Watch Michael, age 9, dedicate our latest book, “Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts,” to his immigrant Grandma from Ukraine in this short, sweet video:

Michael met Vera as a toddler in a local community center, and also started playing with her grandsons, Levko and Lukyan. Soon, enough, Michael and Vera were spending more and more time together, and Vera started calling him her grandson (he doesn’t have any grandparents who are alive). At first, he said, “But she is Levko and Lukyan’s grandmother, she can’t be mine,” but then proudly started calling Vera his grandma. He likes to take his friends to her apartment, and they always say, “I want a grandma like Vera!”

Vera has been an important influence in his life, babysitting him often, reading with him, and reminding him of his strengths. She likes to call him “the professor.” She also tells him “In my country” stories about her difficult life growing up in Soviet-occupied Ukraine.

When we began writing our third book, Michael insisted on making Vera the coach of the most successful girls’ team in the state, and also the assistant mayor. It was also his idea to dedicate the book to her.

You can learn more about Vera and her relationship with Michael in this widely-shared article: Voice of America Article: Immigrant Grandma in Our Book

Meanwhile, we want to remind you that we’re doing a Goodreads Giveaway of our book, giving away 50 copies of “Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts.”

Learn about the giveaway here, which ends June 27: Goodreads Giveaway

And be sure to check out the latest reviews of our book, which appear on Amazon and on book blogs:

Reviews of Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beats

Here are a few of our favorites:
An Important Message Candy-Wrapped with Humor!

Blogger Tina Morley and her daughter, Amanda, age 10, wrote on Amazon and in their blog: Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts teaches an important message candy wrapped with humor. Bash learns that under the Title IX law, girls have equal rights as boys when it comes to the best coaches and education. This is an early chapter book with expressive illustrations.

Ten-year-old Amanda’s wrote, I liked that they loved dogs so much and let them be coaches. I think it’s cool that Ally is everywhere. Whenever you need her, she’s there. I like that the grandma is a coach and teaches the best girl team. I also like the grandma’s accent.

Cat Michaels wrote on her blog, Cat’s Corner,

Their book speaks to me as a former special educator as the authors address challenges faced by kids for whom certain sights and sounds send them into sensory overload.

I’ve worked with many children and parents to address this unique style, so I’m over the moon to see more authors tackle this issue…I loved my first glimpse (of the book). With its kid-friendly layour and font (no visual distractions here!) and bright pictures providing context clues for each chapter, it’s perfect for beginning readers or reading aloud. Plus, Bash and Lucy offer tons of discussion possibilities about inclusion and bullying.

And thanks, once again, to Vera, Michael’s immigrant grandma from Ukraine, for all she does for him!