World’s No. 1 STEAM Program Launches New STEM/STEAM Book Series
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“This is a great STEAM-infused addition to the fiction section of any elementary or middle school library.” — School Library Journal
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
Preparing for the End-Time Event: Bible Scholar Reassures Faithful that Tribulation will be Brief
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For those who believe in end-time prophecy, it’s important to prepare for the Day of the Lord and to share the gospel with nonbelievers. In his compelling new book, The High Sign, Bible scholar David S. Heeren reveals his unconventional interpretation of what the sign of Jesus’ Second Coming will be and shares the promises Jesus made to the faithful.
“Jesus specifically said we [believers] are not to fear, not even worry,” Heeren said. “Jesus said in addition to shortening the tribulation, he would turn it back onto the heads of the treacherous people who are destroying their nations. Additionally, the prophet Isaiah says this: The destroyers will be destroyed, and the traitors betrayed.”
In his book, Heeren shares more than 200 points of evidence involving 24 scriptural events that support what he says will be the sign of Jesus’ Second Coming. His findings are the result of 16 years of research involving Scriptures as well as independent sources. Today, he is more convinced than ever that he has identified the celestial event that will signal Jesus’ return.
His investigation began after reading the book of Isaiah, which describes great visions given supernaturally to the prophet, including many about the Day of the Lord. It was after reading Isaiah and praying Isaiah’s prayer: “Here am I, send me,” when the meaning of many biblical passages began to crystalize for Heeren, and the message of The High Sign started taking shape.
Heeren found 54 prophetic images, and the evidence mounted concerning the identity of the celestial sign of Jesus’ Second Coming, until there were more than 200 individual points leading him to arrive at unconventional interpretation that few, if any, theologians have reached as yet.
“There is not a single contradictory point of evidence, at least none that I found, and I have studied this specific subject now for 16 years,” he adds.
Heeren also explores in detail the Flood of Noah, the demolition of Sodom, the plagues of the Exodus, and the arrival and Second Coming of Christ — and how astronomical events are tied to each. To help readers recall his main ideas, Heeren provides summarization points at the end of each chapter, and concludes his book with a list of seven things for Christians to do to prepare for the Day of the Lord.
David S. Heeren is an award-winning journalist and author of 17 books. He used his background in mathematics and logic to create Tendex, the first internationally used statistical system for rating professional and college basketball players. Nine of his books have Christian themes, including the Online Book Club Book of the Day The High Sign, Day of the Lord, What the Bible has to Say about the U.S.A., The Sign of His Coming and God…or not? To learn more, please visit: www.endtimesmystery.com.
The High Sign Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC ISBN-10: 1647531586 ISBN-13: 978-1647531584 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Helen Cook Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 903.654.0938 Direct 281.333.3507 Office [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Bible Scholar Reminds Christians to Be Prepared, Remain Optimistic About End-Time Event
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing.)
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The Book of Revelation describes the Second Coming of Jesus as a time of great tribulation, causing some believers to fear the impending dangers of the end-time event. In his compelling book, The High Sign, Bible scholar David Heeren not only reveals what the celestial sign heralding Jesus’ return will be, but also he reminds Christians that Jesus himself spoke optimistically about the end-times and even promised to shorten the days of tribulation for believers.
In The High Sign, Heeren shares more than 200 points of evidence involving 24 scriptural events that support what he says will be the sign of Jesus’ Second Coming. His findings are the result of 13 years of research involving Scriptures as well as independent sources. Today, he is more convinced than ever that he has identified the celestial event that will signal Jesus’ return.
His investigation began after reading the book of Isaiah, which describes great visions given supernaturally to the prophet, including many about the Day of the Lord. It was after reading Isaiah and praying Isaiah’s prayer: “Here am I, send me,” when the meaning of many biblical passages began to crystalize for Heeren, and the message of The High Sign started taking shape.
