Following the runaway success of "The Jungle Book," Disney announces 9 more films.

The post Disney Announces 9 Projects Including ‘Dumbo 2,’ ‘Mary Poppins 2,’ and ‘Tinker Bell’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

 "The authors of books for children enchant us with clarion calls that transport us to desinations in the mind, turning us into adventurous hunters, even when we are sitting still, not moving an inch." -- Maria Tatar, Enchanted Hunters,The Power of Stories In Cildhood

My Neighbor Totoro (illustration above) is from the enchanted world of the great Japanese story teller and film director, Hayao Miyazaki.

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"When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast" -the Queen in Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

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Newly Discovered Fairy Tales are Coming

Lost, but now found,  Franz Xaver von Schönwerth's trove of fairy tales have been translated by Maria Tatar, and will be available as the Turnip Princess at the end of February, 2015. 

Here's the informative announcement on Amazon :

"With this volume, the holy trinity of tellers of fairy tales—the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen—becomes a quartet. In the 1850s, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth traversed the depths of the Black Forest and scaled the heights of the Bavarian Alps to record fairy tales, gaining the admiration of even the Brothers Grimm. Most of Schönwerth’s work was lost—until a few years ago, when a researcher unearthed thirty boxes of manuscripts in a municipal archive in Germany.

Now, for the first time, Schönwerth’s lost fairy tales are available in English. Violent, dark, and full of action, and upending the relationship between damsels in distress and their dragon-slaying heroes, they bring us closer than ever to the unadorned oral tradition in which fairy tales are rooted, revolutionizing our understanding of a hallowed genre."

In 1885, Jacob Grimm said this about von Schönwerth: "Nowhere in the whole of Germany is anyone collecting [folklore] so accurately, thoroughly, and with such a sensitive ear." The collection includes versions of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin and tales completely new to us.

The translator, Maria Tatar teaches folklore, children's literature, and German cultural studies at Harvard University. She chairs the Program in Folklore and Mythology.  Among her books are two that I can recommend witout reservation: Enchanted Hunters, the Power of Stories in Childhood and The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Her blog is Breezes from Wonderland. Ms Tatar lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The illustration for Briar Rose (Cinderella) is by Arthur Rackham.

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 “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”...Albert Einstein

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The Doors of Enchantment

The Brothers Grimm, J.K. Rowling, and Linda Woolverton all have something in common...they have reached the hearts and minds of millions of children (and adults) around the world.

Linda Woolverton 

Woolverton is a master of reinterpreting stories, staying true to the essence of the original, and transforming them into remarkable movies. She also guides her scripts -- maintaining their integrity and originality --  through the multiple processes and inputs that are part of theatrical movie making. Few writers, female or male, have had the ability to do this successfully. And Linda Woolverton's films are both creative and as well as box office successes. 

In a candid interview with Aaron Couch in the Hollywood Reporter regarding the writing of Maleficent, Ms Woolverton said that even after rewriting the script a 100 times, she still choked up when she came to the kiss scene where Maleficent awakens the sleeping Aurora. I don't know if this was a true manifestation of passionate involvement in the script, however, when Couch asks her other questions in this and in her Indiewire interview (below), she is disarmingly candid and straightforward. 

What were some of your big challenges when you were approaching this? 

The biggest challenge was how to make a villain into a protagonist. How on earth was I going to justify that this woman would curse a baby? (Laughs.)  

Where did that motivation start? 

We based this on the Disney movie, not the fairy tale. I was looking at that scene, and I had done some research, and the biggest surprise is that she's a fairy, not a witch. I've always wanted to do a dark fairy story. Then I watched that scene where she curses the baby, and I'm thinking "well if she's a fairy, where are her wings?" Suddenly it was "boom. Lightbulb. Oh! It's the wings!" Then I worked backward from there to create the Stefan relationship. (for those who haven't seen the film, Stefan's horrendous behavior unleashes the dark side in Maleficent).

