‘Eggstraordinary’ Story Awaits Youngsters on Your Holiday Shopping List
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An active imagination is something worth celebrating, and a new book from CK Gregory, Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination, shows young audiences that there is an “eggciting” alternative to screen time: the power of their own minds.
Written for ages 5 to 10, Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination introduces young readers to Tommy, a boy stuck at home on a rainy day. There is nothing to do; his mother is busy making breakfast; and Tommy has grown bored with his toys. What will he do to entertain himself?
An “eggstraordinary” character named Mr. Sunnyside comes to Tommy’s rescue and saves him from boredom by taking Tommy on one adventure after another. Tommy is the only person who can see Mr. Sunnyside, and he’s the only one who needs to, in this charming story that gives new meaning to the power of an active imagination.
With clever wordplay, colorful illustrations and subtle lessons, Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination shares the story of a delicate egg who enters Tommy’s life as a play friend and turns Tommy’s mood from blue to “eggcellent!”
Author CK Gregory worked in many areas of theater and the media, both in front and behind the scenes. Now, he is embarking on a new career as a children’s author. Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination is his first book in a series of “eggstra” adventures to come!
“The world can seem, at times, scrambled,” Gregory said. “I hope my egg friends will set good ‘eggsamples’ for the readers and help children stay on the Sunnyside.”
Mr. Sunnyside: Imagination Publisher: Gatekeeper Press ISBN-10: 1662912595 ISBN-13: 978-1662912597 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Carrie Wilson Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
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
Secrets Threaten to Unravel Family Ties in The Wool Over Their Eyes
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At 18, Natalia Foster knew seven things about the biological father she’d never met: he was tall, dark, handsome and Italian. He was also married to someone other than Natalia’s mother, had three children and, clearly, no morals. Now, at age 28, Natalia knows something new: her father is dying.
The Wool Over Their Eyes, from Dione Martin, is an authentic, heartfelt story about complex family dynamics and the emotions that must be unpacked when long-buried secrets push their way to the surface.
Illegitimate and bi-racial, Natalia is the secret that her father, Joe, planned to take to his grave. His wife and family know nothing of Natalia’s existence — or that her mother is Black — but when word spreads that Joe has only months to live, Natalia feels compelled to meet him and salvage what little time with him she has left. But at what cost to Joe’s devoted wife, Rosa, and their grown children?
In the midst of Natalia’s family drama and pain is also a love story. Natalia must choose between two loves — a long-lost one and a new one. Her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Davis, who captured her heart and connected with her soul, resurfaces. But she meets a handsome doctor, David Duplessis, who’d cared for her father. Just as the relationship begins to blossom, David commits an act that severs her trust and sends her spiraling further into her dark abyss.
The Wool Over Their Eyes is loosely based on Martin’s personal experiences. She drew upon her own memories and insights of growing up without her biological father and being betrayed in her own marriage to inform her narrative and give her characters depth and authenticity.
“I wrote The Wool Over Their Eyes for fatherless girls, for women who have been betrayed, for those who have been rejected because of their race (or otherness) and for families that have been torn apart by secrets, lies and deception,” Martin reflects. “Healing is possible – through change, through empathy, through faith and through forgiveness.”
Author Dione Martin was born and raised in New Orleans, where she spent much of her childhood and teen years reading. She earned her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Minnesota-Morris and her Master’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a senior communications director at Brinker International. She lives in Dallas with her two daughters and enjoys running, cooking, performing arts and attempting DIY projects. The Wool Over Their Eyes is her debut novel, and she is working on her next one.
For more information about the author, please visit www.dione-martin.com or follow her on Twitter (@DioneMartin30), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/dione-martin/) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/dionehmartin).
The Wool Over Their Eyes Publisher: Inspire on Purpose ISBN-10: 1948903539 ISBN-13: 978-1948903530 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Chelsea Smith Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Famous Feline Shares Heartwarming Journey from Shelter Kitty to Social Media Sensation
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From spa days and birthday parties, to playing dress-up and Target “shopping,” the humanlike antics of an affable ginger tabby named Carrot have been shared with the famous feline’s nearly 300K Instagram followers, capturing the attention of human celebs like Ellen DeGeneres and Katie Couric.
The social media sensation is now giving readers a glimpse into a year in her furry, fun-filled life in her new book, Diary of the Cat Named Carrot, an uplifting, instantly stress-reducing story told from Carrot’s perspective.
