New York Times Best-selling Publishers Release A Pirate's Quest
Book uses pirates and animals to teach children about water
Milford, MI – September 1, 2008 -- There’s a pirate in the woods! Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick, publishers of the New York Times best-selling In the Woods
series, are trying something new – blending gentle lessons of nature with a pirate. They are publishing a book called A Pirate’s Quest (for his family heirloom peg leg).
A Pirate's Quest, written by Laura Sams and Robert Sams and illustrated by Heiner Hertling, uses wildlife paintings to tell the tale of a one-legged pirate and his quest to find a peg leg -- a family heirloom passed down from his grandpappy to his pappy to him. He loses the peg leg on a tiny lake far from the sea. To find it, he must follow the moving water, from the lakes to the rivers and eventually out to the ocean.
“This story is about a pirate trying to find what he has lost,” Carl Sams said. “But the paintings tell so much more as our pirate travels through many different ecosystems along his way. Our goal was to show children how water connects life around the world.”
Heiner Hertling, an award-winning painter and host of the PBS television show, Your Brush With Nature, painted more than fifty original oil paintings for the book. “Adding a pirate to my usual nature-based scenes was a great challenge,” Heiner said. “I want this book to be something that children will love for the story, nature lovers will love for the nature, and artists will love for the art.
The book is based on a song that authors Laura and Robert Sams wrote for a new educational movie about moving water called The Riddle in a Bottle. “We recorded The Peg Leg Song first,” Laura Sams said, “and later realized that it would make a great story for a children’s book.”
Laura and Robert Sams are sister/brother wildlife filmmakers, who directed Sams II and Stoick’s Lost in the Woods: The Movie and Stranger in the Woods: The Movie, which won dozens of awards including the coveted Panda Award for Lost in the Woods: The Movie for best children’s wildlife film world-wide.
Publishers Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick, are a husband/wife team known for their beautiful photography of North American animals, especially the white-tailed deer. Their photography was the inspiration to write and self-publish three award-winning children’s books: Stranger in the Woods, Lost in the Woods and First Snow in the Woods. All three books share gentle lessons about nature and intimate photographs of animals throughout the seasons.
Sams II and Jean Stoick have turned a new page with A Pirate’s Quest, however, as this is a book that they neither wrote nor illustrated. Why did they decide to publish A Pirates Quest? It's simple - they loved the project. They decided A Pirate’s Quest would accomplish the same task as their other books – teach gentle lessons of nature through a great story and world-class art.
A Pirate’s Quest is available for $19.95 in time for this holiday season at many area gift shops and book stores, including Borders and Barnes & Noble, or by calling 1-800-552-1867. For more information visit www.apiratesquest.com.
About Sisbro Studios
Founded in 2001, Sisbro Studios creates award-winning high-quality
movies, books, music and educational media that entertain and inspire
children to learn about and explore the natural world. Sisbro Studios
has been presented with over 40 international awards for its smart and
entertaining product offering. Product families include: The Riddle in a Bottle, Lost in the Woods: The Movie, Stranger in the Woods: The Movie and Bearly Alike for films, A Pirate’s Quest for books, and Lost in the Woods: The Soundtrack, and Stranger in the Woods: The Soundtrack for music. For more information about Sisbro Studios, visit www.sisbro.com.
