Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.
Showing posts with label Barefoot Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barefoot Books. Show all posts

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Barefoot Books Hosts Story Times With Free Podcast





Barefoot Books Hosts Story Times With Free Podcast
Join Us at www.barefootbooks.com/podcast to Explore Timeless Tales

Today, Barefoot Books, the award-winning independent children’s book publisher, launched The Barefoot Books Podcast at www.barefootbooks.com/podcast, offering families, teachers, and librarians free story times from its collection of books. The weekly podcast features a diverse selection of award-winning children's stories and songs by Barefoot authors and performers. Playfully narrated by celebrated actors, with songs by well-known children’s musicians, the podcasts provide a way for adults and children to listen to stories during family time, before naps, in the classroom, on trips, and whenever a good story is needed.

The Barefoot Books Podcast kicks off with the legendary springtime tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, narrated by Richard Hope and available starting today. Upcoming podcasts will become available each Wednesday and include:
·  The Real Princess, A Mathemagical Tale: Practice your math skills while enjoying this quirky take on "The Princess and the Pea.” Read by actress Juliet Stevenson.
·  The Prince's Bedtime: Meet a young prince who refuses to go to sleep! The entire kingdom comes out to lend a hand in this rhyming bedtime adventure. Narrated by actor Jim Broadbent.
·  The Animal Boogie: Can you boogie? Down in the Indian jungle, the children and animals are learning to leap, stomp, shake and flap while meeting different jungle creatures. Sung by Fred Penner, this podcast will be available in both audio and video formats.

“We are excited to provide a new opportunity for families, teachers, and librarians to share favorite Barefoot Books stories with children through the podcasts,” said Barefoot Books Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, Tessa Strickland. “The podcasts offer an easy and fun way for people to enjoy some of the most popular stories on the Barefoot program, while stimulating their curiosity and opening their minds to the world.”

How to Tune In
All that is needed to tune in to The Barefoot Books Podcast is a computer with Internet access and a speaker, or an MP3 or MP4 player. The podcasts are available on iTunes and at www.barefootbooks.com/podcast. Families can choose from new or archived selections, as well as subscribe through iTunes to be sure to catch each week’s episode. Reviews will be available on the Barefoot Books Facebook Fan page.

About Barefoot Books
Barefoot Books is an independent publisher, with offices in Cambridge, USA and Bath, UK, that specializes in carefully crafted books, gifts and digital content that help children on their journey to becoming happy, engaged members of the global community. Since 1992, Barefoot Books has published more than 400 titles that use timeless stories and captivating illustrations to tap into the wisdom of many cultures, while never forgetting that childhood is a time for fun. Barefoot Books are available online, through booksellers, and its community of Ambassadors. For more information, visit www.barefootbooks.com.  

Friday, March 19, 2010

Free digital children's books from Barefoot Books


Bestselling Children’s Book Makes Digital Debut
Free Animated Video of The Animal Boogie Available at www.barefootbooks.com

Starting today, children and families can sing along with creatures of the Indian jungle in a free animated video of The Animal Boogie.  One of Barefoot Books’ bestselling books, with more than a million copies sold, The Animal Boogie introduces children to the creatures of the Indian jungle with an adaptation of a popular playground song. The book has garnered many awards and has received praise for the inclusive way in which it speaks to children with disabilities.

The Animal Boogie, illustrated by Debbie Harter, whose endearing pictures also appear in the popular Barefoot Books Bear series, was first published by Barefoot Books in 2000. It has become a classroom favorite, used by teachers across the world to bring early learning to life through music and movement. The book has been a particular hit in south-east Asia, where it is widely used to teach children English. 

“We are excited to give children the chance to watch the characters in The Animal Boogiebrought to life in a new way. Everyone who hears the song can’t help but get up and dance; with the video, we’d like to get even more families on their feet,” said Barefoot Books Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, Tessa Strickland.

The Animal Boogie is the second in a series of digital videos created by Barefoot Books. The first, Driving My Tractor, (http://www.barefootbooks.com/driving_my_tractor_video), sung by award-winning children’s performer Steve Songs, was launched in Autumn 2009 to wide acclaim. More popular Barefoot Books stories will be available in digital video format in the coming months.




Friday, December 19, 2008

Getting to know Barefoot Books


Every so often I come across a publishing house that does business in a new, innovative, and exciting way. Barefoot Books is one of these houses and, wanting to find out more about this company, I interviewed Nancy Traversy, one of the co-founders of Barefoot Books.

