Spotlight on Author Danielle Hammelef: Danielle’s Top Ten Addictions & Info About Her Books!

So, lots of us in the book blogging community know Danielle Hammelef. She’s a regular presence in the comments section of so many of our blogs. And I’ve featured her here on FYFA on several occasions when she’s done dual reviews with me (after winning my Make Me Read It Giveaway). We all know that Danielle is a superstar.

But did you know that Danielle is also an author? A while back Danielle mentioned to me that she wrote children’s nonfiction, and I was blown away by this revelation! This isn’t a genre that gets a lot of attention in the book blogging community, but ever since I found this out, I knew that I wanted to feature Danielle’s books here on the blog and give her a little bit of the attention she deserves.

My first step was to check out all of her books that I could from the library. Turned out, I was able to get my hands on six of them:

All six of these were great books, with interesting and entertaining information about their topics. The books are all geared toward kids who read a bit below their grade level (Capstone’s site is great because it lists reading level AND interest level), which I really appreciate as the mom of a struggling reader myself. But I think kids who are reading right at level would enjoy them as well.

The Building a Car and Building an Airplane books would be perfect for kids who want to know how the design and manufacturing process really works, and they include interesting facts that kids probably won’t already know (like info about testing an airplane in a wind tunnel!).

Top Soccer Tips offers lots of practical advice for kids who want to get better at the sport. And Explosive Scenes gives kids a glimpse into special effects and how movie makers create them. (This book was especially fun and would definitely appeal to older readers as well as younger ones.)

My absolute favorite was the Behind-the-Scenes Movie Careers book, which features information about many film careers that most kids probably don’t even realize exist, like talent agent, sound effects designer and script supervisor. It gives lots of information about each career, including day-to-day work, average salaries and ideas on how to start working toward that possible career as a kid! The Pro-Sports Careers book is very similar (featuring careers like team physician and sportscaster)—I just happen to be more interested in movies than sports.  🙂

Danielle has several other books as well, so make sure you check out her listing at Capstone to see them all! (Or check them out on Amazon.)

I’m planning to buy the Movie Careers book to add to my personal collection, so I thought I’d feature that one on the blog.

Behind-The-Scenes Movie Careers by Danielle S Hammelef
Published by Capstone Press on January 1, 2017
Genres: Middle Grade, Non-Fiction
Pages: 64
Source: Library, Purchased

Fascinating facts, fun pictures, and easy-to-read sidebars highlight informative text about some of the most interesting jobs that take place behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. Readers will get a glimpse at what it takes to make it as a talent agent, location scout, casting director, and more and find out what goes on behind the glamour.

About the Author:

Danielle currently lives in Michigan with her husband, three children, and golden retriever, Berry. Her favorite animals are horses and frogs. She loves to ride horses and wishes a horse would fit in her backyard. For Danielle, summer wouldn’t be summer without catching toads and frogs! When not hunting amphibians, Danielle plays her flute, coaches volleyball, photographs nature, and volunteers at her children’s schools.

Check out Danielle’s Top Ten Addictions! I loved finding out that we share a favorite color. And her obsession with frogs is all sorts of awesome.

Danielle Hammelef’s Top Ten Eleven Addictions
(because stopping at 10 would squash my inner rebel)