Ellie

World Adventurers for Kids Book Collection Now on Sale!

All three of my children’s picture books are now available to purchase in one book!

World Adventurers for Kids Books 1-3 includes the first three picture books in the World Adventurers for Kids Series: Alexander the Salamander, Ellie the Elephant, and Zoe the Zebra. The book is available both in print and e-book formats from many booksellers.

The World Adventurers for Kids Series features illustrated adventure stories told in a way that children ages four to eight will find entertaining and educational. Filled with illustrated photos and moral tales, they will take children around the world in story books designed to read in one sitting.

Alexander the Salamander discusses the importance of listening to authority figures. A young salamander named Alexander joins his friends Airey the Butterfly and Terry the Tarantula for an unforgettable adventure in the Amazon River Basin.

Ellie the Elephant encourages children to follow their dreams. A young elephant named Ellie living in Thailand dreams of joining the elephant polo team and playing in the Elephant Cup polo tournament, but her parents want her to work in the rice fields. Will she realize her dream of playing elephant polo?

Zoe the Zebra teaches children about bullying. A young zebra named Zoe who lives in the African bush joins forces with her friends Emma the Impala, Barry the Baboon, and other animals to protect their friend Wally the Warthog from a pack of bullying hyenas. Can they help him and stop the bullying?

E-book Version

World Adventurers for Kids Books 1-3 is now available to purchase as an ebook for only $2.99 (or equivalent in other currencies) from these booksellers:

Amazon.com for Kindle ($2.99)

Amazon UK for Kindle (£2,03)

Amazon Canada for Kindle ($3.05)

Amazon Germany for Kindle (€2,68)

Amazon France for Kindle (€2,68)

Amazon India for Kindle (R177.00)

Amazon Italy for Kindle (€2,68)

Amazon Spain for Kindle (€2,68)

Amazon Brazil for Kindle (R$6,67)

Amazon Japan for Kindle (¥296)

Apple iTunes for iPad and iPhone ($2.99)

Barnes & Noble for Nook ($2.99)

Barnes & Noble UK for Nook (£1,91)

Diesel eBook Store for multiple e-readers ($2.99)

Google Play for Android ($2.51)

Kobo Books for Kobo Reader ($2.99) (available in Australia and other countries)

Sony ReaderStore for Sony e-reader ($2.99)

Smashwords for multiple e-readers ($2.99)

Print Version

World Adventurers for Kids Books 1-3 is now available in print for $12.55 (or in other currencies) from these booksellers:

Amazon.com ($12.55)

Amazon UK (£11,89)

Amazon Canada ($19.87)

Amazon Germany (€15,56)

Amazon France (€14,78)

Amazon Italy (€14,97)

Amazon Spain (€14,36)

Createspace ($14.99)

IndieBound ($18.99)

Powell’s Books ($15.50)

Visit the book’s web page for a full list of booksellers.

Pick up your copy of World Adventurers for Kids Books 1-3 today!

Khao Takiap Village in Hua Hin, Thailand

This is the fourth article in a six-part series about Hua Hin, Thailand, a coastal city near Bangkok on the Gulf of Thailand. This post is about Khao Takiap Village in Hua Hin Town. Hua Hin hosts the annual King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, a fun and unique sporting event. The 2012 tournament inspired me to write the children’s picture book Ellie the Elephant about an elephant that dreams of playing in the tournament. Enjoy these travelogues about this fascinating area of Thailand.

At the base of Khao Takiap (Chopsticks Hill) in Hua Hin opposite the Gulf of Thailand lies a colorful and messy fishing village nestled in a small waterway. The organic place looks out of place, and yet, right where it belongs in this area east of Hua Hin Town.

Suburban Hua Hin has expanded around it, filling the former wetlands with contemporary high rises and neighborhoods, but this timeless village stands out amidst the surrounding modernity.

Hundreds of wooden fishing vessels clutter the waterway with a chaotic order that looks artistic but tricky to decipher. Boats with hulls of varying bright colors create a multi-colored menagerie intertwined with a spider’s web of stout wooden masts and booms.

On the rickety wooden walkway that follows the water channel and sways with every movement, villagers prepare daily catches for the market, from fish gutting to drying squid and gathering seashells. It’s quite the sight for seafood lovers to behold. The smell is not overpowering as fresh hauls come in and the remnants are washed into the coffee brown channel. I glanced down into the thick water and shuddered to think what must have been lurking in its bowels.

Many villagers live on the boats while a few own freestanding homes that strike an interesting contrast to the high-rise resort rising just to the south. Some own seafood markets, restaurants, and souvenir shops just across the street in the shadow of Chopsticks Hill.

The coin-fed washer and dryer machines in a kiosk along the road indicated that the villagers have ready access to basic necessities. In spite of what looked like poor living conditions when I visited Khao Takiap Village, the villagers seemed to live well with an ocean of seafood waiting to be caught on the leeward side, and to starboard, a sea of tourists waiting to consume whatever they could catch. While a fisherman’s life didn’t look easy, Khao Takiap Village seemed to be a good place to give it a go.

