Updates, New Products & Thanksgiving

Sat, 5 Nov 2011 23:44:11 -0700

Radio Talk Show Update:
I had a wonderful time on the Radio Talk Show Childhood Matters on the topic of Children and Music in October. Childhood Matters is the San Francisco Bay Area's weekly call-in radio show for parents and others who care for children. If you'd like to listen to the program, you can find it on their website: www.childhoodmatters.org or here: http://www.archive.org/download/ChildhoodMattersChildrenAndMusic-October162011/childhood-matters-11-10-16.mp3.

Munchkin Masquerade Parade Update:  I had a great time at the Munchkin Masquerade Parade hosted by Hilarie's Helpful Hints. What a great turnout of fairies, ladybugs, rainbows and leprechauns! I also recently received a warm note that just made my day, from Renee, one of the mamas I met: "My daughter Mia and I had the genuine pleasure of meeting you at the Munchkin Masquerade event in Walnut Creek last month. We eagerly bought both your cd and book after your wonderful performance. Mia LOVES your cd and requests to listen to the first song repeatedly (like, 10 times in a row!). She also loves your book and so do I! The story and illustrations are absolutely fantastic."

New Products:
iPad  I am excited to announce that we are currently working hard on an iPad interactive version of Little Laura and the Birthday Surprise. We are planning for release on Thanksgiving! Stay tuned!  Stickers We also have a new product in our store: Little Laura & Friends Sticker Pack! Enjoy this pack of ten 2.5" x 4" high-quality vinyl stickers for just $3.00. Everyone loves stickers! Stick them on your lunch bag, stick them on your book. Stick them on your sippy cup, you'll love how they look! Introducing a bunch of Little Laura's animal friends whom you will meet in upcoming products.

Thanksgiving:
There are so many things to be thankful for in this month of reflection and Thanksgiving; I feel so blessed.  My 3 year old bilingual daughter has started preschool and sings songs and dances all day long. She is growing up so quickly...she has learned to sleep in her own bed in her own room all on her own (a huge milestone for us), she has the sweet and gentle spirit of a fairy, the humor and laugh to warm any soul, takes such good care of, loves and adores her little baby brother, whom she also speaks to solely in Mandarin.  Our little baby boy is not so little...he's growing faster than I could ever imagine. At 4 months, he is capping off 6 month clothing, and is a sturdy rock of sunshine smiles and coos. He sings along when I sing, gazes brightly into my eyes in wonderful conversation, and is in constant motion, rolling this way and that. He definitely takes on the traits of his name; fearless and peaceful brave warrior with his rock-star hairdo. He is also doing fantastic at EC (elimination communication), which I started with him at week two.   Throughout this year of 2011, I have seen my work flourish from script to print, I have performed and done countless readings with my family in tow, and met hundreds of wonderful children and families who are so supportive of my labor of love. I have been taken on by a distributor, been on a radio talk show, and hope to continue to do much more. I also daydream of my second and third books and the future steps of Little Laura Music, LLC.   All of this could not be done without the incessant support from my loving husband. Even with his busy schedule including promotion to fire captain, new paramedic teaching position, rehearsals for salsa dance performances, cleaning the home and cooking dinner for the family every night, and of course fishing tournaments, he still manages to consistently lend his helping hand. Thank you so very much; I love you dearly.  A song that my daughter has learned at school which we now sing at every family meal (including dessert) sums it up very nicely:  Blessings on the blossoms, Blessings on the fruit, Blessings on the stems and leaves and  Blessings on the roots.  To which I add:  Blessings on our Family and Friends. I thank you with my hands folded at my heart. Be well.

Invitation to be on a Radio Talk Show!

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:38:41 -0700

More exciting news!
Today I got a call from Rona Renner, radio talk show host of Childhood Matters, 98.1 KISS-FM Sundays 7-8am. They would like me to be a guest on their show!
Sunday, September 25th, 2011 ~ 7:30am I will be aired as a live call-in this Sunday morning on 98.1 KISS-FM to talk for a few minutes about acculturation.
Sunday, October 16th, 2011 7:00-8:00am I will also be a guest speaker in their studio on their Sunday, October 16th show, speaking about learning Mandarin through Music! I’m so excited!
Tune in!
Childhood Matters, 98.1 KISS-FM Sundays 7-8am

Picked up by a Distributor!

