Wednesday, December 3, 2008

South Florida Parenting Holiday Show...SHOW!

This weekend I will be once again bringing the book TOMGIRLZ TALENT TROUBLES to life. This time I will have lots of Tomgirlz friends and my brother Jeremy joining me. If you're in Miami, make sure to come by the South Florida Parenting Holiday show at Dolphin Stadium...that's where we'll be. You can come meet me, get autographs from me and the Tomgirlz series author (she'll be there too!), and see our show of:

-Acrobatics
-Pop and Lock
-Salsa
- And Interactive Dances for you to join us!! (like the Cupid Shuffle and ChaCha Slide)

Showtimes are 3:30pm Saturday December 6
12:30pm Sunday December 7


We'll have free bookmarks for you, and of course awesome girls books for you to check out. Also, we've created a cool new item called WEARABLE BOOK CHARMS (all kinds of charms like peace signs, hearts, butterflies, frogs)...they make great bookmarks, but when you're done reading you can turn them into jewelry for girls or boys by wearing them around your neck, as a bracelet, anklet, or even in your hair!

Monday, September 1, 2008

TOMGIRLZ: GIRLS SPEAKING OUT AGAINST BULLYING

Anti-bullying is a huge topic these days. My school is in Broward County Florida which is the first county to put in place an anti-bullying policy which will soon be statewide in Florida. This is great news! Most kids think bullying is just about physical problems like hitting and tripping and is really innocent. I know it can be from verbal abuses too like teasing that never stops. It's not innocent at all and when I see kids suffer from bullying, it makes me feel really bad.

Girls can be particularly cruel about teasing and bullying. The newest TOMGIRLZ books are going to deal with some of these problems. In the first book, I will meet a new friend. Her name is Abigail, but a lot of people tease her and call her Flabby Abby because she is very overweight (this book will talk about childhood obesity problems too!). Abby is really a very cool girl when you get to know who she really is (and she is much more than just an overweight girl). Overweight becomes another one of those "labels" we talk about in the TOMGIRLZ...remember, TOMGIRLZ is a word that means by yourself and don't allow others to label (limit) you.

Bullying is hurtful to the victim, but I think any person who is a bully is suffering too. Most bullies have been bullied themselves! Anyway, most people experience some kind of teasing or even bullying at some time, but overweight kids seem to experience it even more. I can't wait 'til my new book comes out so everyone can meet Abby and see what a terrific person she is!

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Saturday, August 30, 2008

SELENA GOMEZ SONG "TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW" IS PERFECT!

As you know, I have begun my community service project called "Bringing Books to Life for Literacy." I have visited children at their schools, organizations, and a children's hospital, and have met some truly awesome kids! Until now, though, I've only been able to read (with my author mom) some chapters of my books to the kids, and then perform with my brother Jeremy a salsa routine...My good friend Andee taught me how to dance salsa in the book TOMGIRLZ TALENT TROUBLES. Jeremy gets to perform a pop and lock solo after our salsa routine, but I really want to do a solo of my own just like my acrobatic talent show performance from the book. Problem is, I didn't have the right music...UNTIL NOW!

I am so excited, I just found the perfect music! The song "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" by Selena Gomez is perfect for a lot of reasons. First of all, Selena has a lot of attitude...just like TOMGIRLZ definitely have attitude. But our attitude is always with a positive twist, NOT negative. The song is about a girl who has big dreams...HUGE dreams! Dreams so enormous that everyone tells her that she shouldn't bother. They tell her that her chances are one in a zillion and that she's wasting her time. You know what she answers them? Yup..."Tell Me Something I Don't Know"!

This girl understands that it can be difficult to make dreams come true, but she stands firm in her belief in herself and refuses to change her mind and refuses to allow others to tell her what can or can't happen in her life. She knows that only SHE can control what dreams come true in her life. It's true for you too. You can decide to listen to others and allow their thoughts and desires to affect you...or you can decide that your own thoughts and desires are what will control you and determine who you are and want to be. However, she doesn't live in la la land. She knows she has a tough road ahead, but she is willing to take it on. I LOVE it! What a terrific message in this song...and Selena Gomez herself certainly shows that dreams can come true. I can't wait to start performing my own solo routine now, because I am totally inspired by this great song. Way to go Selena Gomez! She truly shows the spirit of the TOMGIRLZ!!

Friday, August 29, 2008

BROWARD GENERAL CHILDREN's HOSPITAL VISIT

There are some incredibly special people at Broward General in Davie, FL and I had an amazing time visiting them as part of my community service project called "Bringing Books to Life for Literacy." On the day of my visit there were several special girls welcoming me on the oncology floor of the children's hospital. They each have there own story and every one of them inspired me. One girl had even just met the Jonas Brothers through the Make A Wish Foundation. I'm thrilled she would even want to see me after meeting the Jonas Brothers!!

