“Long winters in Maine breeds storytellers.”

John Norton Writer

Maine Native now living in Colorado Biochemist, Executive, Inventor, Antiques Dealer.

This month Norton is releasing four illustrated children’s books

in his Birthday Series

and

A prequel plus two of his six-book series

The Adventures of Eva and Buckskin Charlie

for mid-grade children.

Children’s Books: The Birthday Series

Birthdays are a day filled with joy and happiness for chidren of all ages. Who doesn't want to have a birthday party?

When is Santa’s Birthday?
Everyone wants to know their birthday. Hazel, Santa’s newest elf, only knows that she shares her birthday with Santa. She sets out to discover the date of Santa’s birthday to find her own. With her stuffed rabbit Hoppy, she interviews all eight reindeer and many of Santa’s elves. Everyone wants to help, but they all know a secret. You will learn the secret too.
A free coloring book is available from the website and it can be ordered as a fun one act classroom play.
Rudy, Santa’s Ninth Reindeer
Santa’s chief elf Jingles asked Santa’s newest elf Hazel to talk with a shy young reindeer named Rudolph. Rudy wasn’t eating well, sleeping odd hours and had a bright red nose. He was not accepted by the other reindeer. We all know the end of the story, but we did not know how Hazel and her stuffed bunny Hoppy discovered Rudy’s special gift and saved Christmas for millions of children that Christmas eve.
A free coloring book is available from the website.

Dear Tooth Fairy, is Today your Birthday?
Today is Abbey’s sixth birthday. The Tooth Fairy has left six quarters under her pillow. One for each year. Abbey would like to leave the Tooth Fairy a gift on her birthday. At her birthday party, she asks her friends to help discover the Tooth Fairy’s birthday. Each friend writes a little poem that begins, Dear Tooth Fairy and ends, Is today your birthday? Then Abbey asks everyone who reads this book to help.
A free coloring book is available on the website.
Henry, The Spare Parts Dog
Susie, is new in town and needs a best friend. She selects a very funny-looking puppy for her birthday. With the help of her classmates and an understanding teacher, Susie learns a lot about her dog, her classmates, and herself.
A free coloring book is available on the website.

Books for mid-Grade (9-14) Readers:

The (Extraordinary) Adventures of Eva and Buckskin Charlie. A six-book series with a prequel Setting: Colorado late 1860-70s

-Louis Annance, former Chief Western Maine Band of the Abenaki Indians.

Prequel The Fortune Teller on the Train. (revised edition, release date September 2022)
The year is 1868. Eva Norton, age 11, does not want to leave their farm in Maine to relocate to Colorado, wherever that is. They take the cross-country train to Kansas City where they plan to join a wagon train to cross the prairie to the Colorado mountains.
There are two mysteries. Eva overheard Pa’s brother warn him to move from Maine for the safety of his family. He would send messages with the code name “Nest” as he got the news. Was she in danger?
For helping a fellow traveler, Eva is given a stone medallion that she wore around her neck on a rawhide thong. It makes her feel warm. Eva and her family meet Madame Romanoff, a fortune teller from Romania. Madame Romanoff notices the medallion and tells Eva that it holds the secrets of the ancients and it’s in her care.
Madame Romanoff reads the palms of her mother, father, and younger sister Abbey. Eva is fascinated by the story she tells. Her own fortune was even more interesting. Now she can’t, wait to begin her new life in Colorado. Madame Romanoff asks Pa to remain behind and Eva hears her begin the message with the word Nest.

Book 1. Eva’s Secret Name*. (revised edition, release date September 2022)
Once in Colorado, Eva discovers gold, learns how to select a building site, to catch trout and experiences much more regarding homesteading in Colorado in the 1860s. It is when she meets Buckskin Charlie, son of the chief of the local Soto Indians (Native Americans), that their adventures begin by being chased by a bear!
With Buckskin Charlie, Eva begins to learn about different cultures and the ancient native custom of living in Harmony with nature and in Balance within a community. It is a Soto custom to give children secret names. Buckskin Charlie gives Eva a secret name. It takes months of interesting adventures before she finds out the meaning of this wonderful name. And that’s not the last surprise.
*Portions of this book were printed by Best Publishing Co., N. Palm Beach, FL.
Book 2. Eva’s New Older Brother. (release date September 2022)
Buckskin Charlie is to live with Eva and her family for two years to “learn the customs and rituals” of the settlers. He teaches at least as much as he learns. The reality of living in Harmony with nature and in Balance with the community is slowly developed. In this gentle book Buckskin Charlie and Eva find unique ways to further cooperation and understanding between the settlers and native people by collaborating on a monthly column, “Harmony and Balance” in the local newspaper. Because their reputation is spreading the “Nest” mystery is getting closer. Buckskin Charlie's mother Abbatia, a tribal shaman, senses that Eva’s medallion is lost and needs to find its way home.

Book 3, Eva and Buckskin Charlie, Author-Illustrator (release date January 2023)

Book 4, Eva and Buckskin Charlie, New Horizons (release date March 2023)

Book 5, Eva and Buckskin Charlie Back East (release date June 2023)

Book 6, Buckskin Charlie’s Secret Name (release date September 2023)

A second series, The (Extraordinary) Adventures of Eva Rose and Gramps begins in Denver, Colorado in the 1930s. Eva Rose is the granddaughter of the famous Eva Norton. The backdrop is the run-up to World War II. There are many adventures from the new movie studios in Hollywood and the Olympic trials on the West Coast of the US to perfume blending in France and raising puppies in Germany. Harmony and Balance is the quiet theme of the series.

This is an eight-book series with a planned release beginning in January 2024.

Current and Soon To be released

Contemporary Fiction for Adult Readers.

A. Escort Service. (release date, December 2022) (Draft Cover Illustration)

Halbert Sixacre, a young California Scientist-Gourmet-Author has a NYT best-selling book, a cookbook! He is on a five-week book tour of Northern New England with a local escort. Why is he touring Northern New England and not Boston, New York, and LA? Why is Céleste, his escort from Canada, available for the five-week tour? Why does she travel with Argos, her guard dog?

B. Things are Not What They Seem (release date March 2023) (Draft Cover Illustration)

A sequel to the Hal Sixacre series to be ready for professional editing by and released in September 2023. Where Escort Service features food, Things are Not What They Seem features wine and a world-wide wine tour.

C. Simple Gift (release date March 2023) (Draft Illustration)

A novel set in Colorado and based loosely on the operations of Habitat for Humanity and its retail outlet Re-Stores. The mystery features lost art and support of a serious medical condition.

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John creates wonderfully engaging tales that entertain children and adults. As a grandfather, he understands the limited attention spans of children and manages to capture their imagination and attention. Entertaining them for hours on end.