Heeren found 54 prophetic images, and the evidence mounted concerning the identity of the celestial sign of Jesus’ Second Coming, until there were more than 200 individual points leading him to arrive at unconventional interpretation that few, if any, theologians have reached as yet.
“There is not a single contradictory point of evidence, at least none that I found, and I have studied this specific subject now for 16 years,” he adds.
Heeren also explores in detail the Flood of Noah, the demolition of Sodom, the plagues of the Exodus, and the arrival and Second Coming of Christ — and how astronomical events are tied to each. To help readers recall his main ideas, Heeren provides summarization points at the end of each chapter, and concludes his book with a list of seven things for Christians to do to prepare for the Day of the Lord.
David S. Heeren is an award-winning journalist and author of 17 books. He used his background in mathematics and logic to create Tendex, the first internationally used statistical system for rating professional and college basketball players. Nine of his books have Christian themes, including the Online Book Club Book of the Day The High Sign, Day of the Lord, What the Bible has to Say about the U.S.A., The Sign of His Coming and God…or not? To learn more, please visit: www.endtimesmystery.com.
The High Sign Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC ISBN-10: 1647531586 ISBN-13: 978-1647531584 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Helen Cook Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 903.654.0938 Direct 281.333.3507 Office [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Sign Heralding Jesus’ Second Coming will be Written in the Sky
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing.)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The High Sign, from Bible scholar David S. Heeren, compellingly reveals 200 points of evidence involving 24 scriptural events that support his unconventional interpretation of the Bible’s end time prophecy.
For 13 years, Heeren has been compiling Scriptures as well as information from independent sources containing similar prophetic imagery. Over time, his confidence in his predication has grown, and today he is more convinced than ever that he has identified the celestial event that will signal Jesus’ return.
His investigation began after reading the book of Isaiah, which describes great visions given supernaturally to the prophet, including many about the Day of the Lord. It was after reading Isaiah and praying Isaiah’s prayer: “Here am I, send me,” when the meaning of many biblical passages began to crystalize for Heeren, and the message of The High Sign started taking shape.
“The next day, I started perceiving a pattern in Isaiah’s prophetic imagery looking beyond the life of Jesus on earth to the era of his prophesied Second Coming on what the Bible refers to as the Day of the Lord,” Heeren says. “This was a noteworthy first for me because for a half-century before then, I had read biblical prophecies with great fascination but negligible understanding. Suddenly, I was beginning to make sense of some of the Bible’s most mysterious passages.”
He found 54 prophetic images, and the evidence mounted concerning the identity of the celestial sign of Jesus’ Second Coming, until there were more than 200 individual points leading Heeren to arrive at a conclusion few, if any, theologians have reached as yet.
“There is not a single contradictory point of evidence, at least none that I found, and I have studied this specific subject now for 16 years,” he adds.
Heeren also explores in detail the Flood of Noah, the demolition of Sodom, the plagues of the Exodus, and the arrival and Second Coming of Christ — and how astronomical events are tied to each. To help readers recall his main ideas, Heeren provides summarization points at the end of each chapter, and concludes his book with a list of seven things for Christians to do to prepare for the Day of the Lord.
David S. Heeren is an award-winning journalist and author of 17 books. He used his background in mathematics and logic to create Tendex, the first internationally used statistical system for rating professional and college basketball players. Nine of his books have Christian themes, including the Online Book Club Book of the Day The High Sign, Day of the Lord, What the Bible has to Say about the U.S.A., The Sign of His Coming and God…or not? To learn more, please visit: www.endtimesmystery.com.
The High Sign Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC ISBN-10: 1647531586 ISBN-13: 978-1647531584 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Helen Cook Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 903.654.0938 Direct 281.333.3507 Office [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
The High Sign Identifies Celestial Event Heralding the Day of the Lord
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing.)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The occasion of Jesus’ Second Coming, referred to in the Bible as the Day of the Lord, continues to a be a source of great fascination — and speculation — among believers. But the exact day of this event, according to Jesus himself, should not be the primary focus, explains Bible scholar David S. Heeren. Instead, it is important to both understand and recognize the celestial sign that will herald Jesus’ return.
