Reading To Your Children; The Greatest Gift of All

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READING TO YOUR CHILDREN

Reading to your children is not only important, it is the greatest gift of all.  With the rain falling onto the rooftops and the parks closed over this past weekend, I pulled out the last two copies of Saltwater Taffy I have (we have sold through 5000 copies so far and onto our 2nd printing) and began reading the adventure to my daughter.  At first, she was more interested in her stuffed animal ‘Bunny,’ but when I tapped into my days of being an actor in high school in college, I began to change my voice and read the story as if it were some kind of play. Read more

AUTHOR VISITS – MERCER ISLAND, WA

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Author visitsAUTHOR VISITS – MERCER ISLAND, WA

With multiple author visits on Mercer Island, WA. we are happy to report that Saltwater Taffy is alive and well on the island.  After the Mercer Island BOYS READ BOOK CLUB fell in love with Saltwater Taffy, the PTA got together and flew us up for an author visit to Mercer Island.  First up was the famous Lakeridge Elementary School, which is the top book buyer for all schools participating in the Scholastic Book Fairs.

Then it was across the island to West Mercer Elementary School.  It was a fun-filled day of 2, yes…count them 2 school assemblies!!!  Needless to say I was a tired after this amazing day, but the kids were AWESOME, or….as we say here at the Saltwater Taffy Network, “Those kids were SAWEET!”  More videos to come, so stay tuned!

Mercer Island Author visit and Saltwater Taffy

TWEEN ADVICE: How Saweet is it?

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tween adviceTWEEN ADVICE: How Saweet is it?

Here’s some tween advice to make your adventure more SAWEET!  If you’re a fan of the award-winning adventure novel for children called  Saltwater Taffy, by now you know how much we love to say SAWEET about anything and everything.

The question you probably have is ‘how does this fit in as advice to you for becoming a thriving TWEEN?’  Well, here’s my tween advice;

the SAWEETER you talk to yourself, the SAWEETER your life will get.  

Some of you tough guy tween boys might…

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GETTING BOYS TO READ: Writers, Parents and Teachers, Oh My!

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Saltwater TaffyGETTING BOYS TO READ

Sadly, getting boys to read has been a problem in the past, but now it is an epidemic in our country that we need to address.  In our rapidly changing, dancing with the stars, fast food nation of American culture, boys are falling behind in school for one reason and one reason only.  Getting Boys To Read is difficult.

The official GUYS READ website tells us that the United States Department of Education reading tests over the last 30 years shows us that boys are scoring lower than girls in every age group…every…single…year.  The study also showed that eighth grade boys were 50% more likely to be held back Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

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middle grade fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

Our middle grade fiction tour carries on.  Walking the streets of New Orleans with Saltwater Taffy under my arm brought back an afternoon of memories from my days on the USA NETWORK show, THE BIG EASY.

On this trip we met some amazing parents, educators and children of all type in the Crescent City.  I think the coolest thing about the trip was discovering the indie bookstore of OCTAVIA BOOKS, located in the Garden District.  Filled with best selling books, Tom and Judith Lafitte (yes, Judith is related to the great pirate, Jean Lafitte) are two amazing bookstore owners.  Their store is intimate and friendly, which was perfect for the kids who showed up for the Saltwater Taffy book sining.  I especially… Read more