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Dr. Julia E. Antoine began writing professionally at a very early age. She began with short stories, which were read on the local radio station in her home town. When she moved to Connecticut to attend college, she got too involved in school work and gave up writing. After earning her first degree she went into the area of adult education, and kept at it until she earned a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University in Boston. During the course of her schooling, she wrote and published a working curriculum for a career school, a business manual and its answer key, as well as other literary work. In 2010, she revisited her first love, writing for fun and enjoyment and wrote her first children's book and a collection of short stories. Dr. Antoine currently writes children's books under her given name and romance novels under her pen name, Ju Ephraime.
Visit her at: http://www.too-clever.com or on her blog at http://www.too-clever.blogspot.com
Find her on FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/AntoineChildrenBooks, she loves hearing from you.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Too Clever VIII: Kacie's Chicken and Dumplings is a contemporary fiction novella for preteens and children, grades 4-6, written and designed by Dr. Julia E. Antoine. Kacie had been promised chicken and dumplings on the night before her birthday, and she had been looking forward to that treat all day. She was what her parents called a picky eater, but it wasn't her fault that she didn't like the same things that her parents and older sister, Sandra, liked. When she got to the dinner table and found fish stew with root vegetables waiting for her, she had had enough. It was time for a food strike. She still had a bit of breakfast in the morning and as little as she could of the awful school lunch, but no dinner. After a few days, she was starting to feel weak and tired all the time, but still no chicken and dumplings. Her mom and big sister were not terribly sympathetic, but her dad was concerned enough to get her something she had wanted for an awfully long time -- a puppy. She was thrilled with little Callie and promised to take care of her properly, train her, and take her on walks, but she still wasn't ready to give up on the hunger strike until her dad told her that her mom was thinking about taking her to the doctor.
Dr. Julia E. Antoine's contemporary fiction novella for children and preteens, Too Clever VIII: Kacie's Chicken and Dumplings, captures the sometimes chaotic and confusing world preteens find themselves in. Kacie can't wait until she's 13, her big sister's age, and the first of the teen years. Things seem so much simpler for Sandra who has taken it upon herself to be Kacie's minder, tormentor, and arch-enemy. Worse yet, Sandra seems so poised and perfect, and it’s all so effortless. Kacie's world quickly changes when she gets Callie, who's her dream come true, but also a challenging new responsibility. Also, her best friend, Holly, seems more interested in the new kid, Paul, who seems to be smarter than Kacie -- something else she's not at all comfortable with. Kacie's Chicken and Dumplings is an entertaining and well-written story that kept my attention and interest throughout the tale. Antoine's illustrations are polished and professional and work so well to bring this story to life. The vocabulary used is age-appropriate with a few challenging words thrown in from time to time, and the story touches on a few important preteen issues, such as sibling relationships, first crushes, friendship, and academic competition. Too Clever VIII: Kacie's Chicken and Dumplings is highly recommended.
