Apes Bears Cats (Encouraging Kid's Books)

By Michael Hofmeister

Travel through the alphabet one animal at a time and learn fun facts about each along the way. You'll encounter lions, elephants, rabbits, koalas, moose, turtles, horses, and many more. Your children will delight in viewing the intricately patterned illustrations of Brooke Brown and listening to the fun and inviting poems of Michael Hofmeister. Additionally, your heart will be warmed by the fact that all the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to benefit the Lupus Foundation Florida Chapter. The story of why that is and how the book came to be is summed up in the author's introduction to the book below:"In late March of 2015, I saw an amazing drawing posted on Facebook. It was a 2D black and white of an elephant with some incredible patterning on the inside of its body - a patterning style I later learned is called Mehndi. At the time, I had been sitting on an ABC book about animals, and I thought this drawing would be perfect for it. I immediately reached out to my friend Desiree (on whose page I had seen the drawing) because it was her 16-year-old niece Brooke who had drawn it. Fortunately, Desiree liked the idea too and facilitated the connection between Brooke and I and before long a new project was born.""I remember being very excited to get the ball rolling on this project and that excitement became validated with each new drawing I received via text message. And as more time passed, it was clear that something extra-special was happening with these drawings - something unique, something memorable. One of the great joys of collaborating with young artists on projects like these is watching them bloom and she did bloom with each successive drawing." "Much time passed, and after a lull in activity, with only four drawings to go, I decided to reach out to Brooke to see if we could bring this project across the finish line. I didn't receive an immediate response. A few days later, Desiree reached out and said that Brooke was not doing well. It was at this time I learned she had lupus and that she was in the hospital. I knew she had health problems in the past but nothing specific. This was very specific and my heart went out to her and her family. A few weeks later, after it appeared she may be on the mend, tragedy struck and Brooke passed away." "After the funeral in Florida, Desiree returned to Minnesota with the drawings Brooke had completed. A plan had been hatched between Brooke's mother Denise, Desiree and I that the book needed to be finished for Brooke. The world needed to see what she had created. It was decided that Desiree would do the four remaining drawings. A very talented artist as well, she used Brooke's drawings and patterns as templates and inspiration to do just that.""For those who knew Brooke, she was an athletic, artistic, intelligent, beautiful and caring person. She had recently enrolled at Hillsborough Community College with a Spring acceptance to the University of South Florida where she had planned to pursue a career in nursing so that she could help others like those who had helped her over the years. In spite of the physical and emotional challenges lupus presented, she remained an inspiration and a force of energy admired and known by all.""I feel truly blessed that I got to work with Brooke on this project. Although much of our contact was limited to text messaging about it, her bright spirit still managed to shine through. And it's in her name and honor that all the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to benefit the Lupus Foundation's Florida Chapter."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1987796926
• ISBN13: 9781987796926
• Release Date: August 2018
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 59 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.1" x 8.5"