What a nice surprise!

I received a message the other day from newspaper columnist Kevin Bradley telling me to keep an eye out in The Shopper because he wrote a PART 2 about my books.  I was pleasantly surprised.  As Bradley writes, " Giving a child the gift of a book can help them develop a lifelong interest in literature, expanding their imagination and stimulating their mind."  I couldn't have said it better myself.  Thanks Kevin!

Original Article in The Shopper written by Kevin Bradley - 
http://www.shoppersource.com/articles/2013/12/10/columnists/bradley/120413-bradley.txt

"Chicago School Teacher, Lisa Tortorello first ventured into the world of writing with a memoir (My Hero, My Ding) detailing the special relationship she had with her grandfather growing up. Her subsequent inspirations have developed into a children’s book series with two installments published and a third in the thought process.

Lisa has long loved the moose. She and her husband, Charlie, share their home with dozens of the creatures in stuffed animal form, providing plenty of ‘moosespiration’ (inspiration derived from moose) for her storybooks. Mark the Missing Moose and The Moose at the Manger are written for children in kindergarten to grade four or five, although Lisa says, “Sometimes my sixth graders also like the books and their message.”

The Moose at the Manger is a Christmas story, published in June of 2012, featuring a moose lost in the forest who follows a Christmas star and sees Jesus. Mark the Missing Moose is inspired by real life events, but toned down to children’s level. It is a story to help kids understand dealing with a loss. These titles are available at www.amazon.com, or by purchasing signed copies direct from the author, available at her moose blog, musethemoose.blogspot.com.

After Lisa has completed a story and self-edited; she then submits it to her publisher, Tate Publishing, who edits the story for grammar or content issues, returning the manuscript to Lisa for revisions. Following the editing and revision process, Lisa is paired with one of Tate’s illustrators, who, Lisa says, “Have done a wonderful job of bringing my stories to life.”

Lisa also has a marketing representative, assigned by Tate, who helps find local events for her to do book signings and helps her market her books on the internet; but the reality is: In today’s world of decreased marketing budgets among publishers, the bulk of this duty lies with the author. This is why Lisa ranks marketing highest on her current priority list as an author. She sells more paperbacks than electronic editions, and mostly during face to face events.

Giving a child the gift of a book can help them develop a lifelong interest in literature, expanding their imagination and stimulating their mind. A signed book can make the gift a little extra special. Helping kids develop good habits and find inspiration is a lasting and positive influence. Questions or comments may be sent to kevinbradley@columnist.com. Good luck, K.B."

There is just one slight addition to this article - as my regular readers know, the amount of moose we have is well over a dozen dozen- 

This is where my "moosepiration"' comes from!

If you missed Part 1, you can read it on The Shopper website by clicking this link -

http://www.shoppersource.com/articles/2013/12/10/columnists/bradley/111313-bradley.txt

Our Moo is in the News!

Gene Cittadino and his granddaughter, Lisa Tortorello, were two peas in a pod, best friends, soul mates, and partners in pranks. Although their ages set them apart, their minds seemed as one. In fact their relationship was so beautifully spectacular that Lisa awoke from a dream knowing he was passing, although they were several hundred miles apart at the time. Their minds were melded as one, thus cascading a clairvoyant message, momentarily, across the country.

Gene was a WWII veteran and local businessman. For thirty years (from about 1961 to his passing in 1991) he owned and operated Deno’s Jewelry at 18053 Torrence Avenue in Lansing, Illinois. Lisa grew up in Chicago, but she and her sister spent much time at Grandfather’s store, her first job, where customers might come in to find them playing pranks on each other. Customers also noticed they would affectionately jokingly call each other “Ding”, short for ding-a-ling. That was part of their fun. Lisa learned many valuable lessons from her grandfather, such as: Always make time to have fun; even mundane tasks can be made fun; and memories are a precious gift.

After Grandfather passed away, Lisa began taking notes, writing down in notebooks chronicling all the silly, fun times they had together. She continued this for several years, but not until 2008 did her ‘eureka moment’ hit, when she said, “I think I really have something here.” She then developed her notes into a manuscript. In 2009, she researched Tate Publishing on the internet and with the Better Business Bureau.

Click link to read the rest of the article-
http://www.shoppersource.com/articles/2013/11/19/columnists/bradley/111313-bradley.txt

Thanks Kevin for such a fine article! It definitely gets our seal of approval!