411 on Books, Authors & Publishing

About the Book

Title: Sweet Tales

Author: Laurie Hyman

Genre: Children’s Books

The Adventures of Brittany and Lace, the second book in the Sweet Tales series, is the perfect chapter book or read-out-loud book for animal lovers of all ages! Told from the animals’ point of view, these three charming stories center around Britt the Kit, now a grown-up tabby cat, and a special litter of rescued kittens—Lace, our new co-star destined to be Brittany’s new sister, Coco, who needs a home, Scamp and Willa. Exploring universal themes, with lots of trouble and adventure in between, each story is resolved with determination, love, and understanding. When needed, humans help, along with a colorful group of animal friends. An enjoyable book for the entire family – or anyone who enjoys a good tale!

“An educational adventure story for young animal lovers that delivers justice where it’s deserved.” -Kirkus Reviews

”The overall sense of caring, community, and responsibility for others is palpable throughout.”
–Kirkus Reviews

Cover Credits

Original Art: Belinda DelPesco

Cover Design: Heather Wood

Author Bio

“Writing is my creative outlet,” says Laurie Hyman, author of Sweet Tales: The Adventures of Brittany and Lace.  The children’s series is written from the perspectives of cats, dogs, horses, woodchucks, coyotes, squirrels, crows and various other animals.  The stories explore universal themes such as family, friends, bullying, animal cruelty, abandonment and rescue, and the environment.  These books will appeal to readers of all ages, says Laurie, who comes from a creative family.  Her father was a writer and her brother, David Saperstein, wrote the novel on which the hit movie, Cocoon was based.

But her creativity doesn’t begin and end with books.  Laurie has extensive experience representing recording artists such as Barry Manilow and working as a producer and program coordinator for film, television, music and video companies.  She was assistant producer on Nurse, the acclaimed 1981 CBS network drama starring Michael Learned and Robert Reed.  Laurie also associate produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—Coming Out of Their Shells, a documentary about the making of the live musical tour based on the hit movies and TV series.

Laurie Hyman is passionate about the creative process, which she finds fascinating and fulfilling.  She has also worked extensively as a senior health care advocate and she developed the Health Navigator Program for ReServe Inc. where she supervised several volunteers for NYC hospitals.  She also volunteered as an advocate for the American Red Cross, March of Dimes, and MRC (Medicare Rights Center) in health care and senior care advocacy.  She currently lives in New York State with her husband Micky and their two cats Maggie and Lily.

Connect with Laurie: www.redskypresents.com

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Book Excerpts

Excerpt: Pet Rescue

The kitten, now fully awake and alert, tilted her head, questioning where the woman was going. As they studied one another, the young cat’s eyes turned a deeper shade of green.

Love knew at that moment that this was her ‘Lace’. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back for you.”

Now Love was angry. “This is criminal!” she hissed to her husband, “I thought they were so cute, lying in a pile like that, but now I know it’s not cute at all! They’re huddled that way to try and stay warm! It’s cruel. They’re obviously sick and miserable!”

“I think you’re right, Love. Let’s get out of here.”

When the couple left, the kittens quickly huddled together in a tight circle.

“Do you think they’ll come back?” asked the white one.

“I think so,” said the tiger tomcat. “And I bet they take you out of here. As for the rest of us, who knows?”

“You’ll all be fine,” barked the yellow Lab pup from his cage on the shelf across from the kittens’ case. “I’m Bert. I’m from the same farm as you. We were all supposed to go to the animal hospital last week when we left the farm, but then the truck stopped for some reason. A bunch of us pups and your litter were taken off and we got moved to another truck and brought here. This place is diseased and filthy. That’s why we’re all getting sick.”

“What does sick mean?” asked the grey kitten. The poor little thing sneezed and fell over.

“It means we need to get rescued quickly or no one will want to give us a proper home. But, I believe those people are going to save us,” said the pup with certainty.

Excerpt – Discovering Snow

Brittany was very special to Lace. She had graciously accepted Lace into her home with Love and Man. Lace had since learned that Britt the Kit had also saved her father Sky when he was just a kitten.

An evergreen tree branch hit the kitchen bay window. The kitten jumped on to the ledge and looked outside.

“Wow, everything is so white! Just like me! It must be? Yesss! It’s SNOW. Now I understand why Papa called me Snow.” The white kitten got chills all over her body. “Snow is all white and pretty like me! I want to touch and feel it,” Lace whispered.

The kitten ran over to the cat door which was part of the kitchen door of their house. She placed her paw on the clear plastic door and pushed. “Ah, it’s open.” Her folks had forgotten to lock it before they went to sleep. “Should I?” Lace knew it was the wrong thing to do, but she was so curious about the snow falling just a short distance away in their backyard. “Yes, I’ll chance it. Just, for a few minutes.” She took a deep breath and slipped through the flapping door.

Once outside, Lace ran to the snow and placed her paw on the sparkling white powder. “Oooo, it’s cold, like Mama said. Ah, it melts, too.” Cautiously she moved out from under the covered porch and jumped up onto the stone wall that ran the length of their home.

As the snow gently fell on the kitten, she began to purr. It was cold, but pleasant. It landed on the top of her head and body. “So this is snow. I like it.”

Excerpt – The Mission

As the cats waited patiently for their treats, Brittany leaned over to her sister and whispered, “Lace, I have to go out to the woodshed later and meet Nathanial, Henry, and a coyote named Eva.

“It turns out the wild pack of dogs Henry let out of the abandoned house are still roaming the area. We now know they are controlled by the ‘pet store guy’. He feeds and houses them so they do his bidding.”

“What’s bidding, Britt?” asked the pretty white kitten.”

“It means the dogs do whatever he asks. The man feeds and houses the dogs, and in return they kidnap innocent animals for him to sell.”

“Can I go with you?” asked Lace, already knowing what the answer would be.

“Not this time. The weather may be bad. It’s just supposed to be a quick meeting. A plan is being put into place to deal with the ‘pet store guy’ and the pack of dogs. I haven’t been told any details. All I know is they want me to be part of it. That’s what I’m going to find out tonight.

“Wow, isn’t that dangerous? I’m scared for you, Brittany.”

“I am too, kiddo. I’ve never done anything this serious before,” Britt answered and let out a deep sigh, wondering what she was going to be asked to do.

Lace instinctively hissed and puffed out. Her tail bushed and swished back and forth. “No, don’t do it. I have a bad feeling. Stay out of this pleeease, Britt. Let someone else do it. Let Henry do it! He caused this when he let the dogs out. I want you safe!” The kitten hissed. Lace had once again doubled in size and now weighed close to four pounds. She was still sweet, but was also turning into a strong, fierce, young cat.