Castles are more than echoes of the past...
They are the places of legends, of the imagination, where power lived and survival was a matter of daily concern.
Stella and I recently visited Turku Castle, where Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Russia and the Finns have struggled over the centuries for domination of Eastland (Finland).
Built in the 13th century, it has guarded the approach to the harbor and the Aura River. To the west is the sea, and the archipellago with its countless islands.
Masters and servants, knights and tradesmen, cooks and children all lived here through cold winters and welcome fall harvests.
Castles play a vital role in all our books. Castles hold secrets and stories that allow children to read of invaders, kidnapping, and danger -- and still sleep well with dreams of tomorrow.
This world is filled with invaders and tyrannical rulers, families with lives torn by power seekers, and people struggling for respect and freedom.
We hope that by writing of these matters in the far away past, with castles, non-violent victories, and the courage and unconditional love of dogs, we can engage and entertain young readers -- and still raise their awareness of the world we all live in.
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LitWorld's mission is to use the power of story to cultivate literarcy skills in the most vulnerable children. LitWorld works with teachers, families and children to create resilience building reading and writing experiences which serve to fortify and connect communities.
Lit World: If you believe in kids, reading, and the power of books, Lit World has a new and truly inspiring video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smCbNBg12AI
Lit Word has a Summer drive..."This Summer, LitWorld is bringing the power of story to hundreds of young people from Kenya to Harlem, and we need your help! LitWorld is calling out to the community to help by donating books and school supplies as they embark on two important summer missions"...For more information, visit:
www.litworld.org
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Deanna Leah of HBG Productions and the International Publishers Alliance...
Deanna Leah now represents world-wideforeign rights sales for the Planet Of The Dogsseries (with the exception of Japan). Deanna represents a "collection of spiritually empowering and life-affirming works dedicated to inspiration, empowerment, enlightenment and joy...conciousness-expanding books that contribute to greater awareness in this new century."
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Passion for animal welfare generated a powerful post entitled "Hey YOU" on Cayr Ariel Wulff's Up On The Woof Blog. By contrat, her latest post, "The Lunatics are Running the Asylum", is a humorous account of the mischief, phobias, and conflicting behaviors in her diverse family of rescued dogs.
Cayr, is also the creator of Yelodoggie and author of her poignant biography Born Without a Tail.
Here is the opening of "Hey YOU"..."A month ago, I posted a status update on Facebook about how in regards to animal welfare I sometimes feel like I am shouting into the wind. My friend Dixie commented that surely I am making a difference among my friends and family. How I wish this was true. The truth is, I’ve had a lot of failures.
Hey, YOU! Didn’t you hear me when I told you that no matter what breed of dog you want there is one in a shelter somewhere that needs a home? Why did you still go out and buy a pit bull puppy from a breeder? Didn’t you hear me say that millions of dogs are destroyed every year because there aren’t enough homes? Didn’t you read in my blog that pit bulls make up a large portion of the shelter population? I tried to tell you about BSL, but there you are with a pit bull puppy in a city that has very strict BSL regulations, and I don’t have the confidence in you or your decision making abilities to believe that you’ve complied with all the regulations. I predict that pit bull’s future lies at the pound. FAIL."
Here are some of the dogs from "The Lunatics are Running the Asylum."
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Reading Rockets...
Reading Rockets,(www.readingrockets.org) a website from PBS station WETA is..." a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help... The Reading Rockets project is comprised of PBS television programs, available on videotape and DVD." Here's an excerpt from their site:
"ABCs of Teaching Reading...If reading came naturally, teaching reading would be a
much easier job. Children would learn to read as readily as they learn to speak.
Teachers would only need to give students the chance to practice their skills. But children don't learn to read just from being exposed to books. Reading must be taught. For many children, reading must be taught explicitly and systematically, one small step at a time. That's why good teachers are so important."
We would add to the above that therapy reading dogs will stimulate kids to learn to read...photo- Pages for Preston reading program Longfellow School, Sheboygan, WI.
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Read Sample Chapters of all our books on our website:www.planetofthedogs.net
All books in the Planet Of The Dogs series can be purchased at your favorite bookstore or on the internet through Amazon, Barnes & Noble , Powells and others...
Librarians, teachers, bookstores -- order our books directly from Ingram...professional discount, of course.
Planet Of The Dogs hats, t-shirts, cups etc are in our Cafe Press Shop
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Are Books Obsolete? An analysis of Data from Titles Printed
by Stephen Krashen
This article appeared on Denise Johnson's site, The Joy Of Children's Literature. An excerpt is posted below...
