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Tiny Hands in Bookshelves

11/26/2012

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As I opened the door into my two little boy’s bedroom, I saw what most parents see on any typical day.  Toy trucks scattered throughout the floor, teddy bears with poked heads from their embracers half made beds and an assortment of trinkets that can only be called treasures by their youthful owners.  Picking up and replacing one item after another to return to their rightful places, it dawns on me that a child’s bedroom is more than a place to sleep or to change clothes.   It is dwelling in which wishes, dreams and adventures take place, a sanctuary where every creative idea is kept safely and nurtured by the tools we provide.  As parents, we supply instruments such as crayons, blocks and puzzles to enhance our children’s ability to think, interpret and problem solve.  We make sure that coloring books and construction paper are constantly stocked and that the Lego bins are filled to the brim knowing that as soon as one model is erected it will soon be taken apart and rebuilt.  We encourage this playtime as a critical area of development, realizing that one day this form of play will mature into a valuable skill set necessary to succeed as adults. 


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As an author of children’s books, I have always stressed the importance of reading in my home, stacking shelve upon shelve with both paperbacks and hardcovers.  “Where the Wild Things Are”, “Snipp, Snapp and Snurr”, “Curious George” and my littlest’s favorite, “Dr. Seuss”, are a few of the staples accompanied by the visitors borrowed from our weekly trip to the local library.    Science, fairytale, arts and crafts, biography and action-hero themes are all represented, ensuring an eclectic array of options to suit the little intellects perusing the cases for the perfect find.    Whether a book becomes a soother for bedtime or a greeting at morning, literature can be useful for a wide variety of reasons including as an aid for routine scheduling, early learning, or even yes, FUN! 

 

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For myself, I am a mother of two, having an eldest child who held an accelerated ability for conversation at an early age and a second child who possessed speech difficulties, often producing mumbled pronunciation or one worded dialogue.  His trouble became noticeable to us at the age of 1 ½, when he would exhibit distress when trying to communicate his needs.  Although he was enrolled in speech therapy, we only began to detect a strong improvement after he started preschool and a love for books began to manifest.  He no longer would only sit for a lightning second after “Once upon a time…” was spoken, but would now hold his attention and convey sincere interest towards hearing the stories read from beginning to end.  Reading became his best medicine as he watched our lips form the words of the pages, adding influx to our voices for questions, exclamations and excitement.   Almost always opting for his favorite book, “Green Eggs and Ham”, the soon- to -be three year old has expanded his vocabulary exponentially while honestly enjoying the experience of being swept up within wonderful worlds of rhyme and fantasy.  


As I write this, I begin to map out an outline for my next book in the hopes that it will capture that precious piece of a child’s imagination to dream, hope and aspire big.  I will remember my son’s laughter after he hears a funny sentence of Dr. Seuss while I conjure entertaining plot lines of my own.  I will try to duplicate the effects of his wide eyes in my own storytelling as he does when he experiences the gripping scene of the three bears finding Goldilocks in their beds.   And last, I will be sure to formulate the soothing ending that will put young readers at ease as my son feels drifting off to sleep after lulled by “Goodnight Moon”.  Mystical places, enchanted people and the desire to fix problems which might at first appear unfixable must be included.  After all, these are the pieces which make the heart, mind and spirit of a tiny hand pull your book down from the shelf.  

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Written By Suzie Canale

Author of The Beantown Tales children’s book series

“The Land of Chocolate Cosmos”

“The Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom”

“The Candy Roses of Cape Care”

         


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The Gift of Curiousity

10/1/2012

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One of the most infamous creators of all time, Walt Disney, once said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”  I love this quote.  Particularly because most of the ideas, strategies and efforts that I’ve made to move The Beantown Tales forward have been derived from an innate curiosity of what’s to come next?  It is this “curiosity” that propels us, attempting new successes and achievements even if we experience a failure or two along the way.  I realize that I have certainly made my fair share of mistakes in the past year and a half as an author, but I appreciate that within our implementation of “curiosity” towards new projects, there is a risk included.  That if we never risk listening to our curiosities, than the ability to grow or evolve would be obsolete.  After all, it is the compilation of our wins and losses that tells the rich tale of who we really are, where our curiosity guides us to towards the writing of each and every chapter.