Adapting Fairy Tales for a New Generation

I found fascinating insights into Ms Woolverton and her work in an excellent interview by Susan Wloszczyna in Indiewire . Here are brief excerpts:

SW: "Did turning a villain into the central figure in Maleficent present a greater challenge? There is a
reason that she is often ranked high among the popular villains in Disney lore. Even Angelina Jolie, who never warmed to the princess characters, has said the evil fairy was her favorite with her wicked sense of fun and serene elegance. 

LW: It was very difficult to turn a villain into a hero and yet keep her a villain...I had to figure out what
possibly could have happened to her to make her want to hurt an innocent baby. Something that would equal that act. In the animated movie, she had no wings. She just threw her robes open like wings. I thought, 'Is that it? Did someone take her wings?' They stole her soul and her heart had to turn cold. I knew that was the right answer. We depicted it in a way that is horrible, yet you can tolerate it and still feel it. Angelina does a great job in portraying her anguish. 

SW: Yet some critics are simply interpreting her need to avenge as simply the act of a woman scorned.

LW: That is part of it. She did love him.

SW: This is a PG film. Was there concern that this scene and a few others might be a bit much for young children?

We really didn't think that so much. It is wings, nothing that any of us have. We didn't cut off her legs. We killed Mufasa in The Lion King. We killed Bambi's mother. The world is an intense place. Storytelling helps children to be strong. Hansel and Gretel is about eating children. Fairy tales have never shied away from that..."

Among Linda Woolverton's achievements: Beauty and the Beast (1991) including the Tony Award winning stage musical version; co-writer of the Lion King (1994), for film and stage; Alice In Wonderland (2010), directed by Tim Burton; and, Maleficent (2014). Maleficent has currently grossed over $739,000,000. Here is a lnk to the trailer that focuses on Maleficent's wings: Maleificent

 Ms Woolverton's next Disney film is her version of Lewis Carrol's Through the Looking Glass.

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August 26 is the 10th annual National Dog Day. Founded in 2004 by pet lifestyle expert and author Colleen Paige. National Dog Day was created to celebrate dogs of all types, from the mutts to the purebreds, the companion animals to working dogs. It is hoped that the day will encourage dog ownership of all breeds and embrace the opportunity for all dogs to live a happy, safe and ”abuse-free life.”

National Dog Day is against BSL (Breed Specific Legislation). Dogs should not have to lose their lives
because of the atrocities they have been forced to endure at the hands of man. It’s a reminder to adopt from rescues or shelters where millions of dogs are euthanized each year because they are unwanted.  And if you must buy, instead of buying from pet stores, backyard breeders, the internet, newspaper ads and puppy mills, buy only from a verified reputable breeder.

People who are not dog owners are encouraged to donate $5 to their local shelter on National Dog Day.

In celebration of this wonderful recognition of dogs and what they mean to us in our lives,

Barking Planet Productions is offering four titles FREE for KINDLE on August 26.

You can pick up your copy of Planet of the Dogs, Castle in the Mist,

Parade of Misfits, and Circling the Waggins,  by clicking the titles.

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Childhood Cancer and Canines

Among the array of many fascinating Dog related articles on Way Cool Dogs, Nancy Houser has posted regarding developments in the latest studies of the effects of dogs on children with cancer. Over 13,000 children in the USA are diagnosed with cancer annually. Here is an excerpt:..

..."The latest Vanderbilt University clinical trial on dog therapy-childhood cancer is accompanied by a grant from Thompson, to determine whether therapy dogs actually help young cancer patients. Saliva from the dogs are tested in addition to testing of the children, in order to track the dog-patient relationship.

According to Medical MedScape, 'It really promises to be a landmark study,' said John Payne, chair of the board at the American Humane Association, which is running the trial, with funding from the Pfizer Foundation and Zoetis..."

