Clearwater Beach--A Promise to World Ocean Day

My family and I are spending two weeks  at our home on Clearwater Beach, Florida.  It is paradise with with problems.  Problems that are mounting because of human intervention.

Clearwater Beach, Florida

Those of us who call this piece of paradise home, worry about trash on the beach.  We are concerned about the amount of litter, particularly clear plastic bags at the water's edge, ready for the tide to take them into the gulf.  There, sea turtles think they are jelly fish, eat them and die. 

We are concerned for the manatees that shelter in our bay to have and raise their young.  Too many people in too many boats go too fast, and many manatees are wounded or killed by propellers of boats.

We residents worry about the dolphins, pelicans and other seabirds trying to live and survive in a hostile environment of our making.  What can reasonable people do? 

As an educator, I am convinced that education is the answer.  Children, and sometimes their parents, need to be enlightened about the danger and damage such thoughtless actions cause.  In fact, the theme this year of World Oceans Day is:  Youth:  the Next Wave for Change.

We must share this planet and have to be respectful of all life.  As we get close to Oceans Day , let us not only give thought but action to helping preserve the oceans and all that call it home.

Clearwater Beach, Florida at Sunset

Oceans Day at Book Nook by the Bay

Book Nook by the Bay is almost here!  If you have the opportunity and are in the neighborhood, stop by and listen to my reading of One Pelican at a Time:  A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill.  The book will be for sale in The Pier Gift Shop. 

When

06/04/2011 11:30am-1am Eastern Time
(10:30am local)

Where

The Pier Aquarium800 2nd. Av. NE, St. Petersburg, FL

freeFall Theater Company will present a sing-along of the book, Over the Ocean in a Coral Reef written by Marianne Berkes. The counting and rhyming story was arranged to the traditional folk song, Over in the Meadow, and the troupe will first sing - and then teach it, to the audience of youngsters and their parents.

Divine Caroline Interview Today!

This is a terrific blog!  It is full of great information to use in one's daily life.  Don't miss talking a look at divine caroline.

I am interviewed here today and am so happy to be a guest!   Thank you for hosting me.

One Pelican at a Time:  A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill,  has been and continues to be on Amazon's Bestsellers in Children's Books for eleven weeks. 

Britt, Bella, Mr. Pelican and I are so grateful for the support we've received from literally everywhere.  What an amazing time this has been.  And it's so gratifying to realize that people all over earth care deeply about our environment and the responsibility we have toward it.

Interview Today at Broowaha

Today we are visiting Broowaha, the citizen newspaper. Cheryl Malandrinos asks probing questions about my writing, the characters in my books and the writer's life in general.

Come on over and visit this interesting take on a new kind of newspaper.  I think you'll find it new and refreshing.  

Guest Post on Literal Exposure--Blogging About Blogging!

We, today, visit the Literal Exposure Blog.  Our topic, Blogging about Blogging, discusses how we choose topics about which to blog and the interest levels of our followers.

It's a conundrum.  What is interesting to the readers?  And how do we know when enough is enough? 

Well, in the words of a popular children's book:  You cannot say too much about a topic.  You cannot say too little.  It has to be just the right amount!

Visit the blog today, and find out how we address the perennial blog dilemma.

And thank you all once more for keeping One Pelican at a Time:  A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill, on the Amazon Bestseller List in Children's Books.  It is going into its 11th week!

Not so Fast, Mr. Pelican

Book Nook by the Bay--One Pelican at a Time Reading & Signing in Aid of World Oceans Day!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUNE 4 BOOK NOOK CELEBRATES OCEANS DAY
Guests include Author Nancy Stewart and freeFall Theatre Company

St. Peterburg, FL (May 18, 2011) – One Pelican at a Time: A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill written by part-time Clearwater Beach resident Nancy Stewart will help The Pier Aquarium observe World Oceans Day at the June 4 Book Nook by the Bay.

The book, published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. in February, has been on Amazon's Bestseller List for Children’s Books for ten weeks and has been nominated for a Global eBook Award. It is the first book for children written about the aftermath of the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

One Pelican at a Time is a story of two children, Bella and Britt, who love living by the beach. They find oil washing to shore from a gulf spill and want to help but don't know what to do. When a "friend," the old crooked beak pelican shows up covered in oil, the girls get help from the bird sanctuary.

The pelican is saved, and the girls learn how they can help save the gulf...one pelican at a time.

Ms. Stewart, a former elementary school teacher and university professor of education, is a full-time writer of children's books. Two other Bella books, Bella Saves the Beach and Sea Turtle Summer are also published by Guardian Angel Publishing. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and is the U.S. chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya that places girls in intermediate schools to allow them to further their education.

freeFall Theater Company will present a sing-along of the book, Over the Ocean in a Coral Reef written by Marianne Berkes. The counting and rhyming story was arranged to the traditional folk song, Over in the Meadow, and the troupe will first sing - and then teach it, to the audience of youngsters and their parents.

The book has won seven awards since its release including PMA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award, Marion Ridgeway Honor Book Award, National Parenting Publications Gold Award, Learning magazine's 2006 Teachers' Choice Award, Bank Street College of Education Best Books for 2005 and the Blue Hen Award (Delaware) for best picture book.

June 4 Schedule
10:30am Fresh Fish Theater: The freeFall Theatre Company's singalong of Over the Ocean in a Coral Reef. Featured Creature is the Brown Pelican.

11:30am Reading of One Pelican at a Time: A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill and book signing by Author Nancy Stewart. The aquarium's museum store will have copies of the book for sale.

