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

Writing and reading go hand in hand. As Stephen King wrote, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” That’s why I set aside time every day to read, not just children’s books, but works of adult fiction and non-fiction that inspire me.

When my children were young, I used to take them to the library every week in order to expose them to quality children’s literature and cultivate an interest in reading. My imagination would take off like crazy during these trips, as I saw examples of fine illustrated kids books. I couldn’t wait to create a series of my own.

Even now with my hectic schedule after I’ve launched my Danny the Dragon children’s  book series, and even though my kids are all grown, I still keep abreast of the children’s literature market for my own edification and inspiration by checking out the latest kids books. I also devote part of my day to reading whatever captures my imagination from children’s and adult book authors alike.

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

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.

It is with great pleasure that I read the encouraging review of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy in School Library Journal. I am fortunate to have been recognized by many awards programs for this first book in the Danny the Dragon series, but what an honor it was to receive SLJ’s stamp of approval!

School Library Journal is “the world’s largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens,” according to its website. The monthly magazine was founded in 1954, and its reviews on kids books are a valuable resource to librarians, teachers, and others who work with children and teens. A good review from School Library Journal shows readers that a product is recommended for young people.

The magazine not only recommends my book, but the DVD, which contains a signed reading of the book and is also available as an iPad app for deaf children, created by iStoryTime, the iPhone App Developer for DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon. Profits for the DVD and app are being donated to my favorite causes.

The review can be found in the June 2010 print issue, and an excerpt can be found at the link below:

http://www.dannythedragon.com/reading/school-library-journal-is-raving-about-danny-the-dragon/

Tina Turbin

www.DannyTheDragon.com

b.a.

     There are so many reasons to dramatically cut down on television or to cut it out altogether. You’ll find in the end that your children will be much more likely to become avid readers and, as a result, perform better in school and in life. Instead of acting out the drama and degradation on popular TV, your kids will demonstrate the values you seek to pass on to them. You’ll also find your own productivity will increase, and oftentimes, a marriage will be sparked back to life by eliminating television. It may be a challenge at first to get used to your new lifestyle, but soon the benefits will be so rewarding that you’ll be too busy enjoying your higher quality of life that you won’t even think about the absence of television in it.

Tina Turbin

     The fact that kids need good literature is not a new one. Just look at the number of awards available in the United States alone to reward authors for superb children’s literature. The long list of such awards includes the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Award, and Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. With such an extraordinary effort made to celebrate good children’s literature, there must be something important about it.

     I know how short the attention span of a child can be yet how thrilling it is to watch a child’s imagination partake in an exciting adventure story. However, why should a child read good literature rather than watch an “educational” television show or an entertaining children’s movie? The answer lies in the benefits of reading to your child.

     Research continues to support that reading benefits children of all ages in a number of ways. Reading helps to build your child’s vocabulary, develop his imagination, and improve his ability to communicate. In fact, there is a direct relationship between how many words an infant hears in a day and his language skills, and even his intelligence quotient. Reading is crucial in exposing your baby or young child to a variety of words. The images and colors in children picture books and illustrated books are also stimulating of the imagination. This is part of the reason why I spent a whole year interviewing illustrators after writing the first book in my series, Danny the Dragon—I knew from reading to my own children just how much children appreciate art in children’s literature.

     So the next time you’re shopping for the kids at Wal-Mart, think twice before you get them another DVD, remember the pleasure you get from curling up with a good book, and pick out some high-quality children’s literature instead.

     First of all, read to your children! Studies show that reading to your child can begin before the age of six months, as soon as they’re able to enjoy the images and pictures inside of their books. Children have varying attention spans and you should keep in mind not to push too far past these limits and not to force them to read, as children tend to dislike things they are forced to do when it’s not on their own determinism. You can read to your child or have them read you, or take turns.

      Play board games to stimulate an interest in learning. Not only are they tons of fun, but they help your child develop his reading skills and practice following rules.

     A family day at the museum, library, or other stimulating place will encourage your child to be interested in his environment and take a hands-on approach to learning. Ask your child questions about the artwork he sees at museums, such as “Why do you think the painter chose this color?”

     Volunteer at your child’s school whenever possible. You can go along on field trips, help decorate for class parties, or read to the class. This will show that you care about your child’s schooling enough to go to his school yourself.

     Finally, make sit-down dinners a regular part of your family’s evening, turning off the TV and cell phones so you can sit and talk without distractions. Take advantage of this time to show a genuine interest in your child’s schooling and in academic subjects in general. Ask him lots of questions, tell him funny anecdotes about when you were in school, or tell him what you thought of the book he’s reading in his literature class when you read it in high school yourself. This gets across the important message that learning is important, one of the most valuable lessons you’ll teach your child and which will help ensure his success in all his future endeavors.

     First, the most important thing you can do to ensure the literacy of your own child is being involved.  Research on the effects of parental involvement shows a consistent, positive relationship between parents’ participation in their children’s education and their children’s academic performance.

     Reading to children and also homeschooling are a couple of ways for parents to increase their involvement and improve their children’s ability to read. Reading to children should be done as early as six months of age, as soon as babies develop an interest in the pictures and illustrations in books. Keep in mind that every child has a different attention span.

     You can volunteer at libraries and schools, in already-established programs or programs of your own, by reading to children the books they cherish and by helping them to read these books on their own. Even just an hour or two a week of your time can go a long way in helping improve the literacy of children in your own community.

     In the end, there should be a long-term solution to the literacy problem implemented in our schools, but there’s no sense in waiting on the sidelines and expecting your local schools to take care of the problem. In the meantime, be proactive and raise awareness. With your efforts and the efforts of those around you, the literacy situation will be confronted. However, without your help, this victory over illiteracy is not guaranteed.

There’s nothing like good, old-fashioned visits to the library to get your kids interested in reading and encouraging them to become avid readers themselves.

     You can start bringing your children to the library as early as infancy—around six months of age, or when they start to become interested in looking at the pictures in books. Make sure your baby is well-fed and well-rested before your trip so he’ll be able to enjoy himself and you’ll find it easy to keep his attention on the books you’ll show him. For infants and toddlers who are still interested in putting any and all objects in their mouths, board books are thick and strong enough to sustain the chewing and saliva of your baby’s mouth. Spend some time reading to your baby in the library and walk your baby around to look at all the books.

     Libraries these days tend to allow you to check out a very large number of books. Our local library lets us check out fifty books at a time! Bring a colorful, fun bag to carry the books home with that you check out. Since many other babies have touched and put their mouths on the board books you’ve checked out, when you get home, take some organic, baby-friendly sanitizing wipes and wipe the books down. Then, read often to your baby from the selection of books you’ve bought.

       As for older children, take them to the library when they’re also well-fed and well-rested so that they don’t get cranky. Show them your own favorite children’s books and let them pick out books that they’re interested in, too. You can take turns reading to them and having them read to you. Have them check out a pre-determined number of books and enjoy them with your child during story time before bed or any other time you want to read with them at home.

     Each child has a different attention span. Never force a child to read or listen when they don’t want to. Oftentimes you’ll find that they’re tired or hungry, and you yourself don’t like doing things when you’re tired or hungry either, do you? Letting a child read and be read to on his own determinism helps him to have a positive association with reading.

     Make sure to check out a book or two yourself, and read it between library trips and finishing it before you return it. This will set a positive example for your children to follow.

     With the above tips, you’ll be on your way to raising children who are avid, proficient readers with a bright future ahead of them, while establishing a family tradition everyone will be talking about for years to come!