Hi Everyone,

Welcome to Wanda Luthman’s Christian and Children’s Book Blog!

Today, I have a new author with a great middle grade chapter book to share with you. The author, Victoria Oltarsh, is here to tell you all about it…

When I was a little girl I was mesmerized by the stars at night. Driving home from the beach in the back of my family car, I can remember gazing up wondering what was beyond what I could see. Stars evoked my imagination.

In 1981 while rocking my second daughter, LaLita, to sleep, the story, The Boy and the Secret of the Stars, flashed before my eyes. As a single working mother, drama and playwriting teacher, it took 42 years to write down what came to me in a flash so long ago.

My unique, 9-year-old fantasy loving granddaughter, Aurora, challenged me to complete my story during the pandemic. Through the eyes of my grandchildren as well as all the hundreds of ethnically diverse children I have taught for the last 35 years in NYC public and private schools, I saw firsthand that all children share the same fascination with the mysteries of the universe. The passion to capture that essence of wonder of  what lies beyond as well provide comfort and understanding to children who feel alone and isolated in their lives never wavered. 

The Boy and the Secret of the Stars, provides excitement describing the experience of an eight-year-old boy who after making a wish upon a star is taken on a journey where he discovers a connection to the beauty of the universe while gaining self-confidence.

My hope is, reading about Eli’s journey and the challenges he faced through his adventure, the reader or the children being read to can relate and feel the same journey within them. Originally written as a children’s play, then a simplified children’s picture book, after reading my story at a writing group of professional writers and receiving feedback at a writing conference, The Boy and the Secret of the Stars, became a middle-grade chapter book.

By the time the book was complete, that little baby girl who I was rocking to sleep when the idea flashed before my eyes, became a Parson’s School of Design Fine Arts graduate, and we became a Mother/Daughter, Author/Illustrator team. 

Since the March 2024 book launch, I received thirty 5 star Amazon book reviews, as well as two Readers favorite reviews after applying to a Book award contest. Middle-grade students aged 8-12 and families who like to read bedtime stories to their mixed aged girls and boys who enjoy space fantasy adventures, will hopefully be enticed, to answer the question, “What is your dream?” and feel the same confidence Eli did within themselves as they learn facts about nature and outer space.

My book starts out in Central Park, NYC, highlighting key favorite spots for children to visit and describes excursions in nature Eli has taken with his mother on Long Island, NY, but most of the geographic locations are in outer space. I did a lot of research to include real aspects of the galaxy, appealing to children who love the natural world, collecting stones, identifying birds, and love studying the planets, and constellations. 

ISBN: 9781957832197
My author website is: https://victoriaoltarsh.com/

Thank you so much, Victoria, for sharing with us your inspiration and how your book came to be, especially how your baby turned out to be your Illustrator. I love that!

Thank you to all my loyal blog followers! I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

As always, likes, comments, and shares are appreciated.

God Bless You, Everyone!