The Inflatables don’t get pumped. They stay pumped! Flamingo, Cactus, Donut, and Watermelon may be forgotten waterpark floats who live at the lost and found, but these inflata-pals are about to make some big waves in a funny graphic novel series that’s perfect for fans of Dog Man and The Bad Guys!
Flamingo is destined to be a star! So when the opening of a new wave pool brings camera crews flooding to the park, his inflata-pals hatch a daring plan to make him famous. But will a flock of familiar faces from Flamingo’s past burst his bubble? Get ready, world — Flamingo is about to BLOW UP!
Thoughts
This book was both cute and fun. I loved the puns throughout, and I think Donut was my favourite character. I loved how all of the characters were so determined to help their friend, Flamingo fulfill his destiny, and that no matter what challenge they were faced with, they worked together to find a solution.
I thought this book was really funny, and loved the illustrations. It’s definitely something I can see my niece and nephew enjoying, and I’ll definitely be recommending it upon release.
Thank you Scholastic for sending me this ARC for review.
I’d highly recommend this to young readers who enjoy the concept of films like Toy Story, and comedies like Loud House.
About Sequel to Shannon Hale’s award-winning graphic novel memoir, “Real Friends”, this new graphic memoir picks up where “Real Friends” left off. As Shannon grows…
We’re giving away 4 signed copies of Vermin this month! To enter all you have to do is go to the contest page on Goodreads and follow the instructions.
Winners will not only receive a signed book but some fun themed goodies as well.
I’ve wanted to do a giveaway for a long time, and am super excited since this contest will be taking place during my birth month. There will hopefully also be book two announcements following the contest, so please stay tuned.
You can also find Vermin themed content over on tiktok by following @theverminseries as well as here on the blog.
34 pages in and Roland is perfectly summing up what it’s like being a 20-something year old. Jokes aside, I laugh at how often he admits to this. It’s definitely among my Roland’s top 10 quotes list.
I’ve been having a lot of fun with NaNoWriMo this year, despite being on the fence about whether or not I’d partake…however, I’m not really aiming to reach a specific word count but instead to complete the ending of Vermin’s sequel. I’m very far along, and have been making an effort to write everyday.
The Vermin Series (along with myself) are now on TikTok, as a large chunk of the readers are use Bookstagram, BookTwitter and BookTok, we thought it would be best to have updates about the series on all three. I’ll try to make the content as fun and engaging as possible.
I just finished writing one of my favourite scenes in book two so far. I’ll try not to give away any spoilers, but the scene follows one of Nicholas’ siblings. For those who haven’t finished or read the first book yet, I won’t say anything more. I’d hate to say something that might spoil it for you.
I’ve also been working on two other projects. One is voice over related, and I have been having an absolute blast recording! What I can tell you, is that it’s for a really cool children’s web series, and that I play two key roles. It also makes me feel like a little kid again, and reminds me of one of my favourite things to do in the summer with my family when I was small.
Well, I’d better get back to writing. Although slightly ambitious, I think I might be able to finish Vermin and start prepping another book that I was hoping to write in December. We’ll see how things go of course.
Here’s a little sneak peek at one of the chapters in book two:
Her image danced before him, bright and colourful like the inside of a kaleidoscope.
My sister-in-law requested some series recommendations to help expand my nieces love of stories, so I’ve been on the hunt for a handful that I can gift her for her birthday/Christmas.
In my adult life, after realizing how hectic the holiday season gets, I’ve tried to get gifts for my family members as early as September. With my niece I keep track of things that she mentions throughout the year and buy them later. Shopping early also stops my wallet from crying after the holidays. December is the busiest month of the year for me outside of work, so planning my gifts and getting them wrapped up by the end of November saves me time and alleviates stress.
One thing that I’ve noticed is that I have to get a really good feel for a book before passing it along to my niece. Often I’ll read them first, because I would hate to give her something that she might not enjoy, and on top of it something that might be too scary or too mature for her at this time in her life.
I’d say 9-12 is a hard age group to navigate when it comes to young readers, because on top of each kid being an individual with their own unique interests, there are also different levels of maturity in each of the books and series one might encounter when shopping in this section. I was definitely one of those kids who read books intended for an older audience between 9 and 13…however, much of these books were manga and graphic novels. My experience as a reader definitely effects how I approach recommending books for kids, especially kids I don’t know personally like my niece. That’s why I don’t like to recommend books I haven’t read.
