In the interactive children’s e-book, Bill the Fish, graphic artist Brett Curzon invites young readers to join him in a delightful journey under the sea, where Bill rides his bike and interacts (virtually!) with a wide range of quirky sea friends. Against a backdrop of beautiful acrylic paintings, the book contains a series of interactive elements and hidden treasures on each page, but with one simple message: Being different is okay.
“Bill the Fish celebrates individuality,” explains Curzon. “It teaches children through a series of wildly differing aquatic characters that we are all meant to be different. It’s okay to be yourself. Quirks and all.”
Curzon had developed a hard copy of the story in 2007 as part of a homework assignment for a graphic design class. He was to create something that could be sold, so he published Bill and brought 100 copies to a local artisan market. The books sold out within a few hours, and Curzon realised that he would need a larger platform for his creativity.
“I began searching for companies that could create an app for me,” said Curzon. “It quickly came to my attention that most companies were going to charge me a large sum of money and heavy residuals in order to send my project off to be coded by programmers in a far-away country.”
With more research, Curzon came across InteractBooks, which features the InteractBuilder tool: “I immediately recognized that there were two distinct advantages to working with InteractBooks. For one, the tool was easy to use and allowed me to retain control over the output; I was able to focus on the creative side without worrying about the technical aspect. And two, the team at InteractBooks made a concerted effort to help me however they could. It’s really more than a company; it’s a community.”
The Background
“My original intent was to write something for my kids,” explains Curzon, whose three children range in age from 10 to 14. “I wanted to help them become more confident and help them deal with challenges in school. When I developed Bill and his relationship to the other characters, I wanted to make the point that they’re all different. Feeling out of place is part of everyday life.”
Curzon is no stranger to the “fish out of water” feeling. A native Australian, he was deeply impressed by the blatant discrimination aimed at his grandmother, who was an aboriginal at a time when that wasn’t accepted: “She was treated quite terribly because of her colour.”
After moving away from home at age 16, Curzon went through an important period of discovery during his early adulthood, exploring a number of countries on several continents. Over the course of six years, Curzon found himself in Indonesia, Peru, Bolivia, Fiji, Samoa, Malayisa, Mexico, Canada, and the United States (California). He learned an important lesson along the way.
“I made friends with people who were living in abject poverty, including a close friend who lived with his mother in a cardboard box,” Curzon recalls. “They are the happiest people you meet. They aren’t concerned with accumulating wealth; they are family-orientated.”
He married his soul mate, Tracy, and moved back to Australia, settling into his role as a construction worker, despite what he describes as “miserable” circumstances. Curzon was forever changed when he was injured on a construction site where he had been a day labourer for eight years. Once a sponsored surfer, he was devastated that he could no longer surf, and he was forced to make a career change that didn’t involve manual labour.
Curzon was accepted into a graphic design program at The Hunter Institute of Technology with the help of a little white lie: “Ironically, I was applying to a school of technology, but I had never actually turned on a computer prior to joining the programme,” he recalled. Nevertheless, he completed the two-year programme successfully, ranking second in a class of 60 students.
A lifelong painter and visual artist, Curzon found graphic design a manageable trade, more in line with his creative instincts than the construction field. Yet, designing CD covers and returning commissioned art remained a profitable trade and not a source of enjoyment.
With the unflappable support of his family, Curzon discovered that writing children’s books was the best antidote for dealing with the fast-paced nature of the world. “Kids don’t complicate things. Writing these books reminds me that there’s a beautiful simplicity to life, and it’s just beneath the surface.”
The importance of individuality is equally simple, but not always obvious. “If a diver were to judge an oyster by its shell on the outside, he might never discover the beautiful pearl inside,” Curzon relates. “I like to remind my young readers of the importance of this idea, so I sign their books with this message. I say: ‘Always look a little deeper.’”
About InteractBooks, LLC.
InteractBooks provides tools for non-programmers to create high-quality e-books, and other media in an interactive format that make effective use of touch-screen tablets and smartphone devices. Currently available for the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone devices, the app will soon be running on Android devices including the Amazon Kindle Fire, Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet. The app is also being ported to run on Windows Phone devices later this year.
The InteractBooks App is available as a free downloadfrom the Apple iTunes App Store. Browsing the InteractBooks Store directly from the App, users can download from a growing library of interactive children's e-books (also known as InteractBooks), there are a couple of free books available for download too.
