Books published by Bellissima Publishing

Words have different meanings at different times, and what a word means is relative to the context of whatever is being communicated. The main thing to remember about words is that words are the basic tools of communication, whether you write words, or say words, or read them! And in order to find out why this 'learn to read' book's title is "What's Up?" you will just have to read this book! Written by Penelope Dyan, award winning author, attorney and former teacher, this book, filled with word repetition, word recognition and rhyme, is all about . . . you guessed it! Words! Penelope Dyan wants you to have fun with words, because words are the fun part of every book! (Although, you WILL have to note that the kid friendly illustrations in this Penelope Dyan book are also loads of fun!) Extra large print is easy on little eyes, and the book size is just right for kid-sized backpacks and for holding in small hands! "What's Up?" is also a great book for ESL classes! And you can find a free music video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel for even more learning fun!

We all need to have giving hearts, but few of us really know or understand what a giving heart truly is. Read this 'learn to read' book based on and inspired by a very true story about three boys, and find out what a giving heart does and why a giving heart is also a loving heart. This faith based book uses word repetition, word recognition and rhyme, and extra large sized print perfect for little eyes, along with colorful kid-friendly illustrations to help kids have fun as they practice their reading skills. Kids can copy the words and the pictures and make their own books about what they think it means to have a giving heart, and parents and teachers can use the biblical references that open and close this book to further enhance the conversation about this very important subject.Penelope Dyan believes children are not only the future, they are also a very big part of the present. Dyan also believes children should have fun learning, because if kids don't have fun learning, they won't love to learn. With that in mind, she also created a free music video that can be found on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel that goes along with this book for even more learning fun!

Sometimes people start fighting, and then the fighting gets bigger and bigger! Before you realize it, there is a great big war going on right before your eyes! What do you do? One thing you can do is something that is in this 'learn to read' book filled with word repetition, word recognition and rhyme. Written by the award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, this book is meant to make you stop and think. It is also meant to open up a discussion about something that is very important to us all, and it can help us to explore a very simple truth. Can you figure out what that truth is? Filled with kid-friendly illustrations and extra large sized print perfect for little eyes to see, the book size is perfect for kid-sized backpacks, and is just the right size for little hands to hold! The drawings can be copied, and kids can write their very own books as they copy the words they learn. And then, to make the learning experience even more fun, there is a free music video that goes along with this book that kids can watch on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel!

Whether you have a big brother or a little brother, brothers are lots of fun; and that is exactly why Penelope Dyan wrote this book to remind those of us who have brothers exactly how we feel about them.Use this 'learn to read' book written and illustrated by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, to practice reading skills through word recognition, and word repetition and rhyme, and then begin a discussion about what it really means to be a family, because a family is more than just a bunch of people. A family is where love is and where love grows!Written for Penelope Dyan's very own brother, see if you can figure out why she wrote this book and whether what she says about her brother is true or false; and then sit down and write something about your brother or sister so you can tell them how you feel about them. Maybe you can even make a book of your own!Then watch the music video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel for even more learning fun!

There really is nothing quite like a song, unless you are curling up with a good book, or maybe watching a sunset. Music is one of the joys of life; and where there is music, there is dancing. So you should be dancing!Award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, believes learning, like music and dancing, should be fun; and this is why she writes 'learn to read' books for kids that contain kid friendly illustrations, large print that is easy for little eyes to see, and words that build on the basic reading skills of word recognition, word repetition and rhyme. With these things in mind, she created this book, 'You Should Be Dancing,' inspired by a comment she heard from the USA's First Lady, Michelle Obama, on a late night television show. When she was asked what exercise she liked the best, she said she liked to dance, because it was fun. (And that was all it took to get author Penelope Dyan writing!) To have even more learning fun (and exercise) you can also sing and dance to the music video that has the same name as this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel.

The island of Hawai'i, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, was formed by a total of six volcanoes, including the submerged Mahukona Volcano off the northwest shore of the 'Big Island of Hawaii,' and five more volcanoes above sea level: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kohala, Hual¿lai and Kilauea. Kilauea Volcano is currently the most active volcano on earth, and Kilauea has covered more than 500 square miles of Hawaii with lava in the last 1,100 years, and we are still counting those square miles, because Kilauea has been actively erupting e since 1983. The K¿lauea and Mauna Loa Volcanoes are considered active, The Mauna Kea, Hual¿lai and Haleakal¿ volcanoes are dormant, but not extinct. The other volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands are believed to be completely extinct.Take a look at some of what award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, and photographer John D. Weigand saw as they went in search of the Kilauea Volcano, from their stop at the Kilauea Visitor Center to the mist, the rainbow and the fiery volcanic night! Watch a music video on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel, and make your very own volcano! And remember this is also a learn to read book, filled with repetition, word recognition and rhyme!

