Promotional Information

• Award: Entered for Reluctant Reader, Notable Social Studies, WA State Book, Sigurd Olson
• Events: Events in WA
• Materials: ARCs, event posters, bookmarks
• Online: Featured on GraphicArtsBooks.com, on Facebook and the author’s website and blog sharonmentyka.com; targeted features on whale and kid’s conservation/nature blogs and channels like The Orca Network; Whale Watch
• Log; National Wildlife Federation, and Ranger Rick
• Promo: The Reading Room, Indie Advance Access, and Goodreads giveaways
• Publicity: Interviews and articles based on events and timely news hooks
• Reviews: Targeted reviews in trade, regional, wildlife, nature and conservation, parent’s and kid’s media
• Tradeshows: Targeted features at PNBA, PNLA, BEA, and ALA

About the Author

Sharon Mentyka is a graduate of the MFA program of the Whidbey Writers Workshop and she has had stories and essays published in various literary magazines for both children and adults, including Columbia Kids, a publication of the Washington State History Museum, Soundings Review, and Cricket magazine. B in the World, an illustrated chapter book for children ages four to seven about a gender nonconforming child, was published in 2014.

Reviews

Featured in Children's Book Council's Summer 2022 Showcase: Love Makes the World Go Round"Chasing at the Surface is a beautifully written story of how one girl's connection to the wonder of nature’s wild orcas helps her save both them and herself from life's perils."
—Mary Ruckelshaus, Managing Director, Natural Capital Project, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment "A wonderful book that weaves an exciting and mysterious story about families and whales, and shows the similarities of the social lives of Southern Resident orcas with our human families. Each chapter left me wanting to read more! As someone who has welcomed these whales for much of my life, I hope many young readers will discover and learn about this very special orca community and become interested in learning more about them and work to preserve their habitat and the salmon prey they need to survive for future generations."
—Susan Berta, Cofounder, Orca Network "A heartfelt story of courage, love and the true meaning of family, Chasing at the Surface moved me to tears and had me cheering for young Marisa in her quest to free a pod of magnificent, endangered orcas trapped in an inlet in the Pacific Northwest."
—Anjali Banerjee, author of Seaglass Summer "As Marisa learns more about whales, she begins to understand the delicate life-and-death balance facing these creatures of the deep. Her interest and passion for the whales grows, but events take a turn for the worse when the whales become trapped because of human activity. The story comes to a climax as Marisa plays a role in helping the whales escape back into the wild."
—National Outdoor Book Awards