Best of La Jolla Award

WASHINGTON D.C., September 22, 2008 -- Kane/Miller Book Publishers has been selected for the 2008 Best of La Jolla Award in the Publishers category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).

The USLBA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA):

U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USLBA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USLBA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Local Business Association

Video Book Reviews

Stay tuned to the KaneMillerBooks channel at YouTube. There are now four new video teasers / book reviews that have been put together by local La Jolla students. They put together these videos all by themselves; they selected the titles they chose to discuss after reading through our Fall 2008 list, produced and edited the videos and have committed to doing more for us in the future.

If you're a teacher, have children of your own or know of a young reader that has the ability (and is willing) to provide audio or video book reviews, let us know. We're willing to send out FREE samples of our Fall 2008 titles (one per reader) to the first 25 people to respond. Summer reading assignments will never look the same again!

Golf, Dinosaurs and Traffic

The U.S. Open began here in La Jolla today. Apparently, the traffic was supposed to cause a major disruption to residents and those of us who work in the area. This morning was unusually quiet on the roads, especially for a Monday.

My son and I played golf last night. Granted, we were playing with a plastic golf set, and he's still learning the rules of the game but, we had a lot of fun.

He's especially interested in dinosaurs these days, so I made sure to pull out the copy of Could a Tyrannosaurus Play Table Tennis? from his bookshelf before bed. I turned to the page with the Gallimimus playing golf which led to giggles and him explaining to me, as he read me the additional pages, that dinosaurs weren't quite equipped to play golf, or any other sports and activities mentioned in the book.

Kane/Miller recently sent copies of the above title, by Andrew Plant, along with Dinosaurs, by Bénédicte Guettier to the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center. They put together an art contest - Dino Art 2008 - and celebrated their four-year anniversary (or birthday) this last weekend.

I was pleased to not only learn about the great resources the center provides, but to also discover a wonderful new destination when traveling through Colorado. If you're in the area, I encourage you to check it out, if you haven't already.

Tina in Toronto

I'm meeting Tina Burke today for the first time. She's just moved to Toronto and since I'm here on business, it's the perfect opportunity to sit down with her and learn more about her future projects and what types of promotions she and I can work on together. She's created several beautiful titles with us over the past few years and we're anxious to learn about how we can have her appear in the schools, bookstores and libraries in Canada and the U.S. to promote her work.

by Tina Burke
From Australia


Fly, Little Bird


It's Christmas


Sophie's Big Bed
(Toddler Tales)

Tina grew up in Warriewood on Sydney's northern beaches, with her parents, Ron and Janet, and two older brothers, Paul and Sean. Her mother was always interested in art, and got Tina interested too by asking for her opinion when she was working on a painting, and then eventually buying her a box of pastels and a sketch pad. Tina always seemed to enjoy drawing and painting animals most of all.

Eventually, Tina moved to Sydney's eastern beaches - first Bondi Beach, then Coogee Beach (which looks a lot like La Jolla, California) before moving to Toronto, Canada last month.

Fly, Little Bird was Tina Burke's first book for children, but not her first work for children. For six years, she worked for Walt Disney animation.

Giving Thanks

This week is a quiet week. Many schools are closed and businesses as well as parents take advantage of the opportunity to spend quality time with their children.

The busiest time of year - for just about everyone - is upon us. My father's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year - and just about every other year it seems. He's taking off on a trip by himself to visit his brothers on the East Coast. My mom will be enjoying the holiday with her sisters, I will be spending time with "family" in La Jolla while my sister will be joining her in-laws this Thursday for a large gathering and a lovely meal.

Family is something that connects us all, whether we are linked by blood, namesake, or just the bond of being present in each other's lives, whether physically or otherwise.

I plan on taking this week to slow down and really spend some quality time with my son. Even though he's with me 60% of the time (not that I'm keeping track), I can't help but feel as though the hustle and bustle of daily life keeps us somewhat disconnected at times.

There are several Kane/Miller books that highlight families of all shapes and sizes. Here are just a few to share with your loved ones:

From Australia

Are We There Yet?

by Alison Lester

From France

Grandparents!

