Sophie Washington: Secret Santa
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GENRE: Children's Middle Grade
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BLURB:
Christmas
is three weeks away and a mysterious "Santa" has been mailing
presents to sixth grader Sophie Washington. Her friends guess that the secret
Kris Kringle could be either Nathan Jones or Toby Johnson, two boys in Sophie's
class who have liked her in the past, but she's not sure. Sophie uncovers clues
to find her secret Santa and the final reveal is bigger than any package she's
opened on Christmas morning. It's a holiday surprise she'll never forget!
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NOTE: The book will be on sale
for only $0.99 during the tour.
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EXCERPT
“Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg!”
“Be quiet, Cole!” I put my hands over my ears to muffle my
brother’s out-of-tune singing and focus back on my laptop to finish my English
essay. It’s less than three weeks until winter break and my teachers have been
piling on the assignments to make sure we get our end of semester grades in.
There sure is a big change between fifth and sixth grade,
workwise, at Xavier Academy, the private school my brother and I go to. Between
all the essays and projects and studying for final exams, I feel I can barely
take time to pat my dog, Bertram, when I get home; whereas, my eight-year-old
brother Cole acts like he’s already on vacation.
Since we got home from school an hour ago, he’s been living
it up, shooting hoops in the driveway, eating a snack and now playing on the
handheld video game player that my mother would make him put up if she were
downstairs with us. I ought to tell on him now…
Ding Dong!
The doorbell interrupts my thoughts.
“Can you get it, Sophie?” Mom yells from upstairs. “I’m
putting some clothes in the closet.”
I would ask her why she wants me to answer the door, and not
Cole, but I already know the answer: “Because you’re the oldest.”
Of course, that logic doesn’t hold when it comes to who gets
the first dessert or who doesn’t have to do the dishes at night. As the baby of
the family and favored child, my little brother has got it made.
I trudge to the front door in time to see the mail carrier
heading back to his truck. He’s left a medium-sized box on the porch. Wonder
what it is?
My mother sometimes has holiday packages delivered to the
house, but Cole and I haven’t made our Christmas lists yet, so I doubt it’s
anything for us. I open the door, pick the package up, and check out the label.
It’s got my name on it in bright, red ink, “Sophie Washington.”
Who could this be from?
I never get any mail, except for birthday gifts my Granny
Washington sends to our house in Houston from Corpus Christi when she can’t be
here, and I don’t remember my parents ordering anything for us online. Granny
is driving up to see us tomorrow, so I
doubt she would mail presents here when she could just bring them with her.
“Mom, I got a package!” I call out.
“What is it?” Cole bounds from the family room to stare at
the box as I set it on the kitchen counter.
“Back off, Cole, it’s mine,” I move him to the side with my
hip and take a closer look at the delivery. The box is wrapped in brown paper,
and there is no return address. It looks difficult to open with my fingers, so
I pull a butter knife out of a drawer in the kitchen and slit through the tape
on the side. A sweet, sugary scent fills the air.
“Cool!” exclaims Cole in appreciation as the brown wrapping
slides off to reveal a box filled with packages of licorice, gummy bears, gum,
and red and green M&Ms. I notice a typed note underneath.
Dear Sophie,
Hope your day is super sweet!
Your Secret Santa
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Tonya Duncan
Ellis is the author of the award winning, Readers' Favorite "Five
Star" rated, Sophie Washington children's books series, geared toward
readers ages 8 to 12, and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers
and Illustrators (SCBWI). She has received awards for literary excellence,
worked as a journalist and freelance magazine writer, and is a graduate of
Centre College of Kentucky and Washington University in St. Louis.
The Sophie
Washington book series recounts the adventures of a precocious African American
preteen from Houston, TX and her diverse group of friends. Each funny and
heartwarming story teaches lessons about friendship, responsibility,
truthfulness and perseverance. Books in the series include Queen of the Bee,
The Snitch, Things You Didn't Know About Sophie, The Gamer, Hurricane, and
Mission: Costa Rica.
Tonya loves to
travel and has visited 49 American states and three continents, but some of her
best journeys have been between the pages of a novel. As a girl she could
always be found with a book in her hand, and reading is still one of her
favorite hobbies. When she's not reading or writing, the author likes to ride
her bike, swim, and spend time with her husband and three children. She lives
in Houston, TX.
Website:
tonyaduncanellis.com
Facebook:
@tonyaellisbooks
Twitter:
@TonyaDEllis
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GIVEAWAY
Tonya
Duncan Ellis will be awarding $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via
rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THE TOUR AND COMMENT
ON EACH STOP TO EARN MORE ENTRIES TO WIN!
Sophie Washington: Secret Santa is my favorite Sophie book to date. If a reader has read the first book from the series, they will meet again characters that they have not seen since. I enjoyed the little twist and mystery involve in the story
I highly recommend Sophie Washington: Secret Santa. I am giving it five plus stars.
I received this book from the author, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
