Jan Atchley Bevan, author in residence at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, Florida, has had her second children's story picture book, Zachary Cooks Up Some Fun, published by Ocean Publishing. Zachary is a Texas prairie dog who must protect his Dogtown USA from evil arch-enemies, Fernando Ferret and Bernie Badger.
Flagler Beach, FL (PRWEB) March 18 2004--Jan Atchley Bevan, Author in Residence at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, Florida, has just had her second childrens book, Zachary Cooks Up Some Fun, released by Ocean Publishing.
Written for pre-k to second grade children, Bevans story picture book tells how Zachary, a very special Texas prairie dog, saves his town from evil arch-enemies. Colorfully illustrated in warm pastels, the book explains how prairie dogs live underground in social groups that protect each other. Zachary takes his job of ward captain very seriously and, just like the famed Texas Rangers, he is courageous and strong, especially in the face of adversity.
I want young children to learn the importance of courage and commitment," said Bevan. I also want to introduce them to the moral that to win a friend, one must first be a friend." The resulting story tells how Zachary uses a family secret recipe to win over the two evil-doers, Fernando Ferret and Bernie Badger, by convincing them that Zacharys yummy mincemeat pies are much better to eat than prairie dogs.
Bevan is a down-to-earth talent whose writing style is reminiscent of Southern storytellers. She weaves a vivid blend of sights and sounds that enable the young child to feel the emotions as Zachary moves from alarm to action and, at the end, to peace with a job well done.
In addition to writing children story picture books and chapter books, Bevan is a talented poet, composer, and musician. She currently is completing a collection of her poetry that will be accompanied by original music by Ensemble EnCor, a chamber music performing trio from Berkeley, California. Bevan, who is vision-challenged, is an ambassador for VSA Arts of Florida, which brings the art world to the disabled, and is a mentor for writers throughout the state.
Ocean Publishing, Flagler Beach, FL., specializes in interesting childrens books, biographies, nature and environment, poetry collections, and fiction. Among the publishers other titles is Open Mic Jacksonville, Vol. I-Poetry, which recently won a 2003 Golden Palm Award for Poetry from the Florida Writers Association. Also, it won for Ocean the Business Supporter Award at the first Coast Literacy Awards Luncheon in Jacksonville. A Poetry Break, by Kay Day, is winning high praise from critics across the country and Franks Whales, a first person account of a citizen-based project to save the endangered North Atlantic right whales, has been acclaimed for its easy style and informational content.
Soon to be released from Ocean Publishing: A biography of colonial-era botanists John and William Bartram: Travelers in Early America by Sandra Wallus Sammons and Whales with Fur, a humorous and effective method for animal training by using techniques used by dolphin trainer Pete D
|