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

We are so excited to announce that Little Laura and the Birthday Surprise just got picked up by a distributor! We will now be working with Small Press United (SPU), a book distribution service created to meet the needs of small and start-up publishers. SPU is a subsidiary of Independent Publishers Group (IPG), the second largest and most technologically sophisticated independent press distributor in the United States.

Our Newest Addition to the Family!

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Those who attended a Little Laura musical story time in May or June also might have noticed that Laura’s belly was getting bigger and that she was going to give birth to her second child in July. Well, not even a week after the Book Launch Celebration on the last day of June, their daughter became a big sister! Laura and Alex are very proud to present the newest addition to their family, a healthy baby boy!

Book Launch Celebration   & New Product Release!

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Thank you everyone for coming out to celebrate with us! Our Little Laura Music Book Launch Celebration was a big success with a wonderful turnout! From a bilingual musical story time to face painting and book signing, from delicious food to balloons and scrumptious cake, everyone had a fun time.
What a way to celebrate the birth of our first book, Little Laura and the Birthday Surprise as well as to celebrate the release of our newest product, a bilingual CD song collection entitled Rainbow.
Our book signing was enhanced with both of our illustrators present: Debbie Huey and Sherwin Viray. Thank you so much for your amazing drawings and color and making Little Laura come to life!
Some comments from those who attended: “Beautiful voice & lively performance!” “I had fun!” “This was a lovely introduction to your book and Chinese.” “Very good!” “Wonderful experience. My children love it and they are very responsive to the songs.” “Thank you for this wonderful event!” “That was fantastic!” “Very nice!” “I liked it; It’s fun!” “Thank you so much. Great experience!”  Cheers!

My first interview!

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:45:56 -0700

I had my first interview with the Hercules & Pinole Patch. It was great fun! Check out the following article written by Celeste Altus of the Hercules/Pinole Patch:

Surprise! Hercules Children's Author Laura Lee Writes in Two Languages
English and Mandarin storybook author will host book launch, sing-a-long at Hercules Library....
By Celeste Altus

Our Events

Mon, 30 May 2011 23:43:43 -0700

I’ve had so much fun at our recent Meet the Author/Bilingual Musical Story time events! From Kids Creek Fest to New Sprouts Chinese School to Albany Library, it’s been great meeting people who love the songs, love the book, and walk away humming the Little Laura tunes.

It’s been a wonderful experience being onstage as Little Laura, singing and playing guitar with children singing and dancing along, and families chiming in pitch, singing to ten in Mandarin!

I’ve spoken with many families who have purchased a copy of LIttle Laura and the Birthday Surprise, and they are so excited to be able to share the language through music with their child. They especially love the charming drawings, the melodies of the songs, and how simple it is to learn Mandarin. A bunch of families picked up a stack of books, because it certainly makes a perfect birthday gift!

I have also been given great suggestions from friends and customers to branch out of the East Bay to visit their local libraries and bookstores. We are planning exciting events in the Walnut Creek/Pleasanton area, SF area, as well as South Bay. It would be great to hear even more suggestions or to hear about your favorite bookshop!

We are so excited to mention that the sales of our book are taking off, and that we were recently chosen as an award winner for the Dr.Toy 2011 Best Children’s Vacation Products.

I look forward to sharing Music and Mandarin at the Oakland Public Library Asian Branch this Wednesday, June 1st!

filling our first orders

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:39:34 -0700

We received our 2,000+ pound shipment of books on Monday and Alex moved it all upstairs...boy, was he sore the next day! We are so excited to be filling orders...even our daughter is helping out! She especially loves the bubble wrap. Also, let us know if you would like a signed copy...Laura would be more than happy to sign your copy of Little Laura and the Birthday Surprise.
We are ecstatically busy planning for conventions, book readings and author appearances. Stay tuned!

A dream come true

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:41:19 -0800

A wonderful surprise arrived in the mail today; 6 advance copies of our book! It is amazing to hold in my hands the culmination of hard work and love...it’s a dream come true.
We will be offering discounts on pre-orders in March 2011, and will deliver books in April 2011.
Thank you to everyone for your support; we really appreciate it!

going to print!

Tue, 7 Dec 2010 00:35:37 -0800

I can’t believe that our book will be going to print within these next couple weeks! It’s been in the making since October 2007, and will be available Spring/Summer 2011. How exciting to see our hard work materialize!