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Teyla Kai’s Adventures: The Lost Wings Book Tour

Cover Blurb

Join Teyla Kai in the first of a series of adventures! In Teyla Kai’s Adventures: The Lost Wings, Teyla Kai wants nothing more than to be human! With a series of magical occurrences Teyla gets her wish! Will being human be all that she thought it would be? Follow her on her journey to discover what is truly important to her.

Other Titles By the Author

Emily F. Ippolito & Teyla Kai

Author Bio

Emily’s Bio: Emily Frances Ippolito is a music composer, author, and teacher. She has authored a book series with her daughter Teyla Kai. This book series is titled, “Teyla Kai’s Adventures.”

As a music composer Emily has a strong passion for music and its importance in film, particularly when it enhances emotions that are otherwise not seen on the screen. She has scored for various types of short films including a film short titled One Way by animator and director Verónica Valdeón Noya. Some others include the gothic short film Nameless, by UK director Jonna Laitinen. The score for Nocturnal, in collaboration with BAFTA and RTS nominee Tatenda and writer/director Esther Conroy; as well as one for the short Tide, directed by the UK artist Mark Zerop.

She has scored for a variety of film styles in animation, horror, drama, and documentary and has composed concert music for all genres, from solo pieces to full orchestral works. Emily scored the award winning short film “Sonya” by director Pablo Florencio which she won ‘best original score’ at the Gothamite Film Awards August 2022. She also composed for a short film by director Liam Downie titled, “Scarlett”. Emily is very excited to have recently scored her first feature film titled “The Difference Between Us”, which is directed by Etienne Kubwabo.

Emily is a recipient of a master’s degree from University of Edinburgh’s Music Composition for Screen program. Originally from Oregon, Emily now resides in Edinburgh, Scotland with her daughter where she also teaches through her online music business Inner Voice Music Instruction.

Teyla’s Bio: Teyla Kai is a 12 year old co-author of the “Teyla Kai’s Adventures” series, which was written with her mother Emily F. Ippolito. Teyla enjoys many different forms of creativity including drawing, painting, and writing. She especially enjoys writing in the horror genre. She is currently writing a horror novel for teenage readers and has plans to learn different forms of art at a university when she is older.

The Book Tour

Day 1 - Favourite Quotes

‘Place your finger right here, for you know when it’s time. Then throw the penny in the air, for another to find.’ (Bronwyn McKay)

It wasn’t like your usual penny, it was shining so bright as if there was a light from inside. The light flickered and danced, mesmerizing Teyla Kai. (Sarah Richardson)

Teyla Kai now had a human friend but would never doubt how wonderful it was to just be herself again. (Sophie Jupillat Posey)

Teyla Kai placed her finger on the penny and then threw it into the air. A swoosh of wind cane and a swirl of leaves danced around Teyla Kai’s feet. (Tania Marshall)

Teyla Kai wanted to be a human more than anything! So she zoomed around yelling at the top of her lungs as she flew! (Tim Marshall)

It wasn’t like your usual penny, it was shining so bright as if there was a light from inside. (Yvonne Marrs)

'The Life of a Fairy is not easy when you are a kid. Wand lessons and practice are a huge part of my life. Sometimes I wish I wasn't a fairy.' (Kirsty McKay)

Day 2 - Character Summaries

Teyla Kai is a fairy who longs to be human. She is a character that I am sure many young readers and children will resonate with. She shows it is okay to feel a little bit lost about who you truly are and shows the powerfulness of self-discovery. The character development by the author illustrates this journey that Teyla has, in discovering herself, which encourages young readers to be true to themselves and to not wish themselves any different. A very strong and powerful message, which I know is very crucial in her targeted readers age group. (Bronwyn McKay)

