Hurray! It’s another Double-Your-Pleasure/Double-Your-Fun book birthday post! Yes, it’s a fabulous new chapter book series and, because we are celebrating two books, there will be two giveaways, thanks to the generosity of author Jen Malia and her publisher, Beaming Books.

Here’s a little bit about the books from the Amazon sales page:

NICK AND THE BRICK BUILDER CHALLENGE:
When the Infinity Rainbow Club at school competes in a brick builder challenge, Nick can’t wait to participate! Until he learns he must have a partner–the new girl. Nick wants to work alone. But to win, he’ll have to figure out how to be part of a team.

A story about the universal struggle of learning to work together on a team, told from the perspective of an autistic child.

VIOLET AND THE JURASSIC LAND EXHIBIT:

The Infinity Rainbow Club is volunteering at the local natural history museum where Violet’s parents work. Violet loves setting up the new augmented reality exhibit, but she worries that something will go wrong. Her OCD has her repeatedly checking for errors. Can Violet find a way to trust her work and enjoy the exhibit?

The Infinity Rainbow Club is a chapter book series featuring five neurodivergent children in a club at their elementary school. The club provides a safe space for stims and different communication styles to be accepted and celebrated.

And here are a few words from author Jen:

Here is a humorous moment that inspired the Infinity Rainbow Club series:

In Nick and Brick Builder Challenge, my main character Nick and his sisters Haley and Grace all build their own citizes out of plastic bricks in their playroom–Nickelton Crater, Haleywood, and Grace’s Ice Kingdom. My kids also have elaborate plastic brick cities in our playroom.

At one point in the book, Nick builds three brother cheetahs with full bellies for Haleywood. The idea for this scene came to me from my own experience on an African safari where I actually saw three brother cheetahs with full bellies after they filled up on an antelope. In the book, when Haley asks why their bellies are so big, Nick tells her that they hunted an antelope. She responds, “it makes me want to barf.” 

My kids laughed at this line so hard they were practically crying each and every time I read it to them. I knew then that anytime I wanted to see if the humor I was trying to put in my books worked, I had to read it out loud to them and see if they laughed. That infectious laughter that they couldn’t control let me know that I was on the right track with the books.

The series features five neurodivergent children in an after-school club at their elementary school. The club provides a safe space for stims and different communication styles to be accepted and celebrated. I write the books I wish I had growing up as an undiagnosed autistic girl and the books I want my neurodivergent kids and other kids like them to have now.
Each book in the series is told from the point of view of a different neurodivergent fourth grader. The first book, Nick and the Brick Builder Challenge (Sept 2023), is told from the point of view of an autistic boy, the second book, Violet and the Jurassic Land Exhibit (Oct 2023), a girl with OCD, and the third book, Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament (Mar 2024), a boy with ADHD.
And here is a little bit about author Jen:

An autistic mom of three autistic kids, Jen Malia is the author of The Infinity Rainbow Club series and Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism. She is Professor of English and Creative Writing Coordinator at Norfolk State University. She has written for or appeared on the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, Parents, Glamour, Woman’s Day, and others. She has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Southern California and is pursuing an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Originally from Pittsburgh, she currently lives with her husband and three kids in Virginia Beach. You can find her on her website at JenMalia.com.

Beaming Books has purchase links for each book in the series here: https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/author/8504/Jen-Malia

How can we all help new books like succeed?
Buy the books
Review the books (NICK comes out 9/26/23 & VIOLET launches 10/24/23)
Add the books to your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf
Tell friends about the books via social media
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Please don’t forget to leave a comment and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE for extra tickets in the giveaway hat.