CHILDHOOD REGAINED - Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers, out May 10!

Great news -- Childhood Regained - Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers will be released world-wide on May 10 and is now ready for pre-order on Amazon.  This is a compelling collection of 20 touching, yet hopeful short stories and a poem, by 19 talented writers, about various children in South Asia laboring long hours in factories, quarries, plantations, mines, and other situations.
 
All net proceeds go to SOS Children's Villages http://www.soschildrensvillages.ca

If you know of any middle-grade or high school teachers, school librarians, public librarians, or booksellers, please let them know that the book is on NetGalley for them to download and review. Here's the link to Childhood Regained on NetGalley: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book/88226.

Please "Like" our Facebook page for this anthology for charity here: https://www.facebook.com/ChildhoodRegained/. We'll be having a release day party there on May 10, with lots of fun and giveaways!

To read descriptions of the stories and excerpts, please go to the website page for the anthology: http://www.jodierenner.com/books/anthologies/childhood-regained-stories-of-hope-for-asian-child-workers/

All 20 stories and one poem were written specifically for this anthology by writers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Sweden, Malta, and India, and have not been published anywhere else.

Contributors: D. Ansing, Della Barrett, Hazel Bennett, Edward Branley, Fern G.Z. Carr, Tom Combs, Sanjay Deshmukh, E.M. Eastick, Peter Eichstaedt, Patricia Anne Elford, Lori Duffy Foster, Sarah Hausman, Barbara A. Hawley, Rayne Kaa Hedberg, Steve Hooley, Eileen Hopkins, Kym McNabney, Jodie Renner, Caroline Sciriha

Compiled and edited by Jodie Renner

ALL NET PROCEEDS GO TO

“The central theme of the Childhood Regained anthology concerns one of our world’s darkest yet most deeply hidden problems. These are tales that demand to be widely read, written by authors who deserve the widest possible audience. You can’t read these stories and remain passive about the current state of child labor in Asia, or anywhere, really. Strongly recommended.”
~ Joe Hartlaub, Bookreporter.com

“Each well-researched story in Childhood Regained is rooted in the point of view of child workers, starting with the harsh realities of their lives and reaching hope-filled, satisfying conclusions. Yet, the contributing authors from around the world, with their unique writing styles, avoid clichéd, predictable, or overly sweet endings. For young readers, the poignant cover image and evocative sensory details in the writing will draw them into the book. They will be impacted by being exposed to the unfamiliar worlds in these transformative stories. As the characters experience hardship, then rescue, education that brings hope, and childhood joys restored, the reader may gain a new appreciation for all they have and a desire to help make a difference in the world. Highly recommended.”

~ Karen Autio, award-winning author of books for young readers: historical novels Second Watch, Saara’s Passage, and Sabotage; chapter book Kah-Lan the Adventurous Sea Otter; and picture book Growing Up in Wild Horse Canyon   www.karenautio.com

Hidden in darkness and unnoticed by the rest of the world, there exists a horrible situation in South Asia - India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Millions of children as young as five, forced to work up to 16 hours a day. Barely enough food. Poor accommodations for sleep and hygiene. Working in dangerous situations – mines, quarries, factories, brickyards, and on the streets.

Governments and charitable organizations are making inroads, but poverty and natural disasters have added to the stresses that increase the number of children involved.

This collection of short stories and a poem seeks to shine light on the darkness, exposing the situation and raising awareness of the plight of these children.

You can help with your purchase of this book, as all the net proceeds will be donated to a highly respected and trusted charity that works with these children, helping them to regain their childhood, attend school, and develop skills that will allow them to live a productive life.

Available in trade paperback ($14.95 US, $18.95 CAD) and ebook ($3.95 US)
274 pages; includes illustrations

ISBN: 978-0993700446
www.CobaltBooks.net, 2016 

Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor, workshop presenter, judge for fiction contests, and the award-winning author of three craft-of-writing guides in her series An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: Captivate Your Readers, Fire up Your Fiction, and Writing a Killer Thriller. She has also published two clickable time-saving e-resources to date: Quick Clicks: Spelling List and Quick Clicks: Word Usage. Jodie recently organized and edited two anthologies for charity: a BC-wide anthology of stories and poetry for Doctors Without Borders, called Voices from the Valleys, and Childhood Regained – Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers, created to help reduce child labor in Asia. You can find Jodie at www.JodieRenner.com, www.JodieRennerEditing.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Click HERE to sign up for Jodie’s occasional newsletter.