Written by Anne-Laure Fournier le Ray

Illustrated by Roser Capdevila

From Taiwan

Guji Guji

by Chih-Yuan Chen

From the Netherlands

Benny

by Sieb Posthuma

From Germany

Selma

by Jutta Bauer

From Israel

The Key to My Heart

Written by Nira Harel

Illustrated by Yossi Abulafia

From the Philippines

The Mats

Written by Francisco Arcellana

Illustrated by Hermès Alègrè

From Australia

When Mum Was Little

by Mini Goss

From Belgium

You Be Me, I'll Be You

by Pili Mandelbaum

In the above book list, there are eight unique countries represented! Kane/Miller currently represents over 20 different countries from our current title list. Please help us to open young minds to the world by sharing this post with the book lovers in your life.

Job Opening

Kane/Miller is seeking a part-time Marketing Assistant. Please submit a resume if you reside in the San Diego area and are interested in applying for this newly created position.

Position: Marketing Assistant

Summary: Long-term, part-time position, approximately 25 hours a week during the afternoon hours, in the La Jolla office.

Eligibility: Fluency in speaking Spanish, proficiency working with Microsoft Word and Excel, experience in professional writing and communication, familiarity with children’s publishing and/or child development is preferred, but not required.

Duties: Tasks include (but are not limited to): packing and shipping of review copies and other press materials, organizing and maintaining marketing calendar, online research, data entry, and light office duties. Occasional travel may be required (both out of state and within driving distance).

Pay: Competitive, hourly rate, with a potential for an increase after six months.

Contact: Please submit resume and references to Sondra Santos LaBrie, Marketing Manager, Kane/Miller Book Publishers, P.O. Box 8515, La Jolla, CA 92038, 858-456-0540, sondra@kanemiller.com

Wicked Witch of the West

Throughout the Denver Broncos game last night, and during the entire half-time, the TV screen kept flashing with updates about the evacuated areas in Southern California due to the growing winds that kept the nearby fires spreading.

I had a flashback to 4 years ago to the date - just about - when I was six months pregnant with my son, and my ex-husband and I were just moving into the place where my son and I still reside. We drove South, past the wildfires that had just jumped across Highway 15 towards the direction of our new home, which we hadn't even slept in at that point.

Fast forward four years and my son and I are inside, doors and windows shut tight, air conditioner and humidifier running while all I could smell was fire. What used to be a pleasant reminder of bonfires is now a brutal reality that the fires could once again spread quickly and threaten our home and of course, those in our neighboring communities.

We watched the news - and the football game - and after my son fell asleep I made sure I had packed away the belongings and personal items that I would take with us come morning.

I really couldn't get much sleep. I kept tossing and turning. The smell of smoke grew stronger throughout the night, as did the howling winds and I kept thinking about what we would do, where we would go, what I would take with us.

Just as I assumed, the morning sun did not peek through the smoke. Ash was now falling from the sky. My son and I made two trips to the car before finally feeling ready to leave, not knowing when exactly we'd be back. I ended up taking him into the Kane/Miller office with me while I took care of a few things, but mostly just needed the comfort of being around other people. There was no reason to really be working since a State of Emergency had been declared for all of San Diego County, as well as six other counties in Southern California.

My son is with his dad this evening. I am staying with one of the founders of Kane/Miller, as she has kindly opened up her home to me. This is the first time I have spent the night here but certainly not the first time her spare bedroom has been offered. In fact, I had a key to her house on my key chain for nearly six months after my ex-husband filed for divorce and things started to become unsettled in the home front.

I have become rather close with the Kane family and all of the employees during my nearly seven years with the company. I am grateful for all they have done for me, both personally and professionally. It was Mrs. Kane and her husband who first initiated me on my first business trip back in 2001. It was Mr. Kane who introduced me to anchovies during that same visit to Baltimore. And it is with the Kane family who my son and I will spend Thanksgiving with, as we have done every year (with one exception) since I started working for Kane/Miller.

I can't imagine working for anyone else after all this time. I have fantastic co-workers who are wonderful individuals and have become family to my son and I.

We are safe this evening and we are grateful for every one's kind thoughts and prayers and can only hope that all of the good karma that's due comes our way this evening.

The Santa Ana winds are supposed to get worse over the next few days. Homes just North and East of my neighborhood have been evacuated, including the home of one of our staff members.

After the Cedar Fires of 2003, the county and city of San Diego, the people, and the emergency crews are better prepared. Evacuations have been prompting people out of their homes with time to spare but the fires are unpredictable, the winds are sporadic and the resources are scarce.

The Witch Fires of 2007 have already been determined to be the worst fires that Southern California has ever seen and I hope and pray that all of those that have been evacuated can recover from this devastating loss once the fires have died down and our lives are meant to return to normal.