Books

As children, we are told to eat our Wheaties to become strong, fast, and smart. Well, one

children’s book author has uniquely taken it a step further. He has created superheroes made out of cereal in his creative and adventurous book, Connor The Cornflake.

In this wonderfully woven tale, we learn how Connor, an ordinary cornflake, takes on special powers to fight for children who want fun, tasty, and exciting breakfasts.

Now you may not think a cornflake can be special…… but you would be wrong.

Connor is different, very different. He is strong, brave, fearless, a cereal version of James Bond and a really cool dude. But having been thrown in the rubbish, he soon realizes that he is special, but his first mission is to escape the jaws of a four-legged foe who

thinks it's snack time.

Join Connor the Cornflake and the Mighty Variety team of cereal superheroes on a fast paced, action-packed adventure as they try to stop the evil Colonel Cereal’s plot to scare the children of the world, with his Krispy robots, so they will never eat cereal again.

From a walking stick-wielding ninja Granny Granola and a baby oiled tag team wrestling wheat biscuit duo, to a sugar cube powered flying cereal box and a flying dog on the back of a remote-controlled monster truck; can the team fight off this mad robotic Krispy army to save the world from a future of boring breakfast?

• Armitage is available to discuss the following:
• How a superhero can come in many forms, even a cornflake.
• Why children want and need a superhero in their lives.
• How to defeat bullies.
• How children can summon up courage and conviction.
• How even superheroes can benefit from teamwork.

The author, David Armitage, brings cereal to life in a way we have never seen in a book before. “I had a lot of fun creating this story along with vision and guidance from his young son,” he says. “It’s a wonderful adventure of the mind, but it allows for children to learn the valuable characteristics one needs in order to rise to the occasion of any challenge.”

--Excerpts--

“Now, you may not think that a cornflake can be special...but you would be wrong. Normally, we fill our bowls full of them, pour milk over them before shoving them in our mouths and giving them a good crunch, well at least to start with.

“Often by the time you reach the bottom of the bowl, they are soggy with some even stuck to the sides. But this cornflake is different, very different. He is strong, brave, fearless, a cereal version of James Bond and a really cool dude.

“Like Peter Parker who was just a normal boy before being bitten by a spider and becoming 'Spiderman' or Bruce Banner whose experiment went a little wonky and made him become the 'The Hulk', Connor was just an ordinary cornflake until something went wrong, really wrong.

“Like his millions of cornflake brothers and sisters, and his many distant relatives, the sugary and nutty ones, Connor was being processed like any other, waiting to be boxed and delivered to our homes to be devoured in the morning rush to get ready for school, or work, or by adults getting home late after partying longer than they should have at their age, but he would soon realize his destiny lay elsewhere.….

“Now the goggly eyes helped him see a lot better but when he saw his reflection in a puddle of water, he could not help but laugh at himself, this would not do, it was not quite cool.

“Connor was getting increasingly aware that he was extra special and could do amazing things, what and how he still did not know, but he wanted to do more. He thought that if only he could make himself cooler and escape this stinky place, then perhaps he could make a difference. First, he had to escape, but not before he finished his look...

Click, like a light switch Connor had a great idea. Poking a breadstick, he found in the rubbish through a black bin bag laying nearby he found a circular piece of the bag had stuck to the end of the breadstick, and more importantly was circular and the same size as his goggly eyes! He repeated his newly found breadstick trick and using a furry pipe cleaner made himself what he thought was an amazing pair of shades, or sunglasses to you and me.”

--

…Once touched by the white liquid, the ‘Krispies’ started dancing around making loud noises before finally flopping to the ground. ‘The Three Amigos’ were backing off to their van to escape, they clearly did not want anything to do with this. Connor the Cornflake remained rooted to the spot, as if he was stuck in cement, his shades had fallen off as his goggly eyes had popped out of his head after what he had just seen.

I…I…It’s ‘Granny Granola’, The Three Amigos bellowed as they hastily took off in their van and now all that was left was ‘Connor the Cornflake’ and this new ‘Granny Granola’ character who had single handedly taken out the Krispies and sent ‘The Three Amigos’ packing.

“Cool,” Connor said to himself.

“Hop in, Connor. I have much to show you, and you have much to learn. By the way, good resilience and initiative, I saw the video that is why I came, the world needs good cereal like you. Now, let’s get out of here.”…

Anything is possible with a loyal dog by your side. That is one of the messages in a lovable and inspiring children’s book, The Adventures of Connor and Sparky, by David Armitage.