My brother Jeremy was with me and we performed our Salsa routine for them which was our way of bringing the book TOMGIRLZ TALENT TROUBLES to life. I think they liked it, but they especially loved when Jeremy did his pop and lock routine. I have to give him credit, he's actually really good at it. Things got even more fun when he taught the girls how to do some popping. That was great because it was something they could easily do even from their wheelchairs and hooked up to an IV! Let me tell you, these girls have style, courage, and a whole lot of spirit and I thank them so much for the time they spent with me!!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

TOMGIRLZ FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE



My Tomgirlz friends and I look out for each other, but we also care a lot about our community. Since I am in all the TOMGIRLZ chapter books and I think reading is really cool, I would like to see all children enjoy reading as much as I do. So I decided to start a new community service program that I am calling BRINGING BOOKS TO LIFE FOR LITERACY. I will visit children anywhere I am invited like libraries, organizations, events, and children's hospitals. My first visit will be at the Holtz children's hospital in South Florida in August. I will give more details when I get them.

The best thing is what I'll be doing there. I will get to talk to the children about some of the messages in the books and my creator (the book author), will read a chapter from MACKEY THE MEDIC to them. Then I will perform my talent act from the TOMGIRLZ TALENT TROUBLES book, which will be just like bringing the book to life!

I hope they will enjoy the visit and that I can bring a smile to their day. Remember...Laughter is the best medicine!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

TOMGIRLZ TOO THURSDAY: RACHEL RAY, MAKING MORE THAN GOOD FOOD

There are so many amazing Tomgirlz out there, I didn't realize how hard it would be to highlight just one person each week! I had many considerations for today, but decided to go with RACHEL RAY.

I always liked Rachel Ray, but was truly first impressed when I watched an episode of her TV show. She had a young boy as her guest and he really put down cooking, saying it was for girls. Rachel put the boy together with a celebrity male chef and they spent some time together talking and cooking. I forget what kind of food they made, but to me the importance was in the magic that was made. The boy smiled, enjoyed, and now believes that cooking is for everyone!

Rachel Ray is not without her critics, but she refuses to change who she is based on the views of others. This is what really makes her a role model TOMGIRL. Her success comes from just being herself and not trying to fit the mold of others. Way to go!
My mom can't cook at all (well, at least not to the point that the food tastes good!), but Rachel has taught me that cooking is about so much more than just the food. It is about bringing people together, it is about sharing experiences, creating a mood, and connecting with one another.

Food is a recurring theme in the Tomgirlz chapter books. There are many restaurant scenes, food fights, and the book titiled TOMGIRLZ A,B,SEA! is all about the tomgirlz creating mush cup cookies!! In fact, Rachel Ray even makes an appearance in that book. She is on the same cruise with me and my friends and we actually get to meet her!

Rach is definitely one of our tomgirlz. She has a fearless can do spirit that is infectious and she is anxious to share it with everyone. And look at her success in sharing!... She has numerous cook books in publication, a wonderful magazine, and her TV show is now in its second season. Way to go Rach! Even if we don't learn much about cooking (sorry Rach, I could watch you forever and remain a terrible cook), we should all be able to learn a little about living life from Rachel Ray. Above all, the fact that if you take a dream and add some ingredients like action and perseverence, you can make your dreams come true.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

THURSDAY TOMGILRZ TOO: HILLARY CLINTON

A television interview of Bill Clinton became very interesting when he was questioned about his feelings towards Elizabeth Edwards’ attacks against Hillary Clinton concerning her run for the White House. Mrs. Edwards was very critical about Hillary’s role for women and said she was behaving like a man.

No one directly involved in Hillary Clinton’s campaign made a response to Elizabeth Edwards’ statement, but Bill Clinton’s response was as follows… “She’s not acting like a man; she’s behaving like a leader.”

In one very short perfect sentence, Bill Clinton showed an incredible understanding of how women, as well as our young girls, ought to be treated in this world. Why should a woman being strong and effective mean she is man-like? Why should a young girl who likes to catch bugs, jump in puddles, and is smart on the ball field mean she is boy-like?

My belief is that most young girls possess great strengths and leadership abilities and have what it takes to grow into successful women who benefit our communities. Unfortunately, attitudes such as those expressed in Elizabeth Edwards’ statements are damaging for young girls. Hearing attitudes like that early in life can cause girls to subconsciously hold themselves back and not become all that they are capable of.

Just like Hillary Clinton is behaving like a wonderful role model for our young girls, the Tomgirlz also strive to be good role models. Our chapter books were created in response to the negative tom-boy versus girlie girl labeling girls are faced with every day. Ideally, this should be a world where all girls fit and are valued for who they are. All girls are welcome under the tomgirlz label which basically stands for being yourself; there is no longer any need for a girl to try to fit a label that someone else would like to stick her in. Unfortunately, as we have seen, it is often girls who are the meanest to other girls and they grow up to be women who are unsupportive of each other.

The Tomgirlz are about character building by teaching girls to be supportive and respectful of their peers and community. We are about self respect, being cool and funky without being provocative, being independent and competitive while building others up instead of tearing them down or being mean, and promoting genuine good attitude and love of life. All of these positive messages are demonstrated through very funny stories which hopefully will also help foster a love of reading.

Thank you Hillary Clinton for your TOMGIRLZ attitude. We need more statements like when you said in a recent debate, "I'm not playing the gendar card, I'm playing the winning card."