Books published by Bellissima Publishing

The name 'Athens' comes from the Greek goddess, Athena. Athens acquired this name through a legendary contest between Poseidon and Athena. Both Athena and Poseidon wanted to be patrons of the city and to give the city named after them. They competed with one another for the honour by each giving the city a gift. Poseidon made a spring appear by striking the ground with his trident, but Athena created an olive tree, the symbol of peace and prosperity. The Athenians, ruler Cecrops, decided in favor of the olive tree and named the city after Athena. Athens is truly an amazing place. From the Acropolis to the Temple of Zeus to the Olympic stadium and its colorful street markets, the city will be certain to captivate you and your child and draw you both into its spell. Photographer John D. Weigand and award winning writer ,Penelope Dyan have again combined their skills to introduce you to the city that is Athens. Add your own stories and adventures to this book by inserting your tickets, postcards, pictures and other small items and affix them to these pages, because this is a book that is supposed to help you grow and learn. There are even some blank pages at the end of the book you can use, or you can make your own book! See if you can find everything in this book when you go to Athens, and then look around for more. If you aren't going to Athens, then use this book as a starting point and do some research on your computer (or in other books) to learn about this glorious city. Since Penelope Dyan is a former teacher, she has designed all her books to comport and comply with the concepts of creativity and learning, and this book is no different! So take a walk through the pages of this book, and visit Athens through the wonderful photographs of John D. Weigand and the poetry of Penelope Dyan,and remember even though this book is meant for kids, it will look great on any coffee table! Penelope Dyan is a former K-12 teacher, published in 'The Kindergartner, as well as in 'Instructor Magazine and in 'Humpty Dumpty children's magazine. Dyan is the author of 'Surfer Girl. 'Surfer Girl was the winner of best teen book at both the 2008 New York Book Festival and the 2008 Hollywood Book Festival and is recognized by Girls' Voices In Literature Database, Miami University, Florida.Dyan and Weigand are also the co-creators of 'The Comeback Kids Book Series and the 'Animal Rescue Series, also published by Bellissima Publishing, LLC. Two of Dyan's books (poetry-stories for children in verse) are on diplay and are a part of the Saison Poetry Library in London, UK, chosen by the UK Arts Council. Two of her other books are listed on the top ten AU Pukeke reading list. And her book "There's an Alligator In My Closet" is number five on the National Kindercare recommended reading list. There is a music video on YouTube on the Bellissimavideo channel, and an entire web show for kids that includes a travelogue on Athens at www.stop4fun.org that add to the overall learning experience.

Have you ever wanted to just go and talk to Santa Claus? And were you too impatient to wait for Christmas? Find out what one girl's little brother did and why he got into tons of trouble.Christmas is a very exciting time of year, but it is also a time we need to listen to our moms and dads and be very careful. We must never wander off on our own, absolutely never. That is dangerous.Written and illustrated by award winning poet and author, Penelope Dyan, this book is based on a true story. Yes, believe it or not, this is the story about something that happened in her very own family, something her very own brother did; and to this day no one has figured out how he did it! (You will never guess what it is, so you will have to read this book to find out!)Dyan loves Christmas and she hopes you love Christmas too! This is why she wrote this book for her very own brother as well as for you. She wants to say Merry Christmas to all of you, and this is her very special way of doing just that.Dyan has written two other Christmas books, "My Christmas Socks," and "Christmas Is. . ." (with photographs by John D Weigand). If you love to love Christmas, then these are great books for you to have in your Christmas book collection, or to give as gifts, just to say as Dyan says to you, "Merry Christmas!"

American Neil Armstrong stepped out of this space capsule and onto the dusty moon on July 21, 1969. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live on the moon? Well surprise! Scientists have discovered water on the moon. And what does life need to exist on the moon? Water! Humankind has evolved because we are problem solvers. If we want to live somewhere or do something we can figure out how to do it, because we are problem solvers. If anyone can conquer and live on the moon, we can.So will we be colonizing the moon any time soon? Probably not, because there are many other problems we would need to solve first, such as building shelter, harnessing electricity and feeding ourselves up there. However, the future holds many possibilities, and we may be colonizing the moon sooner than we think.Penelope Dyan is a former teacher, an attorney and an award winning writer. Two of her books for children have been chosen by the UK Arts Council and are on display at the Saisoon Poetry library on the fifth floor of the Royal Exhibit Hall at Southbank Centre, London. When Dyan heard about the discovery of water on the moon, enough water to sustain life, her imagination soared, just as your child's imagination is probably soaring. The stars and the moon have been of fascination to us since time began; and as it turned out, this was a perfect subject in this particular political time. So will we be flying to the moon any time soon? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we can all have fun with Dyan speculating on this subject and enjoying her kid-friendly illustrations and poetry.