From her humble beginnings as a tiny orange stray to being welcomed into a loving family—including Erin Merryn and her young girls Abby, Hannah and baby Claire—through her rise to internet stardom, Diary of the Cat Named Carrot chronicles her remarkable journey.
Carrot lived in the same shelter that had once housed the family’s previous internet star, Bailey, whose adventures were featured in Bailey, No Ordinary Cat. Much like Bailey had, Carrot loves spending time with her human family partaking in typically human pastimes: making mischief with her girl gang; joyriding in a pint-sized pink Barbie Jeep; doing arts and crafts; modeling a pink tutu and flowery headband; enjoying a spa day complete with fluffy robe and cucumber eye treatments; and celebrating Christmas, Easter and every holiday in between. It’s no wonder Carrot’s videos have gone viral—garnering attention from Ellen, the Dodo, Good Morning America, Access Hollywood, People and many other media outlets.
Diary of the Cat Named Carrot is packed with color photos that will leave readers purring with delight. The journal of this sweet, adorable kitty with personality to spare shows us that the human-animal bond runs more than fur deep. It is a love that will last a lifetime.
Erin Merryn is an author, activist, speaker, wife and mom to three girls—Abby, Hannah and Claire—and a fur baby named Carrot. She was named Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year in 2012 and a People magazine Hero Among Us for her tireless work promoting Erin’s Law nationwide with a mission to keep our children safe by educating them about personal body safety. She is the author of Bailey, No Ordinary Cat, Stolen Innocence, Living for Today and An Unimaginable Act.
Diary of the Cat Named Carrot Publisher: Health Communications, Inc. Release Date: March 30, 2021 ISBN-10: 0757323901 ISBN-13: 978-0757323904 Available wherever books are sold
Trish Stevens Lindsey Mach Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
The Unmistakable Sounds of Nelson Riddle Transformed Generations of Music
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Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” Judy Garland’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” would not be the same immortal melodies without the musical genius of prolific composer and arranger Nelson Riddle, arguably the greatest of his era.
Riddle collaborated with the biggest musical stars of his time, including Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. But it was his work with Frank Sinatra that made him a household name the world over. By the time his career was winding down, Riddle was working with new names on the scene like Linda Ronstadt. He also wrote the hit TV theme “Route 66” from the 1960s series of the same name, composed the score to Batman: The Movie (1966) and turned down an offer from Paul McCartney to collaborate on a song. His shelf included Grammy and Oscar awards.
A revealing new biography from Geoffrey Littlefield, Nelson Riddle: Music with a Heartbeat, takes readers inside the world of the wildly successful but enigmatic Riddle. With the help of the late composer’s musician son, Christopher, Littlefield shares first-hand anecdotes, never-before-seen photographs and stories of some of the 20th Century’s biggest names in entertainment.
Littlefield traces Riddle’s life from the small town of Oradell, New Jersey, through a career that saw him hailed as the veritable king of what came to be known as the Great American Songbook — the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century.
But Littlefield reveals that, like so many creative souls, Riddle was a complex and troubled figure. His marriage to Doreen, with whom he had seven children, was rocky and constantly under threat from his numerous affairs.
“A complex and often forlorn genius, he will forever be remembered for his work with Sinatra,” Littlefield says. “But like fine wines, his later vintage was just as palatable, if somewhat of a surprise.”
Author Geoffrey Littlefield is a baby boomer born in London, England, whose lifelong passions include soccer and music. His first magazine article was published when he was just 13 years old, featuring interviews with Chelsea FC and England soccer players. His love of music grew simultaneously, with particular focus on the Great American Songbook. Geoffrey eventually moved into professional music management and record production, and his written works include an exclusive interview with singer Vic Damone. He has been the subject of several radio and television interviews about the Great American Songbook, both in the U.K. and U.S. Littlefield continues to write, produce and direct. He has two movie screenplays in development and a documentary set for release later in 2021.
Follow author Geoffrey Littlefield on Instagram at musicheartbeat1; on Twitter at @GeoffreyLittl13; and on Facebook at NelsonRiddleBook.