Book Nook Partner Organization: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County. Say the "secret" password and the little brother/little sister receives free admission with a paid adult admission
(2-for-1, one paid adult/one free child).

The Book Nook by the Bay is a literary event featuring Fresh Fish Theater and craft activity, Featured Creature facts, suggested reading by Youth Services Coordinator Beth Lindsay from the St. Petersburg Public Library System, the aquarium's marine science library and, of course, the reading of books. It is offered the first Saturday of each month and is free with a paid aquarium admission.

The Don CeSar's Beach House Suites is a sponsor of Book Nook by the Bay.

About The Pier Aquarium

Established in 1988, The Pier Aquarium is a private, non-profit aquarium and marine education center located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at The Pier. It showcases 17 tanks of live fish and other marine life and educational exhibits on the first and second floors and an outdoor marine laboratory and teaching unit, the Roy G. Harrell, Jr. Education Station, located on the Pier approach.

Its mission is to enhance the public’s understanding of the value and fragility of the local and global marine environment through research, education and personal experiences. The Pier Aquarium serves as the "public face” for the St. Petersburg Ocean Team’s research, innovation and technology. The Ocean Team is a consortium of 13 marine science and oceanographic institutions and environmental research agencies in the Southeast and one of the top such industry clusters in the nation.

More than 85,500 visitors, including 27,000 who participate in our scheduled educational programs, come to The Pier Aquarium annually to attend our Saturday programs, the annual Spa Beach Splash free marine discovery day and Summer Marine Adventures summer camp. Volunteers contribute more than 4,600 hours each year.

Pelican Spotlighted at The Writer's life

Today our tour takes us to The Writer's Life Blog.  Our book, One Pelican at a Time, is spotlighted.

Please take a look at how Pelican is showcased and what our blog sponsors think of it.

Pelican is now in its tenth week on the Amazon Bestsellers in Children's Books List.  We want to thank you all for that.

Beyond the Books Blog Today

"Beyond the books, the contracts, as well as the rejections, there is an author out there just like you and me – struggling for notoriety and their little piece of the publishing world. Who is that author beyond their book and what makes them tick? Beyond the Books explores what it is that writers go through for publication and how they keep their heads above the waters of rejection."

                                                Beyond the Books Blog

Find out what I wend through in order to become a published author.  Believe me, it's not just signing books, looking at (hopefully successful) stats and having people ask for an autograph.

Oh, all of that happens, but the journey is long, and one must pay his or her dues.  There is platform building, conferences to attend, long days and nights building a blog following and oh, so much more.

But you know what?  I love it and would never go back to life before writing. 

Read about the journey today!

What were the girls thinking when the pelican plunged into the oily sea?

The Examiner

We make a stop today at a huge blog, The Examiner.  The book, One Pelican at a Time will be featured there with an interview with our author, Nancy Stewart. 

The whole Pelican gang is looking forward to it.  We hope she does well and doesn't embarrass us! 

Sometimes authors are known to do this to her characters.  We don't get it, but we know it happens.

Seriously, we want to thank Dorothy Thompson for her interview of Pelican.  We appreciate it so much!

The Adventures of My Family of Eight Blog--Pelican Giveaway!

Today, we are going multi-generational.  This terrific blog, The Adventures of My Family of Eight, showcases how families of different generations can and do live together in one house.  And can be happy doing it!  How great is that!

What, you may ask, does that have to do with One Pelican at a Time?  Well, we are getting you ready for what you'll see in this fabulous blog.  One thing is for sure.  You'll see an interview of Pelican.  Let's see if it's favorable. 

A copy of One Pelican at a Time will be given away today.  All you need to do is make a comment on the blog above!!

We have been very fortunate so far with each interview's being wonderful.  Mr. Pelican thinks our luck will hold out, thanks mainly to his wit, charm and savoir faire. 

He could be right, of course, although Britt and Bella doubt it. 

I'm the author.  I don't say a word!

Interview on J. Aday Kennedy: A Writing Playground

We are visiting a playground today.  A writing playground, that is.  J. Aday Kennedy has an informative and thoughtful blog called, J.Aday Kennedy:  A Writing Playground.

                                                                                    

Look, girls.  Let me take the lead today at this interview.  I'll read it and let you know if it's a good one.  That okay with you?

Uh, sure, Mr. Pelican.  You think you can handle the reading part? 

Bella, what a question!  You know I'm an excellent reader.  That hurts my feelings.

Sorry, Mr. P.  I just thought...

Wait a minute.  Are you telling me this interview is in English?

Well, yes.

Oh, that may be a problem.  You know I only read Pelican.

 

The Old Crooked Beak Pelican Interviewed Today!

Excitement Abounds!  I'm Being Interviewed Today at:

J. Aday Kennedy:  A Writing Playground

I'm going to tell you just how I felt upon diving into the oily waters of the gulf.  Read how much Britt and Bella's friendship means to me.  See if my life has changed since the oil spill.  I have to admit I'm a pretty wise old bird who can teach us all a few things about the planet we all must share.

One Pelican at a Time continues to be on Amazon's Bestseller List in Children's Books for eight weeks and counting and on Amazon's Most Gifted in Children's Books!

Stop by and read my interview.  You'll be glad you did! 

One Pelican at a Time is Pelican is Reviewed on On Words Blog

Another interview today, Britt.  We're at a good blog, On Words.  This is a blog that loves and features kids!  (Pelicans, too, of course.)

I know.  Saw it in the paper. 

We'd better tell Mr. Pelican.  He pretends he can read, but he actually can't.

Yeah, but don't say anything, Bella.  It hurts his feelings.

Let's go tell him, so he can get prepared.  You know Mr. Pelican.  Never lets a good review go to waste!