Not according to at least one indication. The number of new book titles printed each year continues to increase, and the increase over the last decade is dramatic. Bowker, an information service company, reported that 215,138 book titles were published in 2002. This increased to 302,410 in 2009, and the projected total (based on preliminary data) for 2010 was 316,480.
This analysis only includes books published in each year in the traditional way. Non-traditional publications, on-demand and downloaded, increased incredibly, from around 32,000 titles in 2002 to nearly 3 million in 2010..." To read more visit: http://thejoyofchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
Kids, Waggy Tales, and Reading to Dogs
The dogs calm us down when we pet them so that we can read better", said Caroline, a third grade student in the Pages for Preston program in the Longfellow School,Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
I had only a vague awareness of therapy reading dog programs until I learned about Pages for Preston in 2008. I read that a teacher, Julie Hauk, had developed her own therapy dog reading program by using her own dog, Preston. And since we were publishing the Planet Of The Dogs series, I wanted to learn more. I contacted Julie. Thus began my introduction to the fast growing world of therapy reading dogs.
From schools to library programs to home schools, children are comfortable reading to friendly, non-judgemental dogs. As Julie Hauk found, "The children look forward to reading to Preston beyond my expectations...their excitement translates into motivation."
We now support therapy reading dog owners and programs in 13 states with the Planet Of The Dogs series of books for children and dog lovers.
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Read Dog Books To Dogs
If you have a therapy reading dog and like the idea of kids reading dog books to dogs, send us an email at barkingpla[email protected] and we'll send you a complimentary book from the Planet Of The Dogs Series.
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How To Avoid Stress on Your Dog During A Move...
This is the title of one of many daily posts from Nancy Houser's Way Cool Dogs Blog featuring Dog Health Care Tips and Information, Real World Dog Stories, and pictures of "Cool Dogs". Here is an excerpt from How To Avoid Stress On your Dog During Moving...
"Moving is one of life’s most stressful experiences, but there are a few ways to make it more stressful. Combine it with a divorce or a death in the family. Combine it with a change of job. Or move with your pet. If there was ever a time in your life with your dog that rivaled the stress of going through an adoption, this is it.
But it doesn’t have to be that bad. Here are a few ways to reduce the stress of your move or relocation for your dog (or dogs)..." The article continues. Read it all at:www.waycooldogs.com
The photo above is one of Nancy's rescued dogs...
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Planet Dog Foundation supports beneficial dog programs in myriad ways...
This is from their website: "Simply put, dogs are amazing. We all know dogs have a natural capacity to make us feel better, cared for and unconditionally loved. But when working for people in need, they are capable of so much more...
From the earliest days of Planet Dog, the founders were committed to creating a national grant program to make maximum impact with limited resources. As a company that celebrates all things dog and that is supported by customers who cherish their pets, Planet Dog is proud to donate 2% of every sale of any Planet Dog Product to PDF to finance the grant budget. In turn, PDF funds programs that train, place and support working dogs helping people in need." For more information visit www.planetdogfoundation.org
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Deb Eades and Oreo the Pit Bull... The media myth about Pit Bulls doesn't hold for Deb Eades. In her book, Every Rescued Dog Has a Tale, Stories from the Dog Rescue Railroad, Deb recounts the story of Oreo, the first Pit Bull she encountered, a dog with a naturally friendly disposition who had been used as bait in an illegal Pit Bull fightng ring.
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It was an early evening in November. We were just outside of Grants New Mexico on I-40 East. My husband and I were on our way to Georgia to deliver a load. My husband is a truck driver and I was traveling with him, along with our two dogs, a lab mix and a Chihuahua. I was sitting in the passenger seat when out of the blue this dog came running out on the highway. We almost hit this dog!
My husband pulled the 18-wheeler over to the shoulder quickly and I threw my shoes on and got out of the truck. We were scared for the dog's life—it could get hit by a vehicle. The dog had stopped running and seemed scared and unsure about what to do. At first she just stood there and looked at us! I had forgotten to shut the door on the truck and my lab mix had jumped out after me...
This is the beginning of a dog rescue story on Sunbear Squad -- dedicated to "Transforming animal lovers into welfare defenders with knowledge, tools and inspiration." www.sunbearsquad.org
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"Every dog should have a man of his own. There is nothing like a well-behaved person around the house to spread the dogs blanket for him, or bring him his supper when he comes home man-tired at night."-Corey Ford (1902-1969)
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