Archive for April, 2009

Festival of Books is this weekend at UCLA!

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Hi everyone,

If  you live in Los Angeles or Orange County, don’t miss the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA this weekend, April 25-26.  The Festival is 10-6 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday.  I’ll be in my TEACHILDMATH booth (booth 0025) in Zone B  in the Children’s Section.  Drop by and visit! 

For the children, there’s free all day oudoor entertainment on the Children’s Stage:  musicians, dancers & your favorite children’s book authors.  For parents, the Festival is a who’s who of contemporary authors.  Tickets for readings and chats with your favorite authors (fiction and non-fiction) can be obtained through Ticketmaster.  For more information, google LA Times Festival of Books.   It’s a great event!   Added bonus:  the weather will be cool this weekend!

At last, up and running!

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Hi everyone,

This blog is like a shiny, new car with all sorts of dazzling features that I’m figuring out, including a dashboard!   Let’s put the keys in the ignition and rev up the engine.  It’s going to be fun!  We can take detours and talk about things that interest us.

After publishing  Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables, Fast, Fun & Easy in 2006,  I gave 800+ copies to homeschool families and 500 to military families (my way of supporting our troops) and received hundreds of emails from moms who  generously shared their stories of  the joy and frustration of raising and educating children.  Not surprisingly, the  agony of teaching children the multiplication tables was a popular topic.  “We”re having a time with the times tables!”  one  mother wrote. 

I replied to each email.  Some from mothers of special needs children were especially poignant as were those from grandmothers who given our social problems are raising grandchildren.  I’ve heard from moms from every ethnic group, homeschool moms across the country, both religious and secular,  unschool moms and teachers in both private and public schools. 

Through Paypal orders, I am able to connect to customers.  I’ll  always ask a customer how she/he heard of my book.  I am fascinated how someone in London, Singapore or a remote town in Maine heard of my book.  One mom in northern California said, “My sister-in-law in Nepal recommended the book.”    Of course, the real question is how the sister-in-law in Nepal heard of my book.  Amazing . . .

So through my blog, I’ll reach out to you and continue the conversation.  I’d love to hear from you too.  You’ve been great traveling companions these past three years so let’s head on down the road!