Hello mersquad coven!
I haven’t done an audiobook blog tour in a hot minute, and I’m so glad that I found this one with Audiobookworm Promotions! Thank you so much to Jess with Audiobookworm Promotions for allowing me to be on the tour. Click on the banner above to see more information on the audiobook and the rest of the tour schedule.
Maya and the Turtle
by John C. Stickler & Soma Han
Narrator: Talulah Shadrick
Publisher: Author’s Republic
Release Date: April 16, 2020
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Soma’s mother, T.M. Song, was a storyteller and this is a tale she used to tell her daughters when they were little girls. Her mother had told it to her when she was growing up in a rural village in Korea during the reign of King Kojong…. The underlying lesson is filial piety, respect for one’s parents, presented in an engrossing Oriental Cinderella story….
This title won the 2014 Morning Calm Medal, voted first by upper elementary students in 12 International Schools across South Korea….
Authors are the husband-wife team of John Stickler and Soma Han. Soma is also the illustrator of the picture book. Soma heard the story at her mother’s knee as a child in rural Korea. Her mother heard it from her mother back when King Kojong still ruled the country. John reported the news from Seoul for nine years for the CBS radio network and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Soma has a fine art degree from the California College of the Arts and has illustrated three children’s books. They live on the desert in Southern Arizona. Previously they collaborated on Land of Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then and Now, published by Shen’s Books, a division of Lee & Low.
Disclaimer: I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Author’s Republic. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
This was one of the cutest audiobooks that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to! This is one of the first Korean Fairy Tales that I’ve seen in an audiobook format, and I am really glad that Soma remembered the story that her mother told her and decided to write and illustrate this beautiful story. I also think it’s pretty cool that this was a husband and wife team up.
The author’s note at the end of the novel, hearing directly from Soma was so sweet and emotional because she dedicated the book to her mother. Her mother would tell her and her sister the story while they were growing up, and it clearly had an emotional tie to Soma enough to recreate this story for other children to hear and enjoy. I think that’s what made this book even more special and personal for me.
The narrator sounded like a little girl, which I think made the story sound more catered to children like it’s supposed to. I also think that her pronunciation of the Korean words was done well! It was also a really quick story, so it would be ideal for other children to listen to this story along with reading the physical book. I think it works out that way better!
And that’s all, folks! I thought that was super sweet. What about you? Have you heard of this story before?
Sometimes Leelynn Reads 
Thank you Leelynn for reviewing our fairy tale. We are delighted that you enjoyed it so much! Yes, we knew Talulah would be the ideal narrator with her youthful voice.
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This is such a cute way to do a fairytale 😍 I need to find a copy!
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Victoria: The audiobook is listed on 50 literary websites now. Let me suggest you find one at Libro.fm — every purchase there supports your local bookstore.
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