Jitterbug Jones and the Magic Pawpaw Tree

Kentucky Author Brings Magic to Life with Jitterbug Jones and the Magic Pawpaw Tree

(Jackson, Kentucky, March 2012) The hills of Eastern Kentucky may seem like a magical place to the many people who live there or who visit them every year. Bringing that magic to life on the pages of his latest book, author Alonzo Fugate creates a world where the magic is real and the adventures are exciting! Perhaps you have always imagined that the woods are mysterious and full of magical creatures such as ghosts, trolls, or even witches. You will find all of these and more in the author's latest work, JITTERBUG JONES AND THE MAGIC PAWPAW TREE [ISBN 978-1-4583-7064-8, Lulu Publications, $20.00].

Drawing on his professional knowledge as a National Board Certified Teacher (the highest achievement in teaching today), Alonzo Fugate is well-known for his earlier works for children, NOSE PICKIN' and PUMPKIN GUTS, TATER EYES, AND OTHER TASTY TREATS. He also published a work for older teens and adults of scary stories set in Eastern Kentucky called DARK AND BLOODY. However, he wasn't done with writing for children just yet.

Teaching elementary students, Mr. Fugate saw a need for more quality literature in the school setting. “My students read lots of books about other places in the world. I wanted to write about their world."

Mr. Fugate brings Eastern Kentucky to life in his latest work. According to the book, there once lived a man who was so jumpy and jittery that everyone called him Jitterbug Jones. Now his real name was Fred, but almost everyone had forgotten that. They just knew him as Jitterbug. Jitterbug was always moving around. He hardly ever sat still. He loved to move. He would hop around when he tried to stand still. He would shake his legs when he tried to sit still. And when he tried to walk, he ran.

Come along on an adventure with Jitterbug Jones as he encounters a magic fish, an old witch, some ghosts, and even a hungry troll! Set in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, this book will have you whisking through the forest in search of a magic pawpaw...if you can escape the clutches of the evil witch! JITTERBUG JONES AND THE MAGIC PAWPAW TREE is the first in a series of books about the magic that fills the hills of Eastern Kentucky. Join in the journey. Join in the adventure. Can you find the magic pawpaw tree? Just be careful with those wishes!

JITTERBUG JONES AND THE MAGIC PAWPAW TREE will be officially released on March 24, 2012 at the Powell County Reading Celebration which will be held at the Powell County Middle School. However, it is already available at bookstores everywhere. More information about the book and the author can be found at the official website (http://www.alonzofugate.com) or at the official book website (http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/alonzofugate). It will be available from the publisher, Lulu Publications, or at online bookstores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Million. It will also be available worldwide wherever books are sold. To reserve your copy of JITTERBUG JONES AND THE MAGIC PAWPAW TREE today, just check with your local bookseller.

###

Spring Break

You can tell by the warmer weather and the plants starting to peek up out of the ground that spring is almost here. In fact, it should be here already by the time you read this article. The Wheel is turning once again, bringing a new season of growth and emerging life. It won't be too much longer until we see the Easter Bunny and all of the brightly colored eggs. In fact, I have seen a few decorated Easter trees already! One of them is in our yard. Lisa worked really hard today to get our house decorated for the upcoming Easter holiday. Time to start practicing those egg hunts.

 

 

This past week was spring break for the Breathitt County School System. Lisa, Jacob, and I spent it in Gatlinburg, TN. This is a nice little mini-vacation if you only have a few days to enjoy. We love going to Gatlinburg to shop, eat, ride on the rides, and of course, have our picture taken on the skylift. Lisa and I have been having our picture taken on the skylift for about 13 or 14 years now. This was our second year with Jacob. I guess that we will keep doing this family tradition as long as we can both haul ourselves into those skylift chairs....LOL!

 

 

While we were in Gatlinburg, we did the usual family vacation things. We ate at Applewood Farm and the Old Mill. Both of these restaurants are part of our Gatlinburg tradition. We HAVE to eat there every time. We found a great place last year called Huck Finn's and now it is also a part of our Gatlinburg tradition. It has the best catfish I have ever tasted. If you go to Gatlinburg, you have to eat at one (if not all) of these restaurants.

Of course, we couldn't escape the clutches of consumerism. We had to make a trip to the shops to do a bit of spending. We took Jacob to the Disney store. He has really gotten into Mickey Mouse lately. He loves the show The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He was so excited to be in the Disney Store. He kept running around looking at everything. He really liked the large figures of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and the rest of the Disney gang that were perched up above the registers. We ended up getting him a cool t-shirt with Mickey, Goofy, and Donald on it. We also got him a stuffed toy Goofy and a stuffed toy Pluto. He has packed them around constantly since then.

 

 

We also took Jacob to ride some rides at the little kiddie carnivals that they have placed around Pigeon Forge. He rode a train, ferris wheel, the swings ride, a swinging boat, and a twirling car ride. He loved them all. However, he was really excited to watch the go-carts. We weren't sure if he could ride on the go-carts or not. But we measured him and he was just the right size to ride with an adult. So, Lisa drove the go-cart and Jacob rode with her. He had a BLAST! He loved riding the go-carts! I can just imagine how it will be on our next visit.

Of course, we didn't spend all of our time in Gatlinburg. We also drove up into the Smokey Mountains and over into Cherokee, North Carolina. There is a real, old-time working farm just as you get into Cherokee. Jacob loved looking around at the old houses, corn cribs, smoke house, and barn. There was even a chicken coop and a pig-pen! His favorite part was throwing rocks into the stream that ran beside the farm. Of course, that is ultra-cool to a three-year old boy!

 

 

Now, we are back in good old Breathitt County. We are getting ready for school tomorrow. Time to put our noses back to the grindstone and get ready for the last few weeks of school. It amazes me that we only have 6 weeks of school left! I can't believe that the last day of school is April 26th! I can't remember ever getting out this early. But I'm not complaining. That just means that there will be more time for trips over summer vacation! I'll keep you posted!

Until next week....class dismissed!