For adults who aren’t big readers themselves, I can imagine choosing books for others is a challenge. I salute you. My personal recommendation, if you have absolutely no idea what to buy the bookworm in your life is to just give them a gift card for your local bookstore. It’ll save you the headache, and they can pick out something they like. You can always pair it with a bookmark, or a mug if you want the gift to feel a little more personal.
I’m thinking of reading through a handful of middle grade books over the next month so that I can get a good idea of what might actually peak my nieces interest. When I can’t think of a series, one thing I try to do is to recommend people specific authors who I’ve read extensively like Judy Bloom, Jerry Spinelli, or Kenneth Oppel. All authors who I’ve read multiple works from, and really enjoyed despite not all of their books being contained within a series.
There are just so many great reads to choose from, but each person has their own preference and I feel it’s important to take that into consideration.
Another little project that I’ve started is that I’ve been creating lists of middle-grade books based on certain topics such as sports, theatre, mystery, family, spooky, pirates…etc…because this can really help figure out what books to recommend. Once my list is a little more organized, I’m going to post it on my blog, with the description. This is is going to include a chunk of books that I haven’t read, but just because something isn’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean it isn’t good and I want this list to be filled with books that I can come back to with my niece or a family friend with kids and go, “You really like basket ball, there’s this entire series on that, or you can read this book over here where the kids on the team have to hunt down a thief.”
I love helping people find their next favourite book, so for me this is kind of just a fun little project to do in between working and writing. I hope this list is useful, and I can’t wait to add more to it as I go.
About As seen on The TODAY Show! New York Times bestselling Mac Barnett and Caldecott Honor award-winning illustrator Shawn Harris turn their massively popular The First Cat in…
About Tucked away in a government facility nicknamed the Playroom, six not-quite-human kids learn to control their strange and unpredictable abilities. Life is good–or safe,…
ABOUT Talented illustrator and author Shauna J. Grant, of http://www.shaunadraws.com/ introduces young readers to Mimi, a fun, fantastic little girl with a very big problem:…
I was so ecstatic to hear that Vermin’s received another great review! I took a screen shot of it with my phone earlier to share on my Instagram story, but I also thought I’d share it here on my blog!
Touching and Beautiful
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ardin Patterson is a gifted author and storyteller. I say both because being a great author does not always mean that the audience will be focused on every word, or invested in the characters. I don’t think I skipped a single passage, I was so worried about Nicholas, Rose, Diana, Roland, Zanna and Micha.
The author does an excellent job of portraying deep, flawed beings who love and (in some cases) hate in equal measure. These people (like us in real life) are so easily swayed to cruelty as long as they feel justified, but in the same moment, they will show compassion. I am invested in what will happen next. I want the best for Nicholas and Rose. Their blossoming romance is sweet and true, but I don’t trust those villagers.
-Liz
Thank you so much to everyone who has read the novel, and taken the time to read reviews or reach out to me personally. Your words are so encouraging and I’m so glad that you’ve come to love my characters as much as I do.
Thank you so much again! Your words are greatly appreciated, and mean so much to me.
You can order a copy of Vermin from either Indigo or Amazon:
I’m so happy that readers are enjoying Vermin! I’ve been hearing lots of positive feedback so far, and was absolutely thrilled to find out Vermin received it’s first rating!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my novel!
If you’re looking to get a copy, you can click the links below which will lead you to the paperback or eBook.
The first book in The Vermin Series is now available to order online! You can find more information about the novel on Goodreads, here on ardinpatterson.com, on the publishers website or on Amazon.
Read an advanced copy of Vermin and want to see your review displayed here on the website? Submit your reviews on Goodreads or Amazon (or both if you prefer), and we will feature them on the Books page underneath the description.
A dying boy A rebellious girl History poised to repeat itself
Left for dead at the side of the road in an outlawed town, Nicholas is rescued by a human girl. Plagued by fevered dreams and a lethal illness, Nicholas doesn’t know what to make of her kindness. If she knew what he was, death would be a merciful gift.
Rose takes it upon herself to show the boy hospitality, despite her uncle Roland forbidding her from going near him. She survived the brutal sickness and knows exactly what their guest is going through—he needs a friend.
Roland stands to lose everything when he discovers what Nicholas is. Dire circumstances force Roland to turn the boy into a test subject. However, in coaxing an old flame into helping domesticate the beast, Roland ends up in a cruel experiment of his own.
As Rose and Nicholas grow closer, Roland’s decision to keep the boy’s identity a secret threatens to bring history full circle. Can Roland guard two hearts as he struggles to keep the boy and his future alive?
Fall into this whirlwind of forbidden love amidst harsh truths and harsher follies. Pick up a copy of Vermin today.
Ardin Patterson 