Review – Poppy and Marigold by Meg Welch Dendler @MegWelchDendler

Amazon / Goodreads

My first introduction to Meg Welch Dendler’s writing was when I met Bianca. She is one of those authors that quickly added to my must read list. I am excited to be back with Poppy And Marigold, two young girls that come from two totally different worlds.

Poppy is a twelve year old Blue. All her life she was taught that Blue is superior to all the other colors. When she meets Marigold, a tangerine colored girl and her family, her world is turned upside down. She found she isn’t superior in their world. In fact, she is the ignorant one. Her eyes are opened. How can she return and obey the 50 Rules governing her world after all she has learned? If she is found out, she will be sent to the Detention Center, but how can she go back and pretend nothing has happened?

When Red attacks them the answer presents itself.

Poppy And Marigold is written for ages six to eighteen, but it is so thought provoking, for me, that I think it is a book for all ages. Anything that gets my mind spinning is a good thing, and Poppy and Marigold did just that, in a fantastic and wonderful way. I think it sends a message in an easy to understand way. Just because we’re different doesn’t mean we’re better…or worse.

I can see how there can more books in the making, as we discover how the other colors live and how they are closer than Poppy could possibly know.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

Blue citizens are absolutely superior to all others, especially ignorant, uncivilized Orange. Poppy has been taught this relentlessly for twelve years. But when she accidentally crosses the forbidden border and is befriended by Marigold—a tangerine-skinned girl—and her kind-but-quirky family, Poppy is forced to rethink everything. Questioning that Blue is Best or the rest of the 50 Rules governing Poppy’s world would get her sent to a dangerous Detention Center. Or worse. But how can she return to her blindly obedient, anti-Orange life now that she knows the truth?

  • Genre: Childrens, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult
  • 218 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication October 1, 2024 by Serenity Mountain Publishing

Meg Dendler has considered herself a writer since she was honored in a picture book contest in 5th grade. Beginning serious work as a freelancer in the ’90s while teaching elementary and middle school, Meg has over one hundred articles in print, including interviews with Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She has won contests with her short stories and poetry, along with multiple awards for her best-selling Cats in the Mirror alien rescue cat children’s book series. “Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess” was honored as Best Juvenile Book of 2018 by the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, and “Snickerdoodle’s Shenanigans” won that same honor in 2024. Now a retired teacher, Meg holds a BA in Journalism/Public Relations, an MA in Early Childhood Education, and has been teacher certified in three states. Meg is also an editor/proofreader for independent and self-publishing authors, with over 80 books completed since 2015.

Meg and her family live in NW Arkansas. Visit her at www.megdendler.com for more information about upcoming books and events and all of Meg’s social media links.

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A Princess & A Dragon – Bianca by Meg Welch Dendler @MegWelchDendler

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Covers are the first thing that influences me to even pick up a book and Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess by Meg Welch Dendler has a very cute one that I found impossible to resist. I could tell it was a children’s cover, but that’s perfect, seeing it’s a children’s book. Suitable for children of all ages. From three to one hundred and three.

Meg’s daughter, Callista, did the cover drawings for the dragon and Bianca. Kelsey Rice added color, style and put it all together. Well done!

Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate PrincessGoodreads  /  Amazon

MY REVIEW

The cute cover lured me in and I was thoroughly entertained by Bianca by Meg Welch Dendler. It may be recommended for ages  3+ and up, but I think everyone will fall in love with the characters that come into Bianca’s life. I know I did.

Bianca is a thirteen year old princess considered so frail by her father, King Dominic, she ias kept isolated in the castle, not allowed to go outside, let alone play with any of the town children. Her highlight of the day was her subjects amassing below the castle tower window, cheering and waving at her.

No one knew, but she entertained herself, running and playing on the stairs, sword slashing at imaginary foes, and lots and lots of reading. Don’t we all get lost in stories?

No one expects her to do anything but be pretty, don’t worry about anything, and eventually get married to her chosen mate. But when her father and the knights never return from the hunt for the dragon, she makes up her mind it is her duty, as the princess, to find them.

She sets off with Sammy, the donkey. Imagine never doing anything for yourself, never having been outside, never feeling the sun on your face, the grass beneath your feet, the dust in your nose. The stories never prepare you for ‘real life’, but Bianca has no fear. She will figure it out, whether it’s finding shelter or cooking her own meal. A very determined young lady that any child would love to emulate.

She meets a witch, fairies, a magical cat, a dragon, a wolf and other animals that hang in the forest. I worried for her…a little…but she had magical help from the animals around her and I knew they were looking out for her. And the dragon…Well, you will have to read for yourself to find out with him.

If you are looking for a children’s book that will give yourself and your little ones hours of reading pleasure, look not further. This is it. I couldn’t stop reading it once I started and it took me under four hours to finish it. I debated on the rating because I love heavy and dark reading, but this is a children’s story that I loved and think ‘children’ of all ages will too. A well deserved four stars.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess by Meg Welch Dendler.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Princess Bianca had never set foot outside the castle walls. Not once in her over-protected, pink, fluffy life. But when a dragon was spotted in the land and fear spread that the monster had conquered the king and his brave knights, Bianca realized that it was her duty to protect her kingdom. She will have to prove that she can be braver and stronger than anyone believed because the threat outside the protection of her castle tower was more dangerous and magical than she ever imagined possible, except in a fairy tale.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meg Welch DendlerMeg Dendler has considered herself a writer since she won a picture book contest in 5th grade and entertained her classmates with ongoing sequels for the rest of the year. Beginning serious work as a freelancer in the ’90s while teaching elementary and middle school, Meg has over one hundred articles in print, including interviews with Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She has won contests with her short stories and poetry, along with multiple international awards for her best-selling “Cats in the Mirror” alien rescue cat children’s book series. Meg is also an editor with Pen-L Publishing and works with independent and self-publishing authors to polish their manuscripts for publication.

Meg and her family (including four cats and her dog, Max) live in Arkansas. Visit her at www.megdendler.com for more information about upcoming books and events and all of Meg’s social media links.

In the first book of the Cats in the Mirror series, “Why Kimba Saved The World,” feisty house cat Kimba learns that she is really part of an alien race and has to pick sides between her loyal human family and her feline destiny. The second book, “Vacation Hiro,” came out in November of 2013. These first two books in the Cats in the Mirror series have been honored with Silver Mom’s Choice Awards, and “Why Kimba Saved The World” won a Bronze Moonbeam Children’s Book Award as “Best First Book.” Book 3, “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge,” released on September 12, 2014. A companion book to her Cats in the Mirror series, “Max’s Wild Night,” was published in May, 2015, and Book 4 in the Cats in the Mirror series, “Slinky Steps Out” joined the pack in the spring of 2016. An adult book, “At the Corner of Magnetic and Main,” was released by Pen-L Publishing in September of 2015.

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Dec. 1                    Meg Dendler’s Blog & Book Launch/Promotion                              

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Dec. 15                 A Day in the Tangled Skein of My Life (Review)                           

Dec. 16                 Watch Jane Write (Review)                          

Dec. 17                 Meg’s Blog for Wrapup                               

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