Where did the idea for this company come from?
Barefoot Books was born out of our (co-founders Nancy Traversy and Tessa Strickland’s) shared desire to fill a niche in the market for beautiful books that combined global stories with gorgeous art and beautiful design. Fifteen years later, Barefoot has remained true to our original vision and now have over 300 books in print!

In what ways do you think your company is different from others?
Barefoot is unique as an independent global publisher, not only because of our unwavering commitment to creating books and gifts for children which celebrate imagination, creativity and global awareness, but also because of our community-based approach to bringing this offer to our audience of discerning parents and educators. We work very much in a grassroots way, forming partnerships with like-minded retail partners around the world, selling through our network of independent home sellers in our Barefoot Stallholder Program, and communicating with our audience directly via our interactive website, including our forums and Living Barefoot Blog.

How did you come up with the idea of bare feet and what does the logo mean to you?
The name ‘Barefoot Books’ came to Tessa Strickland, editor-in-chief and co-founder, in a dream back in 1992. The logo was taken from an ink impression of Tessa’s daughter’s feet which, when reduced, make a beautiful image. A child’s bare feet symbolize a connection with the natural world, and conjure up images of a journey to both imaginary and real worlds. You’ll find the feet on the spines of all of our books and also walking through our website and catalogs!

Are your authors and illustrators from around the world?
Yes, our authors and illustrators are from far and wide. We are always looking for new authors, illustrators and stories to share, and because of so many of our stories come from around the globe, we like our storytellers to be global as well!

In the “about Barefoot” section on your website you invite the public to “tell us your ideas and share your stories.” What do you mean by this?
‘Once upon a time, a story made a difference to our lives’. Stories matter throughout our lives, but they are especially important in childhood. They help us to discover what we care about and who we are. Seeing professional storytellers at work, and performing stories themselves, does an enormous amount to help children develop their sense of who they are. At Barefoot Books we all aim to be storytellers in our own right, so we want to hear stories from our audience….stories about how they found us and where they are from. We also want to encourage them to participate in our blog or on our forums. Feedback from our community is very important!

How do you find the authors and illustrators who create your books?
We find our authors and illustrators in a variety of ways; our editors meet wonderfully talented people at international book fairs, or sometimes it will be as simple as seeing a beautiful greeting card in a store and contacting the artist. Of course, we also find plenty of fantastic art and stories in the submissions we receive in the US and UK. We are always on the look out for authors, artists, ideas, or stories that look and sound Barefoot and they can pop up in the most unlikely places!

How do your home-based businesses work?
We have over 1500 Stallholders – Barefoot’s home-selling community – globally, and they all run their businesses in very different ways. Stallholders can market and sell the entire Barefoot Books collection through local community events, at home parties, and on their websites and blogs. They can also fundraise for the cause of their choice. We offer our Stallholders lots of different tools to help make their businesses fun and successful at the same time. Starting a Barefoot Stallholder business is simple and free! Find out more!

How are you “environmentally aware?”
At the heart of our work at Barefoot Books is an understanding of the fragility and the inter-relatedness of the world's ecology. Because we make books, we have to work with paper and ink, with transport and distribution with energy used as fuel. We founded Barefoot Books as working mothers with a particular interest in the kind of world our children will inherit. Of course, "Going Green" is an ongoing process. We continue to work on ways to become more environmentally conscious in both our offices and in our personal lives. To minimize the environmental impact of our activities, we have taken the following measures.
Forestry: We ensure that our printers source the paper on which our books are printed from ancient-forest friendly sources. This means that the paper suppliers are obliged to replant trees that they have harvested, and that they do not damage rainforests or other ancient woodlands.
Shipping: Many of our books are transported across considerable distances. We very rarely use planes as a method of transporting stock. Typically, our books are shipped by boat.
Community Based Approach: The traditional book industry operates on a returnable basis which means that books often move from the publisher to the distributor and then back again. This wastes lots of fuel and cardboard and often results in damaged product which can't be sold. At Barefoot, we have adopted a more grassroots communal approach to marketing our books, avoiding the wasteful practices of the bigger distributors, and working with a broad network of independent retailers and partners, including our rapidly growing community of home-sellers.
Communications: We set out to minimize paper use by communicating as much as possible online and by telephone. We recycle the paper that we use for print communication.
Office Supplies: We buy our office supplies from green manufacturers and our office paper is recycled. We buy our refreshments, including coffee, tea, and milk from a local organic market. We wash and reuse real glasses and mugs instead of paper or plastic.
Recycling: All of our paper and other recyclable office materials are taken to a local recycling center on a weekly basis. We recycle the toner used in our printers and copiers.
Electricity: We use energy efficient light bulbs to light our office.
Travel: We try to reduce Barefoot's carbon footprint by minimizing travel. We take the train or bus as often as possible as an alternative to cars and airplanes.
Employee Involvement: We all work together to ensure that computers, lights and equipment are turned off when not in use.
Do you work with school classes in any way?
We offer parents and teachers the opportunity, through our Stallholder program, to fundraise for their schools, both with events in their communities and also online. Our award-winning books also make great additions to school libraries and classrooms – visit us online to see our complete range of educational ideas and fun activities for kids.