In his latest book, The High Sign, Heeren compellingly reveals 200 prophetic images and 24 dramatic events mentioned throughout the Bible that support his unique interpretation of the Bible’s end time prophecy.
Heeren was inspired to write The High Sign after experiencing his own prophetic event of sorts. While reading Isaiah 6:8, Heeren says he decided to pray Isaiah’s prayer: “Here am I, send me.” It was after that day when the meaning of many biblical passages began to crystalize for Heeren, and the message of The High Sign started taking shape, Heeren explains.
“The next day, I started perceiving a pattern in Isaiah’s prophetic imagery looking beyond the life of Jesus on earth to the era of his prophesied Second Coming on what the Bible refers to as the Day of the Lord,” Heeren says. “This was a noteworthy first for me because for a half-century before then, I had read biblical prophecies with great fascination but negligible understanding. Suddenly, I was beginning to make sense of some of the Bible’s most mysterious passages.”
Within weeks, he says, he found 40 prophetic images supporting his first impression concerning the identity of the celestial sign of Jesus’ Second Coming, and that number eventually grew to the 200 individual points he explains in The High Sign, leading Heeren to arrive at a conclusion no one else has reached yet.
“There is not a single contradictory point of evidence, at least none that I found, and I have studied this specific subject now for 16 years,” he adds.
Heeren also explores in detail the Flood of Noah, the demolition of Sodom, the plagues of the Exodus, and the arrival and Second Coming of Christ — and how astronomical events are tied to each. To help readers recall his main ideas, Heeren provides summarization points at the end of each chapter, and concludes his book with a list of seven things for Christians to do to prepare for the Day of the Lord.
David S. Heeren is an award-winning journalist and author of 17 books. He used his background in mathematics and logic to create Tendex, the first internationally used statistical system for rating professional and college basketball players. Nine of his books have Christian themes, including the Online Book Club Book of the Day The High Sign, Day of the Lord, What the Bible has to Say about the U.S.A., The Sign of His Coming and God…or not? To learn more, please visit: www.endtimesmystery.com.
The High Sign Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC ISBN-10: 1647531586 ISBN-13: 978-1647531584 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Helen Cook Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 903.654.0938 Direct 281.333.3507 Office [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Chasm Between Father and Son at Center of Compelling Story of Love, Loss and Forgiveness
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Bill Smith’s father is an enigma. Could his praying and preaching the wholesomeness of Christianity be a cover for something unspeakably dark in his past? Each man’s lifelong struggle to retain his own integrity while learning to respect the other forms the foundation of The Home Stretch, a compelling exploration of a difficult father-son relationship and the complexity of bridging seemingly unbridgeable differences.
Award-winning author Wayne M. Johnston’s thoroughly absorbing, reality-based story is presented through the voice of everyman Bill Smith (loosely based on Johnston himself) who, throughout his life, is confronted with extraordinary circumstances. Raised in a religious cult, Bill’s unconventional upbringing and strained relationship with his father inform his life experiences and underwrite his formidable urge, from a young age, to simply escape this life altogether.
Bill struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, and embarks upon a career navigating the rough waters of the Pacific on a tugboat. His tales of weathering gale-force winds and violent storms at sea provide metaphorical undercurrents for Bill’s fraught relationship with his father, his failed early marriage, his father’s descent into Alzheimer’s and his own battle with leukemia, which he is told will kill him.
Just when Bill has come to believe he has put the worst of it to rest, he learns something more about his father that opens everything up again, except this time, Bill’s sister is the victim.
