Where did Walt Disney get his ideas? Books of course! He was a creative genius who brought hundreds of stories to life through his animated art. The majority of his movies were based or loosely based on books and historical stories. Great books make great movies. Animation made the stories and characters come alive. He enchanted us all. Disney magic revived stories and fairy tales that might have been forgotten. Disney was drawn by each story’s magic and created his version of it to strike a chord with the inner child in everyone.
Disney’s whole career was about creating magic for his “guests”. Whether it was a movie, t.v show, or theme park, he focused on the magic within the story. He wasn’t just about sitting in front of a screen. He wanted families to spend quality time together. Therefore, every movie produced created a Disney book. His published books were the mechanism to bring about great family read along. Do you remember your first Disney book?
We carry a huge selection of Disney Books at discoverbooks.com where you can Let the Stories Live On.
Disney’s first book, which was The Adventures of Mickey Mouse, was published in 1931. (We carry the 50th Birthday Edition.) Disney continues to publish books to inspire the kid in all of us. Find your childhood favorite and Let the Stories Live On at discoverbooks.com
How many of these books have you read? Did the movie motivate you to read the book or vice versa? How many more books became Disney movies? Can you name them? Find these and many more at discoverbooks.com. The list below is just a sampling of the 100’s of Disney books we have available on our site. Doing a site search will bring up more options. Happy Searching! Let the Stories Live On.
Bela Lugosi celebrates his 137th birthday or he would have if he wasn’t dead (Bela Lugosi is Dead Bauhaus-1980 English rock band album)( not to be confused with the German School of Art Bauhaus). He was a Hungarian – American actor, who brought Bram Stoker’s Dracula alive on screen in 1931. He had begun his acting career in Hungary, then Germany, and finally America. His heavy Eastern European accent landed him the role of Count Dracula. Unfortunately, his accent kept him typecast for most of his career.
“How good and thoughtful he is; the world seems full of good men–even if there are monsters in it.” Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Before Bela Lugosi, there was the Irish author Bram Stoker. He is the mastermind behind the gothic vampire Dracula. Stoker lived in England and was personal assistant to English actor Henry Irving. Stoker was the business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London. He enjoyed the company of many famous authors because of his connection with Irving, including Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Bram Stoker
“There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.” Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The book Dracula is considered one of the greatest vampire novels of all times. It brings the story of Jonathan Harker’s journey to Eastern Europe to life. Harker is an English lawyer who travels to oversee a real estate transaction with Count Dracula at his castle. Harker soon realizes he is in a state of confinement at the castle. Young female vampires come on the scene and. . . No Spoilers here. Buy a copy today. There are wonderful quotes throughout the book. There is a reason it is considered a classic.
The most interesting fact is Stoker never visited Eastern Europe. EVER! Stoker met Ármin Vámbéry, a Slovak-Jewish writer and listened intensely to his stories of the Carpathian Mountains. It is believed Count Dracula came from these tales. How did he write about a place he never saw? He read and studied. He combed through countless (like the play on words) Eastern European folktales looking for vampire stories. (Later some speculated the story was based on Vlad III Dracula, but the original notes don’t support that idea.) The original has been imitated many times now with even comic books using Count Dracula, but the original by Bram Stoker is a must-read classic for all genre readers.
“Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker” Bram Stoker’s Dracula
“Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplate by men´s eyes, because they know -or think they know- some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.” Bram Stoker’s Dracula
“Welcome to my house! Enter freely. Go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring.” Bram Stoker’s Dracula
“Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.” Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Halloween. The day where children dress up in costumes and go door to door asking for treats. The day where the average child consumes around3 cups or 7,000 calories of candy. Did that catch your attention? Just for comparison sake, that is the same as eating 13 Big Macs. Consider how many days they continue to consume this much candy.
Discover Books wants to help. Books Not Candy. We sell children’s book bundles ranging from $5.20 to $11.00. We know for most people, giving out 100’s of books isn’t feasible, but giving 10-20 books is a start. We have bundle packs of Goosebumps, Dr. Seuss, Clifford, Disney Golden Books, Pinkalicious, Magic Tree House, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Beverly Cleary, and Captain Underpants. Start a new trend – BOOKS NOT CANDY. Together we can not only help reduce the amount of sugar children eat but also give a child the gift of LITERACY. Order now to ensure delivery for Halloween.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the Union of Concerned Scientists notes “that American children between the ages of 2 and 19 consumed 124 grams of sugar, or 29 teaspoons, every day. Teenage boys in particular (age 12-19) consume an average of 161 grams—or nearly three-quarters of a cup—of sugar daily.” The American Heart Association recommends for children 2 to 18 is 25 grams of sugar. This daily number combined with the increased intake on Halloween is cause for alarm. Even small steps are helpful.