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I believe the work done by LitWorld  in bringing the gift of reading to disadvantaged children around the world is wonderful. I highly recommend a visit to their website. Meanwhile, here is an excerpt from a message by LitWorld founder, Pam Allyn: " 

"...We started LitWorld with a small LitClub in Kibera (A Nairobi slum), and since then, LitWorld has grown to countries, cities, and towns around the world. The LitClub – a safe, nourishing space for reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing – is our model for what the world should look like: a promise to all children that their voices can and should tell the future..." 

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And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

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ECAD and the Planet Dog Foundation 

The Planet Dog Foundation (PDF) has made a grant to Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities ECAD, a multi-faceted service and therapy dog organization, to pursue the development of an imaginative solution to the problem caused by speech problems and service dogs. This innovative pilot project is called Operation New Initiative (ONI) and will use iPads and Tablets to communicate with the service dogs.

ECAD has a perfect candidate, Lois, for their beta effort. Lois is "a 60 year old woman who, because of the effects of Muscular Dystrophy, has such weakened vocal chords that she can no longer verbally communicate with her service dog. The goal is to train and place the first successful dog through ONI with Lois, to enable her to go back to the independence she once knew."

 

PDF statement: "Operation New Initiative will explore the use of modern technology (i.e., iPads or Tablets) to enable adults and children who have impaired verbal abilities, or who are non-verbal due to Autism, to communicate commands to service dogs via images that are sound activated on the iPad. The Plant Dog Foundation grant will fund the acquisition of the iPads and the software necessary, and the training of instructors to train the dogs to respond to commands generated on the tablet.

 

Planet Dog Foundation(PDF)

 

"PDF Has contributed over $1,000,000 to support: Therapy dogs. Service dogs. Search & rescue dogs. Bomb sniffing dogs. Police dogs. In fact, The Planet Dog Foundation celebrates all "working" dogs that are enhancing and saving human lives. They do this by supporting innovative, respected and effective non-profit organizations that work tirelessly to raise, train and place the dogs."

The funds come from Planet Dog, which sells high quality products (all guaranteed) to dog owners.

 

Many PDF benefeciaries have been featured in this blog. We salute PDF, ECAD and all the service and therapy dog organization who continue to make life better on this planet.

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Alice will dance in New York

 In Christopher Wheeldon's wonderful version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 

The Joyce Theater Foundation and the National Ballet of Canada have announced that they will present the New York premiere of Wheeldon's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland . Set to an original score by Joby Talbot and with costume and set designs by Bob Crowley, the production of the Lewis Carroll classic is scheduled to run from Sept. 9 to 14 at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center. Mr. Wheeldon’s interpretation of “Alice” had its premiere at the Royal Opera House in London in 2011. A film was made of the original production.

Here is a link to one minute and thirteen seconds of this lauded reimagining of Alice

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Reimagined Fairy Tales in Early Annimation

This link will take you to Walt Disney's Little Red Riding Hood of 1922.  

Children can read the story of Hansel and Gretel and, if they visit England's Lake Country, they can see them running through the woods in Lancaster's Williamson Park.

Clare Brennan in a Guardian article wrote"Hilltop, woodland and lake are the perfect setting for Zosia Ward's vivid retelling of multiple fairytales...Hansel and Gretel may get top billing at the Dukes' annual outdoor production, but they are not alone. Threaded through the main story are shreds from seven fairytales, three classic children's films and one nonsense poem. Part of the fun of this show is spotting these, as you follow the abandoned twins up hill, down dale and through mysterious, wooded glades...The setting is magnificent: a hilltop memorial, swards of grass, copses and a lake. During the interval, people sit and watch the sun slip into Morcambe Bay; it is a drama in itself..."

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Mary Laura Philpott wrote a warm family story in the New York Times:

And Then The Dog Died: Things You Can't Plan For When Planning a Move.

Here's an excerpt:

When planning my family’s move to Nashville from Atlanta, one of the things I put a lot of thought into was creating a sense of consistency in order to manage how much change and disorder our children would experience this summer. I read somewhere that children need to know they can rely on some things to stay the same, even when a big transition comes along. 

