"No Bones About It" Receives Kids Book List Award

The KART (Kids Are Readers Too) Foundation Honors Bill Kirk’s “No Bones About It” as a Middle School Kids Book List Award Winner for 2011-2012. The KART Foundation is the charitable giving branch of PediNatural® Books. The organization’s Kids Book List is compiled by the South Jersey Children’s Literary Festival selection committee and consists of books in three age categories.

The objective of the annual selection is to highlight children’s books with content that appeals to children in each age group: 2-5 years, 5-9 years and 9-12 years. The selected titles are deemed to be memorable and to enhance the gift of learning as a child grows.

Kirk’s book, which was selected among the ten winners in the 9-12 age group, is a non-fiction children’s picture book written in rhyme. The rhyming verses cover the bones in the human skeleton from the toes to the skull. In addition, the book is loaded with curious and interesting facts to stimulate learning about the skeleton.

Kirk says his inspiration for the book was his grandson who was learning about the skeleton in seventh grade science class several years ago. “Some of those Greek and Latin derived terms aren’t especially easy. So, I figured there must be a fun way to make the technical terms stick.”

According to Kirk, “No Bones About It” became Book One in a series of anatomical rhymes on several other systems in the human body. Thus far, four books in the series, known as THE SUM OF OUR PARTS, have been released by Guardian Angel Publishing in Saint Louis, MO, including “Circulation Celebration”, “Muscles Make Us Move” and “A Brainy Refrain” in addition to the bones book. Another five books are in the publication pipeline. All the books are illustrated by Eugene Ruble, whose quirky drawings and illustrations give the technical terms a visual context in the body.

The KART Foundation believes that introducing books at an early age will allow children to naturally master developmental milestones essential to solid learning. KART is committed to promoting and implementing children’s literacy programs and services throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The KART Foundation also distributes new books to children through educational learning institutions and libraries. Kirk’s book certainly meets the KART standard of excellence.

Title: No Bones About It
Author: Bill Kirk (http://www.billkirkwrites.com)
Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
ISBN (e-Book) 13: 978-1-935137-78-6
ISBN (print) 13: 978-1-935137-77-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009931676
Publication Date: July 2009
Number of Pages: 28
Price: Ebook $5.00, CD-Rom $10.95 (+$5.95 s&h), Print: $10.95 (+$6.95 s&h)
Available at most online booksellers or from: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Guardian Angel Kids E-Zine For February Now Up!

The latest edition of the Guardian Angel Kids E-Zine is on the street and it's full of fun tidbits to share with your children.

M E D I A R E L E A S E

CONTACT: Donna McDine, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian Angel Kids Ezine

Email: submissions@guardian-angel-kids.com

Website: http://guardian-angel-kids.com


February 2011 is certainly coming in like a lion and hopefully spring will arrive sooner rather than later. With so many of us dealing with the frigid winter, now is the perfect time to bunker down and enjoy the February 2011 issue of Guardian Angel Kids Ezine http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com with another round of wonderful activities, short stories, poetry, and a parent/teacher article to bring excitement to your days.

Be prepared to spend memorable time as you both explore the monthly features:

Featured Books:

Does Heaven Get Mail Flip Book written by Marilee Crow and illustrated by K.C. Snider

My Grandma’s Kitchen Rules Flip Book written by Bill Kirk and illustrated by Marina Movshina

Children poetry, stories, and article:

“Tea with Grandma,” by Carol Zook thrills us with memories of tea time with grandma.

“Grandpa Bud’s Big Blue Truck,” by Allyn M. Stotz takes us on one adventure after another of treasures and practical tools from Grandpa Bud’s good old truck accompanied with a delightful illustration by Julie Hammond.

“The Wheels,” by Gabrielle Prendergast is a time spinning tale of passing traditions to one generation to the next. Samantha Bell’s illustration depicts this heartfelt story beautifully.

“Understanding Learning Styles: What Educators/Parents Need to Know,” by Dorit Sasson brings forth the different learning styles of our young muses. Sasson’s important article is for anyone having the opportunity to teach our young muses, whether it be a teacher, parent, grandparent, librarian, or tutor.

Grab your favorite snack and pull up a chair alongside your child and enjoy the interactive world of Guardian Angel Kids where the delightful stories take you on awe inspiring adventures.

Thank you for your time and interest. Full Media Kit and more are available upon request electronically.

Giant Beetle Invades Boy's Bedroom At Bed Time--Sort Of....

Yep. I regret to say it's been nearly a month between entries. But here I am very happy to announce the publication and release of "There's A Beetle In My Bed!" by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc., in St. Louis, MO. This picture book written in rhyme follows the January 2009 publication of "There's A Spider In My Sink!"---same boy, different creature....



Wonderfully illustrated by Suzi Brown, the book tells the story of a young lad, Dylan (Dyl, for short), who has once again come face-to-face with the nightly prospect of getting tucked into bed. Well, what's a creative thinker to do but devise a tall tale to delay the imminent demise of his day? And what better creature than a giant (and growing) beetle to buy him a little time by shocking dad into prolonging the bed time routine.

