Books with author Erik Daniel Shein

For Sancho the penguin and Paolo the lava lizard, life on the Galapagos island is filled with one lazy day after the next. Sancho wants more, and when he finds an egg on the beach, he is ready to claim it as his own. The prospect of being an "uncle" fills him with excitement he can't contain, so he convinces his best friend Paolo to help him. So when the egg hatches and a tortoise emerges, the pair are at first shocked, then smitten with their hatchling. Sancho lovingly names him Darwin.The years fly by on their peaceful island, and Darwin grows into an intelligent and curious tortoise with a thirst for adventure. An avid inventor, like Sancho, Darwin creates a raft that will take them on their first adventure. They learn of the tortoises on Isabela Island, and before long they are on a quest to find them.When they are rescued by Admiral Ignatius, a marine iguana, they learn that Queen Esmerelda, a pink marine iguana, is holding the tortoises of the island captive and slowly starving them. Admiral Ignatius is the leader for the rebellion against the queen's rule, but his army isn't large enough to rise up against her. When Darwin formulates a plan that will save everyone on Isabela Island from the queen's rule, the admiral pulls together his troops and they all pitch in to help.Can one tortoise make a difference against impossible odds? Find out in Darwin, A Galapagos Story.

From the moment Thunder took his first step, it was clear that his footsteps would make quite an impression on the world around him.The tiny elephant's life was pretty much perfect until one fateful night when poachers crept into it. In the cloak of darkness, they sprang on his herd separating him from his mother and the rest of the African pygmy herd. After a harrowing escape, Thunder must dig deep inside to find the courage to find his way home. With helpful friends and the watchful eye of the Great Tusker in the sky, Thunder's journey is the adventure of a lifetime.

Have you met Thunder yet? A new adorable elephant hero that everyone’s falling in love with.From the moment Thunder took his first step, it was clear that his footsteps would make quite an impression on the world around him. The tiny elephant’s life was pretty much perfect until one fateful night when poachers crept into it. In the cloak of darkness, they sprang on his herd separating him from his mother and the rest of the African pygmy herd. After a harrowing escape, Thunder must dig deep inside to find the courage to find his way home. With helpful friends and the watchful eye of the Great Tusker in the sky, Thunder’s journey is the adventure of a lifetime.A thrilling, inspiring tale of bravery and family. – Kirkus Reviews

A story of perseverance and courage…Thunder is on the ultimate quest to fulfill his destiny. Tasked with finding Hope Haven, Thunder sets out to discover the mystery of Hope Haven with his friends Razor, a solitary lion; Dash, a spotted genet; and Archie, a black banded monitor lizard. When they discover that Hope Haven is a sanctuary for abandoned and injured animals, Thunder stumbles upon more than he bargained for. He must find the courage to protect those that he loves once and for all.

Graphic Novel based on the novel The Monsterjunkies: Being a Normal Family is a State of Mind.Another rare and unusual creature has been delivered to the macabre estate at 1313 Road to Nowhere in Foggy Point, Maine. This is a place where the magical is real and the bizarre is normal. Welcome to the Monsterjunkie Manor.Ah, but all is not well in the quirky, gothic Monsterjunkie world. Outside forces are scheming to rid them from the area while the teens and their friends cope with harassment for being different. Of course, it does not help that the name itself brings suspicion and rumors about what goes on at this mysterious mansion.Will their private world be exposed? Can the Monsterjunkies continue to carry on their peaceful ancestral legacy in the world of cyptozoology and helping endangered species while coping with these dark distractions?

One tiny elephant, one gigantic adventure…A search for adventure may get Thunder more than he bargains for. He never expects to find himself alone again, but the footprints left by his mother will be his guide to healing and finding his way. On his journey he finds himself making some new friends: Razor, a grumpy lion; Dash, a speedy genet; Archie, a chatty lizard, and two whimsical gorillas, Harold and Neville. A trip back to the caves reunites Thunder with old friends, and together they join forces to save the day and help Thunder find peace.

Have you met Thunder yet? A new adorable elephant hero that everyone’s falling in love with.From the moment Thunder took his first step, it was clear that his footsteps would make quite an impression on the world around him. The tiny elephant’s life was pretty much perfect until one fateful night when poachers crept into it. In the cloak of darkness, they sprang on his herd separating him from his mother and the rest of the African pygmy herd. After a harrowing escape, Thunder must dig deep inside to find the courage to find his way home. With helpful friends and the watchful eye of the Great Tusker in the sky, Thunder’s journey is the adventure of a lifetime.A thrilling, inspiring tale of bravery and family. – Kirkus Reviews

