Keep scrolling for sample read aloud chapters and overviews of each book.
Books for Children and Young Adults
Pauly Wants to Doodle All the Day AMAZON DIRECT ORDER
Orphan Train Riders: Three Historical Fiction Stories For Children BOOKSHOP AMAZON DIRECT ORDER
The Birthday Cache BOOKSHOP AMAZON DIRECT ORDER
Breaking the Surface BOOKSHOP (coming soon) AMAZON DIRECT ORDER
Bridging the Tides (sequel to Breaking the Surface) Coming soon!
Under Construction: A Young Writers Workbook DIRECT ORDER SPIRAL BOUND PDF DOWNLOAD
Books for Grown Up Readers
Champion Chocolatier AMAZON BIRDY’S BOOKSTORE BOOKSHOP DIRECT ORDER
Champion Chocolatier: Reality Bites AMAZON BIRDY’S BOOKSTORE BOOKSHOP DIRECT ORDER
Champion Chocolatier: For Better or Worse AMAZON BIRDY’S BOOKSTORE DIRECT ORDER
Champion Chocolatier: Destiny by Design AMAZON BIRDY’S BOOKSTORE DIRECT ORDER
Close Quarters AMAZON BIRDY’S BOOKSTORE DIRECT ORDER
Close Quarters: A Pivotal Pause AMAZON BIRDY’S BOOKSTORE DIRECT ORDER
Close Quarters: Make Yourself at Home AMAZON BIRDY’S BOOKSTORE DIRECT ORDER
Book Club Discussion Guides and Teaching Resources for Young Reader Books can be found here.
First Chapter Videos... for a little taste of my stories.
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Pauly Wants to Doodle All the Day
Poor Pauly. All he wants to do is draw and doodle all day long! But he has to go to school and do chores. Will he ever find time to just do what he loves? Read and sing along with Pauly to the classical folk tune: Polly Wolly Doodle All the Day.
This picture book is perfect for anyone who wants to pursue their dreams and needs a little boost when it feels like real life is getting in the way. (Target age 4-8)
The Orphan Train Riders
Three Historical Fiction Stories for Children
"These stories are wonderful, believable and historically consistent with many of the true stories. They brought a tear, goosebumps and the chills." - C. Warren Moses, retired Children's Aid Society CEO and Archivist Charles, William and Joanna all find themselves alone and in need of help. Thanks to the Children's Aid Society and the orphan trains they are given a second chance at a happy ending. In each of the three historical fiction stories in this collection, readers meet an orphan train rider and follow them on their journey to finding a new home. Can Charles find a new home before Christmas? Will Joanna ever find a place where she belongs? Can Irish William find a way to fit in America? (Target age 7-11)
For educational materials to use with this story, including journal questions, chapter quizzes, vocabulary work and discussion guides, click HERE.
The Birthday Cache
While twelve year old Mason Miles and his parents love their nomadic lifestyle living and working across the nation in their RV, his twin sister Molly is craving a normal life and scheming to put a stop to their endless road trip. For their twelfth birthday the twins open a GPS receiver and fall in love with the sport of geocaching. When they stumble upon a mysterious puzzle cache will their travels become interesting enough to change Molly's mind? In this first installment of the geocaching series Adventures Await, author Amanda Zieba weaves an exciting middle grade story full of geocaching adventures; geography, technology and national landmark content; and family fun. Join the Miles family for the first of many geocaching adventures to come! “Through their conflicts, adventures, and fun, the close-knit, but realistic family in this fast-paced chapter book sucked me into their world and made me care.” - Jan Fields, author of the Monster Hunter Series (Target Age Range 9-14) For educational materials to use with this story, including journal questions, chapter quizzes, vocabulary work and discussion guides, click HERE.
The Surface Series (YA)
“The inventive undersea world of Amanda Zieba’s BREAKING THE SURFACE and BRIDGING THE TIDES should appeal to fans of Ally Condie’s ATLANTIA.”