I know, I know. Makes about as much sense as a “birth plan,” doesn’t it?...Read it all: Philpott

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The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will host a Sesame Street themed exhibition called "Somebody Come and Play." 

This multimedia exhibit was organized to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the show and celebrate its 45 years of great success. It will run from September 18, 2014 through January 31, 2015. Visitors will not be charged an admissions fee.

Our experience at Barking Planet has been that NYPL creates wonderful exhibitions.

Also from NYPL, an invitation from librarian Elizabeth Bird..."NYPL's Children's Literary Salon is pleased to announce our next event on Saturday, September 6th at 2:00 p.m. 

C.A.Wulff  

We publish four books by C.A. Wulff. But...who is she, beyond living in a house in the woods with rescued dogs and a varying group of other saved critters during 25 years plus of multifaceted active pet rescue...

She is an accomplished writer, artist and animal advocate.  She has written three books about her true-life adventures living with an ever-changing house full of pets: Born Without a Tail, and Circling the Waggins, and Parade Of Misfits. She has also written How to Change the World in 30 Seconds, A Guide to Animal Advocacy Using the Internet as a Tool; and Finding Fido, a handbook for dog owners who have lost their dogs or other pets.

Wulff also writes an Animal Book Review column for the Examiner, and the Cleveland Pets Examiner;  She is a contributing editor to the animal advocate organization AnimalsVote. Her dog news and advocacy blog is Up on the Woof. The dogs that here are from her yelodoggie art work: yelodoggie .  She is also an Associate Publisher of Barking Planet Productions. She attributes her love of animals to having been raised by Wulffs. I have no idea what she does in her spare time.

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  Freedom Service Dogs of America celebrate their dog fun fund raiser-- the 7th Annual Doggie Plunge

1,000 DOGS PLUNGING INTO PIRATES COVE AQUATIC PARK 

Date and Time: September 6, from 9am to 3pm.

Pirates Cove 1225 West Belleview Avenue Littleton, CO 80120 USA

If you are in Littleton, or anywhere nearby, take the 

 Doggie Plunge at Pirates Cove Aquatic Center. Take the plunge with hundreds of four legged swimmers living it up, splashing and smiling in the last of the summer sun! 

Throughout the day join hundreds of families enjoying food trucks, doggie activities and so much more!

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 A dog is lying by the side of the road...What do I do? What are my options? I want to be helpful, but this is all new to me... For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you. Here's the Link: SunbearSquad  -

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"To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring, it was peace." - Milan Kundera 

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 The stories are endless, told and retold.

 In the early days they travelled throught the spoken word; then, the written word, and now, they are reinterpreted in film and electronic media.

 They are myths, folklore, fairy tales and song.

 They are timeles.

 They are tales of danger and enchantment.

 They are the literature of children and they live on forever.

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Reimagining fairy tales...Linda Woolverton, Malificent's storyteller... 

Linda Woolverton is a writer, mother, and wife who also owns five dogs. She is an extremely talented and inventive screenwriter. She has written scripts for Disney that have captured the interest of hundreds of millions of people around the world. She has done this by reimagining and reinventing fairy tales and myths while retaining essential elements of earlier versions.

Her current success story began after college when she formed her own children's theater company, playing in a variety of venues in northern California, and working as a writer, director and performer. She later worked as a secretary, a substitute teacher, and from 1986-1989, she wrote several animated television series.

She also wrote YA children's books. She used one of them, Running Before the Wind, to help convince Disney of her writing talent.

Her films have brought billions of dollars to Disney.

Among her achievements: Beauty and the Beast (1991) including the Tony Award winning stage musical version; co-writer of the Lion King (1994), for film and stage; Alice In Wonderland (2010), directed by Tim Burton; and, Malificent (2014).

Maleificent has currently grossed over $660,000,000.

 Ms Woolverton's next Disney film is her version of Lewis Carrol's Through the Looking Glass, scheduled for release in 2016.