The InteractBuilder is also a free software download which runs on Macs and Windows PC's that works in conjunction with the InteractBooks App allowing users to create their own interactive books. With the help of a comprehensive library of video tutorials and a network of technical support, the tool has become the most effective resource for children’s book authors, illustrators and presenters wishing to enter into the wonderful world of interactive media. In addition to featuring books in it's own interactive book store, InteractBooks also offers the ability to publish interactive books as stand alone apps. www.interactbooks.com
Book review blog site, with some entertainment material from time-to-time.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Calling All Rugby Coaches And Players
Calling all Rugby coaches and players. Getting tired of the same old moves? Struggling to beat defences and need new ways to break down the opposition? Take a look at the latest book on attacking play, "Rugby Backs Moves", for inspiration.This new release (colour edition) talks you through a variety of plays, ranging from the classic switch to moves that really stretch defenders, with in-depth detail on all the moves and diagrammatic illustrations of how to perform them.
The book, "Rugby Backs Moves", is designed to give players and coaches some ideas for your back-line to try out, while if you already know any of the moves then the book gives you some very helpful ‘dos and don'ts'. It's an ideal companion for use on the training ground or in team meetings.
The book has received excellent reviews:- a "superb" and "easy to read" book, which "guides you through more than 50 different moves".
Check out the book and its reviews at www.facebook.com/pages/Rugby-Backs-Moves/140708799364831 or purchase on-line at www.authorsonline.co.uk/book/1034/Rugby_Backs_Moves/
'The Austerity Olympics' - When The Games Came To London In 1948
The 1948 London Olympics demonstrated what a fantastic Games could be organised on just £760,000 - and still make a profit. The main stadium was cleared of greyhound racing to allow great athletes such as Emil Zatopek and Fanny Blankers-Koen to thrill the indomitable Londoners who cheerfully overcame every obstacle, from food rationing to terrible weather.
Entertaining, revealing and highly-readable, this meticulously researched book is full of first-hand interviews, hilarious anecdotes, and spirited athletic feats. The Austerity Olympics is a fascinating book about an extraordinary event.
Published to coincide with BBC film based on the book - Bert & Dickie airing in May
Contains over 200 original interviews with entertaining anecdotes that make great material for review, extract and radio coverage.
Shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year
Janie Hampton has written over 15 books, from biography to fiction. She is the author of the critically acclaimed biography of Joyce Grenfell; and appears regularly on radio, in print and at literary festivals.
She is the leading authority on the social history of the Olympic Games in London and is Olympics Correspondent of The Oldie Magazine. She lives in Oxford.
The Austerity Olympics by Janie Hampton is published by Aurum Press on
20th February 2012 priced £8.99.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall The Revolutionary Legacy of 1989
The Fall of the Berlin Wall The Revolutionary Legacy of 1989 is a very interesting book. It is edited by Jeffrey A. Engel and is a collection of essays on the subject, written by people who are acknowledged as experts in their fields. Chen Jian, holder of the Michael J. Zak chair of history for U.S. -Chinese relations, Cornell University; Melvyn P. Leffler, Edward Stettinius Professor of American History, University of Virginia; Sventlana Savranskaya, director of Russia Programs, National Security Archive, George Washington University; James J. Sheehan, Dickason Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Modern European History, Emeritus, Stanford University; William Taubman, Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science, Amherst College.
Two of the most momentous events of the late 20th century were the construction of the Berlin Wall, the other was the demolition of that same wall.
The erudite and well-argued essays examines how the Berlin Wall came to be removed all at once in 1989, and why nobody had foreseen this epoch making event.
The book details how the events of the days and weeks leading up to the fall occurred, how a frightened and desperate DDR leader Erich Honecker ordered his troops to open fire on the generally good natured but vocal crowds of demonstrators that were protesting against Honecker's autocratic rule. They declined to accept his order. Something that would have been utterly unthinkable, even months earlier. The party sacked Honecker and thus was the beginning of the end of not only the cursed wall. but of the entire DDR itself.
The book points out that these results came about as a result of the changes that had swept through neighbouring Poland and Hungary. Soon, revolt and revolution took not only the Communist Party of East Germany but also the rest of the Warsaw Pact member states.
The book looks at what happened next, and raises issues about what could happen in the future in this, the Post Wall period.