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada. The city was named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and is the 15th most populous city in British Columbia. It is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest, and british settlement began there in 1843, It is often refereed to as the 'City of Gardens,' and when you see all the flowers and colors ofou shop this place, it is easy to see why. This is a fun, metropolitan city full of art and music that has a respect for its past,See Victoria, British Columbia, Canada through the lens of photographer John D. Weigand, and imagine its sounds, especially its music through the words and music of award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, as you read the words in this book and watch a free music video (that has th same name as this book) on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel. Practice reading skills through word recognition, repetition and rhyme as you try t guess what is coming next. Most of all, have fun as you learn as you use this book to travel along with Dyan and Weigand and see some of the things they saw when they went to this beautiful city.

Read all about a girl named Dot. Maybe you know someone just like her, and maybe you would like to be just like Dot. Our author, Penelope Dyan does! Why/ because kindness and a smile can go a long way in our mixed up world full of bullies and kids who don't have anything at all nice to say.Use this book to get a values discussion going. Talk about characteristics that you think are good for people to have, and ask yourself how you can be more like Dot. now you might think a person like Dot could never exist, but that isn't true. We can all be a Dot if we simply follow the golden rule. Yes! do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and then you can be a kid just like Dot, and everyone will love you. They will love you a lot.Written by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, this isd also a learn to read book. you can practice your reading skills through repetition, word recognition, and rhyme as you put other words together by looking at the kid-friendly drawings. There is also a music video on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel that goes along with this book for even more learning fun!

Nuremberg, Germany is the second largest city in the State of Bavaria. Nuremberg tries hard to shake off its Nazi Past and the formerly well-publicized Nuremberg Trials. past. And they have a magnificent Christmas Market that has been known to bring thousands of tourists. However, the best thing about seeing Nuremberg today is the medieval past clearly visible nearly everywhere! You can walk over a bridge through an archway to a medieval shopping area, and see all sorts of fun things in this city just by taking a walk and taking a good look around, and this is exactly what kids like to do!Written in verse by award winning author, attorney and former teacher Penelope Dyan, with photography by former television director of engineering, John D. Weigand, this book is a delight to the eyes. And to make things even better, you can use this book to practice early reading skills because the verse is based on word recognition and rhyme, so kids can shout out what is coming next. This is a book of using the mind and the senses, not a book filled with boring facts. Weigand and Dyan see through the eyes of a child, and former teacher, Penelope Dyan seems to just know what a child sees and wants to see.

A home is more than a house, and everyone knows home is where your heart is. Use this book to discuss the concepts of home and love as you learn to read and build your dolch reading word list vocabulary thought the use of rhyme and word recognition and kid-friendly drawings!Written and illustrated by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, this book is fun and encourages creativity through this tried and true classroom technique. If drawings are simple, they can be copied. Along with that naturually comes the writing of words, and the extra large print in these first early reader are easy on young eyes.Dyan believes learning should be fun and that everything in the toolbox should beused to make sure all the fun of learning really sticks! While she does this, the imparts a bigger message. See if you recognize what that message is. Look for the Bellissima video that goes along with this book on the Bellissima video channel on YouTube for more fun!

This is a book about kindness in contrast to meaness. It is also an early reader with an early reader vocabulary and uses repetition and rhyme to reinforce vocabulary reading skills, while at the same time addressing ledership issues, what it means to be kind, what it means to hoard, and what things are truly important to share. Our subject is a very mean moose, and our narrator wonders if she simply strayed too far from home. Can you guess where home is for this moose. See if you can figure out from where the moose strayed, and what it is that has not been shared.These very big thoughts and questions are addressed in a kid friendly way by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan who wants to encourage her readers to think and create and to be all they can be. Dyan uses her own kid friendly illustrations and repeats characters she has drawn in other books, so that children can easily match the illustrations to the words n this book. Dyan believes learning is fun, and that no one should take themselves too seriously. This book is intended to promote original thought, dialog and learning in a very fun way. Look for the Bellissimavideo that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel.

A lot of people have a lot of things to say about destiny. Have you every thought about destiny? Do you even know what it is? This is your chance to find out something about what destiny means and why it is a part of each of us.Written and illustrated by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, this book is meant to help kids learn, and the good part of it is that kids can also practice their reading skills as they learn what may be a brand new word to add to their vocabularies! The fun rhymes, repetition, and picture associations in this book make this book fun, and when it comes to kids learning things, former teacher, Penelope Dyan, really knows her stuff!The drawings are simple to encourage children to draw as they learn and to even make their own books! And this tried and true method of teaching that Dyan created for her own students in the classroom really works! Whether kids are learning to read, or they are reading for themselves, Dyan believes that if learning isn't fun, children will never love learning. And this book, like all the Dyan books, is fun!

