Willakaville
Author
Mathew Heinecke
Author Bio
Mathew Heinecke is an emerging author of children’s books. He enjoys making up wacky science fiction stories and poems for his children. His Willakaville series books have put these in print for others to enjoy with the goal of tackling the many different issues children will face. (He wants to ensure he is using the full spectrum of his imagination)
As a graduate from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, he has worked for many years as a mechanical engineer in both the aerospace and transportation industries. This coincides with his passion for learning about new technologies and innovations. (He really wants to be a galactic space fighter)
Mathew grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah where he enjoyed visiting the nearby Rocky Mountains and the colorful landscapes of southern Utah. As a child, he played several sports such as; football, soccer, rugby, basketball, snowboarding, skiing, hiking, fishing mountain biking, golf and tennis. Now he just plays a little golf and tennis (and has a small protrusion of his belly to show for it) He continues to enjoy sports and time outdoors with his wife, children and friends.
Some of Mathew’s hobbies include: illustration, painting, t-shirt and logo design, gardening, and movies. (He likes to keep busy) His favorite movies are Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.
Description
Willakaville is full of zany, crazy, and wacky science fiction adventures that occur in an otherwise small town. In each story, young children find themselves in bizarre predicaments with supernatural situations. There are fourteen stories in all that range from monsters to magic to time travel. The book also includes two unique poems that are fun and delightful.
An eclectic range of themes abound in the book. Among those are: a detective mystery, a historical adventure, a suspicious janitor, a strange virus, space travel, a magical pencil, an ominous visitor, a battle with a monster, time travel, mass hysteria, an unexpected hero and some peculiar mayonnaise. For most of the tales, young children are at the center and must work together to find interesting solutions to the eminent problems they face.
The characters are easy to identify with as they resemble personalities you would find in any mixture of citizens. Each has his or her own individual style, personality and flaws. Willakaville brings a human touch encompassing a broad range of emotional conflict and self-awareness.
Willakaville is almost one hundred fifty pages in length and the chapters range from five to twenty five pages. Each chapter begins with a custom illustration of distinctive artwork created by the author. The writing style is simple enough for younger children to understand, yet interesting enough for those who are older. The stories are generally geared for those aged 8-12. It makes a great bedtime read for the little ones. However, it will be enjoyed at any age.
The stories are fast-paced and creative with intermittent silliness sprinkled along the way. Each account aims to teach a life lesson, whether it be on manners, self-esteem, censorship, prejudice or ownership. Some of the tales tackle issues of the future, such as artificial intelligence, or epidemics. Willakaville will stir one’s thoughts and curiosity as it meanders through social and personal issues
Willakaville is a fun ride that evokes the imagination and tickles the funny bone. If you are someone that is into action, adventure, comedy and creativity, this is the book for you or someone you love.
Book excerpt
Eventually, he was lifted out of the pit and the bag was removed. When he looked around, it appeared that everyone was wearing some strange kind of yellow costume. They all had spears in their hands and were chanting over and over, “Krakata! Makute! Naratanana!”
Then one of them came and stood in front of Kyle. Kyle could not believe his eyes. They were not wearing yellow costumes. They somehow turned into human sized bananas! But bananas with arms and legs and angry faces. Bananas with red and black war paint and leather clothes.
The banana warrior in front of him motioned to Kyle with his hand toward the forest. Kyle decided he better get away from these crazy angry banana people. He took off like a rabbit, running like a locomotive. He was too afraid to look back and had no idea where he was going. At one point he decided to rest, when he looked back he could see the angry mob of bananas still coming.
He quickly got up and kept running. As he went deeper into the forest, the trees started changing. Instead of pine trees, there were giant stalks of asparagus. Oak trees became huge beanstalks with beans as large as cars. He weaved his way past enormous cucumber vines and dodged ten foot tall tomatoes.
Then, Kyle found himself trapped. He was on the edge of a high cliff and the bananas were closing in on him. He stepped a little closer to the edge to get a better view of what was below. A piece of ground gave way and Kyle fell. As he was falling, he could see the bananas looking over the edge of the cliff at him. He thought it was sad and funny that his last view would be of bananas.
He braced himself for impact with the ground and closed his eyes. When he finally hit, he was surprised that it did not hurt. In fact, he felt something squishy and then he felt himself flying upwards. He opened his eyes and found himself falling again. Below him were brightly colored surfaces. He saw yellow, green, red, blue, and purple smooth, bubble like patches. As he landed a second time, he recognized what it was. The ground was entirely covered with bouncy pads. It was as if the whole world was made out of a bouncy house.
He kept bouncing and bouncing, rolling down the hills of bouncy land. He eventually rolled into a depression in the bouncy pads. He laid there laughing from the happiness that he was still alive. A tiny squeaking noise began to surround him. He heard a thousand tiny squeaks getting closer and closer.
As the squeaks got louder, hundreds of colorful balls came bouncing and rolling toward him. They made the sound of thunder as they approached. Kyle had nowhere to go. Within seconds, he was covered entirely in soft and squishy balls. They vibrated and giggled all over his body. This tickled Kyle so much that he laughed the hardest he ever did in his entire life.
Author Website
http://willakaville.blogspot.com
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