Mia and Nattie:
One Great Team!
by
Marlene M. Bell
Genre: Children's Picture Book (K-3rd Grade) / Farm Animals
Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing
Date of Publication: October 4, 2020
Number of Pages: 34
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Nattie’s mouth was a little crooked. Her legs were a bit shorter than usual, and one horn was too straight, like a unicorn’s horn.
But Mia thought Nattie was perfect.
On a visit to her grandma’s farm, eight-year-old Mia discovers a newborn, orphaned lamb outside in the cold and takes her to the laundry room, naming her Nattie. As she tries to nurse the lamb back to health, Mia discovers that Nattie is different from the other lambs and struggles to fit in with them like Mia does with other kids her age.
When her grandmother says she will sell Nattie to a neighbor, Mia must come up with a plan to keep her friend around — one that will show the family just how special Nattie truly is.
MARLENE M. BELL is an award-winning writer, artist, and crazy sheep lady who resides in beautiful East Texas. Her renown sheep photographs grace the covers of many livestock magazines where she also writes newsy articles about raising sheep from her hands-on experience.
Based on true events from the Bell’s ranch, Marlene offers the first of her children's picture books, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! It's a touching story of compassion and love between a little girl and her lamb. Marlene is also the author of the award-winning Annalisse international mystery series, with the third book, Calico Raven to be released in 2021.
Marlene shares her life with her husband and dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep: a large Maremma guard dog named Tia, and cats, Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks. The cats believe they rule the household—and do.
◆ BLOG ◆
1. We feed our Horned Dorset sheep alfalfa hay in addition to the pasture grass they have, so when we take the hay out to the sheep, the first thing I watch for is: Are they all coming to eat the hay? Sheep never refuse alfalfa hay when they are feeling good. If a sheep is staying behind or lying down, there’s something wrong, like an illness, sore foot, or a twisted ankle.
2. Check their water supply. It’s important to have fresh water available at all times, even in the winter months. Sheep do pick up moisture from pasture grass, but because we also feed dry hay, sheep must have clean water to drink. If foreign objects like leaves or dirt are floating in the water, the trough or bucket is dumped, and fresh water added. More than food, water is vital to keeping sheep healthy.
3. In the case of little Nattie, she was so much smaller than the rest of our flock. Bigger sheep can push out small lambs or ewes from the hay. We check to be sure that smaller or weaker sheep are getting enough to eat. If there’s a thin sheep in the group, they may not be getting enough nutrition.
4. Here in Texas, we have an over-abundance of parasites because of our large amounts of rainfall. A thin sheep may be because of a lack of feed, but it can also be a bad case of worms in the stomach. We use several different wormers on our sheep to keep them worm-free and prevent the critters from building a resistance to certain wormers. Because worm medicines have been used heavily in our area, we are finding certain medicines no longer work as well as others. Worms are smart creatures and keep us working hard to stay on top of the flock’s wellness.
5. To stay ahead of the worm population in the pastures, we rotate the sheep into clean pastures every three weeks. A clean pasture is one that has not had sheep in it for the past six weeks. Worms will become a problem if the sheep are left in a single pasture longer than a month. The rotation keeps the worms from taking hold in the sheep’s stomach and make the sheep (and owners) happy.
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GIVEAWAY:
One Winner: Signed copy of Mia and Nattie by Marlene M. Bell, Nattie plush, Nattie mousepad, and a Nattie pendant
Two Winners: Signed Copy of Mia and Nattie by Marlene M. Bell
(US only)
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| 11/16/2020 | Review | That's What She's Reading |
| 11/16/2020 | Character Spotlight | Book Fidelity |
| 11/16/2020 | Review | Jennifer Silverwood |
| 11/16/2020 | BONUS Promo | Hall Ways Blog |
| 11/17/2020 | Review | Forgotten Winds |
| 11/17/2020 | Sneak Peek | The Clueless Gent |
| 11/17/2020 | Review | Momma on the Rocks |
| 11/18/2020 | Review | Story Schmoozing Book Reviews |
| 11/18/2020 | Top 5 List | All the Ups and Downs |
| 11/18/2020 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
| 11/19/2020 | Review | Book Bustle |
| 11/19/2020 | Excerpt | Max Knight |
| 11/19/2020 | Review | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 11/20/2020 | Review | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 11/20/2020 | Character Interview | Sybrina's Book Blog |
| 11/20/2020 | Review | The Adventures of a Travelers Wife |
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LOVE this book! Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a cute book.
ReplyDeleteCute cover. It sounds like an interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete