So, lots of us in the book blogging community know Danielle Hammelef. She’s a regular presence in the comments section of so many of our blogs. And I’ve featured her here on FYFA on several occasions when she’s done dual reviews with me (after winning my Make Me Read It Giveaway). We all know that Danielle is a superstar.
But did you know that Danielle is also an author? A while back Danielle mentioned to me that she wrote children’s nonfiction, and I was blown away by this revelation! This isn’t a genre that gets a lot of attention in the book blogging community, but ever since I found this out, I knew that I wanted to feature Danielle’s books here on the blog and give her a little bit of the attention she deserves.
My first step was to check out all of her books that I could from the library. Turned out, I was able to get my hands on six of them:
All six of these were great books, with interesting and entertaining information about their topics. The books are all geared toward kids who read a bit below their grade level (Capstone’s site is great because it lists reading level AND interest level), which I really appreciate as the mom of a struggling reader myself. But I think kids who are reading right at level would enjoy them as well.
The Building a Car and Building an Airplane books would be perfect for kids who want to know how the design and manufacturing process really works, and they include interesting facts that kids probably won’t already know (like info about testing an airplane in a wind tunnel!).
Top Soccer Tips offers lots of practical advice for kids who want to get better at the sport. And Explosive Scenes gives kids a glimpse into special effects and how movie makers create them. (This book was especially fun and would definitely appeal to older readers as well as younger ones.)
My absolute favorite was the Behind-the-Scenes Movie Careers book, which features information about many film careers that most kids probably don’t even realize exist, like talent agent, sound effects designer and script supervisor. It gives lots of information about each career, including day-to-day work, average salaries and ideas on how to start working toward that possible career as a kid! The Pro-Sports Careers book is very similar (featuring careers like team physician and sportscaster)—I just happen to be more interested in movies than sports. 🙂
Danielle has several other books as well, so make sure you check out her listing at Capstone to see them all! (Or check them out on Amazon.)
I’m planning to buy the Movie Careers book to add to my personal collection, so I thought I’d feature that one on the blog.
Behind-The-Scenes Movie Careers by Danielle S Hammelef
Published by Capstone Press on January 1, 2017
Genres: Middle Grade, Non-Fiction
Pages: 64
Source: Library, Purchased
My rating: 
Fascinating facts, fun pictures, and easy-to-read sidebars highlight informative text about some of the most interesting jobs that take place behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. Readers will get a glimpse at what it takes to make it as a talent agent, location scout, casting director, and more and find out what goes on behind the glamour.
About the Author:
Danielle currently lives in Michigan with her husband, three children, and golden retriever, Berry. Her favorite animals are horses and frogs. She loves to ride horses and wishes a horse would fit in her backyard. For Danielle, summer wouldn’t be summer without catching toads and frogs! When not hunting amphibians, Danielle plays her flute, coaches volleyball, photographs nature, and volunteers at her children’s schools.
Check out Danielle’s Top Ten Addictions! I loved finding out that we share a favorite color. And her obsession with frogs is all sorts of awesome.
Danielle Hammelef’s Top
TenEleven Addictions
(because stopping at 10 would squash my inner rebel)
- Purple
My mom said that the first time she gave me a box of crayons, I grabbed the purple one and colored everything purple. If I like something and it’s purple, it’s mine. I painted my bedroom and office purple. I even like saying the word purple. Purrrple.
- Frogs
My daughter tried counting the number of frog items I have and gave up after 100. I also enjoy listening to live frogs as well as catching and releasing them. I care for 7 rescued aquatic frogs because my daughter’s teacher was going to freeze them and dispose of the tiny bodies after completing the science unit. Nope, not on my watch.
- Teddy Bears
I have many of these too (though not nearly as many as #2), as I can’t resist the cuteness and softness. I have a tiny ones as well as a 55 incher from Costco.
- Flute
I love playing my flute and am first chair in our community concert band. The neighbors enjoy my “concerts” during the warmer months when my windows are open while practicing.
- The Beach
My happy place, especially when the sun sets over the water. I’m smiling right now typing this.