DAILY READING HABITS
The average 8-12 year old spends 6-9 hours on media and technology a day. That is longer than they spend in school. Even more discouraging is the fact, they spend on average less than 10 minutes a day reading. Reading exposes one to different points of view, different cultures, ideas, and engages the mind and imagination in a way technology can’t match. Encourage your children, yourself, and those in your circle of influence to spend 30 minutes each day disconnected from gadgets reading a real book.
The benefits of switching 30 minutes of technology time to true reading time are unfathomable. One benefit is the gift of focus or attention. When scrolling through endless content online, we aren’t necessarily engaged or focused. When we read, it trains our brains to be present even as our minds create the pictures in our heads. It takes focus to see the words, create the concepts, and process the meaning of the story. In short, we are exercising our brains.
INVITATION TO ACT
We invite you again to begin a new tradition this Halloween – Books Not Candy. We’d love to hear your stories as you share the gift of literacy this HALLOWEEN. LET THE STORIES LIVE ON.
The fall equinox is the marking point where light and darkness, day and night are equally balanced. One could say, “It’s all downhill from here,” as the daylight fades minute by minute for the next 3 months.
Perhaps, there is a better way to look at it. Using the equinox, as a mile marker in the year to FALL into NEW HABITS. With the evenings becoming longer, take advantage of it. Find time for you. Find time for family.
RELAX for 30 minutes each night without the aid of an electronic device. Completely shut down the world of electronics, don’t check your phone, email, or stream your favorite episode. There are many reasons to disconnect and read. Yale University School of Public Health had this to say: “Reading can make you think and laugh; it can inspire and teach. … When researchers at Yale University School of Public Health analyzed data from more than 3,600 adults age 50 and older, they found that those who read books for 3½ hours a week—or 30 minutes a day—lived about two years longer than their non-reading peers.” Who doesn’t want to live longer? (https://www.healthination.com/health/benefits-of-reading) Read this article for more health benefits.
ENGAGE with the story. Put yourself in it. Take notes. Ask questions. What does the author want you to know? What is the author hiding? Where is this leading? The more one engages, the more one discovers. The characters, plot, climax, denouement all reveal bits of the beliefs or dreams hidden within the story by the author for you to discover. Engage in the process of discovery.
ACQUAINT yourself with the characters, location, idea of the book. Meeting new people, places, and ideas stimulates the mind as we work through the difficulties of reality. Can’t escape on a vacation? Take a book in hand and acclimate yourself into a new world, new time, with new people. Your mind paints the scenery, faces, costumes, landscape that it encounters in the stories you read. This escape reduces stress and anxiety. Take time to RELAX and ENGAGE daily.
DISCOVER new stories, people, customs, lands, and ideas. The gift of discovery is one of the greatest gifts given to humanity. Thinking through complex issues and ideas helps us grow. When they are contained within a story, they provide an opportunity to problem solve and succeed without the consequences of reality. It is a gift to read and discover and see through new lenses.
Understanding new ideas, people, and the complex world around us requires one to RELAX, ENGAGE, ACQUAINT, and DISCOVER for yourself. This fall balance your life by taking time to R.E.A.D. Find a story at Discoverbooks.com.
This fall start a new habit. Help those you love to start a new habit. Take 15-30 minutes daily and become one with a new story. Let us help you by offering 15% off all books USE COUPON CODE FALL2019 at checkout AND remember SHIPPING is on us too! FREE SHIPPING ALWAYS.
September brings cooler nights and shorter days. Have you noticed the change? This September, the big screen brings several books to the movies. Whether you enjoy the change from book to film is a personal battle.
Most of the time, the book delves deeper into the characters, details, plot because they aren’t limited by time, only pages. Images come alive in your mind and intertwine with your experiences. You and the author share a sacred moment as you journey mind to mind through the pages.
“But the moon was so large and clear through the uncurtained window that it made me think instead of a story my mother had told me, about driving to horse shows with her mother and father in the back seat of their old Buick when she was little. “It was a lot of traveling—ten hours sometimes through hard country. Ferris wheels, rodeo rings with sawdust, everything smelled like popcorn and horse manure. One night we were in San Antonio, and I was having a bit of a melt-down—wanting my own room, you know, my dog, my own bed—and Daddy lifted me up on the fairgrounds and told me to look at the moon. ‘When you feel homesick,’ he said, ‘just look up. Because the moon is the same wherever you go.’ So after he died, and I had to go to Aunt Bess—I mean, even now, in the city, when I see a full moon, it’s like he’s telling me not to look back or feel sad about things, that home is wherever I am.” She kissed me on the nose. “Or where you are, puppy. The center of my earth is you.” Donna Tartt’sThe Goldfinch
The words paint a clear vision in one’s mind, and you can relate to the character. The words take you to your father, mother, room, etc. In film form this interaction might take a minute or less. Perhaps, it won’t make the final cut. Either way, the film isn’t the same. It isn’t your father entering your mind; it’s the actor. The book takes you to your safe place, while the movie creates a new image of a safe place.
