About the Book
Needy JakesWer, 6th grade drummer, decides it is time to fight back against the biggest bullies in James Audubon Middle School, a trio of brothers called The Beech Lane BM's. They get taught a lesson, and Needy gets a few things figured out along the way, in this first installment of an exciting new series: The Needy JakesWer, Observations of a 6th Grade Drummer. From the book: "You ever have one of those days that feels like it is going to be so awful, such an epic fail, that you wish your life had a reset button to push and just start over? This story is about one of those days, but life is not a game, we don't get to be an avatar. Nope, we are flesh, blood, and bone real, so we just have to play it out the way it happens, or find some way to change the things we absolutely can't stand. I am here to tell you about a guy who took a crap sandwich of a day, and did something with it that the students at James Audubon Middle School are still talking about today. He'd tried what the so-called experts recommend, ignoring a bully, don't encourage a bully, deflect a bully's mean words with a joke, tell a teacher or grown-up, yadda yadda yadda. Those so-called experts are not the ones in the halls every day, getting picked on, getting called names no kid wants to tell his parents he gets called, getting pushed, punched, tormented, and generally terrorized. If they were, they'd know those methods seldom, if ever, work. Needy JakesWer arrived at the conclusion that he'd followed the rules and gotten nothing but more picked on, and made up his mind that day, this day you are reading about right now, he had to do something more, or else lose a part of himself forever. So, he did something we all wish we were brave enough to do at one time or another. He fought back."
About the Author :
Suzanne Magdalena Rolph-McFalls is an essayist, fiction writer, songwriter, and screenwriter. She's won awards for several genres of her work, but never a leg lamp. Suzanne is also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, AWP, ASCAP, and The Scooby-Doo fan club. She's been a middle school teacher, adjunct university faculty, yoga instructor, herb and health food store owner, book and magazine editor, loan officer, benefits administrator, mother, grandmother, and has been married to Michael McFalls since 1993. Together they own S&M Custom Painting Services, Inc. She's lives in Hebron, Kentucky and has one cat named Harold Be Thy Name. He only answers to Harry, though. THE BALLAD OF ROLLO CRANE, her first illustrated children's book, has been called "An auspicious debut" and "A sure fire Halloween CLASSIC!" by adult reviewers, and "super cool and gross and scary" by kid reviewers. QUEEN GRACIE AND THE CASE OF THE FROGS IN THE NIGHTTIME marked her second collaboration with the talented Lika Kvirikashvili. I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE is her newest, a Valentine's Day book for adults and children alike. It is illustrated entirely by children, and is a great card/gift book for anyone, anytime you want to tell someone you are glad they are here. Her memoir is due out in 2016.
