January 27, 2011

This morning I decided to run a spur of the moment "Snow Day" contest, and asked who could be the first person to tell me why my publisher decided to change the original cover of my book DOGS (2004) to a different photo in 2009. 

Paige, from the great Buckeye State of Ohio, came up with the right answer. Paige wrote: "In 2009, President Obama and his family adopted a new dog which is a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo!"

That’s exactly right. The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was inaugurated in January, 2009. Since he had promised his daughters Sasha and Malia that they could have a puppy when they moved into the White House, the search was on! The Obamas wanted to choose a breed that would be least likely to trigger Malia’s allergies, and they eventually settled on a fairly rare breed, the Portuguese Water dog. 

My publishers, HarperCollins, decided to change the cover in honor of the first African-American president of the United States and his family.

Paige was the first person to come up with the right answer, and she wins a personally autographed copy of my book! 

Click here to see a great photograph of President Obama and Bo playing together in the West Wing of the White House.

January 27, 2011

Since a lot of kids have a snow day today, I am running a special, one-day contest.

In yesterday’s blog post, a Pennsylvania fifth-grade class did a great poll about kids’ favorite dogs. They used the cover of my book DOGS in their chart - the version that is in many of your school libraries, originally published in 2004.

In 2009, my publisher decided to do a new jacket for DOGS. If you buy it today, it looks completely different.

They had a very specific reason to do this new cover. Think about what year it was, and think about what kind of dog it is.

The first person who can tell me the reason why HarperCollins changed the photograph on the cover of my DOGS book will win a personally autographed copy of the book of your choice - the original cover, or the new cover!

Click on COMMENTS, below, to post your answer. And when you write, please include your email address. We won’t post it online in order to keep you safe, but it will allow us to get in touch with you if you are the winner.

GOOD LUCK, AND MAY THE BEST DOG LOVER WIN!
 

January 26, 2011

I’m going to be speaking later in February at Churchville Elementary School in Pennsylvania and it sounds like they have been doing lots of preparation! Today I received a "favorite dog breed" survey from Gail Gorgol, the librarian at the school. The student’s in Mr. K’s 5th grade class chose my book DOGS to read and share with the class, and then they decided to survey the class to find out the favorite dog breed of their classmates. My favorite breed is the English Springer Spaniel, because that’s what my dog Nova was.

December 10, 2010

Christmas came early this year for gorillla conservation experts. A census that counted endangered mountain gorillas in their African habitat shows that their number has grown by more than 25% since 2003. This is big news because just 30 years ago we were down to 250 mountain gorillas, and scientists believed that the species was in danger of extinction.

Scientists who did the census this spring found 480 mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) living in 36 groups, plus 14 solitary silverback males. They live in a huge park called the Virunga Massif which spans three countries - the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. The governments of these nations are credited with working hard alongside wildlife conservation groups to protect the gorillas by policing poachers and protecting against accidental snaring by local hunters.

"The mountain gorilla is the only one of the nine subspecies of African great apes experiencing a population increase.  While we celebrate this collective achievement, we must also increase efforts to safeguard the remaining eight subspecies of great apes," said David Greer, African Great Ape Coordinator at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). 

 You can learn more about mountain gorillas in my book, and visit the International Gorilla Conservation Program website to learn how you can help.

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.

August 12, 2010

Seymour Simon’s new Collins/Smithsonian book, TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, will be in store on August 24th. And we now have a 90-second video trailer so that you can preview this breathtaking photo essay book. Click here to view and enjoy!

Note to Teachers: This is a "safe" video, hosted on SeymourSimon.com. Clicking to watch this video will no longer take you to YouTube, or anywhere off Seymour’s website.