Up To My Eyeballs in Local Authors

I had no idea my little neck of the woods was such a hot bed of children's authors. In the past five days I've had three encounters with visionary, passionate and creative people all penning great books for kids.

There is Lynne Jonell, author of Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. She is blogging - in rat voice - with local kids. It's a cool way to get kids into a computer lab and interacting with others online in a controlled, educational environment.

And then there is JoAnn Pastel and Kakie Fitzsimmons, two moms who were so frustrated with the lack of racially diverse images in their sons' picture books that they conceived an entire line of children's books and products featuring a rainbow of characters.

The product line, called Bur Bur and Friends showcases people with a variety of skin tones all interacting together.

And I also met with Timothy Culbert and Rebecca Kajander, a doctor-nurse team with years of pediatric experience under their belts.

They've spent their careers specializing in alternative techniques to help kids with behavioral and emotions issues.

Now, they've pulled together their best practices to publish a series of books called Be the Boss of Your Body.

The books teach kids that they are capable of emitting control over their own bodies, and thus capable of controlling their own health.

Photo cover art for ...

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
Bur Bur's Boating ABC's
Be the Boss of Your Stress