Label: Awards

December 12, 2013

He’s done it again. Seymour Simon has won yet another "Outstanding Science Trade Book K-12" selection by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). This makes more than 80 of his books that have received this important designation, which is even more special this year because for the first time the books were judged on their relevance to the newly published Next Generation Science Standards.

The judges wrote of EXTREME OCEANS: Captivating photographs support treatment of an intriguing topic, including ocean science technology.

Our readers love the book, too. In case you missed it, click here to read a review written by 7-year-old Hagan when the book came out earlier this year.

August 29, 2013

We are so pleased and proud to report that the first two books in Seymour Simon’s new series, EINSTEIN ANDERSON: SCIENCE GEEK, have won GOLD (!!!) in the Mom’s Choice Awards!

January 23, 2013

We are pleased to report that four - count them, 4! - of Seymour Simon’s eBooks received the QED seal of approval at the recent Digital Book World Conference.

Is it true that some cats have no fur? Can you really tell a dog by his noseprints? And what kind of animals are also known as hobs, jills and kits?  Find out the answers to all this and more!

 

If you liked SILLY ZOO ANIMAL JOKES & RIDDLES, you’re sure to enjoy this book about one of Seymour’s favorite topics - SPACE MONSTERS!

Younger readers are sure to enjoy SEYMOUR SIMON’s ANIMAL ABCs, full of fascinating information about baby animals from A to Z.

And finally, the first book in Seymour Simon’s new series, A SHIPMATE’S GUIDE TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. "Like the passengers on a ship, all the humans, plants and animals of the world are traveling together, shipmates on this huge spaceship we call Earth." 

The 2013 QED Seals were awarded at the recent Digital Book World Conference. The QED process consists of a 13-point checklist to ensure a high quality user experience. DBW considers the QED Seal, which stands for Quality, Excellence, Design, the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval^TM" for ebooks and apps. To ensure that an ebook title submitted for a QED will render well on the device a reader chooses, it is reviewed on three devices: a small, mobile-sized screen, an eInk reader-sized screen, and a tablet-sized screen. The QED is judged on the criteria established on the recommendation of the Publishing Innovation Awards advisory council, who are respected leaders in the digital production and design space.  

Congratulations, Seymour, on all this great recognition of your digital original books. All these books are available to purchase individually for Kindle Fire or Nook Color/Nook Tablet, but they are also part of the StarWalk Kids collection of digital books for kids K-8. If you haven’t yet checked out what we are doing, please come have a look today! www.starwalkkids.com 

December 1, 2011

A student named Nequira wrote last night with a good question that I often hear when I speak in schools. 

Nequira asked: How do you come up with what you want to write, what pictures you are going to use, and what title you’re going to put on the cover?

          I have loved nature since I was a young child. Although I grew up in the Bronx – a very crowded part of New York City – the natural world was all around me. There is weather in the city, just as there is in the country. You can see the sun, moon and stars from a rooftop in the city. And I explored a vacant lot on my street, which wasn’t exactly a park, but still had birds, earthworms, small plants, and trees. When I grew up I became a science teacher, so it was natural that when I started to write books, I was writing about science and nature topics that interest me.

Then, the hard part starts! Whenever I want to write about a subject, I need to study. I start by looking at research that other people have done. What experiments have they run? What animals have they observed? By studying all the work that others have already done, I learn about the subjects that I write about in my books. 

Readers often ask about how I get the photographs for my books. Sometimes I travel to places myself and take the photographs. I have photographed glaciers in Alaska, volcanoes in Hawaii and wildfires in California. Other times, I arrange to use other people’s photographs. Often these are specialists - like a scientist who has been living in Antarctica and observing penguin behaviors. Someone like that has photographs that I could never get in a single, short trip.

In the case of my newest book, BUTTERFLIES, we searched long and hard for the perfect photograph for the cover. We finally found this one from photographer Kha Dang, who also raises butterflies for the Butterfly Magic Exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.

When it is time to decide on the title, I talk with my editor, who works at the company that publishes and sells the book. The editor gives me notes, suggestions and corrections on my writing (much as your teacher would), and also makes the final decision about the title.

Sometimes it is easy to pick a title (like BUTTERFLIES), but sometimes...

September 10, 2010

We’re feeling pretty happy here at SeymourSimon.com because The Mom’s Choice Awards® has named Seymour Simon’s Collins Smithsonian series.  among the Best In Family-Friendly Entertainment, awarding its coveted Gold Seal!

The Mom’s Choice Awards® (MCA) program recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and services. Parents, educators, librarians and retailers rely on MCA evaluations when selecting quality materials for children and families. And, the Mom’s Choice Awards® seal helps families and educators navigate the vast array of products and services and make informed decisions.

 Thanks to the media professionals who act as judges for recognizing the series. It is an honor to have this seal of approval.