Here is a link to an entertaining video trailer for Maleficent focused on Reimagining Sleeping Beauty. In the trailer, Ms Woolverton describes Maleficent as a "reinvention".

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The Road Goes On Forever...

Sleeping Beauty, a fairy tale from earler centuries, and also known as Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, became Maleficent in today's movie version.

What are the enduring qualities of this story and other classic fairy tales? What are the special qualities that causes kids, young adults, and their parents to respond through the centuries?

These were among the ideas considered in a New York Times editorial, Throw Out the Rules! Read a Fairy Tale. Written by Verlyn Klinkenborg (author, cultural analyst, and Yale University professor). This unusual topic -- for a Times editorial -- was inspired by Phillip Pullman's retelling of fifty of his favorite stories by the brother's Grimm. Here is an excerpt: 

"And that is the fun of going back to the Grimms. The stories veer vertiginously. There is no narrator to complicate things. They occur in a landscape whose every feature is instrumental to the plot. A castle appears if a castle is needed, a dock if a princess is going to sea. There is never weather for weather’s sake. Everyone has a terrible memory and a dim understanding of consequences. Emotions are powerful but simple — envy, love, selfishness. It is a world where boasting and cleverness can make a tailor a king."

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"The Fairy tale is...a transcription made on one or more occasions of the words spoken by one of many people who have told this tale. And all sorts of things, of course, affect the words that are finally written down...The fairy tale is in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration. To keep one version is to put a robin redbreast in a cage." 
 Phillip Pullman in his introduction to Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

The illustration is by Walter Crane.

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 Tolkien...Reimagining Mythology 

"What he wanted to do was to distil what he saw as the narrative story, the myth, of the English heroes in epics, romances, legends, dream visions, chronicles – Beowulf, Sir Gawain, Sir Orfeo, English Arthuriana (Wace, Layamon, Malory), Pearl, Patience, Purity, The Battle of Maldon – and works that may have influenced or impacted on these English works, especially the Volsunga Saga, the WelshMabinogion, and Finnish folk-myths found in the form of the Kalevala."

 Dr. Jane Chance, an authority on medieval mythography, writing about Lord Of The Rings in an exceptional National Geographic

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National Dog Day is coming -- August 26. 

"National Dog Day is celebrated August 26th annually and serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year...Founded in 2004 by pet lifestyle expert and author Colleen Paige, National Dog Day was created to honor dogs more than we currently do, to give them "a day", to show deep appreciation for our long connection to each other -- for their endearing patience, unquestioning loyalty, for their work, their capacity for love and their ability to impact our lives every day in the most miraculous ways..." 

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Kids Reading to Shelter Dogs and the Nebraska Canine Connection

The photos tell the story.

They were taken at the Nebraska Humane Society as part of their Camp Kindness Program for kids 6-12. I learned about this wonderful program from author CA Wulff (we publish her books*) on her excellent website for dog lovers,Up On The Woof.

Here is an excerpt from her blog:

"The program is not just helpful to improving the skills of young readers, but to the animals who find themselves in this loud and strange environment. A camper’s story helps them feel calm, noticed, and less lonely; giving them some loving companionship. Pam Wiese of NEHS says that any shelter can offer therapy reading to their animals for next to nothing. All that is needed are some 5 gallon buckets (turned upside-down for seats) and a box of books. Children don’t need to come into physical contact with the animals, (and therefore avoid any potential risks) but can sit outside the kennel cages, still providing focus and comfort to the animals."  

Here's a comment by Mom Jennie Wright " Our son is doing this and he is loving it! He loves animals but dislikes reading! Best way to get him to read! Thank you for offering this program!

To read more about this program and how it can be adopted and funded by shelters nationally, read Up On The Woof.  We are donating a set of the Planet Of The Dogs series to Camp Kindness.

CA Wulff's books include Born Without a Tail, Crcling The Waggins and Finding Fido. She is associate publisher at Barking Planet Productions.

