Danny is indeed a very well-traveled dragon!!! He has participated in book fairs and conferences all around the world, and now he can add Portsmouth, Virginia to the list of places he’s visited: Danny the Dragon was featured in the Virginia Library Association’s Annual Conference where he hobnobbed with a fine group of librarians and some of the top publishers in the industry!

As a literacy advocate, I love to get behind the cause of libraries, and this is especially true when it comes to the Virginia Library Association. The people who make up this group are passionate about promoting literacy and, boy, do they know how to put on a conference!

It was an honor to have the first book of my illustrated book kids book series, Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy, be a part of THE biggest gathering of libraries in the state of Virginia ALL YEAR!

Stay tuned to more news on where you can find Danny and me!

Tina Turbin

Acclaimed Children’s Book Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy Is Translated in Greek by Imagination Publishing Group

Los Angeles, CA –Critically-acclaimed children’s author Tina Turbin has announced that her multi-award winning illustrated kids book Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy has been translated into Greek by Imagination Publishing Group. The author shared the news during her European Book Tour. The announcement comes after the book captured broad media interest after winning a series of prestigious awards.

“Since its U.S. release, Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy has elicited much interest abroad,” an Imagination Publishing Group (IPG) spokesman said. “After the incredible success of the Danny the Dragon iPad app and with Ms. Turbin’s European book tour underway, the timing was right for addressing translations.”

The author’s recent West Coast Book Tour, with visits to schools, libraries, hospitals, and book fairs, came to a close with a series of prestigious honors including the most recent 2011 Media of the Year Award by Creative Child Magazine in the category of Reading Interactive Picture Books and First Prize for Best Illustrations in the competitive Purple Dragonfly Book Awards for its illustrations by Aija Jasuna, to name a few.

“It’s so nice to be able to finally respond to the international attention Danny has received,” the author said. The translation of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy into Greek is just the beginning, according to an IPG representative.

Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy is the celebrated first book in Tina Turbin’s illustrated Danny the Dragon kids book series. The title has received a number of accolades from esteemed awards programs including the iParenting Media Awards, the International Book Awards and the Mom’s Choice Awards. The tale of how Jimmy and his family come across Danny the Dragon and his traveling companion, Skipper, Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy is renowned for its pro-family themes and messages about mutual kindness. Closely following the book was the release of the Danny the Dragon Dreams CD, which has garnered numerous awards as well. Turbin recently commanded widespread attention with the release of a groundbreaking Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy iPhone and iPad app, which was developed by iStoryTime, the app developer for How to Train Your Dragon. The first of its kind, Turbin’s iPad app features a reading of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy with voice and sign language interpretation for the deaf and hard of hearing.

The release date of the Greek translation of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy has yet to be set by Imagination Publishing Group. Turbin meanwhile continues her European Book Tour, visiting Danny the Dragon fans in schools, libraries, bookstores, and book festivals throughout the European continent.

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TO BOOK TINA TURBIN FOR AN INTERVIEW OR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT:  Contact ImaginationPublishingGroup@gmail.com

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DANNY THE DRAGON: Visit http://www.DannytheDragon.com.

TO PURCHASE DANNY THE DRAGON PRODUCTS: Contact Imagination Publishing Group at ImaginationPublishingGroup@gmail.com or call 888-701-6481.  Also available through: Amazon.com, Victory Multimedia, Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster Video, Baker and Taylor, and other major distributors.

Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD: 837654741191, $24.95

Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy paperback: 978-0-9800-721-0-5, $8.95

Danny the Dragon Dreams CD/Audiobook: 978-0-9800-721-3-6, $8.95

DVD profits are generously donated by the author to support causes to improve literacy and education.

Critically-acclaimed children’s author Tina Turbin has kicked off a summer tour in Europe

Los Angeles, CA-

Critically-acclaimed children’s author Tina Turbin, author of the multi-award-winning illustrated kids book Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy, has kicked off a Danny the Dragon summer tour in Europe. The book tour comes after a series of prestigious honors including the most recent 2011 Media of the Year Award by Creative Child Magazine in the category of Reading Interactive Picture Books and First Prize for Best Illustrations in the competitive Purple Dragonfly Book Awards for its illustrations by Aija Jasuna.

“After wrapping up my West Coast book tour and with the increasing International media interest, it was clear that a European tour was the next step,” the author said during her interview in Rome, Italy. Just as with her previous Book Tours, Turbin has been visiting children groups, book stores, libraries, book fairs and festivals recounting to children the adventures of Danny the Dragon and answering the many questions directed to the author.

Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy is the celebrated first book in Tina Turbin’s illustrated Danny the Dragon kids book series. The title has received a number of accolades from esteemed awards programs including the iParenting Media Awards, the International Book Awards and the Mom’s Choice Awards. The tale of how Jimmy and his family stumble upon Danny the Dragon and his traveling companion, Skipper, Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy is renowned for its pro-family themes and messages about mutual kindness and values. The later released Danny DREAMS cd followed close behind winning numerous awards as well.