All of our kids unanimously chose Teyla Kai as their favourite. They love her determination and her sweet demeanor and found her sense of wonder to be very relatable. She is obviously the most prominent character and the one that grows the most throughout the book. We love that she eventually learns to love herself as she naturally is, without choosing to stay in human form. Although her adventure is fun and allows her to meet a friend that she may not have otherwise been able to talk to, the fact that she is a magical fairy is one of their favourite things about her. Teyla’s friend Rachel was a close second. (Sarah Richardson)

My favourite character was Teyla Kai. She is an intrepid, playful character who infuses the narrative with a splash of whimsy and childlike wonder. She suffers from the “the grass is always greener on the other side” syndrome. She wants to be a human! It is enjoyable seeing her development from fairy to human and back again and what she learns along the way. Despite some of the struggles she has, she keeps an upbeat attitude and continues the friendships she wants. Teyla Kai’s desire to play and willingness to pursue her dreams are what make her endearing. Her errors endear her to the reader; of course as a child her decisions may not seem like the wisest but it’s normal and allows her to discover what she really wants on her own. Her sparkly attitude makes one think that while she may have learned “a lesson,” she is open to more opportunities and will surely land herself in another adventure. She might even drag her friend Rachel into another adventure with her! (Sophie Jupillat Posey)

Teyla Kai was the main character in this story. The author introduced her in a way that you could relate to her discontent with the humdrum life of a fairy. She made it sound like all work and no play. It was the typical impression that “the grass is greener on the other side” because she longed to be a human. I liked that Teyla Kai was ready for an adventure and willing to do whatever it took to make her dream come true. She didn’t give up easily. I also liked that she acknowledged her love of being herself in the end and sought out a way to go back to her fairy life. For the length of this story, the author was able to get in enough details that you could develop a good visualization of who Teyla Kai was. (Tania Marshall)

I enjoyed the adventures of Teyla, who serves as the focus of the story. The art does a great job of showing her child-like naivete and wonder. (Tim Marshall)

Teyla Kai is a great fairy, and briefly a human! I hadn’t thought that actually fairies can be children who need to learn fairy skills! She demonstrates the knack of being a child and trying to balance her responsibilities. Opening up to Rachel, who she used to watch and admire now they are both human girls, Teyla is dismayed that her confidant thinks her story is just a fabrication. Teyla activates her wish to become a fairy once more while Rachel watches on fascination! Teyla has learned a very important lesson during her adventure to become a human, and despite her shyness and tumbling emotions made a new friend in Rachel. She is brave, courageous and fun loving. Many children will look up to her because of this. (Yvonne Marrs)

Teyla Kai is a sweet character that children will easily relate to. Her curiosity and desire for adventure, coupled with her courage to try something new, even though it did not quite work out the way she envisaged, will certainly endear readers to her. I loved all of the positive messages Teyla's character and story gives to children. (Kirsty McKay)

Day 3 - Favourite Excerpts

It would always be a friendship and story that was near and dear to her heart! Teyla Kai now had a human friend but would never doubt how wonderful it was to just be herself again. (Bronwyn McKay)

“It was such a dream for Teyla Kai to play all of these human games that she nearly forgot how scared she was. The time seemed to fly by. The sun began to disappear as the day was soon to become night.” (Sarah Richardson)

“It was such a dream for Teyla Kai to play all of these human games that she nearly forgot how scared she was.” This shows the character’s essence and how this is what she was looking for all along. (Sophie Jupillat Posey)

The life of a fairy is not easy when you’re a kid. Wand lessons and practice are a huge portion of my life. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a fairy… (Tania Marshall)

Just then another gust of wind swooshed her right off of her feet and zoomed her into the wind again! She lost control of her wings and started to feel very strange. She was terribly worried and didn’t know what to do! Her wings started to disappear and she began to grow and grow and grow!!! She was on her way to becoming a human! (Tim Marshall)

It would always be a friendship and story that was near and dear to her heart! Teyla Kai now had a human friend but would never doubt how wonderful it was to just be herself again. (Kirsty McKay)

The clouds parted with a ray of sun on her face. Surely, this was the magic happening! She waited and waited in this warm stream of sunlight… Nothing… (Yvonne Weston)

