Blog Tour: It’s This Monkey’s Business by Debra Mares

Title: It’s This Monkey’s Business
Author: Debra Postil
Publisher: Justicia House
Pages: 32
Genre: Children’s Books
Format: Hardback/Kindle

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"Cabana," a young spider monkey is brought to life to tell her story It's This Monkey's Business to help children who are affected by domestic violence and divorce. Cabana, who lives with her parents in a treehouse high up in a rainforest canopy, becomes startled one day from her Mama's scream, when she is waiting atop a tree branch for her Papa to teach her how to swing. After falling to the forest floor, Cabana frustrated from her parents' fighting, decides she will search for a new family to be part of. Her persistence is cut short when she braves the river to play with a pink dolphin, unaware she cannot swim. The tragedy brings her parents together to realize they can no longer live together. Cabana reconnects with her Papa, realizing he is the only one that can teach her how to swing.
It's This Monkey's Business is an approximately 756 word children's book targeting ages 4-8, which is set in a rainforest and featuring "Cabana," a young female Spider Monkey, her parents and rainforest animals. The book is approximately 30 pages long and features full spread color illustrations.


My Review: It's This Monkey's Business is the story of Cabana, a spider monkey who lives in the Rainforest. Cabana is dealing with her parents increasing fights and the violence of them. When their family takes steps to regain the peace within their family, Cabana learns to thrive in a single parent family environment while still remaining close to her Papa. 

It's This Monkey's Business is a well written, colorfully illustrated book that tackles domestic abuse from a child's (or monkey's, in this case) point of view. This book is for every child who has had to witness abuse within their family - be it verbal or physical - and had to cope as they became a single parent family. Being a single parent myself, and having my son grow up in a single parent environment - albeit not for the same reasons as Cabana's family - I think this is a wonderful book for children who are going through these same issues and aren't sure what to think about going from have two full time parents around, to having just one. 

Author Debra Mares sets out to help children going through a difficult time with their parents and does just that. While not many children's books tackle these serious issues, Mares faces them head on and writes in a children's (or monkey's) perspective in order to help these children. 

About the Author

For Independent Author Debra Mares, violence against women is not only a topic in today's news, it's a topic in her crime novels, cases she handled as a county prosecutor, and now it will be the topic in her first children's book It's This Monkey's Business.  Debra is a veteran county prosecutor in Riverside currently specializing in community prosecution, juvenile delinquency and truancy.  Her office has one of the highest conviction rates in California and is the fifteenth largest in the country. You name it - she's prosecuted it - homicides, gang murders, domestic violence, sex cases, political corruption, major fraud and parole hearings for convicted murderers. She is a two-time recipient of the County Prosecutor of the Year Award and 2012 recipient of the Community Hero Award.

Debra is the granddaughter of a Mexican migrant farm worker and factory seamstress, was born and raised in Los Angeles, was the first to graduate college in my family, and grew up dancing Ballet Folklorico and Salsa. Her own family story includes struggles with immigration, domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse and teen pregnancy, which she addresses in her novels. She followed a calling at 11 years old to be an attorney and voice for women, and appreciates international travel and culture. Her life's mission is to break the cycle of victimization and domestic violence. 

Debra is also the co-founding Executive Director of Women Wonder Writers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization implementing creative intervention and mentoring programs for at-risk youth.  In 2012, Debra self-published Volume 1 of her debut legal thriller series, The Mamacita Murders featuring Gaby Ruiz, a sex crimes prosecutor haunted by her mother's death at the hands of an abusive boyfriend. In 2013, Debra released her second crime novel, The Suburban Seduccion, featuring "The White Picket Fence" killer Lloyd Gil, who unleashes his neonatal domestic violence-related trauma on young women around his neighborhood. 

To bring to life "Cabana," Debra partnered with 16-year-old Creative Director Olivia Garcia and Los Angeles based professional illustrator Taylor Christensen. 

16-year-old Creative Director Olivia Garcia attends high school in Panorama City, California, is the Los Angeles youth delegate for the Anti-Defamation League's National Youth Leadership Mission in Washington D.C., an ASB member and AP student and enjoys reading, crafting and knitting.

Taylor Christensen is a Los Angeles-based illustrator holding a BFA from Otis College of Art & Design, focuses on fantastical creatures and surreal imagery, and produces artwork for illustration, character and concept design.

Her latest book is the children’s picture book, It’s This Monkey’s Business.

For More Information

• Visit Debra Mares’ website.
• Connect with Debra on Facebook and Twitter.
• Visit Debra’s blog.
• More books by Debra Mares.
• Contact Debra.