Kim Kavin's Blog, page 9

Announcing the Little Boy Blue Schools Program for Grades 11-12

The team behind the book Little Boy Blue is proud to announce a free program for 11th- and 12th-grade English and Journalism teachers who would like to add the book to student reading lists.

The Little Boy Blue Schools Program (www.little-boy-blue-schools.info) provides teachers with free lesson plans that can be incorporated into English and Journalism classes. The program includes six English-course lesson plans that have been created with working faculty in multiple states to meet the nationwide Core Curriculum Standards. In addition, there are five Journalism lesson plans for teachers working beyond those standards.

“We recently did our first full-morning program at Owen J. Roberts High School in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania,” says Little Boy Blue author Kim Kavin. “Blue and I were there for three back-to-back assemblies as well as a smaller meeting with select students in the library. The feedback from students, teachers, and administrators was tremendous. The students were extremely engaged in a powerful story about a dog who is alive and well, and several even asked if they could write term papers about the book. That made us realize that Little Boy Blue offers high school teachers a great way to get students excited about reading, as well as a way to help them learn more about dog rescue in America today.”

There is no cost to teachers who want to use the Little Boy Blue lesson plans. Also free of charge are Skype visits with Kavin for a full-length period with any class of any size that is reading Little Boy Blue. The only cost to school districts or students is purchase of the book, as with any book that students are assigned to read in school.

Also part of the new program are in-school visits with Kavin and Blue, specifically in the New York City/New Jersey/Philadelphia/Wilmington region. Assemblies as well as small classes are options at participating high schools. For in-person visits, an honorarium fee is requested along with a minimum book-purchase order.

Barron’s Educational Series, which published Little Boy Blue in August 2012, is coordinating all requests for lesson plans. Barron’s is also able to help with bulk purchase orders. Hardcover, electronic, and audiobook versions of Little Boy Blue are available. The direct Barron’s contact for the new Little Boy Blue Schools Program is Eric Lowenhar, 800-645-3476, ext. 208, elowenhar@barronseduc.com.

Little Boy Blue was among the top-selling pet books of 2012. It is currently among four finalists for best general-interest dog book of 2012 with the Dog Writers Association of America, and it is a nominee for the Arlene Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors for books that have a positive impact on the world. Little Boy Blue has been featured on CNN, in regional media nationwide, and in national, regional, and local print and online publications. A list of reviews from leading media is available here.

For more information about the Little Boy Blue Schools Program, please visit www.little-boy-blue-schools.info.

Filed under: Schools

Person County Facility Dismantles, Removes Gas Chamber

Officials in Person County, North Carolina, recently announced that they have dismantled and removed the gas chamber from the animal-control facility where the dog Little Boy Blue was rescued.

“I was thrilled when the county announced that it would stop using the chamber soon after Little Boy Blue was published,” says author Kim Kavin, “but I shared the same concerns as rescue advocates who said that it had to be removed to prevent any future use. The shelter director stated on national television that he did not feel it was cruel, and even after the local paper reported that the gas chamber was no longer being used at all, the county manager admitted to me that it would still be used to kill wildlife. The inconsistencies between what was happening inside the shelter and what the public was being told were giant red flags, so I pressed the county manager for a date when it would be dismantled. I also gave her a contact at the national level to answer any remaining questions that the shelter had about recommended forms of euthanasia for wildlife.”

The county’s press release states that the gas chamber was dismantled and removed on January 2 “to assure the public that it is no longer in use.” The staff are now using lethal injection only, including sedating animals before the injections are given.

“It’s great that Person County has taken these steps to remove its gas chamber and use a more humane form of euthanasia, and hopefully now the staff will focus on bringing down the kill rate altogether,” Kavin says. “Even with the help of local rescue groups, the kill rate for dogs like Blue at Person County’s taxpayer-funded facility remains well above 50 percent. I sincerely hope that rescue groups nationwide will reach out to Person County now that the shelter has shown its willingness to change.”

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

“Little Boy Blue” is “One of the Most Powerful Dog Stories Ever,” Florida Newspaper Says

The Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida has just published its review of Little Boy Blue, calling it “one of the most powerful dog stories ever.”

Reviewer Ruth Oneufer writes: “The book unfolds like a mystery and exposes the brutal reality of what still goes on in many of America’s shelters and the grass-roots efforts that are turning it all around. The moments of joy and the signs of real progress carry the reader through the uncomfortable reality of too many homeless dogs. … Kavin never becomes preachy and the story never becomes overly heartbreaking. Her background in journalism allows her to keep the book moving along in the search for solutions. There are numbers and statistics, information that has attribution. … All of it is woven into a joyful story of the adoption of a puppy named Blue.”

We are, as always, honored and humbled to receive such a glowing review. We’re posting it on the book’s official page of review excerpts, and we appreciate the way the writer recognized that quite a lot of reporting went into telling this ultimately heartwarming tale.

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

“Little Boy Blue” Nominated for ASJA Arlene Book Award

Little Boy Blue has been nominated for an Arlene Award for Books, one of the highest honors given to non-fiction works by the American Society of Journalists and Authors. The Arlene is a special award presented every three years to a book that makes a documented difference by inspiring action that has a positive impact on the community, society, or the world.

The nominator was Michele C. Hollow, who writes the popular Pet News and Views blog. She nominated Little Boy Blue because after the book’s publication, the shelter where Blue was rescued eliminated the use of its gas chamber. Local activists demanding humane methods of euthanasia had called for this change for years, and it occurred only after Little Boy Blue was published and generated strong public outcry.