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The Planet Of The Dogs Book Series

“It was wonderful to witness my students applying character lessons from the books in their own peer interactions…my students love them…(these books) are great motivators to encourage young people to read”… Julie Hauck, third grade teacher, Sheboygan WI, creator of Pages for Preston, a pioneer therapy reading dog program.

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, through Ingram with a full professional discount.

        Read Sample Chapters of the Planet Of The Dogs Series. 

Our books are available through your favorite independent bookstore or via Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powell's and many more...         

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can write us at [email protected] and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series...Read Dog Books to Dogs....

The photo, above, of the Pages for Preston classroom reading session is courtesy of teacher Julie Hauck. 

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The Planet Of The Dogs Series is now in China
Our Chinese publisher, Beijing Chongxianguan Books Co, Ltd,g, has created new illustrations for Chinese children...

Here is a link to the Chinese website.

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Balance between audience sales and creative effort is a never ending quest. The influence of customer data analysis on the books, films, videos, and games for kids, the YA market, and adults is growing all the time.  

Andrew Leonard decribed the situation in this excellent article for SALON: 

How Netflix is Turning Viewers into Puppets

"I hit the pause button roughly one-third of the way through the first episode of “House of Cards,” the political drama premiering on Netflix Feb. 1. By doing so, I created what is known in the world of Big Data as an “event” — a discrete action that could be logged, recorded and analyzed. Every single day, Netflix, by far the largest provider of commercial streaming video programming in the United States, registers hundreds of millions of such events. As a consequence, the company knows more about our viewing habits than many of us realize.  Netflix doesn’t know merely what we’re watching, but when, where and with what kind of device we’re watching..."

Question: Does this mean that violence will continue to overcome  content? Perhaps Peter Jackson, who has become Tolkien's movie storyteller, has the answer.

The illustration by Darth is courtesy of the Atlantic, a great source of information on this and related issues.  

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Tornadoes Hit Farmhouse, Shelter, and Gardens of Way Cool Dogs

I have long been a fan of Nancy Houser's Way Cool Dogs website for the never ending flow of quality information, news and insights for dog lovers. Alas, mother nature, in the form of tornadoes, brought destruction to her area of Nebraska. Here's an excerpt from her report...

"On Saturday evening, June 14, 2014, the Wilcox area … where we live … was hit during the evening by three tornadoes in the area and a high straight wind of over 90 mph. The first thing I noticed was when our large wheel barrow soared by the front of the house into the corn field on our west side, and we could not see in front of our hand.

It was as if our world was wrapped in a gray cellophane with high winds drowning everything around it. We could not even hear the emergency sirens coming from Wilcox, about one-quarter mile from us. But a preliminary count of 9 tornadoes landed that night, from Wilcox-Hildreth-Minden area on northward, leaving a trail of damage that resembled a war zone...

Read more: Way Cool Dogs

Recovery: This post, written by Nancy with affection and a sense of humor, is for all:

Reasons Why I Love My Dog

There are many reasons why I love my dog, starting with the massive amounts of unconditional love my dog has for me. In fact, unconditional love is a key word in every relationship, whether it involves your partner or your pet. I went out and did a little researching on dog love,, while listing reasons that work for me and the girls. Enjoy!..

Read all of this delightful post by clicking the title link above. Nancy took the photo of her dog, Joyful Jasmine.

Measuring Canines and Cancer...Nancy has also posted regarding a pioneering scientific study at Vanderbilt University that is studying the effect of therapy dogs and children with cancer (over 13,000 children diagnosed with cancer every year in the USA).
Here is the link: Children's Cancer and Canine Connection.

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If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together... there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you.” ...A.A. Milne

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Always # Like A Girl

I found this important, eye-opening video on Maria Tatar's Breezes from Wonderland blog. The video deals with self esteem, puberty, and being a girl.

Here is the Link; Like A Girl...Created by Always.com 

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An Age of the Imagination

 "The story of the child is the story of literature itself: of finding characters that fit your mold; of telling tales about yourself to audiences skeptical or censoring; odealing with parental stricture, pedagogic task, and social expectation in ways that preserve the inner self while at the same time keeping on the mask of conformity.

