Danny the Dragon fans are the best! Hearing from them lights up my day like nothing else!

Recently a family purchased the Danny the Dragon set (the Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy softcover book and Danny the Dragon DREAMS CD). The mother, Chantelle, wrote in to tell me how happy her son Rohan was with his set, and she even sent me PICTURES!

 “We have one VERY EXCITED little boy!! ” Chantelle wrote, “He absolutely loved waking up to a package on Saturday morning.”

The Danny the Dragon set that Rohan is posing with in these pictures is available for sale here. The set is the recipient of the Creative Child Magazine Media of the Year Award!

I always love to hear from my fans, especially when they send in fun things like pictures and drawings. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

     A passionate literacy advocate, I was alarmed by the literacy statistic among the deaf, and now I’ve begun raising support for education for deaf children. Upon the release of my Danny the Dragon DREAMS, the proceeds of my Danny the Dragon DVD, which features a signed reading of the book for deaf children, will be donated to the local deaf children’s school, Blossom’s Montessori School for the Deaf in Clearwater, Florida. I’m  very happy that I’m able to do something to improve deaf education!

Tina Turbin

         If you’re like most Americans, you probably haven’t even heard of celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder which causes an immune reaction that can affect the entire body, causing both physical and mental problems. The cause? An allergy to gluten, a component of wheat, barley, and rye. The problem with celiac disease is that doctors don’t know much about it either. They don’t know that it affects an estimated 300 million Americans and that with a simple test, a diagnosis can be made and the easy treatment can begin—a gluten-free diet.

     An estimated 300 million Americans have celiac disease and only three percent of them know it. When I’m not working on the latest installment of my Danny the Dragon series or the Danny the Dragon Cookbook, I’m working hard to change this statistic by raising awareness and support for this disease that affects more people twice as many of those who suffer from Crohn’s disease, ulceric colitis, and cystic fibrosis combined.

           Proceeds from the Danny the Dragon CD will go to the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center, one of the major research centers around studying and bringing awareness to celiac disease. It is one-hundred percent focused on studying celiac disease and carries out research connecting it with various other diseases which it is believed to lead to if left untreated. Its goal is to change the lives of celiac disease sufferers for the better around the world, a goal which it is actively achieving, little by little, every day.

As an active literacy advocate, I do as much as I can to get kids reading to revert the literacy statistic of this country. However, it wasn’t until recently that I became aware of another alarming statistic—the literacy rate among deaf children.

     The average deaf child is diagnosed at two or three years of age for hearing loss. This means that there is a good chance that his language development has been severely affected, as the child may have been missing large portions of spoken language, if not all auditory experience, that hearing children get from birth. What’s worse, the demand for academic achievement among deaf children is lower than for other children, resulting in learning and home environments which aren’t as focused on reading. With an upbringing that doesn’t emphasize language and literature, it is difficult to expect deaf children to perform at the same analytic and linguistic levels as other children.

     That’s why I have created the signed reading of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD, all the profits for which are going to supporting the amazing school I visited, Blossom Montessori. Its Montessori education encourages imagination and allows for real-life applications of subjects learned in the classroom. By supporting schools such as Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf, I know I am truly contributing toward reverting the deaf literacy statistic and enriching the lives of many bright children.

Tina Turbin-Writing While Traveling

OK, many people write in and connect up via social sites asking about future books. Well my friends, YES there are more books. I just have been so darn busy I have not shared the details, sorry about that. I will fill you in: I have three books, yes three lovely books in the works. All varied in content and purpose but all 3 so charming and delightful. They will tickly your fancy when the timing is right and they are ready to be launched as planned, hot off the press.

I have the CD out now and this is a lovely additions to my Danny The Dragon Meets Jimmy book. If you did not read, the profits I have donated to Columbia University, Celiac Disease Center. I am big on the topics of gluten-free research and celiac disease, as most of you know.

Next in line will be the DVD but hush……….I am not allowed to share too much. For you and you only, the DVD is a lovely rendition of the book on CD with sign interpretation by the lovely and well known, Carol Downing. She is who we now call, “Danny’s Hands” , as a result of her expertise in portraying the book  with sign. I am not sure when my publisher will release this DVD but after that will be my next book. I just love writing for you all and the reviewers,  kids and parents are delighted with the story and characters, so this of course makes me shine, and write more!