The Danny the Dragon European Book Tour will extend into early Fall, as Turbin will be spending two months abroad touring the European continent. Having spent part of her childhood in England and traveled extensively throughout her life, Turbin is looking forward to seeing Europe again. “It is no doubt that this adventure has stimulated and enhanced my writing,” she said.

Turbin recently took the world by storm with the release of a groundbreaking Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy iPhone and iPad app, which was developed by iStoryTime, the app developer the Animation How to Train Your Dragon. The first of its kind, Turbin’s iPad app features a reading of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy with voice and sign language interpretation for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Turbin’s award-winning book has been released in a number of multimedia formats including a Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD, which features a reading of the book with sign language interpretation, and a Danny the Dragon Dreams CD, which contains a set of ten original compositions by breakout music artists followed by a reading of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy. Efforts are under way, an Imagination Publishing Group representative said, to translate the book into Spanish and Greek.

Turbin has had a busy year wrapping up her West Coast book tour and handling the intense media interest that came with the release of her Danny the Dragon iPad app. Even so, the author is looking forward to her European tour as an opportunity to meet the many international Danny the Dragon fans.

To book Tina Turbin for an interview or speaking engagement: Contact ImaginationPublishingGroup(at)gmail(dot)com
To learn more about Danny the Dragon: Visit http://www.DannytheDragon.com.

To purchase Danny the Dragon products: Contact Imagination Publishing Group at ImaginationPublishingGroup(at)gmail(dot)com or call 888-701-6481. Also available through: Amazon.com, Victory Multimedia, Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster Video, Baker and Taylor, and other major distributors.

Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD: 837654741191, $24.95
Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy paperback: 978-0-9800-721-0-5, $8.95
Danny the Dragon Dreams CD/Audiobook: 978-0-9800-721-3-6, $8.95

We had such a great time at the Burbank Book Festival! It was great to connect with the authors and readers in Burbank and we were received. As an author I really enjoy book festivals and getting all the terrific feedback on Danny the Dragon. And to be featured amongst such great authors was really an honor. Can’t wait for next year!

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

k.m.

Children’s literacy is one of the most important issues facing us today. Fortunately, many groups, organizations, and individuals are dedicated to reversing the staggering statistics. However, as hard as people are working to get kids reading, there are some kids—such as the visually- impaired ones—who get left out.  Thanks to Stevie Wonder, though, visually-impaired literacy is getting some of the attention it deserves.

Stevie Wonder recently appeared before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of the United Nations urging for global copyright laws to be changed to the benefit of the 300 million print-reading-disabled global citizens, to whom millions of books are inaccessible to them as audiobooks due to the current copyright system.

According to the Huffington Post, the way the system is currently set up requires that many audiobook versions of the same work be produced, which carries a higher cost, the burden of which falls on the visually-impaired public. What’s more, some poor countries can’t even afford to make their own versions of works, so that they’re not available at all to their blind citizens.

Here is part of Wonder’s address, courtesy of The New Yorker:

“While I know that it is critical not to act to the detriment of the authors who labor to create the great works that enlighten and nourish our minds, hearts and souls, we must develop a protocol that allows the easy import and export of copyright materials so that people with print disabilities can join the mainstream of the literate world.”

“According to the AFP,” reports The New Yorker, “aides to Wonder said that just ‘five percent of printed materials and books are available in a readable form for the blind or visually impaired in industrialized nations, and just one percent in developing countries.’”   You may wonder, as I certainly did, how come such a small amount of books get translated into formats accessible to the visually-impaired, such as Braille and audiobooks. Ian Crouch of The New Yorker interviewed Paul Schroeder, the Vice President of Programs and Policy at the American Foundation for the Blind to find out more about this issue.

According to Shroeder, while several developed countries have different copyright laws allowing books to be reproduced in Braille, audio, and electronic or large print, the materials must fulfill two limitations, first that the books only go to those who are unable to read print books due to a disability, and secondly that the books are made by “specialized format producers who work with people with print-reading disabilities.”

In the U.S. the copyright provisions, also known as the Chafee provisions after former Senator Lincoln Chafee, allow these specialized producers to reproduce books in formats that are accessible to people with print-reading disabilities. A problem arises, however, with the fact that the provisions don’t allow for export outside the U.S., a law that other counties have in common with us.

According to Shroeder, “We definitely want to see a treaty or other mechanism that allows books to be shared across borders for use by people with print disabilities.” Stevie Wonder’s advocacy work is in alignment with this goal.