Nelson Riddle: Music with a Heartbeat Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing ISBN-10: 1839754400 ISBN-13: 978-1839754401 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, www.getmybook.tv and many other outlets
Trish Stevens Holly McClure Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Son’s Quest for Father’s Buried Treasure Leads to Unforgettable Journey
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John “Blackie” Rinaldi had been dead for more than six years before his enigmatic letter surfaced. In it, Blackie described a cache of stolen money — hinting at its origins and its whereabouts — and prompting his son to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
Fool’s Errand from Jeffrey S. Stephens takes readers on a fast-paced quest for riches that skillfully explores the complexities of father-son relationships through the eyes of Blackie’s son, who feels compelled to unravel the mystery his father left him to solve. Why hadn’t his father simply told him about the hidden treasure before his death?
It’s just one of many questions as Blackie’s son follows the letter’s trail of breadcrumbs from the mean streets of New York to the Las Vegas Strip, and ultimately to the South of France. Along the way, he is confronted by dangerous mobsters, dishonest relatives, suspicious friends, a mysterious woman and the risks of a journey his father may or may not have planned for him.
Each secret revealed leads to more questions, as his life-altering pursuit for answers takes thrilling twists and perilous turns until the very end.
Fool’s Errand is poignant and entertaining, humorous and exciting, romantic and mysterious — an adventure that convincingly explores the dynamic between a father and son, and the events that will eventually lead a young man to discover both the treasure and himself.
Author Jeffrey S. Stephens lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is also the author of the Jordan Sandor espionage thrillers, beginning with Targets of Deception and, most recently, Rogue Mission. He is also the author of the recent thriller, Crimes and Passion, the first in a planned series featuring Lieutenant Robbie Whyte.
Fool’s Errand Publisher: Post Hill Press ISBN-13: 978-1642937381 ISBN-10: 164293738X Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 954.263.6827 Direct 800.854.1134 Office [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Accomplished Musicians Honor Family’s Legacy with Three Tributes
For brothers Robert and James Freeman, who are both accomplished musicians, music and family mean everything. To honor their family’s musical legacy, which spans three generations, the brothers commissioned three breathtaking, original scores included on Three Tributes, a music CD (with an accompanying booklet), which would make a welcome addition to anyone’s collection of beautiful new music.
Three Tributes features award-winning composers Kevin Puts, Andrea Clearfield and Gunther Schuller, along with a host of world-class performers. The CD will immerse listeners in the magnificent sounds of an emotional violin solo, stunningly prestissimo strings, and the layered splendor of four hands on two pianos.
For Robert and James, a music CD seemed an appropriate way to honor their family’s multigenerational love and appreciation of music. Their parents, Henry and Florence Knope Freeman, were both children of musicians and graduated from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester in 1930.
Both Robert and James studied piano and theory at Cambridge’s Longy School while graduating from Milton Academy, and studied performance during the summers at Tanglewood, Blue Hill and Marlboro. They went on to Harvard, where each graduated with honors, followed by travelling fellowships for study in Europe.
Robert took his Ph.D. in music history at Princeton and taught there for five years before moving to MIT, where he made tenure just before moving for 24 years to the directorship of the Eastman School — his parents’ alma mater — followed by two years as president of the New England Conservatory and six as dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin.
James went straight from Harvard to Swarthmore College, where he taught and conducted for 37 years, served as departmental chair for 16 years and as Daniel Underhill Professor of Music. In 1988 he founded Philadelphia’s new music group Orchestra 2001, directing it until 2015 when he resigned to take on a new ensemble, Chamber Orchestra FIRST EDITIONS. In 1991 he was a Fulbright lecturer and conductor at the Moscow Conservatory, and has returned to Moscow many times since then to give concerts of new American music.
Both brothers have made lots of recordings, and have published their share of well-reviewed books and articles. When the idea arose to commission some original scores to honor their family legacy, Robert and James sought out music’s finest to bring their vision for Three Tributes to fruition.
Two of the composers featured on the CD have won the Pulitzer Prize. Kevin Puts is currently at work on an opera for the Metropolitan Opera. Andrea Clearfield, who took her DMA at Temple, is the founder of the Philadelphia Salon Concert Series, featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, world and electronic music, together with multimedia and spoken word arts. The late Gunther Schuller was one of the 20th Century’s music stars as composer, conductor, author and administrator. He was a great admirer of their father’s bass playing, and a good friend.
Robert and James hope that Three Tributes will inspire others to undertake similar projects. Neither of them is aware of any similar event in the history of music where two brothers from a family of professional musicians — spanning at least two generations before them — have commissioned significant works as a tribute to their parents and for future generations to enjoy.