Cinematography is powerful, no doubt. It leaves one breathless at times and a picture is worth a thousand words. The problem is – it isn’t your picture. It is the director’s picture and/or interpretation. That’s the biggest difference between reading and watching. Reading allows you to be involved in the creation of the picture. The author lays the details out for you, but your mind fashions the image.
Downton Abbey fans have been waiting anxiously for the arrival of the new film which hits theaters September 20, 2019. However, what most fans don’t know is Downton Abbey was inspired by a book by Gail MacColl and Carol Wallace written in 1989. The book is called To Marry an English Lord. According to Wallace, the film begins where the book ends. It is, if you will, the back story of Cora and Lord Crawley’s introduction, courtship, and marriage. As you wait patiently (okay not so patiently) for September 20, enjoy the rest of the story of Cora and Robert Crawley by reading the book.
Stephen King is a master at creating suspenseful and supernatural scenes to scare the toughest of reader. King brings our worst what-if scenarios into a realistic plot. That’s what is so terrifying. You have a fear, he makes it realistic. King’s IT was first published in 1986 and the first film came out in a mini-series form in 1990. It became a film in 2017 with the final part of the story hitting the big screen September 9th, 2019. If you haven’t read IT, or you need a refresher, grab a copy while the movie is still in theaters.
“Calling it a simple schoolgirl crush was like saying a Rolls-Royce was a vehicle with four wheels, something like a hay-wagon. She did not giggle wildly and blush when she saw him, nor did she chalk his name on trees or write it on the walls of the Kissing Bridge. She simply lived with his face in her heart all the time, a kind of sweet, hurtful ache. She would have died for him..” ― Stephen King, It
TO SHOW OUR APPRECIATION WE ARE OFFERING 15% OFF BOOKS THIS WEEK WITH COUPON CODE HAPPYBIRTHDAY2019. Help bring literacy to all children: Read to a child today.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” -The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien
COUPON CODE TOLKIEN2019 AT CHECKOUT
J.R.R. Tolkien chose to spend his time enlightening the imaginations of millions of readers throughout the world. He created worlds of his own and left part of himself on this earth contained within his stories.
Yesterday marked the 46th anniversary of the death of this creative soul. His life experiences and beliefs are captured in print forever. All we need to do is open our minds to the worlds he shaped to help us better understand how to live in this world.
Library of Congress
Tolkien’s book(s) beckon us to move forward against all adversity, trials, and self-doubt. The journey is before us every day and we can rise to the challenge of it and face it with courage. #Letthestoriesliveon
Tolkien’s life represents this concept. His life was marked with adversity from a young age. First, when his father died and left the family with no income. His mother, brother, and self moved in with his mother’s family in Birmingham England. His mother taught him at home which allowed him to explore subjects he loved such as botany, nature, languages, and fairy-tales. He loved to read George MacDonald and Andrew Lang(wikipedia) Second, when at twelve years of age, his dear mother passed.
During World War I, he was a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers. He had already married Edith Bratt by this time. The separation was long and hard as it was for many during that time. Life was a journey and he was facing it head on.
Wikipedia
September 21, 1937 marks the publication day of his first novel The Hobbit. It is here, we begin the matter of fact journey into mythical creatures and beings not yet imagined. The world was suffering from the great depression, the Hindenburg disaster, and the dust bowl not to mention Hitler was setting the stage for Germany’s world domination campaign. The campaign against the Jewish people was just beginning as Tolkien introduced his imaginary world with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves to mention a few. #Letthesstoriesliveon
Library of Congress
Join us on a quest to remember and honor this creative mind by reading either again or for the first time one of his fantasy novels. Perhaps, you haven’t read his commentary on Beowulf and would enjoy it. Try a book about Tolkien or his worlds. Find them all at Discover Books. Use Coupon Code Tolkien2019 at checkout for a 15% discount on all books. Good until 9/8/2019.
Labor Day. The day of sales. The transitional end of summer vacation. The call to go one last time to the beach, camping, boating, or to host a barbecue. The signal to get serious in your studies. The herald of fall, football, school, and cozy blanket weather. But what does it mean? Who started it? What exactly are we celebrating?
