College of the Ozarks

I recently attended a writers' workshop in Branson, Missouri. The meeting was held on the College of the the Ozarks' campus. It's other name is Hard Work U.

College of the Ozarks! All I can say is WOW! The campus is immaculate and beautiful but what impressed me the most was that every student there is working their way through school. EVERYONE. If a student qualifies grade wise and can't afford college tuition, he or she can attend College of the Ozarks and work their way through.

I spoke with two young men as I was out taking pictures. One was majoring in English, the other in computer science. They explained the college offers 40 some odd degrees including: pre-engineering, premed, pre- veterinary courses as well as business management, agriculture, computer sciences, and on and on.

The young men explained that some students work in the school laundry where all the campus laundry is processed. As I walked around campus I saw students washing windows, picking up trash on the parking lot, and working in the campus restaurant.

Campus restaurant is not nearly adequate as a description for this eating place. Plush, high class, luxurious, down right swanky would be a little closer to the truth. Students, dressed in white coats, took reservations, waited tables, and no doubt, did the food preparations, all a part of the Culinary Arts degree and or the Hotel and Restaurant Management degrees offered by the college.

I asked about the beautiful, rock faced buildings and learned the students did all the construction under the guidance of the engineering and buildings department. Talk about hands on educations, the College of the Ozarks is the place to go.

For students and families hard pressed for cash, college is not out of reach for those truly wanting to get that higher level of education. Drop by their web site http://www.cofo.edu/ and get an eye full.

School visits Fall of 2010

It has been a busy and exciting fall for me, Galand Nuchols. Beginning in September, I visited with children in eight schools, sharing my mini writing workshop. The ninth school will be next week, November 30. All the students have asked interesting and sometimes insightful questions and made thoughtful comments. The children were well behaved and attentive, a tribute to their teachers, principals, and parents. I was so impressed with the children, I want to name the individual schools, giving credit where credit is due.

It has been a fun time for me and I hope for them. Three cheers for: Cabe Middle School in Gurdon, Arkansas; Sikeston Middle School in Sikeston, Missouri; Blytheville Intermediate in Blytheville, Arkansas; CB Thompson Middle in Quinlan, Texas ; Moody Elementary in Hillsboro, Texas; Harts Bluff in Mt. Pleasant, Texas; Detroit Middle School, in Detroit, Texas; and Ore City Middle School in Ore City, Texas. I’m looking forward to visiting Ashdown Elementary next week.

Besides the school visits, I have been to several book fests, and workshops. Workshops are important to anyone wanting to keep up with new information in their field of interests. We should never stop taking in new information and creating new ideas and products. It is what keeps life worth living. It is a big beautiful world and we ought to enjoy it. My latest workshop was in Branson, Missouri at The College of the Ozarks. More about that later.

The last two weeks have been busy. Last week I visited 6th - 8th grade classes in Detroit Middle School (Detroit, TX) I shared information about my books: Dragons for Kris, Dragon Hatchling, and Second Chance. We also talked a little about writing and some of the things I have learned since beginning to write short stories and novels. The students were very attentive and we had good sessions, even if our time together was short.
Yesterday, Wednesday, I visited Harts Bluff School (5th and 6th grade) We had more time and acted out some sentences proving how important verbs are to helping the author paint a clearer picture for the reader. Today I returned to Harts Bluff to share writing tips with 8th grade students. They participated in some writing exercises and seemed to have a good time. I certainly did.
I'm looking forward to visiting students in Ore City, Texas, November 17th, and Ashdown, Arkansas, November 30th. It feels sooo good to be back in a classroom working with children on a subject dear to my heart.
Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
More later

Sammy Squirrel is a seventy page chapter book with detailed black and white illustrations by Dick Johns. Sammy, a young squirrel, is warned about the danger of the trap below the family tree. He cannot resist the temptation of sunflower seeds, however, and suffers the consequences.Mother and father squirrel also suffer the consequences of Sammy's decision. How will they rescue Sammy when they don't know where he is?

Father squirrel devises a daring plan, but what if something goes wrong?

Sammy Squirrel is an excellent book for student's beginning to read chapter books. The story moves quickly, and the script paints detailed pictures in the reader's mind.

Sammy Squirrel - published by PUBLISHAMERICA, LLLP

ISBN 1-60672-193-3

Tilly's Tale

Tilly's Tale
by Harry Porter


Tilly's Tale is a thirty-four page chapter book told in first person by Tilly, a rescue dog. Tilly shares how she removed from a loving home and abandoned to living in a snowy, icey garden, hungry, bewildered, and scared.