Breaking the Surface
When Flynn gets the chance to leave her home on the ocean floor to spend some time on the surface, she has a long list of things to do. Things like: make friends, eat a cheeseburger, go to the beach, shop, go on a date and get her driver's license. She didn't really expect "reverse a science experiment gone wrong" or "save family from impending doom" to show up on the list. But now that they have, what will she do? This book is author Amanda Zieba's young adult debut. It is an original dystopian that promises to deliver readers with drama and adventure. Join Flynn as she navigates the perils of high school and as she figures out how to define "home". (Target age 10-16)
Briding the Tides (Book 2)
When you’re 16 it’s supposed to be you against your world history test, you against the mean girl, you against your fear of rejection by the cutest guy ever. For best friends Flynn and Nora, these are battles they fight every day. But they aren’t the only problems they face. Due to an experiment gone wrong, they have much, much bigger fish to fry. They’re going to need the help of all their friends, above water and below, as well as a few new ones, to solve them. Bridging the Tides picks up where Breaking the Surface left off. Flynn and Professor Sorenson have arrived at the ARK to help Caspian and the rest of the crew battle Adonis and his army of Water Warriors. Dark and dangerous deeds are happening underwater, but not all the fish in the sea are pleased with Adonis’ plan. When new recruits join the ARK Allies and new information is discovered, the crew finds reasons to believe in a bright future. Will the crew manage to find their parents, stop the evil underwater? Will they find the bridge leading to their happy ending above water and below? This sequels tops the first and readers who love adventure, romance, science fiction, action and suspense will not be disappointed. (Target age 10-16)
Under Construction: A Young Writer’s Workbook
This product is a 125+ page spiral bound journal full of writing prompts, exercises, lessons, tips, techniques and advice. Get your ideas on paper, explore the craft of writing, practice a variety of writing styles and think critically about a career in writing. This workbook is intended for middle and high school students, but the lessons and activities inside can apply to any beginning-intermediate writer.
(Target Age Range 10+)
Champion Chocolatier
Emmy is a thirty year old stuck in a dead end job she hates, but life takes a pleasantly unexpected turn when she wins a Facebook contest to own and operate a chocolate shop in northern Minnesota. When she leaves the big city for a fresh start (despite knowing nothing about business or candy making) fun, romance and little mystery follow. Will her new business succeed before the December thirty first deadline? Will the cute guy from the store-next-door add to her sweet rewards or will he only be a disaster level distraction? Two tablespoons of big dreams, a dash chocolatey goodness, and a pinch of love. Step inside Sweet Shores Chocolate Store and enjoy this winning story recipe. For delicious extras like a book club discussion guide and access to my Pinterest pages full of story inspiration and recipes, click HERE.
Champion Chocolatier #2: Reality Bites
Emmy Dawson is in over her head. This time she’s not just trying to convince herself she can run a successful chocolate business, nor is she cooking to impress a stuffy board of directors. This time she’s competing in a reality candy making championship and is trying to win over all of America. The Vanderbilt Valentine’s Day Candy Making Competition, held at the famous Biltmore Estates, will host eight talented candy makers – all with jumbo sized hopes and dreams… and egos. Emmy wants desperately to win, and to prove to her tiny town she is more than a stay afloat business owner and just the girl who dates Eddie Edwards. Even though the North Carolina weather makes for easier winter driving, Emmy’s road to victory is paved in potholes. A snarky TV producer, a real-life baker Barbie, and a talented pool of candy makers, not to mention a healthy dose of stage fright, stand in her way. Being filmed for Prime Time TV in sunny North Carolina might sound more glamorous than Duluth in February, but Emmy is about to learn the hard way that, sometimes, reality bites.
Champion Chocolatier #3: For Better or Worse
Two years ago Emmy left her big city life in St. Paul to run Sweet Shores Chocolate Store, up north in Duluth, Minnesota. Soon after arriving, she fell for Eddie, a sweet distraction that made success at her new business venture even more complicated. Last year Emmy traveled to North Carolina to be on the EatTV Valentine’s Day Candy Making Competition and came home with a prize even better than she could have imagined.
