Magical Arkansas Tales
A Doctor Wiggins and Jack Book
Ranked #34 on IngramSpark's best sellers list for Juvenile Fiction/ Humorous Stories
(Data from IngramSpark accessed 4/20/2023)
Ranked in the Top 100 in Amazon's Children's Multicultural Literature
(Data from Amazon.com accessed 6/25/2022)
Jackson Green desperately wants a bike for his tenth birthday. But in 1919, times are hard in Cabot, Arkansas. When the best his father can do is give him an ugly stray dog, Jackson's wishes mysteriously start coming true.
Charlie is a nine-year-old girl in the Great Depression who loves reading about aliens from the moon. When a new kid moves to town, she becomes convinced he is the beginning of an invasion that only she and her best friend, Porter, can stop.
In the 1950s, eleven-year-old Joy feels abandoned after her mother's death. Feeling picked-on by her stepmom, she retreats into a fantasy that she's a character in a story. When Joy goes on the lookout for her main antagonist, she can't believe who it turns out to be.
Seven magical tales span almost 100 years, interconnected through the extraordinary State of Arkansas. The stories use themes of magic, science fiction, and fantasy to explore the challenges, perceptions, and dilemmas children face, including bullying, prejudice, step-parents, new kids in class, the needs of others, and making friends. These learning points are embedded in stories of tornados, space-alien invasions, magical rings, the horrors of dodgeball, reluctant superheroes, time-traveling tunnels, and more tornados. It is Arkansas, after all.
Available in the following locations:
Signed Copy Lake Dardanelle State Park Vistor's Center, Russellville, AR
Paperback, eBook Amazon
eBook Apple Books
Paperback Barnes & Noble
Paperback Books-a-Million
Paperback Target.com
Paperback WordsWorth Books, Little Rock, AR
Paperback Downtown Books and Purl, Apalachicola, FL
Paperback Southern Turnings, Wiggins, MS
What People Are Saying
"Congrats to Dr. Mike Wiggins and his son, Jack, for writing and publishing this collection of wonderful short stories!! What an accomplishment. You will lose track of time as you experience the Mid South and Arkansan culture through these adventurous characters. What a treat! #writing #publishing #childrensbooks"
—Tayyeba K. Ali, surgeon and author
Additional reviews
(Amazon accessed 7/16/2023)
5.0 out of 5 stars: Really fun short stories
"This delightful book may have you laughing out loud, or gasping at the plot twists, and is appropriate for all ages. I look forward to future collaborations from this father and son duo of clever writers."
5.0 out of 5 stars: Exciting and Fun!
"Really enjoyed reading this with my children. Fun stories with entertaining twists. Highly recommend this charming book."
5.0 out of 5 stars: Such a good read!
"Really enjoyed this book. Interesting stories from a child's point of view, and engaging for adults as well. Highly recommend."
5.0 out of 5 stars: A must read for any age!
"Couple the limitless imagination of a young teen to the writing skills of an adult, and you end up with a series of fascinating stories."
5.0 out of 5 stars: Modern Fairy Tales
"Great stories featuring modern day adventures with a pinch of spooky threats and hidden magic. I loved the richly complex characters and personalities, who tell us that anyone with courage can make a difference in this world. A perfect book to snuggle up with at a fireplace."
5.0 out of 5 stars: Fun!!!
"My 7 and 11 year old daughters LOVE this book! The adventures are truly magical and wonderfully written by Mike Wiggins and his son Jack. Magical Arkansas Tales is geared toward younger readers, but I enjoyed it as much as my girls did. I highly recommend!!"
(Goodreads accessed 7/20/2023)
5.0 out of 5 stars
"I highly recommend this book, written by a father and young son. The short stories are perfect for an amusing read while waiting or traveling. I read Story 2, The Alien, while on a short flight, and laughed out loud several times. I plan to loan it to family members, young and young at heart, but will keep a copy for myself. It's that good."
For Bookstores and Libraries—This title is available through Ingram
Magical Arkansas Tales
ISBN 979-8-9861503-0-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907885
Here's a sneak peek:
The T-Shirt
Set in the foothills of a towering mountain, the little town of Magazine, Arkansas, was famous for its hospitality, its picturesque setting, and its Southern charm. But back in 1986, not everything was peaches and cream. Back then, the town was also known for something else, a bully of seismic proportions, a bully whose reputation overshadowed the tallest mountain between the Appalachians and the Rockies, a bully so foul, so nasty, so emboldened, that most fifth-graders at Magazine elementary dared not speak his name, Mack McIntire.
Mack played pranks on students and teachers alike. And as far as he was concerned, the bigger the stunt, the better. On days when he wore his favorite t-shirt to school, everyone knew something was about to go down. It was navy-blue with his foreboding catchphrase on the back in sinister bright green letters, Mack Attack. Rumor had it that the letters glowed in the dark. Some even said there was the blood of a seventh-grader on it, but no one knew for sure. On the days he wore it, children, teachers, and administrators went on high alert, and Mack never disappointed.
The biggest kid in his class, Mack sat in the back row with his legs spread out under his desk. He was wearing his t-shirt today. The other children took their seats and waited to see what would happen when the teacher came into the room. Mrs. Menshaw carefully cracked open the door to her classroom. She looked up at the door frame before entering. Then she let out a deep breath and placed her purse behind her desk. She hadn't heard of any pranks today, but the day was still young.
Read what happens next in MAGICAL ARKANSAS TALES— available now