Girls and boys do it differently, but what their stories always tell us is that childhood is an age of the imagination, and that every time we enter into fiction, we step back into a childhood of 'what if' or 'once upon a time'."

Seth Lerer in his book, Children's Literature, A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter. The illustration is by Arthur Rackham.

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Book War Intensifies

David Streitfeld writes in the New York Times...

"The confrontation between Amazon and Hachette is growing louder and meaner, as the 
combatants drop all pretense that this is a reasonable dispute among reasonable people...

For more than six months, Amazon has been trying to wring better e-book terms out of Hachette. The publisher, which is the fourth largest in the United States and whose imprints include Little Brown and Grand Central Publishing, is energetically resisting.

Amazon has responded by delaying shipments of Hachette books and making it harder for customers to order them. Hachette authors have responded by publicly excoriating Amazon.

With its newest proposal, Amazon is trying to break the impasse by getting Hachette’s writers to switch allegiances"... Here's the link to read it all:  Book War 

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 Wags for Mags 

PGI "Wags for Mags" is a student-led organization at Bradley University that has teamed up with Paws Giving Independence to train service dogs to assist those with disabilities. "Wags For Mags" was launched in 2012 to involve students with the service dog training process.

Paws Giving Independence (PGI) was started 5 years ago by Donna Kosner, a third grade teacher, her daughter, Michelle, a physical therapist, and her daughter's best friend, Brandi, an ER nurse. At that time, both Michelle and Brandi were students at Bradley University.

PGI is training and providing service dogs free of charge to people with a variety of disabilities ; they are also providing support to encourage independence. PGI also educates the public to the benefits of service dogs and a great many of their dogs come from shelters and rescue groups.

We salute the growth, dedication and life changing work of PGI. Visit their site: PGI

 Here's a heartening video of PGI working with three disadvantaged 3 kids: PGI Video 

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Start Reading to Children at Birth!
In an article by Motoko Rich in the  New York Times,  62,000 pediatricians advocate early reading to nourish the brain...Here are excerpts:

"In between dispensing advice on breast-feeding and immunizations, doctors will tell parents to read aloud to their infants from birth, under a new policy (from) the American Academy of Pediatrics ...

With the increased recognition that an important part of brain development occurs within the first three years of a child’s life, and that reading to children enhances vocabulary and other important communication skills, the group, which represents 62,000 pediatricians across the country, is asking its members to become powerful advocates for reading aloud, every time a baby visits the doctor.

'It should be there each time we touch bases with children,' said Dr. Pamela High, who wrote the new policy. It recommends that doctors tell parents they should be 'reading together as a daily fun family activity” from infancy'"...The illustration is by Arthur Rackham

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KidLitoSphere..."is the go-to site if you are looking for blogs focused on children's or YA literature...Here's an excerpt from their website that sums it up:

"The 'KidLitosphere' is a community of reviewers, librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, and other book enthusiasts who blog about children’s and young adult literature. In writing about books for children and teens, we’ve connected with others who share our love of books. With this website, we hope to spread the wealth of our reading and writing experience more broadly."  

Here is  a link to visit Kidlitosphere

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The  Beagle Freedom Project has an important mission... In their own words: "The Beagle Freedom Project is a mission to rescue beagles used in animal experimentation in research laboratories and give them a chance at life in a loving forever home."

CA Wulff alerted me to this special video of their latest success: Beagle Freedom Project TEX-MEX Rescue - July 8th 2014

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"We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace." 

—Albert Schweitzer, "The Philosophy of Civilization" -

I found this quote on Sunbear Squad where guidlines, free wallet cards, and "how to" save a dog in distress information are available at no cost for all good people. 

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"Sir, he's a good dog, and a fair dog; can there be more said?" William Shakespeare. The Merry Wives Of Winsor

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