A man leads Tilly to a new home. Tilly yearns to be loved and cared for again. Will her new home give her a chance to prove her worth?



Tilly's Tale by Harry Porter and illustrated by Mandy Hedrick focuses the reader's attention on the plight of abandoned and abused dogs. Recommended for children 3rd grade and older.


Mr. Porter shares his home with Tilly and several other rescue dogs. Their stories will be revealed soon in the series of Harry Porter's Dog Tales.


Tilly's Tale ISBN-13-978-0-9818685-9-2


Inquiries should be addressed to:


4RV PublishingLLC
PO Box 6482
Edmond, OK 73083


http//www.4rvpublishingllc.com

school visits

Galand Nuchols recently returned from visiting schools in Gurdon, Arkansas, Sikeston Missouri, Blytheville, Arkansas and Quinlan, Texas. She presented mini writing workshops to 4th through 8th grade students speaking on character development, using strong verbs, editing, and research.
Galand shared parts of her books, Dragons for Kris, Dragon Hatchling, and Second Chance explaining how she had to write and rewrite different parts of the books.
The children asked questions about things that really happened and where she got her ideas for different scenes.
The teachers and principals gave positive reviews of the program. Galand and the children enjoyed the exercises.

When Galand returned home, a package of letters from children in Blytheville was waiting for her. It made her day.

Beyond Darkness

Jim Robertson, in his autobiography Beyond Darkness, shares with the reader his life before and after one of the events that changed his life. Though he walks in a physically dark world, Jim lives in an emotional and spiritual world of insight and joy.
A student asked Jim how much the accident changed his plans for the future. Jim thought about it maybe five seconds before replying. “Not a great deal,” he said. “I can do most anything I want to do; I just do it in a different way.”
After the accident Jim finished college, served in the Mississippi House of Representatives, taught at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, and at Northeast Texas Community College. He served as the Executive Directory of the Habitat for Humanity Affiliate in Hattiesburg and travels as he pleases visiting friends and giving motivational talks.
Jim’s autobiography reveals his initial pain, anger and final acceptance of his blindness and how he eventually grew into the man he is today.
Beyond Darkness is a great read for anyone, but older teens, bumping into problems generally associated with adult life, will find hope and encouragement in Jim Robertson’s life story.
Beyond Darkness was published by iUniverse ISBN 978-4401-3122-6
Beyond Darkness is a paperback and 176 pages.
For an autographed copy contact the author, Dr. Jim Robertson, 601 268 6910

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The First Miracle
By L.A. Willis

In The First Miracle, Ms. Willis’s main character is Abigail, a blind cat. The author does a touching job of conveying Abigail’s longing for her rescuer and friend’s caressing touch and raspy voice. But Rebekah has died and Abigail races blindly through crowded streets bumping into people, walls, and cart wheels. The reader can feel her pain and panic. Finding refuge in a barn, Abigail snuggles down into some soft hay to rest. A sound awakens her and she investigates. A baby has been born during the night; Abigail can smell it. That’s when the miracle happens.

Willow Raven’s art work on both the cover and inside pages matches the story in perfect harmony. While this novel is fiction, it might have happened just as L.A. Willis created it. I’ll be passing this gem of a story on to our granddaughter in a year or so.

The First Miracle is told in sixteen pages of narrative interspersed with small and large colored pictures. Children three to seven or eight years of age will love this story and request it to be read over and over. Readers will enjoy both the story and the captivating art work.

The First Miracle published by 4RVPublishing
ISBN 978-0-9825886-0-4

A STONE IN MY HAND
By Cathryn Clinton

A STONE IN MY HAND, published in 2002, was highly praised by Publishers Weekly, and the School Library Journal as well as several other well known reviewers. Eight years have passed since this insightful book came on the market, and we have a new generation of young adult readers. While dates and names change, the pain, fear, and frustration of children and adults living in war zones remain the same. With today’s crises in the Gaza Strip and other war zones in the Middle East, A Stone in My Hand is a good book to recommend to young adult readers today.

A Stone in My Hand is not a page turner, of high adventure where the hero conquers all, and everything turns out right in the end. Rather, the novel is realistic fiction that will touch the soul of sensitive readers regardless of age. It paints a brutally realistic picture of children and young adults attempting to survive in a war zone, of parents attempting to care for and educate their children, and of families dealing with the uncertainties of daily life and their faith in God.

