It's "Snot" Your Typical Children's Book - Nose Pickin' Offers Twisted, Hilarious Fun
No Child Left Behind and other educational reform acts are putting more and more pressure on students to gain ground in reading. However, in today's fast-paced society, it can be hard to get students to appreciate reading...especially poetry...unless you happen to mention the words Harry Potter or Lemony Snickket. With the release of Nose Pickin' (And 50 Other Ways TO Tickle Your Brain!) [ISBN 1-4137-5358-2], Kentucky Colonel and National Board Certified Teacher, Alonzo Fugate hopes to make reading poetry fun and enjoyable for both kids and adults.
Jackson, KY (PRWEB) February 14, 2005
Nose Pickin’ Gives Kids and Adults the Opportunity to “Dig In” to Reading. It happens in America everyday. Parents and teachers fight a battle to gain some of the seemingly limited attention span of their children and students. In today’s information age of 24-hour internet access, video games, and other types of fast-paced electronic distractions, it is sometimes difficult to get children to learn about the joys that a good book can bring…unless it is accompanied with the words Harry Potter or Lemony Snickket. These same adults often wonder how to even go about introducing the subject of poetry without the usual protest. So how can this be done in a way that is both educational and fun? National Board Certified Teacher and Kentucky Colonel, Alonzo Fugate has what he thinks may be one answer to this question with the release of his book of fabulously twisted poetry, Nose Pickin' (And 50 Other Ways TO Tickle Your Brain!) [ISBN 1-4137-5358-2, PublishAmerica, $14.95].
Drawing on his professional knowledge as a National Board certified teacher (the highest achievement in teaching today), Colonel Fugate realized that today’s youth often miss out on the fun of reading poetry because they may have a misconception about it and about how much fun that it can be. He saw the results of this in his own third-grade classroom. “It was just sad,” he stated about the attitude he often saw toward poetry in the classroom, “My students would often get this look of ‘oh no’ whenever I would mention that we were going to work on a unit over poetry. They just hadn’t been exposed to how much fun poetry can be.”
By incorporating such “fun” poets as Shel Silverstein and Paul Fleischman, Colonel Fugate often saw a big change in the attitude of his students. “It was such a joy to see,” he continued, “We would have so much fun just reading these poems that were just…well, they were just fun! By the end of the unit, the students were reading poetry and writing poetry of their own. It was just a natural way to learn and to develop a love for the language. I guess that I just took that one step further when I decided to publish my own book of poetry…fun poetry.”
Colonel Fugate had been working on writing his own collection of children’s poetry for years before he finally decided to take a chance at having them published. “I have always dreamed of becoming a published author,” Colonel Fugate said with a sparkle in his eyes, “I don’t have any fantasies of becoming rich and famous…that’s not what this is all about for me. What I want is to get these poems into the hands of as many kids as possible. I want to accomplish what I was able to do in my own classroom on a much larger scale. I don’t want the kids of today growing up and not being able to appreciate poetry. You can imagine how thrilled I was when my work was accepted at my publisher, PublishAmerica”
Nose Pickin' (And 50 Other Ways TO Tickle Your Brain!) provides the reader with a selection of 51 poems that are, as the author describes them, “twisted, zany, and wild!” In this 80 page book, readers will also find 15 original black and white illustrations that help to bring these poems to life. It is easy to tell from the title, Nose Pickin’, that this is not going to be your usual type of poetry book. The poems deal with such topics as mean teachers, school bullies, zombies, unicorns, pimples, farting, and…yes…even nose picking! “Kids should love these,” Colonel Fugate stated, “Parents and teachers will appreciate them as well. This is a good book for parents to share with their children. I also hope that teachers will share this book with their students. There is a great power in the ability to read. It can unlock the world! It is amazing to be able to pass this power along to others. I love to teach, and I love to write. I have the best job in the world because I get to do both!”
Nose Pickin' (And 50 Other Ways TO Tickle Your Brain!) will be officially released on March 7, 2005. More information about the book and the author can be found at the official website (http://www. alonzofugate. com (http://www. alonzofugate. com)). It will be available from the publisher, PublishAmerica, or at online bookstores such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It will also be available worldwide wherever books are sold. To reserve your copy of Nose PickinÂ’ today, just check with your local bookseller.
Contact:
PublishAmerica
Public Relations Department
P. O. Box 151
Frederick, MD 21705
Www. publishamerica. com
Phone: 1-240-529-1031
Fax: 1-301-631-9073
Support@publishamerica. com
###
