Astra Books

Astra Books At Astra, we believe children's books are like constellations, each page a shining point of light, each story a path connecting them into something magical.

Our mission is to deliver engaging, beautifully illustrated works that spark curiosity.

09/06/2026

🍒 THE WAIT IS OVER. 🍒
Let’s go to church.
🎬 THE FIRST CHERRY — CINEMATIC SERIES
THE SUNDAY THAT STUNNED PARISHIONERS
Turn up the sound.
Watch until the very end.
And when it's over, we have just one question for you:
What would YOU have done if you were sitting in that church?
🍒 The First Cherry – The Chicken That Learned to Fly
A novel by Kirian Obioha
Some stories stay with us. Some lessons stay with us.
If you want to eat the cherry, you must climb the tree.
To God be ALL the Glory!

When I set out to write The First Cherry, I wanted it to read the way the best stories feel when you can't stop turning ...
09/05/2026

When I set out to write The First Cherry, I wanted it to read the way the best stories feel when you can't stop turning the page — layered, character-driven, full of quiet reveals that build into something much bigger than they first appear.
It's a story about a grandmother, a grandson, love, identity, and secrets that don't stay buried forever. It’s a story that looks beautiful on the outside. Inside, it's a slow-burn reveal of secrets, storms, and truths that can’t just stay buried.
There’s so much, and then, some. Under the magnolia moon. Storms at the altar. Who is Fontella, really?
Discover the story everyone will be talking about.

🍒 READERS SPOTLIGHT 🍒It is another Sunday, and yep—you guessed it.More shoutouts to some of our newest readers! 📚🍒Today,...
08/30/2026

🍒 READERS SPOTLIGHT 🍒

It is another Sunday, and yep—you guessed it.

More shoutouts to some of our newest readers! 📚🍒

Today, my heart is especially full because so many of these wonderful people are members of my church family.

A heartfelt thank you to Brother and Sister Washington (not pictured) for your support.

And then there are Sister Vivian and Sister Valerie. Initially, neither wanted to appear on social media.

I'm glad they changed their minds because, goodness, it would have been a shame to waste those beautiful smiles! 😂❤️

Thank you both.

And a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Sister Valerie, who purchased four copies of The First Cherry—one for herself and others for members of her family.

Four copies!

I am infinitely grateful for that kind of support. Thank you, Sister Valerie. 🍒

Sister Claudine was traveling last week, but she wanted to make certain her copy would be waiting when she returned this week.

Well, Sister Claudine—welcome home. Your Cherry was waiting! 😂🍒

I hope you enjoy every page.

Thank you also to Sister Martha (not pictured), who sent a text to my spouse all the way from Atlanta requesting that her copy be ready this Sunday.

Sister Martha, I hope the story is everything you hoped it would be.

And finally...

A special thank you to the four gentlemen from Fire Ladder 34 for being such good sports—and, far more importantly, for the work you do every day to help keep our community safe. 🚒❤️

Unfortunately, there was a slight inventory problem.

Four firefighters.
One copy of The First Cherry.

Captain pulled rank—or perhaps seniority has its privileges—and snagged the only one. 😂

Gentlemen, I'm afraid the remaining three of you will have to check in with Amazon!

What a blessing it continues to be watching this little story travel from hand to hand, family to family, and reader to reader.

To everyone who has purchased a copy, borrowed one, shared one, recommended one, or simply stopped me to say a kind word:

Thank you.

Every single one of you is helping this Cherry climb a little higher. 🍒

To God be ALL the Glory! 🙏🏾

THIS IS PERSONAL.This one is personal, and I admit that I feel a little uncomfortable sharing it.But if it helps even on...
08/29/2026

THIS IS PERSONAL.

This one is personal, and I admit that I feel a little uncomfortable sharing it.

But if it helps even one person, that discomfort will have been worth it.

About four and a half years ago this month, I visited the man pictured here, Dr. Oliver, my primary care physician for many years.

Dr. Oliver is knowledgeable, compassionate, and the consummate professional caregiver. Over the years, I always appreciated his compliments about how well I took care of my body.

But during this particular visit, although he was still complimentary, he was also candid.

He saw some potential risks on the horizon and recommended that I make some lifestyle changes.

Avoid red meat.

Cut back on certain seafood—including shrimp.

Shrimp?!

I almost laughed.

