Everyone loves children’s stories. They are fun, entertaining, and they reflect the realities of everyday life while providing valuable lessons.

Author’s Lounge will be entering its second year this February. Throughout the first year of existence, it has committed itself to promote authors and their brands. For 2020, ReadersMagnet Author’s Lounge aims to feature more authors and titles. By widening our scope in terms of areas, book genres, as well as reaching out to other writing communities, we hope to increase our authors’ audiences as well as traffic to their respective sites. Today we are featuring Ray Sobrino Jr.’s published children’s books.

Ray Sobrino is the author of two children’s books, Ralphie the Roach and Charlie the Click Bug.

Ralphie the Roach

Ralphie the Roach is an illustrated book published in 2017. It tells the story of a young cockroach whom others regard as ugly and untidy. Others look down on Ralphie because of where he lives. Most roaches live in dark and greasy places. One day, Ralphie goes home to his parents crying. A big and mean honey bee named Henry told Ralphie that no one likes him because he is dirty and ugly-looking. Henry added that everyone loves bees because of how they smell and because they spent a lot of time around flowers. This deeply hurt Ralphie’s feelings and his parents try to comfort Ralphie. His parents explained to him what is truly essential and how to handle bullies like Henry and other bugs who treat him badly.

Charlie the Click Bug

Charlie the Click Bug is Sobrino Jr.’s second book, published in October 2018. It tells the story of a little bug named Charlie. Charlie has a medical condition. He has epilepsy causes him to click uncontrollably. The story revolves around Charlie’s condition and how his parents are trying to help him fit in with the other bugs in their neighborhood. Epilepsy affects millions of children across the world and Ray Sobrino Jr.’s illustrated book about a little bug dealing with the said condition is a subtle way of making children understand more about epilepsy and how patients can cope up and somehow live a normal life along with other children their age.

Sobrino’s Jr. Brand of Storytelling

While fables and most children’s stories have moral lessons, Sobrino Jr.’s illustrated stories focused more on teaching children how to be kind to others and to maintain self-confidence despite being treated poorly or harshly by other children. Both characters Ralphie and Charlie display these attributes. Another special feature in Sobrino Jr.’s children’s books is inserting real-life issues such as bullying and epilepsy. It takes talent and sensitivity to readers to successfully write stories the way Ray Sobrino Jr. does.

Other Works

Esther and the Revolution

In February 2019, Ray Sobrino Jr. published his first historical fiction. Esther and the Revolution follow the story of a young woman who is trying to leave her war-torn country and find shelter. Set in 1918, the book features some of Mexico’s prominent historical figures as well as the history of the country. Divided into 9 chapters, Sobrino Jr.’s Esther and the Revolution is a deviation from his previous works. Esther and the Revolution is Ray Sobrino Jr.’s first novel.

About the Author

Born in 1971 Long Beach, CA, Raymond Sobrino Jr. holds a degree in English Literature from California Lutheran University. He has three children and currently lives in Newbury Park, California. He is an exterminator by trade and owns a small company, Sobrino’s Termite and Pest. Aside from writing, he enjoys hiking and landscape photography. He loves taking photos of cities and nature.