The winner of the Arlene Award for Books will be announced this spring. Little Boy Blue author Kim Kavin is a previous recipient of the ASJA Arlene Award for Articles, which she won in 2005. That award was for a cover feature in Northeast, the Sunday magazine of The Hartford Courant, about how new forms of crisis intervention training helps police officers work better with mentally ill offenders. The article helped to inspire $2 million in funding for CIT programs throughout the state of Connecticut.

Little Boy Blue is also currently among four finalists selected by the Dog Writers Association of America for best general interest/reference book of 2012. That award is expected to be given in February.

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

The Times of Trenton features “Little Boy Blue”

The Times of Trenton featured Little Boy Blue author Kim Kavin in this December 26 article about the trend of rescue groups moving dogs from Southern shelters into homes in the state of New Jersey.

Blue was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Person County, North Carolina, before his photo was placed on Petfinder.com, which is where Kim found him and offered to adopt him.

In the Times article, Kim talks about the fact that there is now demand for dogs like Blue in the Northern states, where purebreds used to be the most sought-after puppies. It’s a trend that is helping to ease the strain on shelters that do not have enough adopters in their own areas.

“Something has happened up here where it’s cool to have a rescue dog,” Kim told the newspaper. “People are starting to understand that dogs in shelters mostly are not bad and there are a lot of unwanted puppies.”

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

“Little Boy Blue” Generates Substantial Donation for The Petfinder Foundation

We’re thrilled to report that Barron’s Educational Services, the publisher of Little Boy Blue, has just made its first donation to The Petfinder Foundation based on the book’s sales during its first quarter of publication.

The amount is being kept confidential at the publisher’s request, but we have been told the figure, and we are excited to be able to say that it is a substantial donation.

Lisa Robinson, executive director of The Petfinder Foundation, sent a lovely letter of thanks that stated: “Barron’s, Kim Kavin, and Little Boy Blue have all been great supporters of The Petfinder Foundation as well as advocates for adoptable pets all over the country.”

The Petfinder Foundation logo will continue to appear on the cover of Little Boy Blue, and Barron’s will continue to make donations in keeping with the book’s overall sales figures.

All of us on the Little Boy Blue team are thrilled to be able to help The Petfinder Foundation, which in 2011 alone awarded more than $8 million in grants to shelters and rescue groups that are striving every day to help all the wonderful dogs like Blue.

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

“Little Boy Blue” Named Finalist as Best General Interest Dog Book of 2012

The Dog Writers Association of America has just announced that Little Boy Blue is among four finalists for best general interest/reference book of 2012. The winner of this category is automatically a contender for the Maxwell Medallion, which is the association’s highest honor.

Also nominated in this category are Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred by Josh Dean; Between Dog and Wolf: Understanding the Connection and Confusion by Jessica Addams and Andrew Miller; and Do Dogs Dream? Nearly Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know by Stanley Coren.

The winner will be announced at an awards banquet in Manhattan on Sunday, February 10, 2013. Please wish us luck!

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

“Little Boy Blue” Completes 2012 Promotional Tour

Last night, Little Boy Blue author Kim Kavin and Blue himself gave a talk and signed books at Mendham Borough Library in Morris County, N.J. The standing-room-only event capped off some two dozen promotional appearances that Kim and Blue have done since the book premiered in August 2012.

Kim and Blue are now receiving requests for appearance dates in early 2013. If you’re interested in hosting a book signing at your store, library, or high school, please contact marketing manager Eric Lowenhar at Barron’s through our Contact page.

Filed under: Appearances

“Little Boy Blue” Inspires T-Shirt Fund-Raiser

High-school journalism students in Person County, North Carolina, have begun a fund-raising campaign to help homeless dogs following a Skype “visit” with Little Boy Blue author Kim Kavin.

Person County is home to the high-kill shelter where Blue was saved by a local rescuer named Rhonda Beach. The new fund-raising campaign at the local school will benefit CARE, which is the local rescue group that Beach operates. Year-after-year statistics show that Beach’s group saves far more dogs from death row than the taxpayer-funded shelter itself.

The students are requesting a donation of $25 per T-shirt, payable through Paypal. Again, all proceeds will benefit CARE.

If you’d like to support these kids as they try to make a difference in the community where Little Boy Blue was saved, you can order by e-mailing teacher Phyliss Boatwright at boatwrightpa@roxborocommunityschool.org. Payment for T-shirts is through this Paypal link.

Filed under: Schools

“Little Boy Blue” Speaking Tour Expands to High Schools

The Little Boy Blue speaking tour will expand next week to include a first-ever day of presentations for high-school students.

“Since Little Boy Blue hit bookshelves in August, Blue and I have signed books and talked about dog adoption at conventions, bookstores, libraries, rescue fund-raisers, festivals, and more,” says author Kim Kavin. “We’ve had groups as small as three and as large as a thousand. We’ve shown that we can excite any size and age audience, and that Blue is a well-behaved guest no matter where he goes or who wants to meet him. Now we’re excited to expand our tour with a high-school program that includes full assemblies as well as more intimate Q&A sessions with select students. We think it’s a great opportunity to help educate the next generation of adults about what’s happening with shelter dogs all across America.”

The first school to host a Little Boy Blue program will be Owen J. Roberts High School in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. Kim and Blue will be on stage for three morning assemblies in the auditorium followed by “lunch with the author” and Q&A sessions in the library for students selected by their teachers from classes in journalism and animal studies.

Local bookstores are offering discounted copies of Little Boy Blue to any students who wish to have a book signed during the day’s events.

“This opportunity came about because the school’s principal came to one of our book signings, heard me speak, met Blue, and thought the message of Little Boy Blue would resonate with his students,” Kim says. “We are honored to have this chance to show how the book Little Boy Blue can be an exciting part of a high school’s educational program.”

If your high school is interested in hosting a similar program in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Delaware, contact marketing manager Eric Lowenhar at Barron’s.

Filed under: Appearances, Schools