If you received this email and had trouble reading it, go to
http://www.childrencomefirst.com/ccfbulletin0602.shtml  

NEW TO THE CCF SITE:

• 4Sale:
  • Overstock 80% off book sale - We're liquidating our overstock book inventory. Selling it at an 80% discount. Books are heavy so shipping is not feasible unless you're willing to pay for the shipping cost. But if you live in close enough to Colorado Springs, CO, and can pick up your order, then you can save 80% on sales over $100.
• Contests: 
  • CCF Writer: An online writing contest - An online writing contest for both published and yet-to-be-published writers of all ages. You must use the "first line" we provide to write your story. Next deadline is March 10th and the "first line" is all about spiders!
  • CCF Writer: Online contest entries - Visit the CCF Contest Entries page to read past winning entries.
• News:
  • The "Lucky" Controversy: An educator's response - Few Newbery winners make such a splash in the national media as the 2007 winner has. In this article, Linnea Hendrickson responds to the controversy surrounding the use of the word "scrotum" in The Higher Power of Lucky. In so doing, she answers the one question we had, whether the use of the word in question was intentional, designed to raise the publicity the book has now garnered.
• Literacy: 
  • Breaking Down Barriers - "Tufts literacy expert Maryanne Wolf has pioneered ground-breaking research that has led to advances in dyslexia testing and treatment." 
• Writing: 
  • How to write so you get good reviews - Rick Roche gives a link to an online booklet on "How to write good reviews" that we feel would help authors with their writing. Not that we're putting the cart before the horse nor letting techniques get in the way of the story but, all things being equal, why not sit on the other side of the road and understand what it is reviewers are looking for when reading your book? 
• Reviews: 
  • The Secret is a book by Rhonda Byrne that came across our desk and, just on looks alone, it's a title that should sell. The publisher took care to design the cover and page layout in such exquisite detail you actually feel like you're holding a precious secret in your hands. It's available from amazon.com at a discount. 
  • Ultraprevention: Get healthy for life - Two physicians unveil a revolutionary, accessible, science-based, patient-centered program for living an active, age-defying, disease-free life in their book, Ultraprevention: The 6-Week Plan That Will Make You Healthy for Life, now available in paperback.
  • The Higher Power of Lucky - Maia Cheli-Colando has written a perceptive review of this year's Newbery Medal winner. "From what I had heard, I expected to respect the story, and most likely to enjoy it...What I didn't expect was to be inspired, charmed and revolutionized by the story."
• Bestsellers:
  • Booksense Bestseller Lists - Links to the lists are updated regularly
• Blog:
  • Got Marathons On My Mind - Probably because it's my one and only running the Boston Marathon this time around! Visit her site and read the "In Bacow we trust" blog she posted. There's something to be said about working as a team rather than going at it alone. You can sponsor Christine and receive a tax deductible receipt from Tufts University.
• Donations: We've added three vendors to those CCF is already affiliated with. If you go to these vendors' site from the links in the CCF site and purchase anything from them, they will donate a referral fee back to CCF.
  • DreamTemplate: Premium Website Templates -CCF offers web design services. Oftentimes it's more cost effective to select an already designed template for your site than it is to design one from scratch.
  • Swanson Health Products - For a while now I've been looking for the best place to buy nutritional supplements that are high in quality and low in price. I think I just may have found such place in Swanson Health Products.
  • eVitamins - It's a bit of a toss up as to whether we like Swanson or eVitamins best. Each offers items the other one doesn't. One thing we just discovered at the eVitamins site is the great recipes it lists, all of which include nutritional information.