A Stone in My Hand was published by Candlewick Press in 2002 with 184 pages,
ISBN 0-7636-1388-6

When Turtle Grew Feathers

By Tim Tingle

We have all heard about the race between the turtle and the rabbit, and how the turtle’s steady pace and determination won the day. There is another version according to Choctaw legend, one involving a turkey and a group of ants.

I found this zany children’s novel, When Turtle Grew Feathers, last October at the International Story Telling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. It was a fabulous experience by the way. More of that later, perhaps.

Tim Tingle, the author, has done a superb job in creating this tale from three sources: Myths of the Louisiana Choctaws 1909, Charley Jones's oral interview with Choctaw Indians in 1992, and Jay McAlvain’s taped interview in 1992.

The illustrator, Stacey Schuett, helps carry the story with fabulous pictures capturing rabbit’s feelings ranging from mean and challenging to surprised, to fear, and finally humiliation and defeat.

When Turtle Grew Feathers is published by August House Little Folk ISBN – 13: 978-0-87483-777-3 This is a book I will pass on to our granddaughter. I can almost hear her giggling now.

Matt the Rat Fights Back

by Lorenzo Liberto and Illustrated by Irving Torres

Matt the Rat Fights Back is a neat story featuring Matt and how he gets himself into a jam during summer vacation. When school starts in the fall, Matt is surprised that he loses the traditional Back to School Race. It is a race he has always won. Thanks to his coach and loyal friends, Matt fights his way back to fitness and wins the Thanksgiving Race.

After winning the battle for fitness, Matt is a changed rat and plans to keep on winning, not just for a few weeks or months, but for the rest of his life.

Matt the Rat Fights Back is an ideal book for students learning English or Spanish. Each paragraph is written in both languages. Even a novice can match up many of the English and Spanish words. This novel is thirty-one pages long and has large colorful pictures, a perfect book for a shared reading time.

Matt the Rat Fights Back was published by Harvest Sun Press and is one of four in a series, all bilingual. Other titles are: Save the Planet, Matt the Rat’s Incredible Creations and Matt the Rat and his Sister Maggie. These books can be purchased from Target stores as well as Amazon.

The Ant That Wouldn't Work

The Ant that Wouldn’t Work

By George A. Allen

George Allen entertained his grandchildren with the story of an ant that wouldn’t work. His oldest granddaughter, Brittany Clark, begged him to write it down. He wrote the story, then she, now an adult, illustrated it, creating the pictures she visualized as a child. She used simple map colors, the same ones we all used in elementary, Jr. high, and high school.

When Mr. Allen shares his story with young listeners, he tells them, “I’ve only met one ant that wouldn’t work. I had to write a story about him.”

Pete, the lazy main character, feels his family is working him too hard. He leaves home to explore the world promising to be back in the spring. Sure enough, Pete returns in the spring, but he is not the same ant that left the previous fall.

The Ant That Wouldn’t Work is a story children will request to be read over and over and over again. There are thirty-eight pages, half of which are full page pictures of Pete and his adventures in the wide, wide world he is exploring.

The Ant That Wouldn’t Work was published by Fame’s Eternal Books, LLC. Books can be ordered from Amazon or Autographed copies can be ordered from the author george.allen@classicnet.net .

City of Petra - New 7 Wonders of the World

My sister-in-law forwarded this amazing clip about the City of Petra once thought to be legendary like Atlantis. I was in awe as I studied the detailed carvings creating this city carved out of, or into, the canyon walls. It is mind boggling to think of the years it took to finish this amazing work. No wonder it is billed as one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World"
The stone work and colors of the carved rock are breath-taking. How can something this big and this beautiful remain hidden from the world for so long?

Petraunadelas7maravillasdelmundo.pps (3048KB)

There are so many fascinating things in this world. I wonder what will be found in the next twenty years.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Trockle Book Review

Trockle is a book worthy of a place in your child's library. Illustrator, Jordan M. Vinyard, created pictures that are more or less realistic, sometime more and sometimes less. Author, Holly Jahangin, spins a night time story guaranteed to capture a child's imagination and make them search under thier bed hoping to find Trockle or a friend of his.

Trockle is published by 4RV PublishingLLC and can be purchased from your neighborhood book store or ordered on line from www.4rvpublishingllc.com/bookstore. Trockle is 22 pages in length with large colorful pictures that pull the reader and listener into the story.