Books published by Bellissima Publishing

Sometimes it isn't easy just being who you are. Maybe you think you are different from the other kids and you're afraid the other kids will make fun of you, or maybe even bully you; but the thing to remember is everyone is different from everybody else, and if everyone was exactly the same, then this world would most certainly be a very boring place!This book, written by the award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, is meant to get kids thinking.Use this book to begin a discussion about differences as you practice your reading skills through this book using word repetition, word repetition and rhyme. Enjoy a cast of kid friendly characters as you think about the very important concept of being different, and learn a few new vocabulary reading words along the way! But the most important thing of all is to have fun as you learn; because if a kid doesn't have fun learning, then a kid won't love to learn! And for even more learning fun, when you are all finished reading, you can watch the free music video that goes along with this book on the Bellissimavideo' YouTube channel!

Zaanse Schans is one of the highlights of the Netherlands. It's located just outside of Amsterdam, and you can get there by taking the suburban train from the Amsterdam Central Station. Here you will find a working community dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries full of wooden windmills, barns, houses and museums! Built in the Dutch wooden architectural style, this town was actually relocated here piece by piece!. The Zaanse Schans will surprise you with what you see, taste, smell and experience! Most of what you will see is free; and shopping is loads of fun, an important thing for any mom. And please don't miss the chocolate shop where you can buy some Dutch homemade chocolate! You can also buy a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of warm apple pie smothered in whipped cream for an extra-special tummy warming treat on a cold, blustery day.In this 'learn to read' book filled with word recognition, word repetition and rhyme, the award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, along with photographer John D. Weigand, will fill your imagination with windmills and fun! As a further addition to the learning experience, don't forget to watch the free music video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel.

The city of Delft sits between The Hague and Rotterdam in Netherlands's southwest. The name, Delft, comes from the Dutch word for digging; and this makes sense, because there are a lot of canals in Delft, which also seems to be a big highlight of other places in the Netherlands as well. You can see the 13th-century Old Church, the 15th-century New Church, and the Prinsenhof, once home to the great William of Orange, now a museum. Delft has long been a center for fine ceramics, and traditional hand painting methods can still be witnessed at Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles. But this 'learn to read' book is not about any of that! This book is about the feel of this place, and it's about what a kid can see and do and notice, all on his or her own, as they practice reading skills through word recognition, word repetition and rhyme.Travel with award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, and with photographer, John D. Weigand, through the pages of this book, and see some of what they saw and feel some of what they felt about this quaint city. Then watch the free music video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel.

Leiden is the home to the Netherlands' oldest university, and it's the birthplace of Rembrandt. It is also someplace where a kid can be surprised, and where you can sometimes expect what is the unexpected! Leiden served as a stop off point in the 17th century for America's Pilgrim founders. The best way to get to Leiden today is by train. The journey takes 10-15 minutes from The Hague, 20 minutes from the Schiphol Airport, the main airport in the Netherlands, and between 30 and 40 minutes to get there from Amsterdam.Written by the award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, with photographs by John D. Weigand, this 'learn to read' book, with its extra large print and easy to carry size, can be easily stuffed inside a kid's backpack! Turn the pages and see some of what Dyan and Weigand saw on their trip to and through this fun city where a kid can ride a camel and pet a llama at the Museum Volkenkunde, while Mom and dad snap photos galore! And if you want to further the learning experience, ths book offers, there is a free music video on the Bellissimavideo YouTube music channel that goes right along with this fun, 'learn to read' book!

Carson City, Nevada is the capital of Nevada, named after famed mountain man, Kit Carson! The rich, wonderful past of Carson City makes it a fun place for kids to visit, if you know where to look! Here the new mixes with the old, and the old is never forgotten! After the nearby discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, Carson City became a thriving commercial center. President Abraham Lincoln, recognizing the importance of Nevada's silver and gold to the Union's Civil War effort, signed a proclamation ushering Nevada into statehood on October 31, 1864! The Virginia &Truckee Railroad was completed between Carson City and Virginia City in 1869. a subject about which you can learn more when you visit Carson City's Railroad Museum!This is a 'learn to read' book that uses teaching techniques of word recognition, word recognition and rhyme. Written by the award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, with photography by John D. Weigand, its extra large print is easy on little eyes. This book is fun with a purpose! To make the learning experience even more exciting, there is a free music video on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel that goes with this book.