This book takes a humorous look at a very serious situation, and while it does not at all downgrade the seriousness of the situation, it most certainly does give the reader an opportunity to ponder and smile. In case you haven't gotten the gist of the subject of this book, this book is about the dreaded "C" word that no one likes to utter, but is never far from anyone's mind, concerns or lips; because none of us have gone through this world, not even for a short span of time without being touched by it in one of its forms or another. Yes, we are talking about cancer, and if you have cancer or know someone who has cancer (and who doesn't fall into one of these two categories?) then this is the obvious book for you. Get your humor on and enjoy the illustrations of political illustrator and artist, Adam Frizzell, and the words of Stephen Butterman. And remember to see the humor in all of life, because it is really true that laughter truly is the very best medicine of all.

The city of Civitaveccia, Italy is well known as the Port of Rome, even though Rome is an hour away by train. If you happen to arrive here and decide not to go to Rome, or if you are passing through this city, then there are quite a few things you can see and do. You can watch the boats, take a walk, see street venders, ride an amusement park ride, have something good to eat, go shopping and more. You are in Italy and the hospitality will abound! Take a walk through the part of Rome by looking through the lens of photographer John D. Weigand, and by looking through the heart of award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan. If you want to see some interesting things just outside of Rome, then this is the place for you. The purpose of this book is to entertain, to inform, to encourage the imagination and to introduce even the youngest child to the place that is the Port of Rome. From the walk down the street, to the ride aboard the train, this city is a laid back and accommodating place the entire family will enjoy visiting, either in person or vicariously through the pages of this book! So find out what you can find and see on the way to Rome!

Take a trip aboard a pirate ship where all is as it should be until one single fateful day. How and why did one tiny pirate get aboard the ship? And what willthe captain do when he finds out?Where is all the rootbeer going? And can you guess why one small pirate is turning green?This is one silly adventure written by one remarkable fellow, Stephen Butterman, author of the very funny and clever ageless grown-up book, 'Tales As Tall As A Sunflower.' If you are looking for just the right chapter book for that book report, this is the book for you.Full of pirate fun and smiles, with emphasis on what is really important in this life of ours on this lowly water filled planet we call Earth, Stephen Butterman reminds us what it means to be a family as he points out thatfamilies come in all shapes and sizes, and that love should never have any boundaries.

Edinburgh in Scotland is a delightful place where lightness and darkness combine and fuel the imagination. There is a castle standing on an ominous hill and a spire that reminds us of wizards and all sorts of possibly scary things. This is where Photographer John D. Weigand and attorney, award winning author, and former educator, Penelope Dyan, whisk you away with thoughts of time past. As usual, Weigand and Dyan are not about a bunch of facts, but rather they are about exploring thoughts, and growing through discovery. They capture what a child will see, and encourage children to add to these travel books with their own thoughts and writings, and photographs, tickets and things; because this is how children learn, and this is how they can make both the book and the learning experience and process their very own!Penelope Dyan (as a former teacher) knows just how to do this. Whether you travel vicariously with Weigand and Dyan, through the pages of this book, or you take an actual trip, the process is the same. Add to the book and makes some discoveries of your own! Enjoy the photographs and the poetry in this made for kids book! Take the High Road!

Parents may enjoy going to the Guinness Brewery for a beer when they come to Dublin, Ireland; but kids see the world through different eyes. This book is not meant to be a true travel book in the sense of what one may view as a travel book. Instead, it is meant to inspire imaginations, to be added to with a kid's own notes, photos and drawings and to be used as a true learning tool,for even the youngest of travelers. Too many books spoon feed facts. Few encourage true mind exploration, and it is only with the exploring eye and the inquiring mind that a child can really truly learn.Take a trip to Dublin, Ireland and look at what Photographer John D. Weigand saw through the lens of his camera, and then take some photos of your own or gather photos from the internet or from magazines and travel brochures. You can even travel vicariously with Weigand and Dyan, if you like! Penelope Dyan has added a few words of poetic narrative to help get little minds moving and making up their very own narratives for their very own additions to this book. Dyan is an attorney, a former teacher, and a writer who knows just how to spark kids' imaginations and how to inspire them.

