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.
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!
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.
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
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Sounds like a great book. It's always a good thing to make biology fun - especially when it comes to understanding one's own body. This book may have made physio school more fun ;)