“Growing kids through diverse learning experiences”® Farmer’s Hat Productions® offers fun, educational ways for children to engage with the world.

Bur Bur and Friends inspires kids to cultivate their talents and self-esteem through sports, outdoor exploration, active play and true life experiences we like to refer to as "real moments."

Bur Bur and Friends is a cast of multicultural characters created by two mothers, JoAnne Pastel and Kakie Fitzsimmons. The characters are based off of real children, including their own.”

Kakie Fitzsimmons is vice president and founding partner of Farmer’s Hat Productions, which recently was awarded for Bur Bur and Friendsâ„¢ Product Line

By Katie Mintz, courtesy of Sun Newspapers

One Apple Valley woman is turning her passion for writing, and literally her son, into an award-winning venture.

Kakie Fitzsimmons is co-author of the “Bur Bur and Friends” children’s book series with a cast of multicultural characters, including Mateo, who is based on her 7-year-old son. (more…)

By Kate Kunkel, Lake Minnetonka Magazine
February, 2008

The view from JoAnne Pastel’s living room window really does remind you of a storybook world. Trees frame the winter shoreline of Long Lake, sparkling in the sunlight that illuminates the ice on the branches. Look for a moment, it isn’t hard to imagine long summer days where a family fishes together from the shore before taking a stroll through a quiet lakeside neighborhood. It’s quite literally a scene from a children’s book. Several books, in fact. (more…)