BLOG TOUR and GIVEAWAY: The Night the Moon Ate My Room by Jesse Wilson

THE NIGHT THE MOON ATE MY ROOM
by Jesse Wilson
Tate Publishing, 2012
ISBN: 9781620241745
Primary/Middle Grade Fantasy
E-book provided for blog tour.
All opinions expressed are solely my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The moon was bright and full that night, bigger than I could ever even remember it.

Maybe because it was moving towards me...

After giving the worst violin recital of his life, and being laughed at by the entire school, the boy vows to never play music again. Later that night, when the moon swallows up his bedroom, it shares the secrets of being a true artist, helping the boy re-claim his self-confidence, overcome the pitfalls of perfectionism, and believe in his own dream.

Each of the five stories in The Night the Moon Ate My Room! is designed for young readers to experience the joy of self-discovery, valuable life lessons, and the adventure of turning their greatest dreams into reality.

Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Jesse Wilson is an author, motivational performer, illustrator, and teacher. A life-long involvement with theatre and film as both performer and writer began early, growing up in Hollywood, CA, where he performed in plays, TV shows and commercials. A graduate of the LA High School for the Performing Arts, Jesse traveled east to attain a BFA for theatre in the prestigious Juilliard School. Remaining in New York, and later Philadelphia, he developed material for his one-man shows, performed throughout the region. His most recent production, “Face the City,” written for high school and college audiences, combines visual and animation projections in a multimedia presentation of the artist's journey to find themselves in the "real world." “The Night the Moon Ate My Room!” written and performed with music for young audiences to experience self-discovery, is created with the support of The Kennedy Center’s Imagination Celebration and Pikes Peak Library District. 

Coming soon this year, building upon the success of “The Night the Moon Ate My Room!” a series of empowering books for children, written and illustrated by Jesse Wilson, will be published under the title “Brilliant Mistakes!”

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

INTERVIEW

What is the "story behind the story?"

I took an experience I had when I was in the fourth grade involving a violin recital for my class-- when I first strongly felt the painful lash of perfectionism-- and used it as the basis for my children's book. Also, much of my own experiences working closely with students were why I wrote the book and the stage show.

The five stories in the collection were created from my interactions with so many students over the years that struggle to find their voices because of their challenges with perfectionism. The intent behind "The Night the Moon Ate My Room!" is to help identify some of the “diverse faces” of perfectionism in the learning environment as well as on the home front-- that is, to make it easier for teachers and parents to reach their children's and students' needs when they're struggling with a personal goal or a dream. From what I've seen as an author and teacher in the classrooms across the country, perfectionism is one of the main challenges among children today.

One aspect of perfectionistic thinking is dichotomous (all-or-none) thinking, in which a child believes that a project (or performance) is either perfect or it is completely worthless. Another component of perfectionistic thinking is transforming desires (wants) into demands. Perfectionists tend to come in many diverse packages. Some perfectionists are intense and demanding from birth. They are never satisfied with their accomplishments and feel inadequate because there is room for improvement.

According to research, there are two major concerns about perfectionism in kids: underachievement and emotional turmoil. Coping with perfectionism involves changing your thinking from "It's never going to be good enough so why bother?" to “I'm happy that I took the opportunity to challenge myself and learn new things. My next project, my next performance, my next song, will be even better!"

If you could go anywhere, where would you go and what would you do?

I think I would spend a good solid year in Europe. Anywhere in Europe, mainly because them Europeans seem to take their time a lot more over there than we do here in the states. What would I do? Probably exactly what I'm doing over here, just maybe not doing it as fast-paced... but maybe that's a myth! Anyway, I just want to go to Europe.

What's your favorite desert?

A freshly made fruit tart from Wholefoods.

If you could have any superpower, which would you choose and why?

I love these superpower questions! You know, I would have a superpower that would eliminate the nagging guilt of never reading all the books I'd love to read... so, I'd be like the Matrix and download everything I wanted to read when I walked into a bookstore. Zap! I'd be called "Downloader Man!" Or "Uploader Man?" Oh yeah, and I'd remember everything, too. I would never, ever, wonder if I'd read that book. And beautiful literary passages would always be floating around in my brain.

What kind of book do you especially enjoy reading?

The book that make me justify reading hours after I should have gone to bed because I know that my soul will expand because of every line and utterance of this writer's work.

Tell us something that most people don't know about you.

I've been performing so much, that I think most people don't know that I'm also a visual artist. I'm so excited to be bringing my artwork more into my books (a have series of new books soon to be published under the heading "Brilliant Mistakes!" this year), bringing my work as a performer, author, and illustrator all on the "stage" together.

REVIEW

I was impressed with how much meaning there is in these short and deceptively simple stories.  Stories about the power and importance of dreaming. Stories about not giving up even after embarrassing oneself. Stories about how some of the greatest creations have come from the most abject failures. The stories have the feel of folktales with twists and turns and lessons to be learned. These stories would be perfect for telling out loud or reading together for discussion.

GIVEAWAY

1. You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
2. Fill out the form below.
3. The winner has 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen.

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