Who doesn't eat red meat? And shrimp was my favorite seafood!

But something told me not to laugh off his advice.

So, I followed his recommendations to the letter.

Less than six months later, I was exercising at the gym when I felt an unusually acute pain in my chest.

I drove myself to the hospital.

I barely made it through the double doors before I nearly collapsed. Nurses rushed out with a wheelchair and took me inside.

Several tests were performed.

They came back negative.

But thankfully, the doctors didn't stop there.

I was kept for observation, and after a stress test, they discovered three blockages.

I underwent triple-bypass surgery.

And here I am, more than four years later.

Still here.

Still climbing.

Still dreaming.

And that brings me to the little book Dr. Oliver is holding in this photograph.

During that period of my life, I made a promise to myself:

If God spared me, I was going to finish what I had spent so many years dreaming about.

I was going to write the book.

I was going to stop saying someday.

I was going to stop assuming that tomorrow had already been promised to me.

So, if I sometimes seem a little overexcited about The First Cherry...

If I celebrate the billboards...

The libraries...

The readers...

The trailers...

Every person who holds this book...

Please forgive my overexuberance.

I know something now that perhaps I didn't fully understand before:

Time is a gift. And unfinished dreams don't finish themselves.

I am simply trying to chase this dark thing while there's still sunlight.

Thank you, Dr. Oliver.

And thank you to my cardiologist, Dr. Bidwell, whose picture I hope to add to this story one day.

And to anyone reading this who has been postponing the doctor's appointment, the lifestyle change, the phone call, the dream, the book, the business, the apology, the trip—or simply the decision to begin:

Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Tomorrow is a wonderful thing to plan for.

But today is the day we actually have.

To God be ALL the Glory. 🙏🏾🍒

🍒 THIS NEWS IS BIG!!! 🍒Nothing beats seeing The First Cherry in a reader's hands. 📖Except, perhaps, realizing just how m...
08/28/2026

🍒 THIS NEWS IS BIG!!! 🍒
Nothing beats seeing The First Cherry in a reader's hands. 📖
Except, perhaps, realizing just how many hands it has already reached.
The First Cherry was released less than two months ago, and by my rough, unofficial count, almost 200 copies are already in circulation.
Two hundred. In less than two months.
I am over the moon—and deeply grateful.
To every reader who bought a copy…
To everyone who ordered one for a friend or family member…
To those who picked it up at the library…
To those who shared a post, watched a trailer, stopped at a billboard, told somebody about the book, or simply encouraged me along the way…
THANK YOU.
Kobie crossed an ocean for a dream. America had other plans. But somewhere between heartbreak and hope, a story was born.
And now, that story is traveling farther than I ever imagined. 🍒
Let's keep climbing.
If The First Cherry hasn't found its way into your hands yet, perhaps today is the day.
Now available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and book retailers worldwide.
🔗 cherry.astrabooksusa.com
“Powerful. Heartfelt. Unforgettable.”
If you want to eat the cherry, you must climb the tree. 🍒
To God be ALL the Glory!

Can you do the right thing, even when no one is looking? "It's easy to welcome people when you've already decided they'r...
08/28/2026

Can you do the right thing, even when no one is looking? "It's easy to welcome people when you've already decided they're the right kind of different. The real test is how you treat the ones who don't fit on the brochure."
At home, at work, in society, what does our attitude toward the stranger, that person who looks different, or may sound different, the one who belongs to another class, say about us?
At an event held at the Governor’s Mansion, Cherry receives recognition for everything she'd quietly given to their community, then hands her own plaque straight to the woman she thought deserved it more.
What would you have done? Would favoritism or preconceived notions play a role?
Kobie walked up to Cherry afterward. He had one job: say something smooth.
"Congratulations on the plaque. You deserve it."
That's it. That's his line. 😅
Maybe, after all, some moments may not need the perfect words, or the right one. Just the willingness to speak up.
The First Cherry — where humor meets heart. 🍒

🍒 Another Whirlwind of a Day!Some days remind you just how far a little seed can travel.Today began with a wonderful sit...
08/27/2026