During the depression; thousands of men brought their families to Black Canyon to tame the Colorado River. In less than five years the largest dam of its time was built. Many lost their lives during its construction. Today Hoover Dam is a National Historic Landmark. And the American Society of Civil Engineers named it one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders! So take a dam tour with John D. Weigand and Penelope Dyan as you explore the pages of yet another great travel guide for kids!The Bureau of Reclamation began conducting tours through the Hoover Dam and power plant in 1937. The Dam is ever changing and today they are constructing a bridge over the dam that looks like in itself, it is another wonder! If you want to visit Hoover dam and see what makes it work, it is located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas on US Highway 93 at the Nevada-Arizona border.The Hoover Dam tour is interesting and fun and there is a lot a kid can see, learn and do at the Hoover Dam. The tour guide will take you on a exploration of the tunnels and pipes and all the things electric and explain exactly how this mighty wonder works as well as why it was built!Taken with ambient light, John D. Weigand again captures the essence of a fun place for kids and parents to see and visit, while Penelope Dyan tells its story with her whimsical poetry.The sites of Hoover Dam are astounding, a tribune to the hardworking workers of America, and when you leave, you leave wondering how so much water ever found its way into the Nevada Desert! But you are glad it did!

Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors. Helsinki was plagued by poverty, wars, and diseases. The plague of 1710 killed many of the inhabitants of Helsinki. It was not until Russia defeated Sweden in the Finnish War and annexed Finland as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 that the town became a city of means. The XV Olympiad, the 1952 Olympics were held in Helsinki. There are various theories as to how Helsinki got its name. Some people believe the name Helsinge may have originated with the medieval Swedish settlers who came from Hälsingland, in Sweden. Others think the name came from the Swedish word 'hals' which means neck in Swedish, and that it refers to the narrowest part of the river, the rapids. Whatever the derivation of the name, Helsinki is a great place to visit today. It is colorful, independent and strong and there is so much to do and see. Take a look inside this book and find out why it is aptly titled "Reindeer & Mermaids," and see how much fun you can have as you read this book and see the great photographs of John D. Weigand. Once again, award winning author, attorney and former K-12 teacher, Penelope Dyan, imparts poetry and a lesson about life. Find out what that lesson is as you visit Helsinki with Dyan and Weigand, And please have fun! Life should always be funTake the time to savor and enjoy the feel and warmth of this beautiful city. There is also a video on YouTube that goes along with this book to add to the learning experience of this large print picture book with an early reader learning vocabulary.

The tragic play, Romeo and Juliet ,was written early in the career of William Shakespeare. It is the tale of two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths finally unite their feuding families. It was one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. The story takes place in Verona where you can go and see for yourself where Juliet and her family lived, and just a short walk away from Juliet's house is the house where Romeo lived with his family . The people of Verona will tell you they aren't sure if the story of Romeo and Juliet is true, but they are quite sure the families existed; and that there was indeed a feud between them. It is sad to think the two young lovers had to die to bring the families together and to stop the feud, but it is a tale that has withstood time; and there is definitely a lesson to be learned in it. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet plot is actually based on an Italian tale, translated into verse, "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet" by Arthur Brooke, written in 1562, and retold in prose in William Painter's "Palace of Pleasure" in 1582. Since this is a tale of antiquity, there is a likelihood there is an element of truth in it. This is why John D. Weigand and Penelope Dyan traveled all the way to Verona. . . to decide for themselves if the tale was true. What did they decide? They decided to let you decide. So walk through the beautiful streets of Verona, Italy with them and see what you think. One thing is certain, the lesson in the tale is timeless. Use this book to introduce your child to both Verona and Shakespeare and feel confident in its purpose, as Dyan is a former K-12 , teacher, an attorney and an award winning author who really understands kids!