A little boy named Connor becomes sad and confused over the isolation, fear, and abrupt changes brought about to this world during the pandemic. His parents, desperate to find a way to help, try everything but nothing seems to get him out of his funk. Then, they decide to get him a friend – Sparky, a cuddly and playful dog whom Connor can talk to and do everything with.

Connor is based on Armitage’s real-life son, who fell into a funk once the covid shutdowns were implemented. Luckily, Connor – and his son – do turn things around, in part, because of a new family addition.

“My son’s turnaround was a game-changer,” says the author. “Through the love of a dog and the power of story-telling and creating these children’s books together, his state of mind improved and he returned to the happy, engaging, playful, and competitive young boy that he had been before Covid came.”

Armitage is available to discuss:

• How parents struggled with their young children during the pandemic.
• The difference a pet can make in the life of a child.
• The power of storytelling and how one’s imagination can change a life.
• How to help support the mental wellness of young children.
• The joy of getting to create children’s books with his son.
• How teamwork and resilience can lead to success and happiness.

The second part of the book’s fast-paced story is about how Connor, with Sparky by his side, could relax and dream of big, exciting adventures, such as car racing against aliens in space. Connor and Sparky had to use hard work and courage to come form behind and pull ahead to victory against the reigning intergalactic champion.

“By helping my son through his troubles, I realize that he and I can help others and have fun while crafting new adventures. I became an author accidentally, but now it has made me who I am.”

--Excerpts--

“Because of all the world's problems, Connor found it hard to understand. He was confused like most children were at the time. He found it hard to share his feelings, or even begin to process them, despite all the efforts of his parents, family, and teachers to help.

Everything was a muddle; that was until there was a new arrival into the family......

“Connor's mum and dad decided that he might need a new friend to help. One he could talk to, cuddle, and play with. A four-legged friend who would just be able to listen, and not try to explain things he had no idea of how to understand, so along came 'Sparky'.

“It was love at first sight, and although the little dog was still so small that it was not ready to go to his new home, Connor couldn't wait to get things just right for when he could."

--

…”It was at night time that adventures would begin as they both lay on the bed. “Hey, Sparky, shall we have an adventure?” Connor could be heard whispering. The dog would just stare back at him with loving eyes before resting his head back down again. “Shall we go to space?” The little boy continued.

As they both started to dream, their adventure began…”

The story centers on a lonely octopus who shies away from others. He even gets expelled from school for copying his own work – eight times -- with his tentacles.

Sad, and all alone, he suddenly hears a sound he has never heard before, music, which leads to him finding the courage to find its source.

As he draws near, he discovers that it is a saxophone playing blowfish called “Bobby,” but he is too scared to go any closer.

“Bobby” swims over and asks if “Olly” would like to join in however, the octopus is too frightened, but the friendly blowfish tells “Olly” that there is no rush, and he can join them in his own time.

Gradually, the octopus creeps closer and closer until he is sat on the coral next to them with tentacles tingling. This is the start of an adventure that sees “Olly” gain confidence, friendship and a talent for playing music.

One that not only enables him to share his own experiences to help another, but also sees him invited to take part in the ocean’s biggest talent show hosted by none other than, “An” and “Chovy,” with judges including “Simon Shark” and “Tanya Tang.”

Will this once-shy octopus, with the help of his new friends, including a keyboard playing killer whale called “Kevin,” find the belief he needs in himself to perform? What will the judges think? Will the “Golden Flipper” button be pressed? And what will happen next?

Join “Olly the Octopus” on his emotional journey as he struggles to overcome sadness and abandonment, to arrive on the biggest stage of his life

Author David Armitage is available to discuss the following:

• How to overcome abandonment and loneliness
• Ways a child can be brought out of a sadness funk
• What a child can create or accomplish with just a little encouragement
• How kids can come together to make beautiful music
• How children can gain the confidence to pursue friendships

--Excerpt--

…”Now full of confidence, and his very own saxophone, he waved all his tentacles and set off on a new adventure.

Along the way, he met a turtle called Trevor who played the trumpet, Dotty the Dolphin who was a master of the drums, Kevin the Killer Whale who just killed it on the keyboard, a giant guitar-playing squid called Grace, and a battered cod called Clive who played the clarinet in a band called ‘Cod n Chips.’

Each taught Olly how to play their instruments, became his friend, and kept encouraging him to be the best he could be.” …