Our own Kakie Fitzsimmons was recently interviewed by Christina Rodriguez, who is an award winning illustrator and member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI)

Kakie Fitzsimmons is the Vice President and Co-Founder of Farmer’s Hat Productions, an independent publishing company for her brand, Bur Bur and Friends. Her company strives to encourage childhood learning, early literacy, and active play through exciting, educational products featuring culturally-diverse characters. I personally love Anna Goes Hiking for the lively pictures of animals, nature exploration, and the whole family enjoying the great outdoors. Kakie, who also co-authors the Bur Bur and Friends books, graciously let me interview her for this week’s Art Crush Wednesday.
_________

What was the motivation behind the Bur Bur and Friends series?

Click here to read the rest Art Crush Wednesdays: An Interview with Kakie Fitzsimmons
(more…)

Posted and written by Kakie Fitzsimmons

I recently had a discussion with a woman who was concerned about her young son. He was trying to make friends with kids in the neighborhood and it wasn’t working out well for him. As parents, most of us have experienced this in some format or another and it got me thinking this might be a good blog topic. (more…)

Spelling is an important step in the literacy process and it is our job to make it a postive and fun experience for children. At Farmer’s Hat Productions, we had so much fun writing Bur Bur’s Boating ABC’s, winner of Learning Magazine’s 2008 Teacher’s Choice Award for the family, iParenting Media Award and Silver Mom’s Choice Award. We thought teaching kids to spell should be as easy as A B C! (pun intended) As a result, we came up with this list.

Below are some solutions we came up with. If you have suggestions or thoughts about some we have missed, or could a story that has worked well in your household, please share below! (more…)

Posted and written by Kakie Fitzsimmons

I called my son’s school and asked what they would be doing for the inauguration. The teacher was really happy to hear my voice and invited me to come to the school and watch the ceremony with the class. I called my mother and asked her to join us, which she did. The viewing was in the school library and I was thrilled. My son sat in front of me and I had my arms around him while he held my hands. As Aretha Franklin sang, a tear quietly fell down the side of my face and I whispered a few statements of praise into his ear. (more…)

Healing history and moving ahead. Choosing hope over fear. Missed it? Watch the video of the inaugural ceremony and speech with friends right here. Please share your response and where you were during this monumentous moment in history.

(more…)

Our friend Amy, Author of Bowllan’s Blog for the School Library Journal is at the inauguration today and is documenting her pilgrimage via you tube and her cell phone. Below is a picture of Amy with CNN Worldwide Anchor and correspondant Soledad O’Brian and the crowd, taken earlier this morning.

Also, video below

(more…)

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King and all he stood for. At Farmer’s Hat Productions, our tagline is “Growing Kids Through Diverse Learning Experiences.” We try to emulate this in our award winning Bur Bur and Friends children’s book series. We hope you will take some time out of your day to reflect on his message and all he stood for. We thought we would take the initiative to provide you with some facts about this great man. Did you know that Dr. King: (more…)

Are you seizing the opportunity to have meaningful dialogue with your kids about the inauguration of Barack Obama and induction into office as The President of the United States?

I can’t help but thinking how profound it is that this inaugurtion comes the day after the celebration of the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. It makes the statement “YES, WE CAN!” even more meaningful. Below is a video that says it all. Watch it in it’s entirety. You just might need a Kleenex. (more…)

Next Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn into office as our 44th President of the United States. There is media hype everywhere about fashion, what will our new First Lady and the girls wear for the occasion. In this letter he wrote to his daughters, Barack discusses the things that are meaningful and profound about this great country of ours and what he wants for them. It is the essence of what this inauguration is all about. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. After you read the letter, we would like to hear your thoughts. (more…)

By Kristin Schumacher

Book Review: As the authors were we were writing the award winning children’s book, Anna Goes Hiking (ages 2-8), it brought up memories of their first hiking trips as children and the family values it gave. The book was written by JoAnne Pastel and Kakie Fitzsimmons, two moms who discovered an untapped a niche in the children’s publishing industry and decided to fill it. Their series, Bur Bur and Friends, uses a cast of multicultural characters who educate kids about sports, outdoor exploration and active play through their experiences. (more…)

Posted and written by Kakie Fitzsimmons

I have recently been networking out on a website called TwitterMoms. The other day someone reached out to ask me to join her as a friend. She also asked me “What was the best thing that happened to you today?” As a writer, it is sometimes easy to forget little moments to be thankful for each day. For many of us authors, those are the things that motivate us to “pick up the pen” and start writing. (more…)

By Kakie Fitzsimmons

This year, a den leader by the name of Ann spoke with some parents new to scouting. She shared the story of her role as a parent in scouting and how she came to be a den leader. It happened when her oldest son, Frank, was a Tiger Cub. She shared what being a leader in boy scouts had meant for her relationship with her sons. Her stories played a role in helping some step forward and volunteer to lead.. (more…)