Children's Literature Grows Diverse

    MIDVALE, UT, January 20, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Each January bloggers, authors and publishers unite to showcase multicultural books for kids, libraries, schools and parents. Multicultural Children's Book Day creators, Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, enlist authors in book giveaways for educators http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/.

Award-winning author, Karl Beckstrand is from San Jose, Calif., but he has lived in many places--including South America. He speaks Spanish and English and can grasp German, Italian, French, and Portuguese. Two companies published his early works. Since 2004 he has run Premio Publishing & Gozo Books, which features black, white, Asian, Hispanic and American Indian characters.

"Twenty of our titles have characters of color," Beckstrand said, "including a Young Adult novel set in Nevada's silver rush. Our newest book is 'The Dancing Flamingos of Lake Chimichanga.' Many of our books are bilingual with a pronunciation guide in English and Spanish."

"My first publisher died the day we were to print my first book," Beckstrand said. "I had to learn the ropes of publishing and marketing." With that lesson and experience with another publisher, Beckstrand has run PremioPublishing.com for more than ten years.

Premio Publishing has earned its share of recognition. "Bright Star, Night Star: An Astronomy Story" hit number two on Amazon's Hot New Children's Books list and won a 2014 UP Author's design award. "To Swallow the Earth" is a finalist for the Laramie Award. "She Doesn't Want the Worms - Ella no quiere los gusanos" was in ForeWord Reviews Magazine's top 10 Best Books of 2011 and featured in School Library Journal. "Crumbs on the Stairs - Migas en las escaleras" consistently ranks in Amazon's top 10 bestselling books for ESL, large print and Spanish children's titles. "Bad Bananas: A Story Cookbook for Kids" was praised in Horn Book's blog, and bilingual app/book "Sounds in the House: A Mystery" was given a nod by Kirkus Reviews.

"We're working on a graphic novel and more multicultural/multilingual books," Beckstrand said. "'The Bridge of the Golden Wood' teaches children how to earn and save money. 'Agnes's Rescue' is the true story of a girl who walked a thousand miles across the plains into the Rocky Mountains in blizzard conditions (much of the way without shoes). 'Butterfly Blink' is the second in a wordless book series."

All published titles can be found via Amazon/Kindle, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble.com/Nook, Brodart, EBSCO, Flipkart, Follett, Gardners, iBooks, Ingram, Inktera, Kobo, Library Direct, Mackin, OverDrive, Quality, SCRIBD, txtr as well as free ebooks at http://GozoBooks.com.

Premio Publishing & Gozo Books has been delighting readers since 2004. Our multicultural app, fiction, non-fiction biographies, ebook mysteries, and activity books (geography, astronomy, Spanish/bilingual/ESL, animals, and kid's cookbook) have diverse characters in funny, engaging, vivid color. Nationally-lauded (ForeWord Reviews, Horn Book blog, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews) our educational stories capture attention and create repeat readers. Not about ethnic or racial diversity, they simply feature black, white, Asian, Hispanic, American Indian, and mixed-race characters--with family values like courage, sharing, and loyalty. Find our books via: Amazon/Kindle, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble/Nook, Biblioboard, Brodart, EBSCO, Flipkart, Follett, Gardners, iBooks, Ingram, Inktera, Kobo, Library Direct, Mackin, OverDrive, Quality, SCRIBD, txtr, and Premiobooks.com (FREE online books); a gift of laughter, learning & family fun for ages 2 and up. https://www.facebook.com/PremioBooks, FREE Online books / SEE INSIDE: Premiobooks.com

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