Truckee was originally named Coburn Station, after a local saloon keeper. The Truckee we all know today was named after a Paiute chief. His Paiute name was Tru-ki-zo, and he was the father of Chief Winnemucca and the grandfather of Sarah Winnemucca. When the first Europeans came across the Sierra Nevada, they encountered his tribe. The Chief rode towards them yelling "Tro-kay!", which is Paiute for "Everything is all right". The unaware travelers assumed he was yelling his name. This became a theme for the town, and the infamous words "Everything is all right!" and "Everything is OK!" are words those in Truckee use to inspire them in their everyday lives! And these words can also inspire you!This 'learn to read' book, filled with word recognition, word repetition and rhyme, written by Penelope Dyan, with its colorful photography by John D. Weigand, will inspire any kid! Not only can you glimpse a piece of the old west, you can be inspired as you learn! You just need to know where to look! There is also a free music video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel.

Squaw Valley was built in the image and style of a European mountain village. It was the host of the Winter Olympic games of 1960, and consists of 3,600 acres of terrain that accommodates skiers (and also snowboarders) of all ages and abilities! It is easy to find and is located northwest of Lake Tahoe, California. It averages 450 inches of snow annually across six mountain peaks that include Snow King, Broken Arrow, KT-22, Emigrant, Squaw Peak, and Granite Chief. In this book, award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, incorporates the 'learning to read' skills of word recognition, word repetition and rhyme. Kids can see some of the things they might find when they go to Squaw Valley; but most importantly, this is a book about dreams and about following your dreams, even if they seem far off and nearly impossible. Coupled with the wonderful photography of John D. Weigand, this is a book meant to make kids learn and think as they prepare for a trip to this wonderful place. But a kid doesn't have to be going to Squaw Valley to benefit from the Olympic dream message inside this book! There is also a free music video that goes along with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel.

William and Anne Shakespeare (formerly Anne Hathaway) had three children. Their first child was Susanna, christened on May 26, 1583. Twins arrived in January, 1585 and were baptized on February 2, 1585. The twins, Hamnet and Judith, were named after two friends of William Shakespeare, Stratford's baker, Hamnet Sadler and his wife, Judith. Hamnet died atthe tender age of eleven. His short life is unrecorded. Some speculate he died of the plague. This must have made Shakespeare very sad indeed as he left no male heir.. June 5, 1607, Susanna married the famed and prosperous Stratford physician John Hall. To marry a prominent physician was considered an excellent match, and this must have made Shakespeare very happy indeed.Use this book to take an explore through Susanna's home. See where her physician husband worked, and where they warmed themselves by the fire, slept and kept the cradle of their only child, by their bedside. Practice your reading skills by using word recognition, repetition and rhyme, as you read the verse by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan and enjoy te photography of John D. Weigand. Look for the free video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube Channel. Most of all, have fun learning, because learning is fun!

While it may be quite true that "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." as Thomas Jefferson said; honesty must also be tempered with kindness, meaning that no one has to say everything they are thinking, especially if what a person is thinking is unkind, mean or cruel.Use this fun 'learn to read' book by the award winning author, attorney, and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, to begin your discussion about truth and kindness, and about what truth and kindness means to you.You can also practice your reading skills as you read this kid-sized book filled with word repetition, word recognition and rhyme. (Its extra large print is perfect for young eyes. ) And you can visit some familiar Penelope Dyan characters, who are once again eager to impart their knowledge to a kid like you! But most of all, have fun learning; because if learning isn't fun, a kid won't love to learn.When you are all done reading, you can go to Bellissimavideo's YouTube channel and watch the free music video that goes along with this book for even more learning fun!

