THE SUM OF OUR PARTS: The Series: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

"My Tooth Is Loose" Released Nationally

THE SUM OF OUR PARTS^©
^{Book Five

"My Tooth Is Loose"}
^{Written by Bill Kirk
with illustrations by Eugene Ruble}

^{Sacramento author Bill Kirk's children's picture book, "MY TOOTH IS LOOSE", was released nationally in May 2012. The book was published by Guardian Angel Publishing in Saint Louis, MO under their Academic Wings imprint, which is ideally suited for children in "read to" ages 4 - 5 and "read alone" ages 6 - 12.

"MY TOOTH IS LOOSE" will be released simultaneously in e-book and print formats. The e-books will be distributed by Follett, the largest distributor of ebooks to schools and libraries, as well as through the Guardian Angel Publishing web site.

The print version will be available for sale at}^{Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.}^{and online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Print copies can also be ordered by request through your local brick and mortar bookstores.

Book's Blurb: "MY TOOTH IS LOOSE" is the fifth in a series of anatomical rhymes by children's author Bill Kirk. This memory-filled children's picture book tells an age-old story of every child's experience with the struggle over how best to pull that first tooth and the resulting joy when it actually happens. From the first wiggle until the tooth comes out, this picture book will bring back memories of when you pulled your first tooth. Through Bill Kirk's story in rhyme, you can share the experience with your own children as they begin to wonder if it is now their time.

Author's Bio: Kirk's writing has been influenced by his travels on five continents and the every day inspiration from his grandchildren. In addition to stories written in rhyme, Kirk writes fiction and satire for local and national publications. Kirk also wrote news and features for two Sacramento newspapers in the mid-1990s, The Suttertown News and The Old City Guardian. His children's stories have appeared in Boys' Quest, Fun For Kidz, Grandparents, Wee Ones and Saplings magazines. His poems have also been published by North Dakota Horizons, Absolute Write and The Baseball Almanac.

Kirk says his goal for his children's stories is to challenge the imagination of his readers, young and old, by exploring everyday life, simply and profoundly, and having fun in the process. Bill and his wife, Rita (a clinical psychologist), married since 1969, have made Sacramento their home since 1985.

To request review copies of "My Tooth Is Loose" or to request interviews with the author, please contact the publisher,}^{mailto:bulk-orders@guardianangelpublishing.com}^{or (314) 276-8482.

Title: My Tooth Is Loose
Author: Bill Kirk (www.billkirkwrites.com)
Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
ISBN (e-Book) 13: 978-1-616332-59-4
ISBN (print) 13: 978-1-616332-58-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012940187
Publication Date: May 2012
Number of Pages: 22
Price: Ebook $5.00, CD-Rom $10.95 (+$5.95 s&h), Print: $10.95 (+$6.95 s&h)
Available at most online booksellers or from: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.}^{(http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/tooth-tsoop.html)}

Friday, May 4, 2012

Picking Apart The Parts In THE SUM OF OUR PARTS

In an attempt to throw some light on THE SUM OF OUR PARTS, this post begins a series of posts containing exerpts from the books published in the series so far---short, if brazen, teasers to tickle your thinking. If you are curious and want to learn more about the books, just click on the book covers at right and you will be taken as if by magic to the publisher's website and the book page for each book. So, here goes.

The first book in the series was "No Bones About It" which is about the human skeleton. As it turns out, the average person doesn't really know all that much about their own structural foundation. Oh, sure, we hear about drinking milk to make our bones strong. And in the upper elementary grades (usually 7th or 8th), we may even spend a few weeks memorizing the major bones.

A few of us may even break a bone or two growing up. It's kind of fun to have all your friends sign your cast. But that's learning some of the bone names the hard way. Don't you owe it to yourself to learn as much as you can about what makes your physical body tick? We'll get to muscles and circulation, the brain, skin and all the rest one by one.

First, let's start with a few verses and factoids about the skeleton. The rhyme at the end, although not in the book, is a little bonus (pardon the pun) to stimulate your skeletal thinking....

Without all our bones
We'd be shapeless and blobby---
Just skin, guts and muscles,
All gooey and globby.

To learn all their names,
Let's start from the bottom;

And when you can say 'em,

You'll know that you've got 'em.

Your toes are phalanges;

The tarsals come next.
They wiggle and move
When your feet become flexed.

The cuneiforms, cuboid,
Navicular---sweet!
Join tallus, calcaneous---
You're done with your feet!

OK. That's enough to give you an idea about the rhyming text in the book. There are also interesting facts on each page just waiting to be discovered, not to mention all the quirky and very easy to grasp illustrations by Eugene Ruble.

Did You Know? Keeping your bones supplied with Calcium and Vitamin D will help them stay healthy and help prevent osteoporosis, which makes your bones brittle as you get older.

Did You Know? The smallest bone in the human body is a U-shaped bone called the "stapes" or "stirrup", located in the middle ear. Its main job is to vibrate and it is only about 1/4 of a centimeter long, which is not much wider than the small end of a chopstick.

Did You Know? The human skeleton weighs about 14 percent of what someone's total body weight is.... For a ten year old child who weighs 75 pounds, the skeleton would probably weigh about 10-12 pounds.

Did You Know? Believe it or not, your bones are really small factories where blood is produced.... Every second, your bones produce about 2.5 million new Red Blood Cells....

In The Bone Zone

By Bill Kirk

Bones! Bones!

We all got bones

They’re as hard as

rocks and stones.

You can feel ‘em,

thick or thin—

Under muscles,

Under skin.

In your elbow,

Wrist and toes,

Even right on

Top your nose.

Count your ribs.

Can you make ten?

Laugh and you must

Start again.

Feel your fingers,

Each bone shows.

Easy! They are

All in rows.

Hip bones, spine and

Either knee;

You can find them—

One, two, three.

Come on now.

Let’s have some fun.

Searching for

Your skeleton.

http://www.billkirkwrites.com/

For the remaining rhyming verses about the rest of the skeleton stacked on top of your feet and for even more interesting factoids about how your skeleton works, you'll have to look for the book. You might even ask your school librarian if it's in the library's collection. If it is, it would be available for others in your school to check out, too. Stop back by in a couple days to catch a few snippets about the Circulatory System.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

"No Bones About It" #6 in Children's Books on Amazon.com

A short post today---just an announcement, really. My children's picture book titled "No Bones About It" is sitting in the #6 rank in Children's books as of 6:42 p.m. Pacific Time. Yes. That's the cover to your immediate right.

Of course, the ranking will most certainly change and the change could come soon---say in about 18 minutes, when the hourly correction occurs. In the meantime, I'll simply report the late breaking news and live in the moment.

As for the other books in THE SUM OF OUR PARTS series, let's just say they are in the early stages---some might say "pre-early"---in what must be a long steep climb to reach their Brother Bones near the top. I like to think in terms of inevitability. Seems more uplifting than a roll of the dice.

I can't quite say why Bones is getting all the attention, mind you. Sure, it was the first book published in the series. So, it has had a longer life span than the other books in the series. And I suppose the very positive reviews it has received by Amazon readers, the recent KART middle grade book award and the many "clicks" on the various Amazon "like" buttons, all add up. But still, one has to wonder what is making the ranking chart for this book look like the trajectory of a bouncing rubber ball.

OK. Enough wondering. Time to get this post posted before the ranking changes again. If it goes up---hey, it could happen---I may be back here tomorrow trying to explain what is happening. Then, again, consider the odds.... Yet hope springs eternal.