Day 4 - Video Interview

Day 5 - Reviews

Overall Rating: 4 Stars. Teyla Kai’s Adventures: The Lost Wings is a delightful children’s book that tells the story of a fairy who longs to be human. It follows Teyla Kai, a fairy who dreams of becoming human. However, as she navigates her new world, she soon realizes that being human is not all she thought it would be, as she discovers what is truly important to her. The book is beautifully illustrated, with a variety of vibrant and colourful images that bring the story to life. The characters are especially endearing. Many young readers will easily relate to Teyla Kai’s journey of self-discovery. The story is well paced and keeps the reader engaged throughout.The positive message about embracing who you are and finding happiness within yourself is one that will resonate with many young readers. As it encourages them to be true to themselves as well as to never give up on their dreams. This is incredibly powerful. Overall, Teyla Kai’s Adventures: The Lost Wings by Emily Ippolito and Teyla Kai, is a great introduction to a new series of adventures. (Bronwyn McKay)

Overall Rating: 4 Stars. Teyla Kai is bored with fairy life and wishes she could become a human. Her wand just happens to find her a magic penny that, after some trial and error, grants her wish. She makes a human friend Rachel, and they spend a lovely afternoon playing together. When the sun starts to set, Teyla realizes she prefers to go back to being a fairy, and locates the magic penny to become herself once again. (Sarah Richardson)

Overall Rating: 4 Stars. Teyla Kai’s Adventures The Lost Wings is a fun, endearing read with a common trope of “I want to be part of this other world” but with a cute twist on it: a fairy girl wants to become a human. Being a fairy is too much of a chore and being human seems better. We get a strong sense of Teyla Kai’s motivations and her wishes in this story. The pacing and scenes feel just about right; the story flows smoothly and one doesn’t feel bored reading through. The story takes you in a predictable but comforting direction. I would have liked to have seen more dialogue, to get a better feel for Teyla Kai’s character (she is such a fun character to follow!) and especially her friend Rachel. Some scenes felt glossed over or some characters felt a little rushed/superficial because the story is being told rather than shown. However, this book is a charming read for kids and shows that no matter what background we’re from, sometimes we want to experience different things. It’s nice to get out of our comfort zone. I’m excited to read the sequel. (Sophie Jupillat Posey)

Overall Rating: 4 Stars. Teyla Kai’s Adventures: The Lost Wings is a well written children’s story. You can start to get a glimpse of who Teyla Kai is and her perspective on being a fairy. While there is a sense of this being another story about someone who wishes to be something different, the author has put her own spin on things and makes it interesting. The plot flows steadily from beginning to end, holding your attention and moving forward before you have a chance to get bogged down. I think this has great potential as a series that enables you to get to know more and more about Teyla Kai with each adventure. (Tania Marshall)

Overall Rating: 4 Stars. The Lost Wings is a story about a young fairy named Teyla who wishes she was human. Magic features heavily in her adventure as she gets the chance to see what having her wish would be like. The story is pleasant, if a little short, and while there are some editing issues, I thought that the lovely art by Khaled Ibn Anwar really helped to bring Teyla and her world to life. (Tim Marshall)

Overall Rating: 4 Stars. A wonderful children's book with fun illustrations, featuring fairy Teyla Kai and her adventure spending the day as a human. With language that is perfectly suited to the target age group, lots of young readers can appreciate the journey, perhaps some who wish they could spend the day as a fairy! (Yvonne Marrs)

Overall Rating: 4 Stars. This is a sweet and enchanting tale that children will love, beautifully illustrated and with positive messages. The story itself although a little short, flows at a natural pace and Teyla Kai is a character that young readers will resonate with. A good introduction to a promising series. I look forward to seeing Teyla's character develop further, and if the authors could look to adding more dialogue exchanges between characters, in subsequent books, this would really give an opportunity to draw out her personality, and also prolong readers enjoyment. (Kirsty McKay)