Curse of the Komodo - Softcover

Berkhousen, M C

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1946329398 ISBN 13: 9781946329394

Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, 2017

Synopsis

Be careful what you wish for! Luke and Austin Brockway can't seem to stop arguing. Luke says he'd rather have a grizzly bear for a brother. Austin claims a Komodo dragon would smell better than Luke. While they are on a school trip to the zoo, a violent storm creates chaos in the atmosphere and their wishes are granted! Luke turns into a Komodo dragon and Austin becomes a grizzly bear. Luke can't eat the frozen rats he gets for supper, and Austin is scared of his seven-hundred pound roommates. A mean guard with a temper and a cattle prod adds to their misery. Gramps tells the boys they are victims of an old family curse that can't be undone until the next violent storm. Until then, they must help each other survive as zoo animals. Will they ever return to their normal, happy lives again?

About this title

About the Author

M.C. (Peg) Berkhousen wrote her first poem in sixth grade and has been writing all her life. She was raised in Three Rivers, Michigan, a rural Midwestern town where she frequently visited the library and checked out Cherry Ames and Sue Barton nursing stories. After graduation from Borgess School of Nursing in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Peg continued to write about her nursing experiences. She won Michigan Nurse Writer of the Year for her story about using journalism therapy with a psychiatric patient who was aboard the USS Hornet when it was sunk by the Japanese during WWII. While working in Staff Development at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, she wrote, produced and directed staff training videos that were published by J.B. Lippincott, New York. She wrote the script and was Associate Producer for "Lincoln...In His Own Words," a project for Lincoln Life Insurance Company, narrated by actor Hal Holbrook. On faculty for Trinity International Health Services, Peg provided Management Training and Consultation to Franciscan Sisters at Matre Dei Hospital, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa. She ended her nursing career as Director of Clinical Services, Trinity Home Health Services, and is now writing full time. Curse of the Komodo, targeted to children in grades 6th through 8th, is her first published novel. The second two books of the Komodo trilogy, 90% Human, and Return to Komodo Island, are planned for publication in 2018. Peg resides in Ottawa Hills, Ohio. She hopes to continue volunteering at the amazing Toledo Zoo, where she once interviewed a visiting Komodo dragon.

Review

The idea for Curse of the Komodo came to me after I saw my first Komodo dragon at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium. It's eyes were black and dead like the eyes of a robot. I thought, "if this glass wasn't between us, he'd be having me for lunch." After further research, I decided to write a children's story about Komodo dragons. I wrote about five chapters and asked my grandson, who was about eleven or twelve at the time, to read what I had and give me his opinion. His advice: "Grandma, this Komodo needs a curse." I revised the plot, adding a curse. Curse of the Komodo was published by Progressive Rising Phoenix Press and released in August 2017. I continue to be gratified by the amazing reviews and fan letters I receive from children, teachers and librarians. A 6th grade boy who did a book report on Curse of the Komodo wrote, "If you decide to read this book, remember to be grateful. I certainly am." 

About this edition

• Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1946329398
• ISBN 13: 9781946329394
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 148