🍒 Another Whirlwind of a Day!
Some days remind you just how far a little seed can travel.
Today began with a wonderful sit-down interview with Lee Morris of the SVW Community Newspaper. And would you believe it? Lee saw one of The First Cherry billboards and reached out!
Lee, thank you for such a warm and engaging conversation. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together, and I look forward to reading your article about The First Cherry. What a wonderful way to begin the day!
And then the journey continued...
Major White, what can I say? Thank you for your dedicated service and for helping keep our community safe. And thank you for snagging a copy of The First Cherry—and for helping spread the word. Continue to stay safe out there!
To the gentlemen at National Lite Barber Shop, thank you for the love and support. I appreciate you all.
A special shout-out to another member of my church family, Steve, for picking up a copy today. More importantly, my prayers remain with you for your continued and complete recovery.
Bryan, a hard-working brother—thank you for your support. Stay safe out there, my friend.
And last, but certainly not least, Brother K. Allen—thank you not only for your support, but for going the extra mile and putting up The First Cherry poster at Brookland Baptist Church. That means more than you know.
But I know there are others.
People who have purchased the book.
People who are reading it.
People who have shared a post.
Mentioned it to a friend.
Seen a billboard.
Borrowed it from the library.
Or whispered a prayer for this journey.
Some of you I know.
Some of you I may never know.
To every one of you:
Thank you for climbing with me. 🍒
A little boy planted a seed.
More than three decades later, I am watching people I know—and people I don't—help carry its fruit farther than I ever imagined.
To God continue to be ALL the Glory! 🙏🏾
— Kirian Obioha
The First Cherry: The Chicken That Learned to Fly

She didn't even know he was there. That was the problem. 😅🍒Kobie thought he'd survived his most embarrassing Cherrie Bow...
08/25/2026

She didn't even know he was there. That was the problem. 😅🍒
Kobie thought he'd survived his most embarrassing Cherrie Bowe moment already — the head-butt-the-counter incident (you know the one). Turns out fate had a sequel planned.
Weeks later, walking across campus, he spots her again — reading under an old oak tree, sunlight catching her hair, completely unaware she's just rearranged his entire worldview for the second time:
"For a suspended heartbeat, everything seemed arranged around her."
His best friend Fred, ever the hype man, has thoughts:
"She's a dazzling diamond in a sea of pebbles."
"She's not just attractive. That'd be like calling Everest a speed bump."
Naturally, Kobie's response is to do the mature thing — hide behind a bush. 🌳
"Are you insane?" Kobie hissed. "I can barely speak when she's behind a desk. Out here? In sunlight? I'd probably walk into the oak."
Fred, unimpressed by his friend's tactical retreat, delivers the line that sums up the whole book:
"One day, you'll have to step out from behind the bushes."
"Maybe. When I learn to walk without injuring myself."
Some love stories start with fireworks. This one starts with a boy hiding in shrubbery, falling harder with every reflection of her caught in a glass library wall.
The First Cherry — where humor meets heart. cherry.astrabooksusa.com 🍒📚

Chapter 11: Destiny With a Side of Head TraumaSome people fall in love. Kobie Obie fell into a countertop. 😅🍒New to Amer...
08/25/2026

Chapter 11: Destiny With a Side of Head Trauma
Some people fall in love. Kobie Obie fell into a countertop. 😅🍒
New to America, one month into a new life, all Kobie wanted was to register for classes. What he got instead was Cherrie Bowe — and a concussion.
He spotted her from across the room and time actually slipped:
"By the microfiche reader stood a woman who would have had village elders calling an emergency meeting... She wore an emerald blouse that caught the harsh light and made it look softer... it was the way she moved that took his breath."
Naturally, when Grace called his name to say Cherrie would be his registration guide, Kobie's brain short-circuited entirely. His first words to the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen?
"He haws—ho—heil-hole."
New language unlocked.
Then, as if the universe wanted to make sure he'd remember this moment forever, his Trapper Keeper hit the floor — and his forehead hit the counter right behind it.
"Are you alright?" Cherrie asked. No laughter in it. Just concern.
"I'm fine," he muttered, rubbing the new knot at his hairline. "Just...eager to get registered."
Her lips twitched; the smile tried to get out and won.
By the end of the encounter, Kobie walks away having added something new to life's essentials — oxygen, water, food, and "periodic sightings of Cherrie Bowe."
Most people would call it a crush.
He preferred another word. Destiny. With a side of head trauma. 🍒💫
Discover The First Cherry — where humor meets heart.
www.cherry.astrabooksusa.com

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