About Jake and the Secrets of Zenkat: His Superpower Lies Within. It’s Meow or Never! by Korbi Dean
Jake could not make himself purr!
Oh, how he tried!
He tried and tried to feel happy and glad!
No matter his efforts, he failed and got mad!
A suspenseful, imaginative quest of a kitten named Jake designed to teach kids how to handle tough situations and work through big feelings.
A beautifully illustrated, engaging story to help parents discuss and guide children through thoughts and feelings like fear, worry, sadness, rejection, anxiety, and anger. Discover how Jake deals with common issues that all kids face around bullying, new places, getting lost, belonging, making new friends, and other challenging situations.
A fun way to help kids learn proven mindfulness and meditation techniques as Jake finds the courage it takes to trust and believe in himself and practices the coping skills of self-awareness, acceptance, staying calm, focusing on his breath, and listening to his heart. Encourages children to overcome challenges, build emotional resilience, develop inner focus, improve self-control and make good choices.
Illustrated & Rhyming. K-YA. 38pgs.
Storyline:
Jake, a small-fry suburban kitten that much prefers to stay in his room, ends up lost and roaming the streets of NYC while trying to avoid the neighborhood bullies. Jake’s quest of finding his way back home leads him through many perils and pitfalls of the city streets and ultimately to a new discovery that helps him find the happiness that’s lost inside himself.
Jake finds a cat hotel up in a tree, meets Zenkat, eats a snack, and enjoys some tea! Zenkat helps with the quest of how not purring is causing Jake such distress and teaches him a meditation technique! What happens next you won’t believe! Zenkat has something special to guide him home on his route as he places a backpack, pushes a button, and mechanical wings pop out. Jake gets to fly home!
Jake practices mindfulness back in his own bed by paying attention to his breath, heartbeat, and the thoughts in his head. Will Jake find happiness instead? Will the impossible occur? Will Jake miraculously start to purr? Jake turns away from the bullies that don’t want to play and finds joy in the most unexpected way!
Spoiler alert: Jake finally begins to purr & even makes a new friend!
Perfect for reading aloud or for readers young and old with bold, vibrant illustration, rhyming wordplay, and more! A great bedtime adventure book too!
“An easy rhyming read! Appeals to all ages. Bold, colorful illustrations. Each page is a masterpiece. Lots of talking points for any age group from K to YA. Basic and advanced vocabulary and structure for challenging development and growth.”
– Amy (Teacher EdD)
“I love it! A wonderful rhyming story with fun alliteration for readers young and old that promotes meaningful conversation about issues all children experience. Great for parents, teachers and counselors. The illustration alone offers engaging discoveries.”
– Heather (Teacher K-5)
Buy the book, and follow the author on social media:
Author Bio:
Korbi Dean is a happy, creative artist with quite an adventurous life of her own. When she isn’t spending time with family and friends, she will be cuddling or playing fetch with her adorable cat, Inkie. She brings her passion for animals, nature, and city life to the page with memories of a childhood home filled with beloved pets, summers spent on the family farm, and later explorations living in places like NYC, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Hawaii. The pursuits that bring her the most joy are writing, illustrating, design, painting, singing, acting, directing, and coaching other artists. She currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina. Korbi meditates every day. Jake and the Secrets of Zenkat is Korbi’s first children’s book.
If Korbi’s face looks familiar, you may have spied her in recent projects including a US/Global ad campaign for CHASE bank, the HULU-DISNEY television series “The Act” opposite Joey King and Calum Worthy with Patricia Arquette, and the Amazon Prime release of the film “The Glorias” opposite Julianne Moore. Korbi also writes music for film and television distributed through global streaming platforms. Korbi sells her paintings and photography that have found their way into homes and various venues around the world, in addition to her design and illustration work for business clients. Korbi has upcoming projects in the works with an adaptation of the book for animation and writing and directing a recent screenplay for a film.