So as I said, yes I keep writing and writing and loving every minute of it. Thank you everyone for your support!  Tina Turbin

If you’ve been keeping up with me as the children’s author of the Danny the Dragon series, you’ve probably heard me talk about the new Danny the Dragon CD, which is soon to be released, containing a reading of Danny Meets Jimmy by a talented vocal artist followed by a compilation of ten original classic songs by up-and-coming composers. What’s great about the CD is that, as with the book, it can be enjoyed by people of all ages—the young and the young at heart. What’s even better, though, is the fact that the proceeds are going to a cause which is near and dear to my heart in my research and humanitarian efforts, a cause that you may not know much about—raising celiac disease awareness.

If you’re like most Americans, you probably haven’t even heard of celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder which causes an immune reaction that can affect the entire body, causing both physical and mental problems. The cause? An allergy to gluten, a component of wheat, barley, and rye.

The problem with celiac disease is that doctors don’t know much about it either. They don’t know that it affects an estimated 300 million Americans and that with a simple test, a diagnosis can be made and the easy treatment can begin—a gluten-free diet.

Many years ago, I found myself with many painful symptoms and without any answer to what the source was or how to treat it. I went in circles with doctors, nutritionists, and testing. Finally, I decided to do my own research. It became clear that the answer was an allergy to gluten. What became even clearer was how little doctors knew about celiac disease and the vast numbers of people suffering without a diagnosis and treatment.

An estimated 300 million Americans have celiac disease and only three percent of them know it. When I’m not working on the latest installment of my Danny the Dragon series or the Danny the Dragon Cookbook, I’m working hard to change this statistic by raising awareness and support for this disease that affects more people twice as many of those who suffer from Crohn’s disease, ulceric colitis, and cystic fibrosis combined.

Proceeds from the Danny the Dragon CD will go to the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center, one of the major research centers around studying and bringing awareness to celiac disease. It is one-hundred percent focused on studying celiac disease and carries out research connecting it with various other diseases which it is believed to lead to if left untreated. Its goal is to change the lives of celiac disease sufferers for the better around the world, a goal which it is actively achieving, little by little, every day.

Why is it that you and your doctors probably haven’t heard about celiac disease? Although the amount of research on celiac disease is growing, it depends entirely on the generosity of private benefactors for its funding. Without these charitable donations, there would be no way to continue this research and the efforts to raise awareness. Out of the estimated fifty autoimmune diseases that have been discovered by doctors, it is the only one which isn’t supported in its research by the U.S. government.

That’s why I support centers such as Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center. I look forward to the release of the Danny the Dragon CD. Not only will it delight Danny the Dragon fans, but it will help support a cause that has the potential to change the lives of millions of people for the better.

Between the terrific press coverage and the wonderful turnout and the lovely musical performance, the Sesame Street Halloween Concert at Pasadena City College was a resounding success!

View a sample of our press coverage here at one of the many news sites that covered the event.

I’m so thankful to have been able to participate in such a fine event and performance.

More news to come about our upcoming projects for our Danny the Dragon DREAMS CD (audio version of my children’s book), as we are gearing up to launch an exciting promotional campaign.

Today is the big day and we’re absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Sesame Street Halloween Concert!

To have this opportunity to introduce my Danny the Dragon series (the book and the new audiobook Danny the Dragon DREAMs) and provide the audience a special sneak preview of our latest creation: Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy on DVD, is such a pleasure.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read the Sesame Street Halloween concert press release for full details.

The excitement is mounting for the “Sesame Street Halloween” Concert (performed by the Pasadena City College Orchestra) at Pasadena City College on October 30th 2009.

Not only is this a big debut for my Danny the Dragon, but this also marks the official release of the accompanying Danny the Dragon DREAMS CD and audiobook, profits of which are donated to the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center.  We will also be providing a sneak preview of the Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD with sign-language interpretation, profits of which go to the Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf.

Read the full press release here.

John A. Sexson Auditorium - main performing arts venue on the campus of the Pasadena City College.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the distinguished conductor of the Pasadena City College Orchestra.

On October 30th, as part of a very special “family” concert that the Orchestra will perform to an audience of 2,000,  we will be releasing the Danny the Dragon DREAMS CD and the “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy” DVD (sign interpretation for the deaf).   The CD which also features the “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy” audiobook, is composed of beautiful classical music, and one of the classical pieces will be performed live for the first time ever at the concert.

Profits from the sales of the CD will be generously donated to the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center, to support Dr. Peter Green’s research and efforts to raise celiac awareness.

Profits from the sales of the DVD will be donated to the Blossom’s Montessori School for the Deaf.

The concert promises to be a wonderful event.  It is the Orchestra’s most sought-after and prestigious concert of the year.  More details to come!