It’s an inspiration to see other artists working on behalf of children who aren’t typically represented in the children’s literacy issue.  After visiting with the bright children of Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf on my East Coast book tour, I released Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy, the first book of my children’s book series, on DVD with a sign interpretation, and the profits are going to the causes of literacy and education. Now the DVD has been released by iStorytime, of Dreamworks and Shrek Forever After, as an app for the iPhone, iTouch, and iPad. I hope to see other artists and individuals follow in Stevie Wonder’s example by championing causes that are special to them, and I look forward to seeing progress in developing a global system whereby the millions of visually-impaired are able to enjoy the books we ourselves are lucky to have access to.

Tina Turbin

www.DannyTheDragon.com

Resources:

New Yorker: Stevie Wonder and Books for the Blind http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/09/stevie-wonder-and-books-for-the-blind.html#ixzz10K3xYhi1

Huffington Post: Stevie Wonder To UN: Ease Copyrights For The Blind http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/20/stevie-wonder-to-un-ease-_n_732281.html

As many of you know, my award-winning tale Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy has now been released as an app for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad.  I am more than thrilled to say the least!

For Immediate Release

iStoryTime Announces New App:  A Book for Deaf Children

iStoryTime, the iPhone App Developer for DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon,” announces release of New App with Sign Language Interpretation of Award-Winning Children’s Picture Book “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy”.

Los Angeles, CA [August 11, 2010] — iStoryTime, a publisher of children’s storybooks for the iPhone and iPad, announced today the launch of a groundbreaking app for deaf children – a vivid audio-visual presentation of “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy” that includes a sign-language interpretation.  The app is the first of its kind, paving the way for many more cutting-edge products to assist this underserved population.

“We are extremely proud to release the first-ever children’s book app for the deaf community,” said iStoryTime co-Founder, Woody Sears.  “Our goal is to use technology to make children’s books accessible and entertaining and we are delighted to be involved in the production of a book that will provide deaf children with the opportunity to read the popular ‘Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy’ story.”

iStoryTime’s book apps, which can be downloaded directly to an iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad, are simple to use and known for their creativity, illustrations, narrations and animation.  Options for narrations on different stories include voices of adults, kids, and characters.  The narration can also be turned off so that parents can read to kids.
iStoryTime books are available globally for $.99-$2.99 in the iPhone App Store in 80 countries.  For a sneak peak of ‘Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy’ visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bijyi6sO20k

About iStoryTime

iStoryTime is part of FrogDogMedia, LLC.  The company was founded in 2009 by two fathers and an uncle who love to have fun with their families.  Driven by a passion to make children’s books more accessible and entertaining, iStoryTime is the pioneer of children’s book apps for the iPhone.  The organization has created a new medium for established and first time authors to showcase their work at no expense.  The new publishing platform provides parents with a library of compelling children’s books available anytime, anywhere.

Tina Turbin

www.DannyTheDragon.com

Congratulations to Julianne Tretheway – she is the lucky winner of the Danny the Dragon Contest of March 2010, and recipient of a Danny the Dragon Dreams audiobook!

Thank you Julianne for participating and good luck to all who participate in our April contest!

Last year I had the pleasure of visiting and sharing my delightful Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy children’s book with the children at Shriners Hospital of Tampa.  Keep reading to hear all about this wonderful experience:

To my surprise most of these kids I visited at Shriners had flown in from all over the world for the intimate care at Shriners. Shriners caters to kids under 18, accepts no payment from parents or insurance companies and all their money is raised by donations and the hard work of the Shriners.
 
Half of the children I visited spoke little English and were under care to receive prosthetics or some type of surgery , due mostly to being born with a certain defect. 

 
These kids were bright and creative as we made our own “book” to leave in their hospital library. They titled their “combined-efforts book”,   Danny and Friends to go with my book, Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy.

 
It was an amazing day, to say the least. The knowledge I gained afterwards truly opened my eyes to the many needs and the various ways to help out in society.

 
Note: The little girl sitting in the wagon next to me (above photo) had no legs “yet” but she handle this with pride and in her own way. She hid an assortment of chocolate pudding, bags of candy and 3 cans of Gatorade as well as all sorts of stuffed animals tucked under her blanket covering her legs. I am smiling at her as she had taken a break from our coloring to get a bit too much pudding on her face rather than in her tummy. She was a charm and the staff were amazing with all these kids!

 
Enjoy!

Tina Turbin

Alejandra Vargas is the lucky winner this month. She drew a lovely picture which she submitted accompanied by her very proud and caring father, Bernardo Vargas Sanchez. Thank you Alejandra!

How fitting that tomorrow on Appreciate a Dragon Day I will be the featured author, reading to children at the Books for Kids Giveaway at Clearwater Academy.  Full details can be found at the aforementioned link.

The event is free and open to the public, refreshments will be served, and starts at 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  My appearance will be at 1:00 p.m.

Leave me a comment to let me know if you will make it!

Tina Turbin