World’s No. 1 STEAM Program Launches New STEM/STEAM Book Series
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New Challenge Island chapter book series perfect for fans of The Magic School Bus and Magic Tree House, but with a spectacular, hands-on STEM/STEAM twist!
With 120 franchise locations and a cumulative audience of 5 million children and thousands of schools, Challenge Island has been providing kids with award-winning STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning adventures through field trips, afterschool enrichment classes, summer camps, scout workshops and family nights for almost two decades. On National Stem Day (Nov. 8), the magic of the world’s No. 1 STEAM program will combine with the magic of reading to launch the first book in the Challenge Island STEAM book series.
The Bridge to Sharktooth Island: A Challenge Island STEAM Adventure (West Margin Press) is written by award-winning educator Sharon Duke Estroff M.A.T. (founder and CEO of Challenge Island and author of Can I Have a Cell Phone for Hanukkah?, Penguin Random House); and award-winning author Joel Ross (Alley and Rex, Simon & Schuster; Fog Diver, HarperCollins; Beast & Crown, HarperCollins); and illustrated by Monica de Rivas (The Grumbles, Hatchette; Hello, Future Me, Scholastic; Big Bad Wolfsville, HarperCollins).
The Bridge to Sharktooth Island artfully intertwines action-packed fantasy with real-life engineering as cautious Daniel, his brave cousin Joy and their studious new friend Kimani find themselves suddenly stranded on a mysterious island surrounded by sharks. The kids find clues hidden around the island and realize that if they want to escape, they’ll have to work together to build the strongest bridge they can to get to safety! The characters return in the back of the book, where they speak directly and intimately to the reader, sharing engineering tidbits learned during their adventure, cool shark facts from Kimani’s notebook, and fun STEAM activities kids can do at home, including building a bridge, mixing up a blue slime ocean and designing ferocious paper sharks.
Making the Challenge Island book series even more groundbreaking is the fact that readers can experience the same STEAM adventures as the characters in the story in real life, through one of Challenge Island’s 120 franchise locations. For example, on National STEM Day, Stephanie Edwards, owner of Challenge Island Gilbert, AZ, will be running a Bridge to Sharktooth Island book launch celebration and field trip for 350 6th grade students at the American Leadership Academy. Edwards worked closely with the charter school’s leadership to create an unforgettable engineering adventure complete with balloon arches in the gymnasium, a professional photographer and a copy of The Bridge to Sharktooth Island for every student.
“As an educator, an author, a mom, and the creator of the Challenge Island program and curriculum, the release of the first book in the Challenge Island book series is among the proudest moments of my entire career,” says Sharon Duke Estroff, founder and CEO of Challenge Island Global. “But more importantly, I truly believe that this is exactly what kids need in this moment in time. What better way to reignite a child’s love of learning than by turning a beloved STEAM enrichment program into a fantastical new book series? And — for the millions more children who will first come to know Challenge Island inside the pages of this book — to see that magical story come to life, not only in their imaginations, but in the real world!”
The Bridge to Sharktooth Island: A Challenge Island STEAM Adventure Release Date: November 2, 2021 Publisher: West Margin Press ISBN-10: 1513289535 ISBN-13: 978-1513289533 Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Target.com, Walmart.com and everywhere books are sold
Trish Stevens Rebecca Brown Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Faith Journey Includes the Good, the Bad and the Proof that God Hears Our Prayers
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Christine Schat sat down and wrote the truth about her life even though some of it was messy. As a teenager, she lived by her own rules, became pregnant, married young, divorced and married again. She made choices that led to the tragic death of her husband and the heartbreak of a prodigal son. She had welcomed Jesus into her life at an early age, but had repeatedly veered off course. Every time she repented, she found God’s forgiveness and mercy to be always available, always complete. This is her compelling story.
The Tree of Faith, God Wants to Answer YOUR Prayer is Schat’s deeply personal memoir recounting true stories that range from dealing with regret to letting go of guilt and letting go of shame. There were many life events that prompted Schat to seek God’s will and to ask for His help. Did God always show up in exactly the way she expected Him to? No. Were her prayers answered as quickly as she’d hoped? No. But ultimately, she recognized the constant thread of God’s love that was woven throughout her life despite her sins.
Schat’s style is easy and conversational, and laced with touches of humor. She shares the moments, thoughts and experiences that led her to a most astonishing realization in the face of adversity.
