Beneath and Beyond
By David Stricklen
Friday, July 22, 2016 @ Friday, July 22, 2016
Recorded Club
Get the first Class with Chapter 1 Free Now!
Sign Up
Pricing
Education Plus Club
This 10-Session “Education Plus” Club has two learning videos each week — and double the activity pages for reading comprehension, vocabulary, and more! Great for classroom teachers and homeschooling families!
Zoom Author Visit
Get the club, plus a Zoom visit from Dave for your classroom or group!
In-Person Author Visit
Contact us for availability.
Come and Join the Story…
Middle Grade Students—join this Book Club with fun and adventure in Beneath and Beyond—Book 1 of the award-winning Blackwater Pond series! Join with the author in this fast-paced, modern-day tale of fantasy, mystery, and adventure, travel to a strange medieval world with 16-year-old Brian and his brother Tommy.
Get 10 sessions with 10 video lessons, along with reading comprehension worksheets, downloads of the book’s original artwork, and more—as you read the chapter, then view the video, and answer questions as you learn and discuss the story together. Visit places and creatures you’ve never seen before and get secrets from the author himself!
Beneath and Beyond is the first of three books in this award-winning series. Read along and join in the fun!
What Makes This Club Special
This is not your typical fantasy adventure! Beneath and Beyond brings you to a strange and unpredictable world with creatures and dangers to overcome that have never appeared in any other tale. This is the first book in a three-book series. When you finish one adventure, you may go onto the next.
David brings a wealth of life experience in police work and as a certified fireman and EMT. As they say, the best sailors have navigated rough seas. His life and times in police work have given him a sense of adventure and problem-solving skills that translate nicely into the books.
Your Guide – The Book’s Author!
Author David Stricklen was an airport police chief (with 30 years experience in law enforcement!). After retiring, David went all in on his creative side to write a series of three sought after middle grade (MG) fantasy adventure books: Beneath and Beyond, Through the Eyes of the Beast, and The Heart of the Swarm. His newest release is the contemporary MG fiction book, Ripley Robinson and the Worm Charmer, which is reviewer recommended by Kirkus Review and featured in their October 2019 magazine. His books and school visits are filled with magic and creativity!
David has also been an energetic presenter at many statewide writing conferences for writing professionals, is an active Michigan Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) event planner and speaker.
David is also an accomplished reverse perspective painting artist and international-contest “Art Prize” finalist in the world’s largest attended art competition in 2018—with awards as the “3-D Popular Vote Finalist and post prize “Colors of Community” 3D & 2D popular vote first place winner. To see David’s most recent artwork, visit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR-PYprnRjIAnd for more about Dave and his books, visit www.BlackWaterPond.com!
About the Book
- ISBN 978-0-9835840-0-1
- Buy from Amazon
- For the autographed HARDCOVER version & FREE SHIPPING go to www.Blackwaterpond.com.
This book is a Midwest Book Review (Bookwatch selection) recommended review.
Dark waters hide a deadly mystery…
Three Days have passed since Brian’s younger brother Tommy dove into Blackwater pond—and never resurfaced. Brian’s convinced Tommy is still alive. The haunting voice that beckons him to go back to the pond adds to that belief, and his grandmother’s crackling warning lays heavily on Brian’s mind.
Blackwater Pond is a dark nest for evil, There is something in the shadows taking the lives from our people. They must be used for some hellacious task, Because their spirits come alive when the wind whistles past.
The voice proves to be more compelling than his fear. “Come to the pond,” it beckons. In the dead of the night, he makes his way to the water’s edge. Casting fears and doubts aside, Brian splashes into the pond and plunges toward the bottom. And the journey begins…
Beneath and Beyond is a fast-paced, modern day tale of fantasy, mystery and adventure. It champions the cause of Good versus the darkness of Evil in this very unique and compelling story.
Parental Guidance
This story is an Alice in Wonderland kind of story with fast action, new and strange world characteristics, twists and turns, and a “What’s going to happen next?” kind of suspense.
As mentioned in the Kirkus review, “Stricklen skillfully embeds morality lessons and pearls of wisdom throughout the narrative.” Because the story is fantasy (speculative fiction) with a bit of scary mystery, swords, and creatures, the following ideas and actions can be found in the story. These are points of discussion, to show good vs. evil and how to work through hard decisions and hard times.
- Tragedy referenced: When the brother disappears in the pond, the adults believe he has drowned (though the teen has entered an “alternative realm” at the bottom of the pond).
- Fighting: There are fights with spears and swords; “knights” get hit on their armor with a club and get knocked out; and one of the characters gets cut with a sword (not serious).
- Creatures: The story references strange creatures and a cloud that can be considered a monster, as well as pig-like creatures that can bite.
- Spirituality: A “good spirit” whispers in the wind and leads the teens to safety a number of times; evil entities mention sacrificing people to an evil cloud; a father-king is portrayed as “evil”; the grandmother is aware of mystical happenings in the pond and there is one mention of “reading” morning tea leaves that warn of trouble to come.
- Language: Frustrated teens say, “shut up” and “stupid”; hell is mentioned, and the word “hellish” is used to describe the evil; in one instance, a teen says, “Oh my god.”
- Alcohol: Non-main characters drink from mugs and drinking alcohol may or may not be implied, depending on the reader’s perspective.
- Positive messages: The story is infused with wisdom, morality, and many messages about good decision-making. The mentor character, in particular, notes that life is not always fair, and navigating life to a successful conclusion is a skill necessary to succeed in every aspect of life. Much like in Alice in Wonderland, our hero navigates an incredible landscape and decisions are made in a healthy, smart way so that the reader can draw from the storyline to make good decisions within his or her own life.
This journey into the unknown also makes for an engaging rollercoaster of a plot!
Reading Schedule
With this Book Club, you get a full course of ten (10) lessons with reading comprehension questions, downloads, and videos for all 10 chapters!
What Professional Reviewers Are Saying About this Book…
“A fine pick for your young adult fiction collections.” — Midwest Book Review, a reviewer recommended Bookwatch selection
“[Author David Stricklen’s] stories have an old-fashioned tale vibe to them, which harkens back to Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The addition of the drawings also reminds one of old-fashioned storybooks, which we loved! His writing is smooth and accomplished and his opening pages draw the reader’s interest at the outset.” — Writer’s Digest Magazine
“Fanciful storytelling, particularly when describing the surreal surroundings of this distant land. Stricklen skillfully embeds morality lessons and pearls of wisdom throughout the narrative, usually through Ebil’s rants — “So many beliefs and all know they are right. It will never be settled in a fight or display of might” — which parents of young readers will appreciate.” — Kirkus Review
Recorded Club