3,2,1 Blastoff!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Caroline Harris, Public Relations

 877-958-2600

 CarolineHarris@SylvanDellPublishing.com

 

  

3, 2, 1…Blastoff!

 

Celebrate International Space Day on May 7

  

Mount Pleasant, SC (May 5, 2010) – Did you know that if you put Saturn in a giant glass of water it would float? Or how about that it takes eight and a half minutes for the light from the Sun to get to the Earth? Join Sylvan Dell in celebrating Space Day on May 7 by exploring the mysterious wonders of the universe.

  

Launched by Lockheed Martin in 1997, the Space Day educational initiative is a grassroots effort dedicated to extraordinary achievements, benefits and opportunities in the explorations and use of space. This annual event focuses on promoting math, science, technology and engineering education to children all over the world.

  

The topic of space is as vast as the universe, but Sylvan Dell has the answers for fun ways to learn about the final frontier. Below are a few suggestions of ways to celebrate Space Day:

•  Visit a planetarium or observatory. Learn about our solar system and other galaxies by looking through telescopes or watching a simulated motion of the sky.
• Make planets out of clay or paper plates. Create your own solar system by forming the size and shapes of each planet.
• Read a Sylvan Dell book about space. Check out Sylvan Dell’s three titles with entertaining and vividly illustrated stories about space: How the Moon Regained Her Shape, Pieces of Another World and Saturn for my Birthday.

 The Sylvan Dell titles, offered in hardback, paperback and eBook format, include a “For Creative Minds” section at the end of each story, which provides fun, educational activities and information on the book. Additionally, the Sylvan Dell Web site offers an abundant amount of supporting material including a 30-40 page “Teaching Activities” packet, interactive reading and math quizzes, and much more.

While astronauts have made great advancements in space exploration, there is still much we don’t know about our universe. So, celebrate Space Day with Sylvan Dell by learning all you can about the marvels of the universe. You never know, you just might make a new discovery!

To learn more about Space Day and find special events in your area visit http://www.spaceday.org/.

About Sylvan Dell Publishing

 

Sylvan Dell Publishing’s mission is to excite children’s imaginations with artistically spectacular science, math and nature themed stories. Founded in November of 2004, Sylvan Dell has grown to include more than 75 authors and illustrators, in the U.S. and Canada, and 50 titles – honored as finalists or winners of more than 70 book awards. Our Science and Math Through Literature Program integrates reading, science, math, geography, character skills, and language learning through fun, cross-curricular activities. Sylvan Dell provides more online educator resources than any other publisher in the U.S. We offer schools, homeschooling families and public libraries a free one-year access to our ebook site license featuring the most technologically advanced eBooks each with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read, 3D page curling, and selectable English and Spanish text and audio through our School Resource Grant program. For more information, visit http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/.

The Sylvan Dell Revolution

I do reviews for Sylvan Dell and have been very impressed with everything they've ever sent me.  Their children's books are not only great stories, many with lessons, but they are beautifully illustrated.   When Sara Dobie, from Sylvan Dell sent me this email the other day, I knew I had to share it with you.  I hope you will check out this great new venture that Sylvan Dell is embarking on.

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SYLVAN DELL PUBLISHING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 29, 2009

MOVE OVER KINDLE

Sylvan Dell’s innovative eBook format promises to improve reading speeds,
comprehension, and language learning skills

MT PLEASANT, SC - Sylvan Dell Publishing goes LIVE this week with its next generation eBook, proving the company represents “so much more than a picture book;” it represents a full-fledged campaign for literacy in America.

From Sylvan Dell publisher and co-founder Lee German: “These are the most technologically advanced eBooks in the world today, featuring Auto-Flip, Auto-Read, and Selectable Language. There is nothing even close to this on the market. Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble eBooks are not even in the same category. I encourage parents and teachers to take a test-drive and see for themselves. Let the children play with these for a few weeks, and you’ll be amazed at their excitement and improved reading performance. For children wanting to learn a foreign language or ESOL families learning English, these are phenomenal tools.”