If this sounds somewhat like the end of the evening at your house, pick up a copy of the book and read how the bed time conundrum resolves itself. The book is available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders Books and other on-line booksellers, as well as through the Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc., web site at http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com . E-book copies can be downloaded from the Fictionwise at (http://www.fictionwise.com .

Enjoy!

How's This Writing Thing Working For You?

Have you ever wondered how your books are doing out there in the world, "among the English" (as was noted in a popular movie a few years back)? Oh, sure, there's evidence in bits and pieces. But unless you have been Skyped on OPRAH, invited to speak at the Library of Congress---or, better yet, at the U.S. Mint---or are meeting the U.S. Poet Laureate for dinner this evening, the evidence is, shall we say, probably a bit sketchier. I'll just mention a few of the key indicators here.

For example, there is the quarterly royalty check. I've heard those things can go as high as $19.83 right after a school book sale. Family support is also critical. I once got a brief note from my Aunt Susie that she is holding two copies of my book for an autograph one day---you know, when I make the trip down to Tierra del Fuego where she is setting up a lending library among the Tierra del Fuegans.

Sales rankings are also a nice metric to reflect on, especially during the week immediately after the book is released---that's when there's a chance the one copy you bought on line to "prime the pump" will trigger a rank placement under one million. I used to let the rankings thing get me down but not any more. It's much more fun (read "less depressing") to declare the gargantuan number as actual sales---as in "Hey! Last week I sold 2,785,738!" I've decided not to worry too much that the royalty check is six months late, what with the almost monthly increase in postage rates of late. No doubt the check is so heavy it's permanently stuck in the "insufficient postage" loop.

Of course all those measures are important. I mean, I cherish the single comment from Bengladesh on my August 11, 2003 blog entry about my inspiration for writing my book on ants. But when I really want to know how my books are going to do or what impact they might have, it's best to get out there and put them in the hands of a child. Do a book reading or sign your books at a little table in an indie bookstore.

Watch the kids as their eyes scan over a display of books, flitting from one cover to another until they actually pick one up. Will they linger on the inside pages? Do they turn to look for Mom or Dad nearby to ask a question or show some particular discovery they have made right there in the book?

Yeah, there's a chance the book might go home with them on that day, with the author's well wishes and an autograph scribbled on the inside cover. But that really doesn't matter. I would rather the book speak to the child and that it might leave a lasting impression. Who knows? It could happen.

Here's to making those connections.

Bend-ward Bound

Hi, folks STOP

Just a short note on my way out the door, bound for Bend, Oregon STOP

A group of artists and authors who are published by Guardian Angel Publishing is gathering in Bend (and Redmond, OR) for a GAP-West "Meet and Greet" plus a group book signing at a Barnes and Noble store in Bend on Saturday, September 19 STOP

Looking forward to seeing everyone and reading to the kids STOP

More news to follow STOP

Kirk out

STOP

Seen Through The Eyes Of A Child or "Where The Rubber Meets The Road"

Wow! Here it is almost the end of February and nary a blog entry from me this month. Where does the time go? Well, after my experience yesterday at our granddaughter's pre-school, I can't let the month end without telling the story of my telling of the story in their classroom.

There I was, book in hand---"There's A Spider In My Sink!" The teacher showed me to the lone chair reserved for the guest reader. No, it wasn't a nicely over-stuffed reading chair you might find in a vintage library or coffee shop---just an aluminum frame with a vinyl-covered seat. But with 25 four-year olds gathered around on the floor before me, the nature of the chair didn't really matter.

My granddaughter had been practicing her introduction of "Grandpa Bill" for several days. I could hardly keep my mind on my purpose that morning as I listened to the best introduction I have ever received. Then the story telling began.

Because my children's books are written in rhyme---at times a bit quirky and odd---I felt compelled to tell the story, to talk the kids through it, rather than read it. After all, I didn't want the kids to lose interest just because the words might not make sense. Well, my concern was misplaced.

Yes, the telling of the story and showing all the wonderful illustrations went very well. "Do it again," they shouted! But when I started the re-telling, a little boy in the front called out, "Just read it!" Having my doubts about comprehensiion, I started slowly. But the combined look on the sea of faces---OK, so maybe it was a small pond of faces---was enough to tell me the rhyme was working.

It wasn't the words themselves but the same-sounding endings, the rhythm and beat in each line and the colorful pictures on the pages that captured their imaginations. That's when I realized the words in the story join the illustrations to literally create action from still life in the eyes of a child. Mouths agape, eyes moving in darts and dashes, they were soaking up every word, putting their own spin on the word-art images. For the brief moments we lingered on each page, the story before them was all that mattered. The transfixed eyes of a room full of children is a gift like no other for both writer and artist.

This is where the rubber meets the road on a journey of the imagination. Read a book to a child and you'll see what I mean. If you're lucky, they may take you along...