Right there in California, just up the coast from Disneyland and Hollywood, past BaKersfield and Fresno, past a few small towns is where you will find Yosemite National Park, one of the very first wilderness parks of the United States. Yosemite is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you will also find deep valleys, meadows, ancient giant sequoias, and more. Concern citizen Galen Clark and others, and Senator John Conness advocated for protection of Yosemite from commercial interests. A park bill was prepared with the assistance of the General Land Office in the Interior Department. The bill passed both houses of the 38th United States Congress, and was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on June 30, 1864, creating the Yosemite Grant, the first instance of park land being set aside for preservation and public use by the U.S. federal government. (Next came the 1872 creation of Yellowstone National Park.) Award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan and photographer, John D. Weigand have combined efforts to show you some of the Yosemite Valley, but just those things a kid would really like to see. Look through a child's eyes, let your child make this book his or her own and add photos, postcards, notes and drawings to it, and explore Yosemite and be inspired!

If you have ever wondered about heaven, where it is, what it means to be there and how you will get to heaven, then this is the book for you, and who hasn't wondered about all of these things?Written in response to a question from a child who was worried about his grandmother getting older and what would happen to her if she died, this book lovingly addresses a question that that particular grandmother, a friend of the author, Paula Parton, had difficulty answering.The print is large so that children can see the words clearly and even read this book all by themselves, but it is better when shared together with a loving parent and/or grandparent.The paintings in the interior are as, captivating as its words. Enjoy this beautiful book written by retired teacher, artist and musician, Paula Parton who also did much of the artwork in its book along with her amazing art teacher, Luz Perez, and fellow artist, Ann Benfield. This is a beautiful faith based book that will look wonderful on your coffee table and at the same time help you answer some very important and serious questions with love and sensitivity.

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. But this is not what is fascinating about this place. Kids and adults alike will marvel at what they see when they approach Dubrovnik, because what you see and what you find (kid's are very keen on exploring and finding things) is a walled city, a real bridge that goes over a moat and a drawbridge! And there is much, much more!Photographer John D. Weigand and Penelope Dyan (attorney, award winning author, poet and former teacher) let you travel with them through the photographs and words of this book, not spoon feeding facts, but letting the eye capture a moment to stir an imagination. Learning is about exploration, and whether you explore through a book, or in person by visiting a place, kids see what the adult eye doesn't see. Dyan and Weigand follow the things that kids see, not adults. Kids are encouraged, as with all Dyan/Weigand travel books to make this book their own, to add to it, insert their own photographs, postcards and words. Learning should always be a personal thing.

Malta has been inhabited since it was settled around 5200 BC from the Italian island of Sicily. Later, the Phoenicians and the Greeks arrived, the Romans and the Arabs, and the French and the English. Malta is a virtual melting pot. The Siege of Malta (also known as the Great Siege of Malta) took place in 1565 when the Ottomans invaded the island, then held by the Knights of Saint John. For the next 275 years, the knights called this island home. They built towns, palaces, churches, and fortifications. Malta is rich in history and is a very fun place to explore and to see. Take some time to explore this beautiful island through the words and photography of John D. Weigand and Penelope Dyan and walk the streets of this amazing place as you look through these pages. This book is meant for children, and it is also meant to encourage the minds of the young to imagine and to explore; and award winning author and poet Penelope Dyan, who is also an attorney and a former teacher, aims to do just that! Malta is a colorful and amazing place seeped in culture and history that will amaze kids and adults alike.

Gibraltar is a British territory on the south end of the Iberian Peninsula at the Mediterranean entrance. It's total area is 2.6 square miles and it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is its major landmark. At its foot is a densely populated city of almost 30,000 people. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. It became a base for the Royal Navy. Now its economy is based n tourism, finance and shipping. The sovereignty of Gibraltar is at issue in Anglo-Spanish relations, because Spain assets a claim to the territory. However, the people of Gibralter have rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty, once in a 1967 referendum, and again in 2002. Under its 2006 constitution, Gibraltar governs all of its own affairs. However, powers of defense and foreign relations remain the responsibility of the UK Government. To understand Gibralter, one needs to talk to its people and see everything it has to offer. Look for Penelope Dyan music videos that go with this book, and for more from Bellissima Publishing, LLC, as you learn all you learn all you can about this place that gave rise to the expression: ". . . as strong as the rock of Gibralter." The companion book to this book is "The Comeback Kids, Book 9, The Barbary Macaques of Gibraltar."