Labor Day begins with the industrial revolution and the moving away from the homestead into the city for work. It ends with you and how you celebrate your opportunities for employment. It’s more than just a holiday. It’s a day about people, labor, history, industry, and law. It’s about Americans who believed in living life and not just surviving. #Letthestoriesliveon
I’m a people person. I like to understand and comprehend how people think, live, feel, and express themselves in all times. As humans, we analyze, categorize thoughts and ideas as we watch and learn about people. Let’s begin our journey to learn together. #Letthestoriesliveon
Library of Congress Lewis Hines Collection
Labor Day is an opportunity to glimpse back through history to a time when industry was king. People flocked to it. Families worked to create it with little in return. As we turn back time, we see fathers with large families laboring in dirty, dim factories or mines to bring something, anything home to their families. Mothers struggling to keep house and a job that required 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week. Children as young as four crowded into factories because they were cheap labor. We see the business owners trying to balance the cost of business with profits.
We see life. Life in a different era. We struggle not to judge, but use it as an example for our own lives. Gratitude. Gratitude for those who risked everything to change the system. Men like Peter J. McGuire and Matthew Maguire, who are accredited with bringing us what is now known as Labor Day which was established as a federal law 1894. A day for celebrating the accomplishments of American workers.
Lives were altered, ended, supported, and made throughout the history of the industrial revolution. Learning about those lives and their impact on history helps us develop an understanding of the many blessings we have because of those who came before, and the legacy we want to leave for those who come after. #Letthestoriesliveon
Book Recommendations for your personal journey through the industrial revolution through the campaign to better conditions for workers and the enactment of the LABOR DAY HOLIDAY. Enjoy your long weekend. (And thank you to those who will work during the holiday to keep us safe and comfortable.) Use code LABOR19 at checkout for a 15% discount.
It’s that time of year again when the children are back in school and for school-age children and even high schooler’s, that means that parents are probably doing a little bit of a happy dance…don’t deny it, you’re a little excited even if you don’t want to admit it.
But what about the parents of kids in college? ESPECIALLY freshmen college students who have recently left the nest for the first time?! In the excitement and chaos that came with packing up their new college student and getting them off safely, no one stopped to think about the parents and how hard it must have been to see their children leave!
Popsugar.com even posted an article recently about our former POTUS, Barack Obama, and how he cried when Malia left for college. The Secret Service would likely deny any knowledge of this but Barack came out and said,
“I dropped off Malia at college, and…it was a little bit like open-heart surgery. I was proud that I did not cry in front of her. But on the way back, the Secret Service was off, looking straight ahead, pretending they weren’t hearing me as I sniffled and blew my nose. It was rough.”
You can read the full article here but I would imagine that a lot of parents can relate and while those with younger children in school look forward to a little, teeny bit of extra free time to get things done, those with college students are probably scrambling….looking for anything and everything that they can do to get their mind off of their son/daughter being gone.
So today, you are in luck. We have listed below the top 3 books that will help you cope, understand and make the most of the time that you spend away from your (all grown up) little baby!
Check them out below at www.DiscoverBooks.com for next to nothing so that you can keep your emotions AND your wallet in-tact until Christmas break!! YAY!!
Scholastic recently published a study that shows that 15% of children (ages 6-17) don’t read any books over the summer!
I know, I know….we were shocked too!! That number is staggering considering there is SOOO much proven evidence that not reading over the summer is detrimental to a child’s learning process throughout the rest of the year.
The good news, however, is that 50% of the same group of children read between 1-5 books over their summer break!!!! eh-ehmmmm we will say that one more time…..
Scholastic reports that 50% of children ages 6-17 read between 1-5 books over the summer!
There we go…..that’s better!
So you might be sitting there wondering what you can do to get your children to read more over the summer, keep their brains active and ensure a smooth transition for them back into the school year in September right? No problem!
Here is an awesome infographic from the survey that is JAMPACKED with great ideas to get books in those hands! Click on the infographic to read the full Scholastic survey with more information and statistics that you might find pretty surprising!
We have saved the best news for last because now it is easier than EVER to get books for your children to read over the summer! You don’t even have to go out and fight the summer heat for this one…GET READY!
Head over to www.DiscoverBooks.com to take advantage of our multiple book promo going on now! Buy ANY five books on our website and get 20% OFF!!! Can you believe it??? 20% That’s like getting one of the books completely free!
Yep, that’s how we feel too! And we know your kids are going to love it. Hop on over to www.DiscoverBooks.com and buy any 5 books that you and your children want (you can even get one for yourself too!) and then enter code SUMMERREADING2017 at checkout for 20% off.
Keep your family safe, happy, and most of all READING this summer with Discover Books!