Do you have any big goals for the future?
2008 was a big year for Barefoot Books! We opened a beautiful store and storytelling venue in FAO Schwarz Manhattan this summer, embarked on an innovative partnership with PBS, published our first Young Fiction chapter book called Little Leap Forward, and are also sending lots of Barefoot Books to Africa with the help of our new friends at Books For Africa. We hope to continue to spread the word about Barefoot in new and innovative ways in 2009, capitalizing on new social networking tools and grassroots marketing with our Stallholders. Lastly, and most importantly, one of our main goals in 2009 will be to find more ways to ‘Give Barefoot’ and seek out partnerships with like-minded organizations who are making a difference in the lives or children around the world.

Thank you Nancy for this interesting interview.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Barefoot Books invites you to bring books to Africa



Barefoot Books brings Books to Africa

Multi-cultural children’s book publisher Barefoot Books and non-profit Books For Africa (BFA) are embarking on an innovative partnership to bring Barefoot Books into the hands of children in classrooms and libraries across Africa. Since 1988, BFA has shipped more than 20 million books to 44 African countries and, with growing awareness of their organization and cause, plans to ship millions more in the coming years. To help BFA achieve their goal this holiday season, Barefoot is offering its community the opportunity to purchase an African-themed title online at a dramatically reduced price which will be sent to a child in Africa. Six titles are available, including We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania and Mama Panya’s Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya.
Additionally, Barefoot is calling on their grassroots network of home-sellers to support BFA’s mission, by selling beautiful African bookmarks for $1 a piece, with proceeds going towards shipping costs for the books.

Barefoot Books CEO Nancy Traversy says, “Barefoot is always looking to find like-minded partners who are making a difference in the lives of children all over the world. We are so excited to be working with Books for Africa and the entire Barefoot community to help bring books to the African children who so need them.”

“The beautiful books provided by Barefoot Books, which feature African themes, will be very exciting for our recipients in Africa to read,” says Books For Africa Executive Director Patrick Plonski. “We really appreciate this partnership with Barefoot Books which will provide high-quality books for us to send to children in Africa, and will also provide funds to help ship these books.”

Barefoot Books is launching the Books for Africa campaign this holiday season and promoting it through 2009.

About Barefoot Books Barefoot Books is an international children's publisher dedicated to creating award-winning, beautiful books which celebrate imagination, diversity and creativity. Our pioneering and innovative business model wholeheartedly embraces today's social networking opportunities and focuses on establishing grassroots, viral communities with a global reach. Our audience is central to our business philosophy as is our willingness to redefine and reinvent the way in which stories and children come together. Find out more at http://www.barefootbooks.com/.

CONTACT: Jeanne Nicholson, jeanne.nicholson@barefootbooks.com; (617) 995-4640

About Books for Africa
Books For Africa collects, sorts, ships and distributes books to children in Africa. Our goal: to end the book famine in Africa. Books donated by publishers, schools, libraries, individuals and organizations are sorted and packed by volunteers who carefully choose books that are age and subject appropriate. They are shipped in containers paid for by contributions from people like you. They are on once-empty library shelves, in classrooms in rural schools, and in the hands of children who have never held a book before. Each book will be read over and over and over again. When the books arrive, they go to those who need them most: children who are hungry to read, hungry to learn, hungry to explore the world in ways that only books make possible. Find out more at http://www.booksforafrica.org/

CONTACT: Patrick Plonski, Executive Director, patrick@booksforafrica.org; phone: 651-291-2713
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