Celebrate Lit / June 1, 2020

Tyrone the Terrible

About the Book Tyrone the Terrible

Book: Tyrone the Terrible

Author: Jan Lis

Genre: Children’s Chapter Book

Release Date: March 2020

Tyrone is the skinniest chameleon in the swamp. No one wants him on their team. After going on a fitness program, Tyrone gets carried away with his new self and terrorizes his friends in Gnarly Tree Bend until he meets Sly, the meanest gator in the bayou. Looks like Tyrone is gumbo.

The moral of this story? Someone is always bigger and badder than you, so you’d best make friends along the way.

TYRONE THE TERRIBLE is a bullying tale. The feisty chameleon picks on his bayou buddies before meeting his match. In the process, he learns the value of friends and family and how actions have consequences.

This delightful story is filled with swampy animal characters with a distinctly southern voice – not quite Brer Rabbit, but a good deep-south feel.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts on Tyrone the Terrible:

I thought this was a cute book. My kids who read on their own enjoyed reading it and the younger children that I read it aloud to also seemed to enjoy the tale. I think it carries a very important lesson about bullying and how easy it could be to tip from one side to the other without realizing it.

When I was in grade school another girl and I who walked home together were bullied. A boy would throw rocks and sticks at us the whole time we were walking. I remember us being afraid to tell and it has shaped how I parent my children. I never want them to feel ashamed or afraid of exposing someone being mean to them.

This would be a great book to add to your library. It’s cute, well-illustrated, and well written. I enjoyed the deep south feel of it but I did grow up reading Brer Rabbit.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of Tyrone the Terrible

Jan Lis is south Florida writer and artist. Living in this multicultural area, Jan utilizes these diverse cultural influences in her stories. Jan fills her children’s books with spunky characters and rich imagery, bringing to her stories and illustrations the same vivid quality found in her fine art paintings.

Jan attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, has a degree from Ohio University’s School of Fine Art, and took post-graduate writing at Case-Western Reserve. She established her writing as a journalist contributing articles to publications such as the Miami Herald, and the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, and worked as Fine Arts Editor and Columnist for the Florida Arts Gazette.

Jan Lis is an established artist who has exhibited and won awards in many of the country’s top Annual Exhibitions including The Butler Institute of American Art, the San Diego Watercolor Society, and the Piedmont Biennial at the Mint Museum. She is represented in corporate and private collections including the State of Florida Art In Public Buildings Program, the Brevard County Florida Art in Public Places Program, and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC.

Jan is represented by agent Cyle Young, Hartline Literary Agency, and is member of the
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

More from Jan

How I first met Tyrone was an interesting adventure in itself. One day, a curious little chameleon climbed up on a stone and watched me as I went for my afternoon swim. Day after day his little head popped up every time I entered the pool. Then he scrambled up onto his rock to watch me swim. Over the course of the summer, I saw this skinny fellow gradually mature into quite an impressive chameleon. Sometime during the summer, he gained the name Tyrone, and the story was born. Much of the action in Tyrone The Terrible takes place around Gnarly Tree, located along the bayou. While the setting of the story is fiction, the tree is not. My Gnarly tree is a venerable old Banyan, located along the pathway near my home. These days I give it a nod whenever I pass by. I loved writing the Tyrone characters, and the southern feel of the dialogue. It’s a story you just have to read out loud and have fun with.