Review from Amazon & blog Critic!

5.0 out of 5 stars CHARMING EDUCATIONAL BOOK!, January 21, 2013 By speak4languages (Centennial Colorado) This review is from: Patch Land Adventures book 2 Camping at Mimi's Ranch (Paperback) Do you have a child with a health challenge? Health challenges are by far the most difficult for most parents, especially if that challenge has to do with a child's vision. Amblyopia , which usually affects only one eye, causes blurred vision ,and if left untreated can lead to permanent vision problems. This serious condition is the leading cause of blindness in children. Award-winning author Carmen Swick, in her recent book Patch Land Adventures, Book Two: Camping at Mimi's Ranch, chronicles in a fun and easy-to-read fashion the importance of wearing an eye patch to help recover from amblyopia which is often called "the lazy eye." I love it when authors share about their own challenges for the benefit of others. Carmen Swick's son suffers from amblyopia ,and she wants to bring awareness so other parents can learn about the importance of wearing a patch. Oftentimes, children are embarrassed to wear a patch due to fear that peers may tease them. The main character Preston and his dog Beau share their imaginative world of fun with eye patching that will certainly enchant any child facing the same condition of amblyopia. What I like best about Patch Land Adventures, Book Two is that it puts a positive spin on having to wear an eye patch. Below is my favorite part of this charming story: "Preston, I just don't like my patch. It's not cool." "Tommy, my mom and dad bought me some cool ones. I got to pick them out. Ask your mom and dad to buy you some cool ones. Now put your eye patch on and let's go to the park!" We all may face challenges, but the way we go about dealing with them will determine whether we are victim or victor. Carmen Swick opted to be a victor and reading her book may show you how to overcome your own challenges, whatever they may be.

Book 2 is out in print!

Book 2 (Patch Land Adventures) "Camping at Mimi's Ranch)is now available to order! you can order from my website: www.patchlandadventures.com or amazon.com barnes&noble.com and other on line. you can buy my books now from the UK, Australia, Europe. Hope to have them in several libraries as well and local book stores along with my book one that are already placed there.

Holiday Book signing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LQf80c-6Xg8

Interview with Award Winning Author Carmen Swick - Page 2 - Books - Blogcritics

Click on link to read the interview by Nicole Weaver.

Interview with Award Winning Author Carmen Swick - Page 2 - Books - Blogcritics

Allison's Book Bag

By Allison's Book Bag. Interview with Carmen Swick Patch Land Adventures by Carmen Swick Posted by: Allison on: October 13, 2012 What happens if you’re a mom and your son is diagnosed with Amblyopia and Strabismus? Well, first, you might ask what those terms mean? Amblyopia is the loss of one eye’s ability to see details. It is considered the most common cause of vision problems in children and can lead to blindness if undetected. Strabismus is a disorder in which the two eyes do not line up in the same direction, and therefore do not look at the same object at the same time. Next, if you’re Carmen Swick, you might decide to write a series of books. Patch Land Adventures is intended to help ease the time for other children who need to use a patch and to let the them know that they could do anything. Swick hopes that ultimately the series will also help educate others about why a child might be wearing an eye patch. She desires to bring awareness to low vision and to stress how important it is for children of a very young age to see a pediatrician eye doctor. A child wearing an eyepatch in an attempt to cure Amblyopia. Her own son, Preston, is legally blind in his left eye and needs to keep up with his eye patching six to eight hours a day. As with many other children with the same ailments, her son must wear a patch over the stronger eye in order to strengthen the weaker eye. He also has a patch dog buddy. The series features Preston having various adventures while wearing his patch. In Fishing with Grandpa, Preston spends a day at the brook with his Grandpa catching fish. When he returns home and climbs into bed, he takes off his patch but dreams of adventures where everyone wears a patch. In Patch Land, Preston can do amazing things like fly a jet in the sky like spies but also more ordinary things like play baseball with neighborhood friends and dogs. The next day he has an eye appointment, where his status is updated. Afterwards, Preston and his mom have an outing of their own to celebrate. The next book in the series will be Camping at Mimi’s Ranch.

Book Award!

I am excited to share with you that my book won an award! Carmen Swick: Award winning author! so grateful and humble! Thank you Page Lambert for your editing and guidance! And Joey Manfre my illustrator! my team! Patch Land Adventures (Book One) "Fishing with Grandpa", a 2012 SEAL OF EXCELLENCE AWARD (Kids Books category)

Book Review,by, Little Four Eyes, Ann Z.

Books about patching: Review“PatchLand Adventures: Fishing with Grandpa” “PatchLand Adventures: Fishing with Grandpa” by Carmen Swick is a book based on her son’s experiences with patching. Preston’s best buddy is his dog, Beau, and they do everything together, including wearing an eye patch to treat amblyopia. In this first Patchland Adventures book, Preston and Beau go fishing with grandpa. After a busy day of fishing, he heads to bed with his eye patch under his pillow. That leads him to dream of a world wear all the animals wear patches (and fly planes and play baseball). The next morning, he and his dog head to his eye doctor appointment where he learns that his eye is getting stronger, but he still needs to continue patching. His eye doctor also explains a bit about amblyopia and patching treatment. It’s kind of funny that this book, with a talking dog and dreams of other animals wearing patches, is really quite realistic, in some respects. I really appreciated the Preston’s honesty in the very first page of the book where he talks to his dog about needing to patch: “Mom says we have to put on our eye patches on so our weak eye can get stronger.” “I don’t want to wear it either, but we can do anything with a patch on.” This book is unique, too, in that it shows only the middle part of the patching journey – that long hard slog through patching every single day. It does not talk about the beginning of the patching journey, when a child first starts dealing with patching, and it doesn’t show an ending of the patching either. While Preston’s vision has improved at the end of the book, he still needs to continue patching. When Zoe first read this book over a year ago, she was in the midst of patching, and about to head out to her first follow-up visit. I really appreciated the fact that this book helped to raise the possibility that her doctor might tell her she’d need to continue patching (and indeed, that’s what happened). Zoe enjoyed the book, and I think, related to the character of Preston, who did not like wearing an eye patch, but still did so and continued to pursue his favorite activities while patching. The story is told all through dialogue between the characters, with Preston narrating the dream. It is laid out a little like a comic book, with each page a separate panel, and the dialog set near the character speaking it. The illustrations, by Joey Manfre, are simple and bold. It is not my favorite style of illustration, but it fits the story. The author, Carmen Swick, has written two other stories about Preston’s PatchLand adventures. Book two “Camping at Mimi’s Ranch” is expected to be published this fall. She writes more about her family’s experiences on her blog Patch Land Writings. Full disclosure: I did receive a copy of her book for free last year when Zoe was going dealing with amblyopia. I do not believe that has influenced my review.