Holiday gifts for Secret Santas

We're looking forward to meeting the Association of Chinese Cooking
Teachers tomorrow in Cupertino, CA.

Founded in 1983, these friends share knowledge about Chinese food and cooking, while having fun dining throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

We're pleased to share our Asian American children's books with them during their annual holiday party at the Merlion Restaurant and Wine Bar. In the meantime, we'll make sure that we've worked up an appetite and that our stomachs are suitable empty so we can enjoy sampling Lychee Martinis and a buffet of Singaporean cuisine that blends Thai, Malaysian, Indian and Chinese influences. Sounds yummy!

We'll debut the fifth adventure in our popular annual series The Tales from the Chinese Zodiac - The Year of the Tiger, just in time to welcome in the new year of 2010!

Teddy the Tiger is our newest hero. No he does not ruin his teeth by eating sugary breakfast cereal. However he is on a grrreeeat quest to grow up and discover his true character. Colorfully animated by the artist Justin Roth, this curious cat meets his match in the girl Su. So take this tiger by the tail and come along for an exciting ride!

Santa's elves would certainly get a promotion if they put this in children's stockings!

Reading at recess urban recreation on 11/22/09

We're pleased to participate in Holiday Fest, a special family event this weekend - Sunday, November 22nd, 9am-noon at:

recess urban recreation
470 carolina st.
san francisco, ca, 94107
415.701.7529
www.recessurbanrecreation.com

Adults are free. $5 per child/$12 per non-member child.

We've been invited to read a story time at 10 am, and will present our popular alphabet board book The Adventures of WonderBaby + our railroad adventure Timmy & Tammy's Train of Thought.

"The variety of animals doing activities that a typical child would enjoy - like blowing bubbles or swinging - makes [WonderBaby] a fun story for kids because it is easy to relate to. The little lady bug to find on every page adds to it as an enjoyable book to read over and over again with your toddler.” – Babitty

"I think Timmy and Tammy’s Train of Thought has replaced Thomas the Train in our house!" - BabyLuxe

We'll be there starting at 9 am to show all our colorful children's books. These stories would make great holiday gifts for the kids in your life. Plus there will be music, crafts (make your own holiday cards), snacks, and other local artisans.

Meomi's new The Octonauts and the Great Ghost Reef book

Well, they've done it again! Meomi's newest adventure is now available, to the joy of those who love cute things everywhere.

The team of 8 bosom buddies take a well-deserved vacation, but their famously colorful destination is not at all in the condition they expected! The coral reef has turned a ghostly white. So the Octonauts decide they must solve this mystery before it's too late!

Meomi launches their fourth fantastic tale in their usual style - with a weekend of fun readings in the San Francisco Bay area! They are in town and autographing copies galore. Catch them at Book Passage today (Friday, 11/13) at 10 am, and tomorrow (Saturday, 11/14) at Books Inc in Berkeley at 11 am and Given in San Francisco at 1 pm.

Sales from Books Inc benefit the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), the only international organization working exclusively to save coral reefs! Get your own autographed book at our website and free coloring pages at www.octonauts.com.

Immedium books available at www.astorybeforebed.com

Given all the news about digital books, e-books, and electronic book readers like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble's Nook, the book publishing industry seems like it is going e-crazy.

We're not the first to jump on any bandwagon. But whenever we do jump, we want to do it right. Therefore we are glad to announce that our children's books are now available online at www.astorybeforebed.com. The producers of this new web site, Jackson Fish Market, have made the reading experience appropriately digital (with multimedia elements such as audio and video) but very personal. Of course our illustrators' art is prominently displayed in their colorful glory.

Anyone can read a sample of a story and make our authors' narratives their very own. They can customize the experience and share it with friends or family. As long as one has a webcam, a customer can record themselves reading the book, page by page. Like a television's picture in picture feature, they can see themselves in a little window next to the story's illustrations. Then if they like their performance, they can pay an affordable fee to "own" it, and then they can email their "storytime" to another person around the globe who can enjoy playing it. For parents on the road, this is a great substitute for being home and reading a bedtime story to their kids. Similarly, grandparents can send their love to little relatives with these online postcards.

Plus as a service to our men and women in uniform, people in the United States armed forces can sign up for a special mailing list offering free recordings and discounts so they can send greetings to their children who may be far away.

Check out wwww.astorybeforebed.com and give our adventures your own personal spin. Let us know what you think!

Pirate Profile #4: Mr. Flynn

Every Captain needs a right hand man. Enter Mr. Flynn. He wields the dashing good looks of a matinee idol as well as a sharp rapier wit. Plus he can smoothly swing across the starboard on a rope in a pinch. So there is no one better to help Captain Redlocks manage the mayhem on the good ship Cutlass.

Mr. Flynn is actually the first real pirate that Baltazar lays eyes on. Shaken from his evening slumber, the boy is surprised to see this debonair scoundrel by his bedside. But soon enough our young hero helps the Corsairs - he supplies the missing piece to Mr. Flynn's treasure map and suggests where the long lost booty may actually be found.

Naturally Redlocks entrusts Mr. Flynn with the responsibility of storming the amusement park Treasure Isle and scouring it for the loot. Cue over the top chaos and laughs a minute...

Pirate Profile #3

With her flowing mane of crimson curls, this is definitely some lady in red. Startling in both her beauty and her firm command, Redlocks is the Captain of the Cutlass, the fastest ship in the skies! Succeeding the AWOL Greybeard, she seized the leadership of his rowdy crew, and agreed to direct them on a wild hunt to find his hidden booty.

Unfortunately for these pirates, they enjoyed little success and saw the clock turning against them. However in their meandering travels (to be told in a tall tale in a later date), they discovered the mythic Fountain of Youth. These lucky souls now could search for Greybeard's lost treasure to their hearts' content without fearing the ravages of time.

All hands on deck respect Captain Redlocks for her fairness. A woman who has broken through the wooden ceiling, she leads by example and is both brave and bold. Soon Baltazar will have the ride of his life as he helps Redlocks in her crew's ultimate quest.

Pirate Profile #2

Well, speak of the devil himself. Greybeard was a legend in his own time and still in the mind of impressionable Baltazar. It makes perfect sense, since they share a lust for adventure and a vibrant blood line. But the boy has little inkling of the latter until a bunch of pirates who have survived time and space pay a visit upon him.

Greybeard scared sailors up and down the eastern seaboard and all around the Caribbean. Much more fearsome than his distant cousin Ol' Blackbeard, Grey also took time out to infuriate his crew the Corsairs. Together they piloted the magnificent ship the Cutlass to hoard booty up the wazoo.

But for some reason, Greybeard decided to hide the king's ransom, his personal treasure chest, and not inform his erstwhile colleagues in crime. That would drive them batty! Plus, later he disappeared without any explanation. That would fuel the Corsairs desire to find those shimmering jewels and glittering gold coins, and search the ends of the earth in that pursuit.