Now, in this third installment of the Champion Chocolatier series, we find Emmy scrambling to keep up with all the things she loves: Eddie, her sweet shop, and competitions! It’s finally time for Emmy to get married, but surprisingly, her attention is diverted in several directions. While she is busy planning her wedding and running her successful business, she is also consumed with winning the Golden Honeymoon Giveaway. She and Eddie are so wrapped up in their separate goals that the contest seems like the perfect way to bring them together. Except that all of a sudden, Emmy’s goals for winning may be the very thing that pushes her deepest desires away for good.
Champion Chocolatier #4: Destiny by Design
Emmy Edwards is a magnet for competition. If there is a contest within reach, she’s going to find it and enter! Whether it’s winning a chocolate shop, a reality TV competition or the heart of the cute guy who owns the store next door, Emmy wants a piece of the action. She’s promised her new husband, Eddie, that the Golden Honeymoon Giveaway would be her last competition, but keeping that promise turns out to be harder than she thought. When their new business venture, renovating a vacant waterfront warehouse into a boutique hotel, has an opportunity to compete in an interior design challenge, Emmy finds herself back in the contest ring.
In this fourth installment of the Champion Chocolatier series, readers will find everything they’ve come to expect of author Amanda Zieba: a light hearted read about an idyllic contest, imaginative competition challenges, and larger than life contestant personalities. From coast to coast and pillar to post, Destiny by Design will give readers a front row seat to Emmy’s latest competitive adventure including all the delicious twists and divine turns.
Close Quarters (Book 1)
Kelly, Lindsay, Mia, and Harper grew up not only as cousins but as best friends. Kelly has always been the dreamer and Lindsay the one with all her ducks in a row. Mia claimed the role of wild child the day she was born, and Harper will forever be the baby. Separately they are flawed, but together, the Ames cousins are convinced they can do anything. Then, without warning, their grandmother, the infamous Midwestern literary critic, Ingrid Ame,s dies. Suddenly, they each find themselves unsure of how to move forward without her guiding presence in their lives. As they attempt to pick up the pieces after the funeral, the cousins come together to open a bookstore in her honor. Unfortunately, their vision of tribute seems to be jeopardized at every turn. A surprising pregnancy, mysterious deliveries to the store, a deployment, and — most unexpected — time with each other, threaten to collapse the entire operation.
This new novella from Amanda Zieba, explores the tribulations of being a woman in today’s high expectation world, the complexities of close-knit families and the power of friendship.
Close Quarters: A Pivotal Pause (Book 2)
In A Pivotal Pause, we find the Ames Cousins right where we left them… heading into a brand-new year with plans for making it the best one yet. Kelly is on a mission to balance her family life and store’s success with her husband’s war injury recovery, while Lindsay is determined to maintain her great relationship with her husband and grow her organization business. As for the younger two cousins, they have big plans. Mia has decided to spend part of her inheritance on an Interior Design degree at Milwaukee Technical College despite the fact that attending means entering into a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Teague, and Harper is beyond ready to finally start her post-college life as a social media manager for a cruise line. Getting paid to travel the world while she writes of her adventures? That’s a ‘hell yes’ in Harper’s book. All four of the cousins agree that 2020 is off to a great start when a global pandemic knocks the world off its feet and effectively derails all of their plans. Everyone’s smooth sailing suddenly comes to an abrupt halt. Will the Ames girls come together to survive this pivotal pause and get back on track? Or will it all be too much and send them back to bad habits and flawed versions of their ideal realities?
In the second installment of the Close Quarters series, author Amanda Zieba helps us to make sense of the craziness in our world today through the lives of the Ames cousins. Filled with witty text conversations readers have come to love, book titles to usher us through trying times and ultimately, hope, A Pivotal Pause is another excellent family drama.
