Mighty Mila - by Katie Petruzziello (Paperback)

About the Book

Mila wants to prove to her family that she's a big kid. She uses her creativity, willpower, and even her new cochlear impant hearing devices, to tackle one big kid activity after another. But when faced with something new that she can't figure out on her own, will Mila finally prove just how mighty she is?

Book Synopsis

Celebrate the power of believing in yourself with this multi-award winning, heartwarming and hilarious tale of a spunky deaf girl who's determined to prove she can be a big kid!

Mila may be a kid, but she can act pretty grown up...at least that's what she thinks. The trouble is, Mila's parents still treat her like she's little, so she's decided to prove once and for all that she can do things "all on her own!" But when it turns out that being a big kid isn't as easy as she thought, will Mila admit defeat, or will she find a way to prove just how big and mighty she really is?

Readers of all ages will love Mila's spitfire personality and imaginative approach to overcoming obstacles, and will cheer her on as she uses her creativity, her willpower, and even her new cochlear implant hearing devices to face down challenges.

Mighty Mila is now a multi-award winning book:

• Gold Winner of the Readers' Favorite Award (Children - Coming of Age category)
• Gold Winner of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award (Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Children's / Young Adult)
• Gold Winner of the Wishing Shelf Awards (Books for 6-8 Year Olds)
• Gold Winner of the Eric Hoffer Award (Children's Books)
• Winner of the Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award (for superior work by debut authors)
• Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize Finalist
• Readers Favorite 5-Star Review Recipient

✓ Laugh-out-loud fun: Simultaneously precocious and charming, Mila's antics will leave kids cracking up. After all, who hasn't wanted to tie their shoes with tape or help themselves to the perfect breakfast of pizza and cupcakes?

✓ Representation & empowerment: A book that provides much needed representation for deaf/hard of hearing children through a fun story portraying a deaf main character as a "regular kid", where her hearing loss is NOT the focus of the story. Also enables typical hearing children to see that deaf/hard of hearing children think, feel and act just the same way as they do!

✓ Social-emotional learning (SEL): The perfect inclusive book to teach children about acceptance, empathy, and respect for all types of people through an inspiring, engaging story.

✓ Problem solving & perseverance: A great way to encourage creative thinking and show children that they can achieve anything they set their mind and hearts to-even if that sometimes means asking for help from others.

✓ Fun, educational supplemental activities: "I-spy" style learning activities at the end of the story further explore the book's bright, whimsical illustrations while also building vocabulary and listening skills! 34 additional activities are also available for free download at mightymila.com. An excellent resource for educators, therapists and parents!

Review Quotes

Recipient of Readers' Favorite 5 Star Review

"Mighty Mila by Katie Petruzziello was an inspiring, fast-paced, and well-written story... Not only is the story full of important lessons, but it is also filled with helpful details about Mila's cochlear implants... Reading this wonderful tale, I was immediately attracted to the main character, Mila, who was a ball of sunshine throughout the story. I admired how strong-willed she was when she wanted to prove something to her family. Children will surely enjoy and also learn a lot from Mila's adventures!" - Trisha Dawn for Readers' Favorite

"Mighty Mila is much more than a storybook. Mila offers inspiration and determination as a life lesson all ages can embrace and appreciate. Mighty Mila is a wonderful resource for clinicians and teachers, especially those working with children. Lessons of acceptance, determination, "can do attitude" and knowing it's okay to ask for help are themes throughout the story. The colorful and whimsical illustrations bring this charming and joy filled read to life!" - Kathy Rosenbaum, Speech Language Pathologist

"What Katie has provided at the end of the book to interact on a deeper level shows how important it is to her that ALL children can follow the rainbow to reach the pot of gold like Mila. The bar is set high and is attainable with whatever mighty power you have, even if it's knowing when to ask for help" - Tara Gallagher, CCC-SLP/TSHH

"I am a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing and I am CONSTANTLY searching for stories that represent my students. The subtle references to her cochlear implants are perfect and surrounded by a beautiful story about Mila proving that she is a big kid...something that all kids relate to! The writing is true to the mind of a child, the illustrations are beautiful and the mini follow up activities at the end of the book leave you wanting more! I am so excited that I get to add this to my classroom library!" - Ashley Machovec, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing