect a mix of happiness, sadness, heartfelt moments, tragic losses, and admiration for these heroes with no capes. Every time a firefighter goes to answer the call of duty, they’re constantly putting themselves in peril. Readers won’t know what challenges the characters will face and whether they’ll come out alive.

As an author with multiple genres, Rotha J. Dawkins knows how to make a compelling story. A story that gives readers a mix of emotions that will stay with them for a while.

If you wish to check some of her other works, click here to visit her website!

The Multifaceted Source: Where Artists Draw Inspiration From

Photo by Cherry Laithang

The art collection of Vera Bonacci possesses an eclectic and oddly intimate range of styles and themes. Each piece is a thorough exploration of color and has me asking where they find inspiration.

It is within the world and its myriad wonders that artists find most of their inspiration, whether it is from living subjects, places of awe, or memorable events. It is through these observations of the world, mixed with their emotions and experiences that they create a vision for their works—you can’t create anything, after all, if you don’t have an end product in mind.

After looking at works from the art collection of Vera Bonacci, I was struck by how varied her works were and how, despite the seeming incongruence with each other, they actually held a similar pull. Perhaps this was the purview of artists and their mastery over their own work. Or maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Regardless, I wanted to learn more about where artists look for inspiration. 

A common source of inspiration for artists is the natural world. The complexities and marvels that exist in nature offer a potent spark for inspiring artists, from painters, photographers, sketch artists, and even those who work outside visual media. There is no end, and there are no limitations to the artists’ creative and ingenious mind when it comes to learning and mimicking nature, whether it is because of how dew drops cling on to the underside of leaves, the way sunlight breaks on the ocean surface, how snowflakes form and the patterns of rocks as they roll down the hills.

Some artists even incorporate physical activity when they want to find inspiration from nature: diving down the sea to feel its pressure, climbing up mountains to learn the sensation of lightheadedness, going to the jungles to observe the many interactions between flora and fauna, and more. By using nature as a subject, artists can put their own personal spin on the reality of the world, injecting existence with a bit more color.

Personal experience is also another source of inspiration for artists. They say that the best art is where the artist’s life is reflected—and personal perspective is often a popular subject for a lot of artists, especially those who are also working through intense and fierce emotions. It is often posited by many critics and art enthusiasts that good art is borne from emotion; this inclusion of one’s private thoughts into a public product makes the art more meaningful and resonant.

Isn’t this why love songs are so ubiquitous, popular, and pervasive?

It’s because love is such a universal emotion, and almost everyone has felt it at one point in their lives. By using their emotions and experiences to fuel their creative endeavors, artists can pull out finished products that are more relatable and appealing. Guiding your most passionate emotions into art is also a great way to work those feelings out.

The best thing about inspiration and how artists go about looking for it is that it makes for a very ripe and fertile ground for innovation. Styles and themes flourish because they are shared and examined. If an artist keeps singularly quiet and never even releases a hint of where they might have acquired their inspiration, the art, the finished product, becomes more hollow and unfeeling—that is because humans, while loving art, are also creatures of narrative, and we just simply love a good story, don’t we?

Regardless of where inspiration springs forth, all artists create art to create, with their vision, something that lasts—which is a work of art that is beautiful, meaningful, and genuinely authentic. 

Whatever they are, painters, musicians, writers or dancers, perhaps even gardeners and handymen, they all play a critical role in human society and advancement. By relying on their own unique observations of the world and emotional memories, they create things that endure for a long time and are endlessly inspirational. Good art has the power to touch the heart and the best change minds.

Where artists find their inspiration, I think, is ultimately a narrow question that is forever without clear answers but nonetheless an intriguing one. At the end of things, what matters most is what they create with their inspiration, but I did find it a fun dive into things, and I do apologize if it comes off too short or too generalized. 

As a wonderful English author once said, “Make Good Art.”

Love in Poetry: Why Is It a Highly Popular Subject?

Photo by Melike Benli

Love in poetry is prevalent, expressing feelings of intimacy, closeness, and romance. But why exactly is love such a common subject in poetry?

Poet and author Raymond Quattlebaum, and his “Poetry In Motion” Quattlebaum book, is well-versed in writing love poems. Although “Poetry In Motion” focuses mainly on why life is such an incredible thing, love is undoubtedly sprinkled in it—particularly God’s love for each of us.

What does love, and the idea of love, stirs the poetic imagination? What about it triggers the sensitive souls more than delectable food, the pleasures of sex, or lovely weather?

Why Do Poets Gush Over the Matter of Love?

There have undoubtedly been a lot of poems written about feasts, sexual exploits, and lovely, warm climates. However, neither the quantity nor the intensity can compare to the poet’s flood of exquisite words on the most important topic of all: love.

What does love have, as a subject, that makes a poet’s soul regurgitate flowery words and emotional verses on a blank paper?

Follow us as we try to uncover the possible reasons!

1. Overwhelming Emotions Rise Forth from Their Bosoms

Poets frequently have romantic spirits motivated by passion, rage, ecstasy, envy, and melancholy. They sip from the cup of life but long for the drink that will slake all their thirsts. While appreciating the world’s beauty, they simultaneously hope for universal truth and salvation to quench their thirst and save their souls.

So why is love a renowned topic in poetry? It’s because when people get overwhelmed with passion, they want to release it. You occasionally have the good fortune of being able to communicate your feelings to the object of your desire. But frequently, they are unrequited, out of reach, or one that has passed away.

This is when poets whip out their pens, take their notebooks off the shelf, and use moonlight to pour their hearts out on paper.

2. Having High Energies Due to High Optimism

Poets often write about love because it is such a profound subject. Not everyone will have long-lasting connections or the same life experiences concerning love. But that’s okay because life and love are not a competition.

Readers will find that in “Poetry In Motion” Quattlebaum book, love illicit high energy in a person. A lifetime of false hope or loneliness could be outweighed by even one week of pure love since the value of love is limitless. Everyone possesses an inner flame fuelled by passionate aspirations and lofty ambitions.

Love in poetry triggers this inner flame and gives a person lots of energy.

3. Elated by the Feeling of Love

If you’ve ever experienced love, you know how uplifting it is. True, love can also bring you to your knees when faced with a challenge. You are, however, about as lofty as you will ever be when things are going well or when your imaginations are at their peak.

Poets frequently pick up a writing tool when feeling upbeat and turn their ideas into rhyme and verse. They are propelled to tremendous heights by the force of love. It allows them to communicate those intense feelings that many of us find difficult to articulate.

There’s a good reason why individuals frequently recite sentimental love poems at marriages or write love poems to someone they admire.

4. Writing Down and Intense Inspiration

Poets can combine the holy with the earthly in their portrayals of love, which might be challenging to express in words. The greatest poets in history often use similes and metaphors. They source these from the outside world and themselves to bring captivating imagery.

The imagery poets create can bear and transport us to wonder and excitement. They encourage us not to give up on our pursuit of love by illuminating the bright hues of love for us. Even during the old times, which some of us might consider joyless, backward, and dangerous, the notion of love still existed.

With the Romantic movement between the 1790s to the 1830s, the subject of love shot through the stratosphere.

Enjoy Love and the Works Written About It

Love is fantastic, and love in poetry merely approximates what love feels like. Authors and poets like Raymond Quattlebaum continue to embody love in their writing literature. His “Poetry In Motion” Quattlebaum book is an excellent example of how he incorporates love within the pages of his book.

You can get a copy of Mr. Quattlebaum’s book by clicking here and start reading about love and its brilliance!

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