Arx Publishing, LLC P.O. Box 1333 Merchantville NJ 08109, USA Email: info@arxpub.com

19 year-old Novelist Rehabs Rats' Reputation

Charming new book, Martha & Chip, delights young readers

MERCHANTVILLE, NJ—Kate Sohler has never been your typical girl. At the age of three, she set traps around her house to catch the nasty little imaginary creatures that were trying to eat her. Though she never caught one, she often caught her dad. At five, she wrote and illustrated her own books, mostly about dolphins. She also loved some fairly unlovable animals, including mice, starlings, chickens, and especially rats.

At the age of nine, Kate concluded that she didn’t like how rats were portrayed on TV and in the movies. “They were always shown to be evil and dirty,” she remembers, “when in fact they are friendly, intelligent, loveable creatures.“ To change this perception, Kate set out to write a book with a rat as the hero. The result was Martha & Chip.

“I wrote and illustrated the original in one day,” Kate laughs. “But I continued to work on it for the next ten years as my style improved.” Now 19 years-old and a student at John Paul the Great Catholic University, Kate has produced a charming illustrated book, perfect for kids age 9 through 12.

“Kids need to read wholesome stories that are just plain fun,” the author opines and Martha & Chip is precisely that. The book takes the reader to the Kingdom of Crabbapple, a peaceful land which is slowly falling under the spell of the evil witch, Aylis and her castle full of dragons. It is up to Martha, a White Mage, to thwart Aylis’s evil plan. But to do so, she will need help from a clever little rat named Chip.

“Martha & Chip is a book about facing your fears,” Kate says. “Sometimes, to overcome our fears, we must be humble enough to find friendships in places we may never have thought to look.”

About the Author:  Katharine Sohler is a 19-year-old homeschooling graduate from New Jersey. She is a great lover of nature, science and storytelling. Katharine is currently a student at John Paul the Great Catholic University studying media.

Title: Martha & Chip
Author: Katharine Sohler    Page Count: 120    B&W Illustrations: 20     Release Date: April 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935228-01-1    Binding: Paperback    Retail Price: $12.95

Publisher:     Arx Publishing, LLC, PO Box 1333, Merchantville NJ 08109, USA
Phone: (856) 486-1310 • Fax: (856) 665-0170 • info@arxpub.com • www.arxpub.com