QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Authors: Questions & Answers
Interview Questions With Kathy NashWhy did you decide to co-author the book with your son?Just reading a book is not sufficient for a child to comprehend the meaning of the story. I felt that if I added some questions it could be a tool for parents to become involved in their children's learning processes.What are the biggest challenges facing parents who want to participate in their children's education today?I feel most parents today want their children to succeed. But with both parents working and an increasing number of children being raised by single parent, mothers and fathers don't have a lot of time or mental energy to think of creative activities to do with their children. Many parents haven't even experienced the joy of playing with their children. They don't know how.You're saying some parents don't know how to play with their children? Yes, that's correct. When I worked for the Clayton County Early Intervention Program, a program that served children with special needs, our staff would suggest activities for parents to do with their children, and many did not know how to begin the process. So we developed classes to teach parents how to engage in meaningful play. The parents really enjoyed it! If a child views the animated version of Big Box, Little Box, won't he be less likely to want to read the book?Actually, research has shown that it will increase his motivation to read the book. A child's attention span, vocabulary, and thinking skills will increase when he is introduced to both the audio and visual version of a book.What's your hope for the Big Box, Little Box project?I want all children to understand that they do have potential. Through our parent workshops, I want to equip parents with songs, games, and an arsenal of positive words and phrases that they can use to help their children realize this potential.
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Interview QuestionsWith Damien K.H. NashWhy did you start the TNG Publishings Company?We started the company after I wrote my first book, How to Load Your Truck. From the first response of people who read that book, we concluded that we needed to produce books and materials that promoted positive moral character traits. How did you come up with the title How to Load Your Truck?In December of 2007, I was working at UPS and one of my supervisors challenged me about the "4 Keys" of loading a truck in a "pre-sort meeting" with my colleagues. Honestly, I had not tried to learn the keys, so when the supervisor asked me to explain them I was unprepared and felt embarrassed the whole day. I decided to call my mother to talk about my day, and she said "Oh How to Load Your Truck - that sounds like a book." And the rest is history!Your second book, Big Box, Little Box, also takes place in a mail delivery center. Why a mail deliver center?It's a great way to teach children about the different stages of a process. We wanted children to learn how to make choices and not wait until they were older and suffering from the mistakes they made when they were young. We felt that a mail delivery center was an ideal place to teach young and old people about how different choices can determine your destination, in either a positive or a negative way.The second book also has parent and child activities?Yes, my mother felt that having a book read to them was not enough for most children to get a real understanding. She has a background in early childhood education. Children acquire knowledge not only by what they hear but also through hands-on experiences and discussions.Why did you make the book into an animation?Even though the story had a good storyline, we felt the positive message would come alive in the hearts of the children even more if it was animated. Ideally, when they view the book in an animated form they will have greater understanding of the potential within.Can the animation be adapted to many different audiences?Yes, it has subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.What is the future of Big Box, Little Box? Do you plan to make it into a series?Well, I've already written the sequel and plan to begin production in 2010. I'm also thinking about a prequel. Long range, I don't know what will happen, but this has been a fun ride and I'm enjoying every stage of it. Will it become a series? We'll just have to wait and see.
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