She discovered that the seed of faith planted in her at birth by the Creator could grow easily in the healthy soil of a humble heart. By spiritually cultivating that seed with life-giving prayer and sonshine, her small seedling grew into a magnificently strong, fruit-bearing tree of faith, deeply rooted and stable. She then knew, that living with Christ, everything is possible.
In The Tree of Faith, readers will discover the age-old secret to obliterating fear, guilt and shame; the personal way God answers questions; strength through adversity and the power of letting go; the unique key to turning life around; and the growing faith that looks past the impossible. Along the way, readers are invited to get involved through chapter questions.
Schat shares the good and the bad of her faith journey, with personal stories and a wealth of wisdom gleaned over decades that can give readers hope that God hears their prayers.
“Now is the time to look to the Light, renew your faith and expect God to answer your prayers!” Schat said.
Author Christine Schat is a UCLA graduate and the former owner of Fort Bragg Bakery. She loves to smile, laugh and share her stories. She currently lives in Southern California but loves to travel the country visiting family and friends. She is especially fond of her grandchildren and has been nicknamed Gram-cracker. But her greatest joy is experiencing God’s answered prayers.
The Tree of Faith, God Wants to Answer YOUR Prayer Publisher: Made for More Enterprises, LLC ISBN-13: 979-8735214540 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Emily Tucker Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Insightful Writings On Website Share How We Can Learn To Connect With Our Higher Power
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Dr. Pieter Noomen completed his doctoral studies in theology and pastoral psychology in Amsterdam. He later moved to Los Angeles and worked as a psychotherapist and as a staff member of a church – involved in mental health issues such as suicide prevention and hospice. A humble man who believed his background was not at all spectacular but, in reality, he was a true scholar.
A drastic change took place in Dr. Noomen’s life many years ago that allowed him to take a journey of communication with a presence on his innermost spiritual level. In order to share these experiences, he set up a website, www.wordsforall.org, so that anyone would be able to learn how to connect with their Higher Power. Sadly, Dr. Noomen passed away in 2019, but his website remains open for anyone interested in connecting with their Creator to learn from his insightful writings. He wasn’t selling anything or seeking publicity; he just wanted to help others learn from his experiences.
The content of the website is unique in that it addresses each human being alive today. “Being in life, as we all are, means that we are, without exception, connected with the source of that life. That connection can be a very conscious and personal one. It is available through the very fact that we all have life,” said Noomen.
An example from Dr. Noomen’s insightful writings at www.wordsforall.org on ‘Life:’
What a trap to think that life can end. ‘Death’ is just a different configuration. All that is in existence can be changed. To be of use is why we all do have life. Usefulness is the only measure for behavior. Oneness, love, life, are all equal. The I AM ‘is’ life. All stems from that fact. For us here, just being in life is ‘it’. Living connects us with its Source. We’re fake if we deny it, yet can wake up.
Trish Stevens Dawn Sanders Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Trish Stevens Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Learn How To Communicate More Deeply With Your Creator
Many of us want to communicate more closely with our Creator, but we simply don’t know where to begin.
Dr. Pieter Noomen was an insightful man of extraordinary deep faith. He completed doctoral studies in theology and pastoral psychology at the Free University of Amsterdam and after moving to the US, he became senior minister of three protestant churches ―later working as a psychotherapist and staff member of a Los Angeles metropolitan church.
A remarkable scholar, Dr. Noomen did all the legwork for anyone desiring to have a closer relationship with their Creator but not sure how to get started. Noomen’s own spiritual path widened unexpectedly, yet sensationally, about 25 years ago when he experienced a change on a spiritual level. After that, he approached all external and internal ‘facts’ from having knowledge of the real facts behind our facts. He kept detailed records so that we might share in his remarkable ‘visits’ on a spirit level to another human dimension. Sadly, Dr. Noomen passed away early in 2019 but his legacy to us is an invitation to visit his website at any time to look for answers to our questions in his insightful writings at www.wordsforall.org.
An example from writings at the website:
“You can search your soul for your deepest hopes pertaining to your world. In many instances, it’ll be up to you whether those hopes come true or not. As all life-forms, you’re accountable; all you do or do not writes your story. Trusting your connection with Me gives you your eternity-based identity. It is pure wisdom and the truth to accept yourself as being relative to Me. You change from within when joining the Reality the earth is cut off from.”