Take a walk though a magical time where nothing is as it should be and yet everything is as it is supposed to be. Author, Neil Preston has created a modern day 'Alice In Wonderland' that is both entertaining and fun as it plays in the recesses of your mind. A great escape on a rainy day, and a good book to read at the beach on a summer day, this book is filled to the brim with a host of fabulous characters that show what can happen when 5,000 Bulgarian joggers simultaneously lose their left training shoes in a park, causing an imbalance in the joggers and in the world as we know it.Neil Preston (1959-present) was born on the Wirral, England, to a Scottish father and English mother. He lived in North Wales from 1966 until leaving to live in Chester in 1984. He left to live in Menston, Yorkshire for 3 years before returning to Chester where he remained since 1994. Cling Peaches is his first book, written in Chester, Menston and while travelling in America. Neil is also a songwriter, musician, artist and a photographer when he is not working at the day job as an IT Consultant/Application Developer. This is the Perfect book for readers of all ages who want to both challenge their minds and be entertained at the same time. The vocabulary play on words is especially fun and challenging. So read and explore as you begin your journey with Cling Peaches.

Windsor Castle was built by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest in 1066. He built a ring of fortifications within a short distance of one another for easy reinforcements. Windsor Castle, one of this ring of fortifications, was strategically important because it was close to both the River Thames, a key medieval route into London, and Windsor! Windsor Castle was not built as a a royal residence. The first king to use it as such was Henry I. Henry II came to the throne in 1154 and added his touches by building and modifying the residence between 1165 and 1179. He replaced the wooden palisade surrounding the upper ward with a stone wall interspersed with square towers and built the first King's Gate, among other things. But this is not the important part of going to this place. The reason a kid comes here is to dream of princes, palaces and kings, and to see one of the castles in Europe, built in medieval times that is still used by royalty to this very day. Use this book when you visit Windsor Castle in person and see what other things you can stuff between its covers, such as your own postcards, your tickets, notes, etc; because this is what you are supposed to do with these travel books! You are supposed to use them as a stepping stone to make your way through time and history. All of these books are intended as a learning experience, not to spoon feed a bunch of boring facts, but to encourage additional research and questioning from even the youngest child, so that when they visit any of these places they will shout aloud with delight, "I know what that is! I saw it in my book!" And this is why photographer John D. Weigand and award winning author, and former teacher, and attorney Penelope Dyan again combine their special talents and efforts to give you a small peak inside a very royal world.

Somewhere under the rainbow flowers grow, and maybe that is where you will find your pot of gold. Photographer John D. Weigand and author Penelope Dyan take you on another fun filled journey to Niagara falls, Ontario, Canada. See some of the fun stuff kids can do while they are there, and take some time to marvel at this creation of nature that has done its best to serve mankind in its very special way. Celebrate the glorious beauty of Niagara falls, where you are sure to find a rainbow!The Niagara Falls are the great waterfalls of the Niagara River that are located between Ontario, Canada and New York, USA. Niagara Falls is separated into two main sections, the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, most of which is on the Canadian side, and the American Falls which is on the American side! Niagara Falls formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age). The water from the glaciers formed the Great Lakes, and the Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment as the water made its way to the Atlantic Ocean. The Niagara Falls are very wide, and are world known for their great beauty. The Falls are a natural source of electric power, and this is probably why the Falls have so many rainbows! Electricity is the pot of gold everyone can surely find at the end of the Niagara Falls' rainbows!If you are looking for a rainbow, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada is one place you can surely find one!

Travel though space and through dimensions of space, and see what the future may have to offer, as well as the terrible perils that could lie ahead for those who may seek to abuse its power. Author, Dr. Stanley Friedman will take you on this perilous journey filled with action and excitement as his Quantum Outlaws attempt a rescue from Oblivion.But exactly where is Oblivion, and how does one get there? And why are Professor AU and his son missing? And to where have they gone?If you have ever thought about time travel, travel through space or travel through space and time, or even how to cure global warming and what real space and time means, then you will love this book, and this is an adventure you won't forget!Find out how Dr. Au and his son, Edward, created the Keppi, a device that would change the world; and find out what mistake old Dr. Wilder, the mathematician, made.Dr. Stanley Friedman is a world renown musician and writer with a great imagination who is able to take the theories of Einstein and others and make them come to life. This is a book that will get you thinking about many things as protagonists Sylvia and Fred make a big rescue, and as they remind us all the universe is ours! Or is it? And can a cat be both dead and alive all at the same time?