Below is a link to a 90-day trial of all 45 Sylvan Dell eBooks:

http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ebooktrials.php?e=MSBL9J
Code expiration date: 10/31/2009

For guided directions: http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/documents/eBookOperatingInstructions.pdf

“Whether in Auto-Flip or Manual Mode, switch back and forth between English and Spanish text and audio (more language choices on the way) and remain on the same page,” said German. “With the addition of Auto-Flip and Auto-Read features, our Sylvan Dell eBooks are powerful literacy and language learning tools to complement our mission of teaching ‘Science and Math Through Literature.’”

Sylvan Dell is no newcomer to literacy education and no stranger to technological advances. Since the company’s founding in 2004, co-founders Lee and Donna German have been ahead of the picture book publishing curve. Last year, Sylvan Dell awarded free eBook site licenses to over 2600 elementary and Title I/III schools nationwide through their School Resource Grant Program.

What’s next? According to German, “We want moms, dads, and grandparents to be able to record a reading of our books and add that audio to the language selection list. This is especially important for military families with a parent overseas. We are also developing an iPhone, iPod, and iPod touch application so that our eBooks will be available on handhelds and an online data capture system to allow teachers to track student reading and quiz performance.”

Sylvan Dell eBooks are available on the company website, http://SylvanDellPublishing.com, as are an array of free educational resources, which include Teaching Activities and Interactive Math and Reading Comprehension Quizzes. For more information about the eBooks, visit http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ebooks.php. For more about the eBook Resource Grants: http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ResourceGrant.htm.

Review: Little Skink's Tail

Title:  Little Skink's Tail

Author:  Janet Halfmann

Illustrator:  Laurie Allen Klein

Review Copy Provided by: Sylvan Dell Publishing 

About the Book:  While Little Skink hunts yummy ants for breakfast, she is suddenly attacked by a crow! But she has a trick to escape – she snaps off her tail, and it keeps on wiggling! Little Skink is happy to be alive, but she misses her bright blue tail. Little Skink’s Tail follows Little Skink as she daydreams of having the tails of other animals in the forest. Readers will enjoy pretending with her, trying on tail after tail. The first is too puffy-fluffy, and another too stinky! Then one day Little Skink gets a big surprise…and she doesn’t have to dream of tails anymore.

My Review:  Little Skink is just a cute little character!  I have never seen a children's book about a skink, and this one is just adorable.  Children will love the use of onomonapeia, like sniff, sniff; and gobble, gobble, gobble, as well as the author's use of rhyme, like stickly-prickly, as Little Skink makes his way through the forest.  Teachers will have ease in reading this to their students because the print is large and kid friendly.  I think that children will learn from this enjoyable story and not know that they are even learning because the author does a great job of showing how the skink uses his tail to trick predators, but grows it back again.  This is a concept that fascinates children.  I feel like there's a message here for kids and I'm all for author's doing that with their books.  Many times children are unhappy with a part of themselves and they dream of it being different or like somebody else's.  Little Skink learns that even though the other animals had fine tails, not one was right for her.  "A skink needs a skin's tail."  Laurie Anne Klein used watercolor to create beautiful pictures for this story.  It looks as if the pictures are on canvas because the texture seems to come through the page.  The animals she's painted are so real looking, yet have faces that kids will love.  Another thing about this book that I liked is that there is an educational section in the back titled, "For Creative Minds," that can be photocopied or downloaded from the publisher.  The activities are a Footprint Map and Tail Matching Activity.  Children will have fun with these.  I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to parents, teachers and my school librarian.  This book is appropriate for 4-8 year olds. 

Little Skink's Tail is the recipient of the President's Book Award from the Florida Publisher's Association, the 2009 Teacher's Choice Award in Children's Books from Learning Magazine, and most recently earned the Mom's Choice Award as one of the Best Three Children's Books of 2009 as well as the Gold Award in the Educator's Choice and Animal Kingdom categories.  You can see the announcement that Janet sent me, here.

Teaching Activities for Little Skink's Tail