If Ellie the Elephant wanted to be a fisherelephant, she would live in Khao Takiap Village!

More about Hua Hin, Thailand

Hua Hin Town

Hua Hin Night Market

The Countryside near Hua Hin

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, and a short story collection called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. He also wrote and illustrated Alexander the Salamander and Ellie the Elephant, two books in the World Adventurers for Kids Series. His books are available in e-book and print from Amazon.com and other booksellers. Edwards graduated from the University of Washington with a master’s degree in China Studies and a Master of Business Administration. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

Ellie the Elephant Now in Print!

The print edition of my children’s picture book Ellie the Elephant is now available to purchase for $6.99!

Book two of the World Adventurers for Kids Series, Ellie the Elephant is an illustrated picture book that encourages children to follow their dreams. A young elephant named Ellie who lives in Thailand dreams of joining the elephant polo team and playing in the Elephant Cup polo tournament, but her parents want her to work in the rice fields. Will she realize her dream of playing elephant polo?

Inspired by my adventures in Thailand and real elephant polo matches, the story features Ellie and her family, Monk the Monkey, and human boys Wasan and Wattana. Fun for kids and adults alike, the story will introduce them to the amazing game of elephant polo and inspire children to dream big.

Print Edition

The paperback version of Ellie the Elephant features 21 full-color illustrations. It is now available to purchase in print for only $6.99 (or equivalent in other currencies) from these booksellers:

Amazon.com ($6.99)

Amazon UK (£4,61)

Amazon Germany/Austria (€5,84)

Amazon France (€5,55)

Amazon Italy (€5,40)

Amazon Spain (€5,40)

Createspace ($6.99)

E-book Editions

I released two ebook versions of Ellie the Elephant, one with illustrations and the other with cartoon photos. Both feature the same story. The print edition features only the illustrated version of the story.

Ellie the Elephant (Illustrated Ebook Edition)

The illustrated edition of Ellie the Elephant is now available to purchase as an ebook for only $0.99 (99 cents or equivalent in other currencies) from these booksellers:

Amazon.com ($0.99)

Amazon UK (£0,77)

Amazon Canada ($1.01)

Amazon Germany/Austria (€0,89)

Amazon France (€0,89)

Amazon Italy (€0,89)

Amazon Spain (€0,89)

Amazon Brazil (R$2,00)

Amazon Japan (¥99)

Apple iTunes ($0.99 for iPad)

Barnes & Noble ($0.99 for Nook)

Barnes & Noble UK (£0,66 for Nook)

Goodreads ($0.99 for multiple ereaders)

Kobo Books ($0.99 for Kobo)

Scribd ($0.99 for PDF)

Smashwords ($0.99 for multiple ereaders)

Ellie the Elephant (Photo Ebook Edition)

The photo edition of Ellie the Elephant is now available to purchase as an ebook for only $0.99 (99 cents or equivalent in other currencies) from these booksellers:

Amazon.com ($0.99)

Amazon UK (£0,77)

Amazon Canada ($1.01)

Amazon Germany/Austria (€0,89)

Amazon France (€0,89)

Amazon Italy (€0,89)

Amazon Spain (€0,89)

Amazon Brazil (R$2,00)

Amazon Japan (¥99)

Apple iTunes ($0.99 for iPad)

Barnes & Noble ($0.99 for Nook)

Barnes & Noble UK (£0,66 for Nook)

Goodreads ($0.99 for multiple ereaders)

Kobo Books ($0.99 for Kobo)

Scribd ($0.99 for PDF)

Smashwords ($0.99 for multiple ereaders)

What Kids Are Saying

Ellie the Elephant is kid tested and approved! Here are what some early readers had to say about the picture book in their own words:

“This one is the epicle of EPICNESS! The cover is cool and the pictures inside are the best.”

“I love this one! It is awesome! Cool! I like how you made the pictures detailed.”

“I love this one! I like the cover.”

“I like Ellie the Elephant because it has pretty good animation and it is a really good book.”

“I like dis 1 ‘cause U put GR8 detail and U cartooned everything.”

“This one is awesome! Great cover.”

“Detailed pictures. Good detail. I love the book it is so good.”

“Love this one. It is awesome!”

“I like this one because it’s attention grabbing!”

Alexander the Salamander

You may also want to pick up the first book in the World Adventurers for Kids Series. Alexander the Salamander, is also available to buy for just $0.99.

Alexander the Salamander is about a salamander named Alexander living in the Amazon who joins his friends Airey the Butterfly and Terry the Tarantula on an unforgettable jungle adventure. Set in the Amazon region of Brazil, the story teaches children the importance of listening to teachers and other authority figures. Co-authored by M.G. Edwards and his son Alex, the story was inspired by their 2008 visit to the Amazon.