This book is a must have for any serious student of political or social history.
It is published by the Oxford University Press in paperback at $19.95.
Two of the most momentous events of the late 20th century were the construction of the Berlin Wall, the other was the demolition of that same wall.
The erudite and well-argued essays examines how the Berlin Wall came to be removed all at once in 1989, and why nobody had foreseen this epoch making event.
The book details how the events of the days and weeks leading up to the fall occurred, how a frightened and desperate DDR leader Erich Honecker ordered his troops to open fire on the generally good natured but vocal crowds of demonstrators that were protesting against Honecker's autocratic rule. They declined to accept his order. Something that would have been utterly unthinkable, even months earlier. The party sacked Honecker and thus was the beginning of the end of not only the cursed wall. but of the entire DDR itself.
The book points out that these results came about as a result of the changes that had swept through neighbouring Poland and Hungary. Soon, revolt and revolution took not only the Communist Party of East Germany but also the rest of the Warsaw Pact member states.
The book looks at what happened next, and raises issues about what could happen in the future in this, the Post Wall period.
This book is a must have for any serious student of political or social history.
It is published by the Oxford University Press in paperback at $19.95.
Shakespeare, Sex and Love
In his book Shakespeare, Sex and Love noted Shakespearean expert and author Stanley Wells takes on a fairly big task.
He examines how Shakespeare dealt with the subjects of sex and romantic love in his plays and his other written works.
In doing this, Wells undertakes a detailed analysis of the works of Shakespeare, which, of course, one would expect.
But Wells does more than this. He examines the sexual morays of the times in which William Shakespeare lived. How the contemporary folk of the day viewed sex and sexual matters.
He explores the use of sexual imagery in Elizabethan poetry, how some apparently innocent phrases would have possibly had another, more titillating meaning that would have been all too clear to the groundlings who attended the performances of the plays.
Wells also points out that some modern critics simply do not 'get' Shakespeare, failing to understand some of the points he was making, or at least, illustrating.
The text is assisted by some photographs of the plays of Shakespeare, which are most helpful.
A very interesting book from dramatical and historical viewpoints.
It is published by the Oxford University Press in paperback at £10.99 or $17.95. However, it might well be available at a discount through the That's Books bookshop, which is powered by Amazon.
He examines how Shakespeare dealt with the subjects of sex and romantic love in his plays and his other written works.
In doing this, Wells undertakes a detailed analysis of the works of Shakespeare, which, of course, one would expect.
But Wells does more than this. He examines the sexual morays of the times in which William Shakespeare lived. How the contemporary folk of the day viewed sex and sexual matters.
He explores the use of sexual imagery in Elizabethan poetry, how some apparently innocent phrases would have possibly had another, more titillating meaning that would have been all too clear to the groundlings who attended the performances of the plays.
Wells also points out that some modern critics simply do not 'get' Shakespeare, failing to understand some of the points he was making, or at least, illustrating.
The text is assisted by some photographs of the plays of Shakespeare, which are most helpful.
A very interesting book from dramatical and historical viewpoints.
It is published by the Oxford University Press in paperback at £10.99 or $17.95. However, it might well be available at a discount through the That's Books bookshop, which is powered by Amazon.
The Aztecs, A Very Short Introduction
Who were the Aztecs? In this riveting little book David Carrasco takes us back to the time of the Aztecs. Although the book is short, it is very heavy on content, drawing on a wide variety of sources.
From contemporary accounts by the Aztecs themselves (although they attempted to destroy all of the pictorial records of the Aztecs the Spaniards failed in this aim) from the Spanish invaders, from archaeological excavations, etc, Carrasco is able to provide detailed accounts of how the Aztecs lived, their religious practices including ritual sacrifices of humans and the ritualistic consumption of human flesh.
He explores the rich cultural heritage of the Aztecs (tracing them back through earlier kingdoms such as the Toltecs) their history, their religious ceremonies, their foods, the banqueting habits of their rulers, their agriculture, their understanding of and use of astronomical phenomena and so forth. It also contains interesting snippets of information. For example we find out that the first Spaniards to arrive their were not who we have probably have been taught. And that there was at least one example of a Spanish soldier who fought on the side of the Aztecs, against his fellow Spaniards.
He explores how and why the empire failed and died.
Carrasco also takes time to look at the Aztecs of today, and how there is even something of a return of the Aztecs.
