by Maria Ruiz

Imagine being six years old and dressed for a night out with Mom and Dad. Now imagine dropping something on the floor and it rolls under your bed. When you bend down to pick it up, something grabs your arm and pulls you down into the crack between the wall and the floor. Meet Karen Beth and her friends in The Land of You Lost It and We Found It.

Who is Karen Beth?

She’s a six-year-old girl who lives with her mother and father, goes to school, and has friends she plays with.

How did Karen Beth get to the Land of You Lost It and We Found It?

One evening she was looking for something under her bed and the dust bunnies that live underneath grabbed her by mistake and pulled her into it.

What is in the Land of You Lost It and We Found It?

Everything that can be lost.

The path is made of lost buttons, earrings, buckles, anything small. The trees have clothes, belt, socks, and things that hang. Another tree will have spoons, knives, and forks hanging like leaves. As Karen Beth walks, she finds out that the Land is made up of different lands, Land of Lost Tempers, Land of Cleaners and Menders, Land of Lost Home Work, The Land of Lost Ways and many more.

Is there anyone Karen Beth can talk to?

Oh Yes. She meets Soldier Sam, a boy doll who takes her to Mr. Bear in the Land of Lost Home work and helps her find her way home.

Later, she returns to find Soldier Sam and return him to the little boy who lost him.

Does Karen Beth have any other friends?

On her travels, Karen Beth makes many new friends like Henry 2 Osborne, a boy made of water whose friends
call him H2O.

Then there’s the backpack she finds with a dog named Jocko on the back.

And many more.

Is there any danger?

Absolutely! The Old Woman of Bad Thoughts blows friends away and threatens Karen Beth and anyone she’s near. She incites the Lost Tempers to attack and the madder she gets, the more she attacks.

Does Karen Beth get home?

Yes, she does in book one. But she keeps thinking of how Soldier Sam wanted to come with her. She decides to go back in book two and help him find his owner. In book five, she returns home with Soldier Sam and now learns the hardest lesson, it is easy to want but harder to let go.

People ask me why I wrote Karen Beth in the Land of You Lost It and We Found it?

I was told that children today want vampires and monsters, not benign characters. However, having been a mother, I feel that children with the most active imaginations like to start out with non-threatening flights of fancy. They have enough intelligence to enjoy adventures at a younger age and as they use their abilities and get older, will move into monsters. Karen Beth provides a safe and curious beginning. It’s engaging enough for parents and grandparents to enjoy reading it to eager young minds.

Each of the books is fully illustrated with wonderful pictures drawn by Donna Harper. She has captured all the joy and fun of the stories. All are available on Amazon.

Her own book, Josie doesn’t like her Middle Name is also available at Amazon.

Use these links to purchase the books & a portion goes to help support KRL:

Maria Ruiz was born in Santa Barbara, California; her family had been there since the Spaniards first converted the Indians & created small towns. She graduated from the University of San Diego State in 1972 & taught for 8 years before starting her own business. After retiring she began a ten-year odyssey to visit and live in 57 countries around the world. She just recently relocated to California. Her book, I’ll be in the Fourth Grade Forever, can be ordered on Smashwords & Amazon. Her blog can be found at mariaruizauthor.com.

Book Five at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Karen-beth-book-five/dp/1500202290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403142320&sr=8-1&keywords=karen+beth++in+the+land+of+you+lost+it+and+we+found+it