The oldest dinosaurs known are from Argentina and Brazil and are about 230 million years old. The most primitive of these, Eoraptor, was a small meat-eating dinosaur. A lot of people think today's dinosaurs are birds; that is, that birds evolved from dinosaurs, but this book isn't about that. This is just a fun little story about Stegi, the dinosaur, who hatched from an egg as dinosaurs are known to do. And because we also know some dinosaurs were herbivorous, and other dinosaurs were carnivores, this is also a small tale about that. But not to get too serious, there is a party involved--and that brings us to the point of imagination. Penelope Dyan is all about imagination and inspiration---Her books are intended to increase in the gray matter brain of children, as to both of those things! And this is why this former early childhood educator, now attorney and writer, wrote this book, proving once again that books are a mind investment and that Bellissima loves kids!So while the kids are cramming their little brains with facts, they also need some fun. Because all good things (like your childhood) like the dinosaurs, do come to an end. And parents, like their children, need to keep the child inside of them alive and full of fun, inspiration and imagination!

Life isn't a dream. It's a song. And the song we sing must always be our own. This means that the song we sing should be as unique as we are, as each of us are, or ever hope to be.No two people are the same. No one adventure is the same as another. Wherever you are, wherever you go, the only thing you really need to remember to do is to sing your own song.Cairns sits on the east coast of Far North Queensland. They say it's a big city, but it has a small town feel. There are restaurants along the waterfront, some fun shopping, and some very interesting creatures to see if you just keep your eyes open and really look around. This 'learn to read book written by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, with colorful photography by John D. Weigand, is a book meant just for kids; because it sees what a kid would see on a walk about explore. This book is filled with word recognition, and word repetition and rhyme to help kids build reading skills. When kids are finished reading, they can watch the fun free music video that goes along with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel!

Everyone has a story, and your story is all about you and who you are and who you are meant to be. We are all very different from one another. We are all 'one of a kind,' and this is how we were meant to be. All that matters is being the best person you can be; and if you are going to do that, you simply have to be yourself, because you have to be who you are meant to be, and no one else!So have fun reading this 'learn to read' book by the award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, full of word recognition, word repetition and rhyme, and look for a few brand new words in this book that will build your reading and vocabulary skills. Think about what this book says and have a discussion about life and your place in the world with your parents and friends. Think about what it means to be a friend and celebrate all the differences among us, because no two people are exactly alike. (Even twins have differences.) Most of all, have fun learning to read, because if you don't have fun with learning, you won't love to learn! Then look for the free music video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel for even more learning fun!

Children are our future. And the dreams of our children will shape the world. This is a 'what if' book filled with some silly thoughts and some serious thoughts. The objective of this 'learn to read book' is to get kids thinking, as well as reading, and to start at the beginning of things, before a kid gets to the end of things and wonders about the why of things.Written by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, and filled with word recognition, word repitition and rhyme (to buid reading skills) this book is also meant for fun; because if a kid doesn't have fun learning, a kid will not love to learn,The physical size of this book is perfec for carrying in a kid sized backpack. And it's extra large print is perfect for little eyes.There is also a free music video that kids can watch on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel (that goes along with this book) for even more learning fun; because if a kid doesn't have fun learning, they won't love to learn!

Sometimes it's fun to just pretend you are a Viking for a day! And that is very easy to do when you are in Oslo, Norway; because you can see first hand how Vikings really used to live, and then you can imagine going back in time to live like a real Viking! In Oslo, there is a lot to see! From the modern day town to the wonderful museums, that aren't really like museums at all, but truly reflect (in life-size ) replicas and restorations of Viking boats and other Viking artifacts, to the Norsk Folkemuseum ( Norway's largest open air museum) to the Oslo Viking Ship Museum (and more) there is a lot of Viking excitement in the air.Written by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, with photography by John D. Weigand, this 'learn to read' book shows you just a few of the things you can see and do in Oslo, Norway. The main emphasis is of this book is 'imagination,' and this is the main theme of several of the Dyan/Weigand books about Scandinavia, because this is a place where imagination, art and originality abound! So, practice your reading skills through word recognition, and word repetition and rhyme; and then to further enhance your imagination and to have even more learning fun, watch the free music video that goes with this book on the Bellissimavideo You-Tube channel.

There is one important word to which we should ALL pay careful attention, and that word is RESPECT! Use this book to practice reading skills and increase your reading vocabulary, and use the message in the book to open up a dialog about what it means to respect one another.Written by award winning author, attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, this book is meant to tickle the funny bone as it teaches through the use of repetition, rhyme, and kid friendly illustrations kids can imitate and copy and use to make their very own books!Be sure to also Look for the Penelope Dyan 'RESPECT' video on the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel that goes along with this book and add to the learning experience.Most of all, have some fun as you learn, because unless you are having fun, you will never learn to love learning; and loving learning is the path to knowledge!

