**Joi the Koi Gets a New Home encourages self-esteem, teaches counting and telling time, and offers “Fun Fish Facts” about owning a fish as a pet.**
*First book in new series for children introduces Joi, a Japanese Koi fish, who learns patience and faith while living in a pet store awaiting someone special to buy her and take her home.*
It isn’t easy being left behind while all your friends are picked, whether you’re choosing sides in a game or waiting to be purchased from a pet store, but the voice inside your head can help you have faith that this situation isn’t permanent. This voice can even help you take action that ultimately helps create a positive resolution.
Such is the case in the new children’s picture book *Joi the Koi Gets a New Home* by Devon Anthony, a landscaper who builds Koi ponds and water features. This brightly illustrated tale of a beautiful Koi fish who yearns for someone special to buy her and take her home reflects the importance of faith and positive forward action, even when the situation appears hopeless.
When a little boy bounces a ball directly into Joi’s glass tank and the glass shatters, she and her friends find themselves in peril. A half price sale on fish is just the ticket, and Teta the Betta, Chuppy the Guppy, and Sir Lumpkin the Shubunkin are quickly purchased, but no one seems interested in Joi. How she handles this delicate situation offers lessons for all those who find themselves waiting and wishing.
Devon comments, “This book not only introduces kids to the beautiful Japanese Koi fish, it also teaches kids that it’s worth the wait to find the right friend and go to a happy home.”
Joi the Koi Gets a New Home includes an audio CD with sound effects narrated in both English and Spanish. Book two in the series, Joi the Koi Meets Matt the Cat, is due out in late 2012. For more information, email blackrivermarket@yahoo.com.
*”Devon Anthony and Gwen Clifford have collaborated on a wonderful little book called Joi the Koi, a heartwarming story of a little fish who seeks the love and security of a home. It is a lesson on faith and perseverance for young and old alike. Anthony’s text and Clifford’s illustrations are complementary and convey a message of hope and assurance.”* – Ron Holland, former regional supervisor, western office, NC Division of Archives and History
**Author:** Devon Anthony is a military veteran, singer, songwriter, musician, and wood carver as well as a poet and author. He now owns a landscaping business and designs and builds Koi ponds and water features, which began with the first one that he built in his own back yard. He has many Koi fish in his pond, including Joi, for whom the book was penned.
Children’s Juvenile Fiction; $19.95
Available at
www.diamond
dmtenterprizes.com
www.amazon.com
www.bn.com
www.innocentfoot
prints.com
For more information or to contact the author for media commentary, email blackrivermarket@yahoo.com