Sometimes you go to a place, and you feel just as though you are in a Fairytale! And this is just how it feels when you visit Ackergill Tower Castle in Wick, Scotland! In fact, the whole town of Wick feels like a magical place!Wick, Scotland is a town and royal burgh in the far north of Scotland. It is situated along the River Wick on both sides of the Wick Bay. Visit Wick vicariously simply by turning the pages of this book, and see some of what you can find in this colorful place called Wick!This fun 'learn to read' book, filled with word recognition, word repetition and rhyme, written by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, with photos by John D. Weigand, was created just for kids; and it looks through the eyes of a kid at the things a kid would see that a grown up might not even notice as something special. And what could be more special than a castle by the sea with a fun, storybook town below it to capture a kid's imagination? And when you are all done traveling through the pages of this book, watch the free music video that goes along with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel.

Little Baylee wants a giraffe (or maybe she wants two giraffes or three or four) and her mother brings her a very small kitten, It isn't that Bailey doesn't like the kitten, it is just that Bailey has always wanted a giraffe, because giraffes make Baylee laugh. Find out why Baylee simply can't have a giraffe. (Perhaps you know the answer to THAT question already!) Also discover how Baylee's mother comes up with a good solution to this somewhat perplexing problem, and what that solution is.Have fun again practicing your reading skills and enjoy the Dyan kid friendly drawings as you practice those skills using rhyme, word recognition and repetition, along with a host of familiar and fun characters that you can match with the words you see on the pages of this book. Look for the fun YouTube video on the Bellissimavideo channel that goes along with this book to further enhance the learning process.Penelope Dyan is an award winning author and an attorney. She is also a former teacher who believes all of learning should be fun, and this is why she creates these books. So have fun and learn all you can, because learning is lots of fun! Just ask Penelope Dyan!

The Nelson and Eldorado Canyon areas were home to ancient Puebloan, Paiutes and Mojave Indians who lived in peace there for hundred of years. In 1775, Spaniards arrived looking for gold. They settled at the mouth of the Colorado River and called it Eldorado. However, they missed the rich gold veins beneath the canyon's flanks, and found silver and there was not enough silver to make mining worthwhile, and so they left. By 1861 miners discovered the Salvage Vein about five miles up from the Colorado River, a rich, vertically stacked ribbon of gold running through a steep ridge along one side of the canyon. Several miners formed the Techatticup Mine through a series of shady dealings. The name is the Paiute Indian word for hungry, a term heard by early settlers and said by the starving Indians inhabiting the dry hills. The Techatticup Gold Mine was once owned by Senator George Hearst of California, father of William Randolph Hearst, the famous publisher. The history of the area is fascinating. Where else can you hear about prospectors who were Civil War deserters, gunfights over gold, daily killings and other acts so despicable even law enforcement refused to come from a mere 200 miles away? There was virtually no law in Eldorado Canyon, and the Techatticup Mine was in the middle of it all!Now owned by a family whose five sons have cleared tunnels through the mine and have found and uncovered even more of its history, this is the place to be and see American history and how a part of it was formed. So take a tour through the pages of this book with photographer John D. Weigand, and award winning author and poet, Penelope Dyan and see what they saw when they explored this fascinating place!

Córdoba was an Iberian and Roman city in ancient times. In the Middle Ages it became the capital of an Islamic caliphate. The old town contains many architectural reminders of its past. Some say in the 10th century and at the beginning of the 11th century, that Córdoba was the most populous city in the world and the intellectual center of Europe. That said, it is most definitely a beautiful place to see with many things that will interest kids of all ages, even kids who happen to be adults! Take a walk across the bridge and go into the old part of the city with award winning winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, and look through the lens of photographer John D, Weigand to see some of the things you can see and do in this exciting city. Take some pictures of your own and make your own book, and collect postcards and souvenirs and make them a part of your story. And look for a free Penelope Dyan music video on YouTube that goes with this book, and a web show for children on www.stop4fun.org to enhance the learning experience. Use all of these things and put them in your tool chest of learning, and do not stop there. Learn everything you can and explore, whether in person or vicariously using all the tools at your disposal! Most of all, have fun! Because learning is fun!

Read the words on one page (most from the Dolch reading word lists) and then draw a picture on the page right next to the page where you read the words or do what the words tell you to do. Once again, there are also no wrong ways to do this book so whatever you do, you earn an A+! So have fun and learn a thing or two, or three! If you make a mistake, do remember to make a big one! It doesn't matter! It is good. You are still learning, and you can also learn a lot by making mistakes. Embrace the mistakes you make and then learn something from them, and ALWAYS ask a lot of questions; and if you do not know a word, or you don't understand something, ask for help. The only silly question is the question you do not ask, so ask lots and lots of questions (if you have any questions at all) and you will learn lots and lots of great answers! And when you are finished, you will have illustrated a book!