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It is at this point in time that I am listening intently to my inner "Curios George" to signal the next direction of The Beantown Tales .  With the closure of the first Green segment and the honor of winning honorable mentions in three book festivals as well as Author of the Year from my publisher, Mascot Books, I am searching for the next path of creative development.  Hopeful to initiate alternative forms of media and marketing tactics, I am excited to see what lies ahead.  Although there is an undeniable fear and uncertainty of the future success of The Beantown Tales, I still recognize that without trying and trusting our natural inquisitiveness, there can be no achievements, adventures or escapades.  It’s time to take a chance.  Time to move forward.  Time to indulge in my curiosity.


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Therefore, The Beantown Tales will be “evolving” into a second theme of child education and entertainment, focusing the next three books on humanitarianism.  The stories will utilize fun and tasty flowers as before but will unfold tales about people helping people, particularly, children helping people.  Magic and fantasy will envelop these new stories but will be written to encourage young readers to become involved with non-profit and charitable organizations present in their own communities.  The first segment of the Do Good series, “The Gourmet Garden of Goodwill”, orchestrates an enchanted flower patch growing and abundance of delicious treats where the children must decide how to use the yummy crop for the town’s best interest.  I hope you enjoy the new venture and may your own curiosity take you to wonderous places!~

“The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is curiosity.” 
 - Edmund Burke

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Wishing "Sweet Dreams" to Needy Children of Boston

6/27/2011

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The most common tasks that most children experience as part of their daily routines are attending a school each morning and being tucked into bed with a story each night.  As part of many consistent activities, it is hard to believe that there are hundreds of boys and girls throughout Massachusetts that are not able to retain these basic necessities.  Fortunately, Boston encompasses nonprofit charities that work tirelessly to fulfill these needs, two of which being School on Wheels of Brockton, Ma and Pajama Program of Boston.  Understanding the tremendous importance of education and nighttime comforts, The Beantown Tales is now involved with supporting these two organizations.  Here's why and how...

School On Wheels of Massachusetts   This relief organization provides homeless children with education by motorizing the transportation of lessons and books!  Having the mission "to educate children impacted by homelessness by providing academic support and one-on-one mentoring so children can reach their full potential", School on Wheels assists young students with tutoring, supply drives, family read aloud, and support services after leaving shelters.   

Pajama Program, Boston Pajama Program of Boston has maintained the mission to supplement homeless, sheltered and orphaned children with the basic amenities of evening snugness.  Asking for donations of books and pajamas, this team of advocates reaches out to provide "warm bedtime clothing and education through a creative program".   Launching pj/book drives, slumber party and donation events, this charity is determined to reach their goal of giving 440,000 pajamas and books to the needy children of Massachusetts by the completion of 2011.

To both contribute to these efforts and encourage healthy reading habits, Suzie Canale will be offering storytime readings and supplying copies of "The Land of Chocolate Cosmos" to several metro School on Wheels students and Pajama Program children.  The author will also be donating book- themed nightshirts, wishing that all of their "Sweetest Dreams in Life Come True".
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Second Book Soon to be Released!

6/7/2011

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The second installment to the Green Series,"Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom", is in it's final stages of layout design and soon will be sent to press!  Mascot Books has once again done a fantastic job managing the illustration work (again drawn by Kevin Coffey), page design and  cover selections.  Looks like this popcorn extravaganza will be released in hard cover by the end of July!  Curious to see what the second book has to offer?  Here's a sneek preview! 

At once the crowd turned to each other in grief,
and asked Nicholas, “What shall we do?”
“If we don’t stop polluting our skies up above,
“The hydrangeas won’t pop anew.”

Being a boy as bright as he was,
Decided to write a letter,
Telling the mayor what needed to be done,
to make the environment feel better.

He seemed to remember learning a tip,
In a history book he once saw,
How to prevent a community’s potential problems,
and how to write a bill into law.


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    Suzie Hearl Canale is the author of the children's book series, The Beantown Tales.

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