"My Tooth Is Loose" Released Nationally

THE SUM OF OUR PARTS<sup>©
Book Five

"My Tooth Is Loose"</sup>

^{Written by Bill Kirk
with illustrations by Eugene Ruble}

 

<sup>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)</sup>

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/

Copyright Bill Kirk 2002-2015

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.

"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.  

Parts Is Parts... Well, Not Always

When it comes to human anatomy, all the parts have specific roles and functions. And for all the future doctors out there, hopefully, learning each one of them is its own reward.

This is the first blog post in my new blog, THE SUM OF OUR PARTS. To say it is in its formative stage is an understatement. I'm not quite sure where this will lead. But my goal is to use this blog (and my series of rhyming anatomical picture books) as a learning resource about things anatomical.

Of course, all this assumes I will have (or make) sufficient time to establish this blog as a meaningful destination so readers will indeed want to know more. To kick it off, I leave you with a few reviews of the very first book in the series. With that, I give you "No Bones About It".



Tuesday, October 13, 2009 reviewed by Seth (age 8) on the “Kids Of Character” Blog:

“It was long, but I loved it. It told me things that I did not know. For instance, I did not know that we have 206 bones. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I did know, however, that without our bones we would be wobbly, gobbly goop. I did not know that without your legs your spine would be crooked and stuff... (and) that our skull does not have any ears. The pictures in the story are amazing. I wonder how they figure that stuff out? The author is Bill Kirk and Eugene Ruble is the artist.”


Thursday, August 20, 2009 by Cheryl Malandrinos at “The Kids Book Connection” Blog:

This rhyming book to help children learn more about their bones takes the dull art of learning and turns it into fun. No Bones About It… is just one in a series of The Sum of Our Partsbooks by Bill Kirk. Listing bones from bottom to top and learning their names and what they do becomes easier with Kirk’s witty rhymes; and when put together with the superb illustrations by Eugene Ruble, you’ve got a real winner. Learning just doesn’t get any more fun than this!


Wednesday, October 14, 2009 on the “Home Grown Mommy” Blog:

This book had me singing about Dem Dry Bones! (just for the fun of it!) I love how this book produced an anatomony lesson in a rhyme. The illustrations were just hilarious. The kids and I had a great time reading through the book several times. You will not only learn about which bone connects to which, but many other facts about ‘dem bones in your body as you read the accompanying “factoids”.

Since it is presented in a rhyme, this book would be a fabulous way for your older students to memorize the order of the bones in the human body.




Sunday, October 11, 2009 by Kimberly on the “We Love To Homeschool” Blog:

I will say up front that this book was my favorite. I can truly see my children learning the names and locations of the bones using this book.
Starting from our toes and working up to our head, each page has a poem for a particular bone. The poems are short and simple, and several are humorous. The suggested age range is 8-13. I think my 7 year old could learn the bone names from the poems.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 by Charla Miley on the “For What It’s Worth” Blog:

Did you know that an average person experiences two bone breaks during their lifetime? Or which body part is a “sesamoid bone in a ligament trap”? You would if you had read this book. It takes learning about the skeletal system to a whole new level.

There is a very large amount of information provided, but it is not overwhelming. The illustrations are extremely creative (giving the bones ‘faces’ and expressions). It was different from any other approaches to this topic that I have seen, and my boys loved it. I was impressed with the amount of information that stuck with them several days after reading the book. There were also several pages of bonus and reference materials included.

Overall, we thought that this was a creative resource that presented basic information in a unique way, and I am sure we will refer back to it often.