- Baking
Now that I have a remodeled kitchen, I have been enjoying baking breads and cookies even more. You’ll understand #7 better now.
- Running
Every day, even holidays. My husband says I’m obsessed and I agree. But it keeps me sane and helps me combat #6, #8 and #9.
- Sushi
It’s my fast food choice. We are blessed to have one of the largest Japanese markets right here in my home town that makes and sells fresh and delicious sushi that I can stop and buy for an easy lunch. If they had it ready by 8 am, I’d eat it for breakfast.
- Dark Chocolate
100% cocoa. Yes, it’s an acquired taste, but I’ll never go back.
- Jazzercise
It’s my social time as well as cross training fitness.
- Coffee
Black. Starbucks brewed at home.
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20 responses to “Spotlight on Author Danielle Hammelef: Danielle’s Top Ten Addictions & Info About Her Books!”
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I AM NOW FAMOUS! Thanks for this post, Nicole. It makes me so happy that you liked my movie career book so much you’re going to buy a copy. This was such a fun book to research (I got to choose the jobs and loved script supervisor and talent scout too). You are awesome, Nicole!
I was a theater major in college, so I the movie careers were really interesting to me. A couple of my friends from school are now casting directors, so that one piqued my interest too. 🙂
What?! I had no idea Danielle was an author. That’s fantastic. I think my nephew would like the book about soccer – he LOVES soccer. I’d be curious about the movie book too though. Fascinating stuff. And yes for all of us loving the color purple. 🙂
-Lauren
I know, I was really surprised when I found out that she’s an author. She’s been tight-lipped with us! LOL!
I think she has one or two other soccer books as well. Make sure you check out her list on Amazon and Capstone.
Okay, I did NOT know Danielle did this! So cool! Now I want to bug her about getting into writing these kind of books. I’ve listened to another author who did books like this, and it intrigued me. Danielle, you’ve been hiding from us! Thanks so much for sharing this with us Nicole!!
Yes, you should definitely pick her brain!
Oh this is SO COOL how did none of us know this!? Danielle is such a sweetheart and now I need to check out ALL of her books. Both of my kids have been really into non-fiction lately actually, so I think these would be right up their alley. They’ve also been a little obsessed with soccer so I think they’d LOVE that book! Also Danielle, I feel you with sushi, the beach, dark chocolate, and coffee. I also have a LOT of teddy bears and other stuffed creatures because as a kid, I was always CERTAIN that they had feelings and even though logically I know they don’t… a teeeeny tiny part of me still believes ?
Ha! I think we were all sure our stuffed animals had personalities and feelings when we were little. Obviously we’ve grown out of that by now … right?
hehe love that frogs made it onto her list! I do like dark chocolate and sushi too 😉
I loved her story about saving the frog. 🙂
Oh I didn’t know that. That is so cool~!
I figured that most of us didn’t know this, and I just had to share!
Love this post, Nicole! Thank you for shining a spotlight onto Danielle and her books. She’s always so supportive of many bloggers 🙂
Yes, I definitely wanted to share her books with everyone because she’s always so involved in the book blogging community and never shares her own successes!
Oh my gosh, I had absolutely no clue! Next time I take my littlest to the library, I’m going to see if they have her books too. Thank you so much for sharing this Nicole! And the beach is my happy place too, I’m already counting down till summer and play dates at the beach!
I hope you find her books at your library!!
oh I’m so happy to see Danielle featured here! I did know Danielle was a writer but didn’t know she was an author! So happy to see a soccer book among her books! I’ll be checking out that one first! 🙂
Yes, how did she keep this from all of us for so long? I definitely wanted to spread the word!
I’m so glad you made this post and that I got to learn more about Danielle! These books sound exactly like what I’ve been looking for! I’ve always been so frustrated by the fact that I didn’t have any exposure to all the fun and creative jobs out there until I was much older! I remember reading Everything Leads to You and having a moment of epiphany that someone had to find the props for movies and that was *an actual job*!
I definitely want to read her book about movie careers and I’d love to share these books with all the little ones I know so that they can have more exposure to all the fun jobs out there!
Yes! That actually seems like a really fun job!