The book contains many useful and interesting drawings and photographs. Curiously, all are rendered in black and white.
The book is published by the Oxford University Press in paperback and costs £7.99 or £11.95.
From contemporary accounts by the Aztecs themselves (although they attempted to destroy all of the pictorial records of the Aztecs the Spaniards failed in this aim) from the Spanish invaders, from archaeological excavations, etc, Carrasco is able to provide detailed accounts of how the Aztecs lived, their religious practices including ritual sacrifices of humans and the ritualistic consumption of human flesh.
He explores the rich cultural heritage of the Aztecs (tracing them back through earlier kingdoms such as the Toltecs) their history, their religious ceremonies, their foods, the banqueting habits of their rulers, their agriculture, their understanding of and use of astronomical phenomena and so forth. It also contains interesting snippets of information. For example we find out that the first Spaniards to arrive their were not who we have probably have been taught. And that there was at least one example of a Spanish soldier who fought on the side of the Aztecs, against his fellow Spaniards.
He explores how and why the empire failed and died.
Carrasco also takes time to look at the Aztecs of today, and how there is even something of a return of the Aztecs.
The book contains many useful and interesting drawings and photographs. Curiously, all are rendered in black and white.
The book is published by the Oxford University Press in paperback and costs £7.99 or £11.95.
How to Think Like a Neandertal by Wynn and Coolidge
How to Think Like a Neandertal by Thomas Wynn and Frederick L. Coolidge is an extremely interesting book.
"Oh,your such as Neandertal!" Will shriek some man or woman when they are criticising the behaviour of someone they know.
Yet if they were challenged and asked: "OK, who were the Neandertals? Where did they live? How did they live? How did they treat sick members of their group? Did they have any concept of religion?" they would be utterly and entirely clueless, as their views on Neantertal society were probably based on a hodgepodge of vague ideas from seeing a model of a caveman in a dusty, somewhat grim museum, and Raquel Welch in a fur bikini.
Wynn and Coolidge have examined many branches of science to work out how Neandertals lived, worked, played and prayed. Or at least, how they dealt with the death of a family member or of a member of their group.
The book is fascinating and very readable. Unlike many other books of the academic rigour of How to Think Like a Neandertal, the authors want to share their discoveries with their readers. This is no dry as dust worth tome! It's a highly readable worthy tome!
They explore and explain how and what Neandertals ate, how they hunted, the types of work they did, the average length of their lives, how they reacted and inter-reacted with each other, their concepts of an afterlife, how they tended the sick and the elderly, how they thought, how they communicated, etc. They also showed that although Neantdertals and humans did intermarry, that the relationship between humans and Neandertals was not always a happy one.
They also explore several interesting concepts. For example, did Neandertals have a sense of humour? Did they dream? What happened to them?
The book is published by the Oxford University Press in hardback. It is, of course, available from the That's Books bookshop.
I can heartily recommend it to academic and general reader.
"Oh,your such as Neandertal!" Will shriek some man or woman when they are criticising the behaviour of someone they know.
Yet if they were challenged and asked: "OK, who were the Neandertals? Where did they live? How did they live? How did they treat sick members of their group? Did they have any concept of religion?" they would be utterly and entirely clueless, as their views on Neantertal society were probably based on a hodgepodge of vague ideas from seeing a model of a caveman in a dusty, somewhat grim museum, and Raquel Welch in a fur bikini.
Wynn and Coolidge have examined many branches of science to work out how Neandertals lived, worked, played and prayed. Or at least, how they dealt with the death of a family member or of a member of their group.
The book is fascinating and very readable. Unlike many other books of the academic rigour of How to Think Like a Neandertal, the authors want to share their discoveries with their readers. This is no dry as dust worth tome! It's a highly readable worthy tome!
They explore and explain how and what Neandertals ate, how they hunted, the types of work they did, the average length of their lives, how they reacted and inter-reacted with each other, their concepts of an afterlife, how they tended the sick and the elderly, how they thought, how they communicated, etc. They also showed that although Neantdertals and humans did intermarry, that the relationship between humans and Neandertals was not always a happy one.
They also explore several interesting concepts. For example, did Neandertals have a sense of humour? Did they dream? What happened to them?
The book is published by the Oxford University Press in hardback. It is, of course, available from the That's Books bookshop.
I can heartily recommend it to academic and general reader.
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