Ultimately, The Home Stretch is a powerful coming-of-age story for grownups that poignantly captures the unresolved emotions that surface when our past and present selves collide. Johnston gives readers candid glimpses into life-defining moments of reckoning that many of us will have to face head-on, such as retiring from a career that defines us, becoming a caregiver to a parent and contemplating our own mortality. The Home Stretch serves as a stark reminder that the peace we hope for as we age is often shoved aside to make room for another crisis, but it is also an inspiring tale woven with themes of forgiveness and survival.
Wayne M. Johnston taught English, Creative Writing and Publications at La Conner High School for 19 years. Prior to that, he worked on tugboats for 22 years, usually as chief engineer, towing freight barges between Canadian and West Coast American ports. In 2011, he won the Soundings Review First Publication Award for his essay, “Sailing,” and has published other essays locally. For his debut novel, North Fork, he drew from years of experience reading student journals to reproduce the way kids voice serious matters to a trusted adult. North Fork was released in 2016 as a YA novel. The story is told through the voices of three 17-year-olds as journal entries for their English class. Bill Smith, the protagonist in The Home Stretch, is their English teacher, and The Home Stretch (book two in a planned trilogy) is his back story.
Johnston lives with his wife, Sally, on Fidalgo Island in Washington State where he is working on another book.
The Home Stretch Publisher: Black Heron Press ISBN-10: 1936364344 ISBN-13: 978-1936364343 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, Target.com and anywhere books are sold
Trish Stevens Stephanie Williams Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
The Home Stretch Poignantly Captures Midlife Moments of Reckoning
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing.)
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While no two journeys are ever exactly the same, many of us will one day retire from a career that defines us, become a caregiver to a parent and contemplate our own mortality. How we navigate these changes depends largely on our ability to make sense of life’s complicated path and to find forgiveness for others while we still have the chance.
From award-winning author Wayne M. Johnston comes The Home Stretch, a powerful coming-of-age story for grownups that poignantly captures the complex crises that often accompany middle age and the unresolved emotions that surface when our past and present selves collide.
The Home Stretch is presented through the voice of everyman Bill Smith (loosely based on Johnston himself) who, throughout his life, is confronted with extraordinary circumstances. Raised in a religious cult, Bill’s unconventional upbringing and strained relationship with his father inform his life experiences and underwrite his formidable urge, from a young age, to simply escape this life altogether.
Bill struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, and embarks upon a career navigating the rough waters of the Pacific on a tugboat. His tales of weathering gale-force winds and violent storms at sea provide metaphorical undercurrents for Bill’s fraught relationship with his father, his failed early marriage, his father’s descent into Alzheimer’s and his own battle with leukemia, which he is told will kill him.
Just when Bill has come to believe he has put the worst of it to rest, he learns something more about his father that opens everything up again, except this time, Bill’s sister is the victim.
Johnston’s thoroughly absorbing, reality-based story offers candid glimpses into life-defining moments of reckoning that many of us will have to face head-on. The Home Stretch serves as a stark reminder that the peace we hope for as we age is often shoved aside to make room for another crisis, but it is also an ultimately inspiring tale woven with themes of forgiveness and survival.
Wayne M. Johnston taught English, Creative Writing and Publications at La Conner High School for 19 years. Prior to that, he worked on tugboats for 22 years, usually as chief engineer, towing freight barges between Canadian and West Coast American ports. In 2011, he won the Soundings Review First Publication Award for his essay, “Sailing,” and has published other essays locally. For his debut novel, North Fork, he drew from years of experience reading student journals to reproduce the way kids voice serious matters to a trusted adult. North Fork was released in 2016 as a YA novel. The story is told through the voices of three 17-year-olds as journal entries for their English class. Bill Smith, the protagonist in The Home Stretch, is their English teacher, and The Home Stretch (book two in a planned trilogy) is his back story.
Johnston lives with his wife, Sally, on Fidalgo Island in Washington State where he is working on another book.
The Home Stretch Publisher: Black Heron Press ISBN-10: 1936364344 ISBN-13: 978-1936364343 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, Target.com and anywhere books are sold
Trish Stevens Patricia Marks Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
