Family Books with Mr. Z

brought to you by REAL WRITER’S MARKET. We love you, Bob!

We would like to get our children’s publishing section kicked off with a kids’ author you just have to see: They call him Mr. Z. His real name is Robert Zaslow.

Why Am I Here?: A Children’s Values and Children’s Questions Book for Life

MARK ASKS SO MANY QUESTIONS, HIS PARENTS NICKNAMED HIM ‘QUESTION MARK.’

Today, he asks, “Mommy, why am I here?” She asks him to try to find his answer in his own backyard, So Mark talks to the sun, the rain, and the wind, but they still don’t tell Mark why he is here.

When a wet little bird falls from a tree and he helps her up, something magical happens, and ‘Question Mark’ begins to sense an answer to that ancient question. This is a story of life and love and discovery that will stay with little ones for a long time.

Come check it out…

Muffin Can’t Hear Nothin’

When a young boy rescues a cold little kitten, everything goes well until the boy discovers that “Muffin can’t hear nothin’!”

Squirrels, blue jays and alley cats sneak up on Muffin and tease her, even though the boy tries to protect her. Then, something really big happens!

Come see what happens next in a family story that could only be told by Mr. Z. Thank you, Mr. Z., for everything you do.

Come check out this great title.

Bert the Birch Tree, had always been like the skinny, short kid on the block who gets picked on, or worse, ignored. But one day, Bert stood up for himself by not standing tall.

Written by Mr. Z, who lives surrounded by trees in Washington. It’s n o wonder his stories are so beautiful;

Illustrated by Pablo E. D’Alio, who lives in Argentina, has been drawing comics since he was five. Check out his work on Instagram @ instagram.com/daliopablo.

Come get a copy…

Meet Mr. Z, a.k.a. Bob Zaslow

Mr. Z, Bob Zaslow, grew up in Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York, where he got his first job as an art teacher. Within his art classes, he loved teaching and taught film-making to his junior high school students before video camcorders. One of those student films won an award for creativity.

When NYC budget problems forced many art and music teachers to leave the Department of Education, he made a documentary film about a female artist’s struggles and eventual success. The film was shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and won a Bronze award at the American Film Festival.

When a NYC ad agency hired him to write magazine ads and commercials, he began writing every day, up to seven hours a day. He won a Clio award and two Effie awards along the way. He also wrote, directed and produced 110 ‘Maalox Moment’ radio commercials.

In 2001, he returned to teaching and taught his Bronx fifth grade class math, science, English and Social Studies using rap and rhyme. The result- his students loved to learn this way. And when he taught high school students, he used rap to take the fear out of Shakespeare. Again, two results- his students got excited about reading and discussing the actual play…and Mr. Z wrote a book, ‘Rap-Notes: Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits,’ with raps that sing the stories of five of his most popular plays.

When he wasn’t teaching or writing lesson plans, he wrote plays, including six one-act comedies Off-Off Broadway and the book to a full-length musical that performed in the FringeNYC Festival at the Bleecker St. Theatre in Greenwich Village.

Now Mr. Z is retired and lives in WA with his wife, Ann and cat, Smokey. Bob and Ann just became proud grandparents of a little girl featured in one of his books. And he’s all about writing children’s books that are not only fun to read but get kids thinking about big ideas like love, shyness, patience, courage and living in the moment.

His goal is to turn kids on to the fun of reading and teach kids the joy of writing and draw their OWN stories. Because he knows the joy of turning a blank sheet of paper into a story that moves people to tears or laughter.

Accolades

“Mr. Z (Bob Zaslow) is a master of read-out-loud simplicity. Both his language and his concepts feel in the moment but have the power and beauty of the best haiku poetry. And like poetry, his words invite repeated readings that touch the heart in fresh ways because they invite you, no matter what your age, to join in.” – Peter Andrews, Author and creator of the How to Write Fast blog

Bob Zaslow lives in beautiful Washington State.

Contact Mr. Z: bob@mrzstorytime.com

Find out more at Bobzaslow.com.

 

Think maybe you’ve got the writing bug, too? KIDS Writer’s Market Submissions now open. Check it out…

 

Thank you and Happy Publishing!

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