An 800-Year-Old Amulet Holds the Secret – The Legends are RealThe ancient magic that has been dormant for centuries will awaken and prove to the world that not all heroes wear capes. Some wear skirts, but only on special occasions. Because, really, let’s face it, how practical would a skirt be when you’re saving the world from the darkest magic known to man? When fourteen-year-old Seraphina Miles is sent to live with her estranged archaeologist father, she has no idea she would be in for the adventure of a lifetime. When she finds a strange amulet hidden in the ruins of Machu Picchu, her boring summer is suddenly filled with a magic beyond her dreams. The amulet leads her to a golden egg in the middle of a burning fire. When the shell breaks, the phoenix hatchling nestled inside imprints on Sera. Their special connection sends her on a quest to find the missing stones which will give her the power to defeat the winged serpent that hides in the shadows. If you love heart racing adventures filled with mystical creatures, magic older than time itself, and heroes that defy conventions, Sera’s story will keep you entertained until the very last page. The Call of the Phoenix is the first book in the Destined Guardian Series. The Destined Guardians Series1.Call of the Phoenix2.Rise of the Winged Serpent3.Path of the Forgotten4.Land of the Unknown5.Last of the Chosen6.Battle of the Ancients

A compelling journey into the minds of the animals of the African rainforest and their fight to survive.In THE MIGHTY TUSKS, a novel imagined entirely from the perspective of the animals of the African rainforest, Erik Daniel Shein and Melissa Davis create a world that mirrors our own.A war has raged for centuries in the African rainforest. Animals living in factions band together for a greater cause. Once a place of peace ruled by a great tusker king, the rainforest now lies in shadows as the ghosts of the obambo fight for dominance. The story is older than time, but a glimmer of hope shines on the horizon. Change is in the wind, and the world is ready for it.Dakarai, a young African forest elephant, has grown up on the stories of his father, the great tusker king, Ajamu. It is not only his birthright to follow in his father’s footsteps, but also his greatest desire. Hidden and sheltered from the ongoing war, Dakarai finds himself unprepared when the time comes to join.With their very existence at stake, Dakarai must master his abilities and self-doubts to face the greatest evil in the jungle. If he doesn’t prevail, all is lost.The language, social structure, intellectual, and spiritual world of elephants and the other animals of the rainforest are as real as the fabric of human life. In THE MIGHTY TUSKS, Erik Daniel Shein, a zoologist, and Melissa Davis, an educator, plunge the readers into an alien landscape, an extremely distinct, invented world, with its own social and linguistic structures, and its own myths and totems. Readers orient themselves into the animal’s consciousness and begin to feel what it would be like to be that imperiled. Readers will never think the same of elephants and their resilience.

A young warrior must rise above what he is to become what he was born to be…Legend proclaimed that the Mystic Warriors would be the key to saving the Inca people, and the secret to all could be found on the top of Machu Picchu in the Amazon Basin.The young prince, Mateo, had lost everything at a young age. An attack on his village took the only thing he had left—his loving grandfather. Lost and alone, the young boy learned to survive on his wit.When Mateo grew older, his Uncle Diego, the warrior that stole his birthright and kingdom, threatened his people again, and Mateo must rise above what he is to become who he was meant to be—what he was born to be…. A King

A tale of love and compassion.Kona loved everything about the ocean. The dolphin’s world was filled with interesting creatures and amazing colors that filled up every inch of space around her. When Kona was stolen from the only home she knows, she finds herself trapped inside four walls for the first time in her life. Her only friends are the rag-tag animals that scamper freely about the aquarium and Lily, an orca whale she can talk to through the tanks. Twelve-year old Melanie hates to see the wild dolphin stuck within the Oasis Aquarium in the hot Arizona sun. Melanie may be young, but she was wise enough to know dolphins did not belong in the desert. When she is given the chance to befriend Kona, she takes it in hopes that it will make Kona’s world a little better. If anyone can understand life with limitations, it is Melanie. After being in remission for two years, her cancer has returned with a vengeance. When the Charlie’s Dream Foundation wants to make one of her dreams come true, Melanie decides she wants nothing more than to set Kona free. Will one girl’s love for a dolphin be enough to return her friend to the sea?

From the moment their parents moved them into the ancient relic of a house, Indigo Thornberg finds herself in a world beyond her worst imaginations. The wallpaper walls and clawfoot bathtub makes it clear the house was built long before the beginning of time. Their house isn’t even wired for the internet! To top it off, her room is—pink! Like bubblegum pink, the pale, pasty kind that ballerina girls would die for, but not Indigo. And while that might seem like the worst thing that could happen to a goth girl like herself, something even worse is lurking in the shadows.The only thing that makes the move bearable is the fact that her twin brother Crow is just as miserable as she is. The moment the teens turn sixteen, their lives take a bizarre turn as a dormant magic awakes within them. They are called to the one place that keeps them safe from the things that go bump in the night: the mortal veil.As they slip through the veil, they find that their destiny awaits on the other side. They must find a way to close the veil to keep their world safe from the evil that wishes to destroy it. Never one to back down from a challenge, Indigo is prepared to take on the trials ahead of her, but Hevexa is filled with dangers in all shapes and sizes, monsters that exist outside of her wildest imagination.Will they be able to restore the veil before the monsters of Hevexa take over their world? Or would they lose themselves to the darkness on the other side?