Do you walk on the sunny side of life? Because award winning author, attorney and former teacher certainly hopes you do! Where is the sunny side of the street? Is your life happy and sunny? And what do YOU think may be on the dark side of the street, if there even IS one?Practice your reading skills as you guess what words come next in the rhyme, and then think about what being on the sunny side of the street means to you! And then jot down some thoughts of your own about where your sunny side of the street may be and where it isn't.This book is once again filled with Penelope Dyan familiar characters that you can copy and draw yourself as you learn to read by associating the kid-friendly drawings with the words in this book. And to make the learning experience even more interesting, look for a fun free video on YouTube that you can find on the Bellissimavideo Channel that has the same name as this book; and then sing and dance as you learn! Learning is (after all) something about which we can all happily sing and dance!

For a wonderful day, there is nothing better than visiting Monet's home and garden at Giverny, France. See the gardens Monet sculpted so he could paint impressionist pictures of his beautiful garden, and imagine and try to see what he saw as he painted. Use this book as an introduction and a guide and fill it with your very own pictures, and postcards and notes. And do not forget your camera when you go to Giverny, France.When you look at this book, you can also use it to improve your reading skills, because this is another reason these Penelope Dyan/John D. Weigand books were created. It is written in rhyme, so that you can guess the words that are coming next. Each set of words, on the page opposite the beautiful photographs describes in poetic narrative what you are seeing on the opposite page, and this book is sized especially for little hands and kids' backpacks, so you can take it and compare what you see to the photographs in the book.Penelope Dyan is an award winning author, internationally honored, recognized poet, attorney, artist, vocalist and former teacher; and John D. Weigand is a former director of television engineering and professional photographer, proving once again that Bellissima loves kids!

You should always tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and you should never lie. Use this book to begin a discussion about what it means when you lie, and about how you will only hurt ourself in the end if you tell lies, because in the end no one will end up believing anything that you have to say. Just let truth shine!You see, the truth is a very important thing!This learn to read book, written and illustrated by Penelope Dyan is not only meant to get a kid thinking about right and wrong, it can be used to practice reading skills through the use of word repetition, word recognition and rhyme. Visit some of Penelope Dyan's fun and familiar characters in this kid-sized book with its extra large print that is perfect for young eyes. And then when you are all finished reading, go to the Bellissimavideo YouTube channel and watch the free music video that goes along with this book. But most of all, have fun learning, because if a kid doesn't have fun learning, a kid won't love to learn!

n the words of the iconic lyricist Cole Porter, "birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. . ."Creatures of allsorts fall in love. And, after all. what is love without a song? A song could be romantic, upbeat, downbeat, heart-wrenching, sad, happy, content. . . Humans aren't the only "creatures" who sing songs. Many, many, MANY animals in the wild sing songs too!Here are the stories of a few non-humans who also sing; but they don't sing in showers, or in studios, or on stages. . . they sing in the wild! About 'Songs of the Wild'----Tony Ridgway happens to be one of South Africa's most well-loved songwriters, having written songs for many of his country's pop stars. After 30 years as songwriter, he has turned to writing books for children. His quest? To share a lifetime experience of rhythm and rhyme with little ones.

Do you have a monster under your bed? Or is the monster only on your head? And does it make any difference where a monster resides as long as there is a monster? And if there is a monster, then what can you learn from that monster about life and how to live it?Explore these questions and more as you read yet another fun filled book written and illustrated by Penelope Dyan that contains her whimsical poetry along with her kid friendly illustrations that encourage a child to write and draw and to ,make books of their own. And why not? Children have the best imaginations of us all! We just have to bring out of them what is bottled up in their heads.No one knows this to be true better than attorney and former teacher, Penelope Dyan, and this book is based on her tried and true classroom concepts and techniques used in the classroom on the younger crown.Dyan is Internationally known and recognized for her poetry, and is an award winning author. She is original and one of a kind, and this is what she encourages your children to be. . . original and one of a kind. Bellissima believes books are a mind investment and that everyone should have lots of books, especially kids. So invest in your child's mind and do it well. Children are the future!