Where has Bob Been?

I received a call from Mostly Books to let me know that I needed to come in and pick up some royalty money for sales of Everyone is Bob and I Want an Alligator. My life has been so crazy, that I'd not been writing children's book for a long while.

After I got home, I did a Google search and discovered that Bob has been getting around. Everyone is Bob is listed as a reference in the book "Growing Artists: Teaching the Arts to Young Children" By Joan Koster. In her book, she cites my book as a teaching tool to show children how boring life would be if everyone was the same. How cool is that? Thank you, Joan Koster!

I also discovered that my little story was listed on a site called Teach Peace Now as a recommended read: http://teachpeacenow.com/2012/06/24/summer-reading-that-makes-you-think/#comment-2337 The list begins with: Add these books to your child’s summer reading list and expand his or her thinking about fairness and justice. Psst…yours too.  Thank you to the people at that site too. I am grateful to have been noticed.

Everyone is Bob

Everyone is Bob

By T.A.H. Markou

ISBN: 978-1-936165-28-5
ISBN 10: 1-936165-28-7
Price: $12.99
Available at: Green Monkey Books

What if everyone in the whole wide world was exactly the same? Everyone is Bob is a whimsical look at what the world would be like without social diversity and the uniqueness inherent to every person who is a part of the human race.

Note from the Author:
Children are often curious about people who appear different than they do. They ask questions or loudly point out what makes others not look the same. This can be embarrassing and unkind. Everyone is Bob is a book with a subtle message that if everyone were the same, the world would not be an interesting place. Simple illustrations from round people to a person in a wheelchair, as well as the complications of marriage if everyone was Bob, present a humorous view on what it would be like if all people were the same. Teach your child to appreciate differences and even celebrate them with Everyone is Bob.

Why I Write

I started writing stories for children for my friends' daughters, of whom I spent many engaging hours babysitting and entertaining. At parties the children and I gathered together to play and make up stories together, complete with drawings done in crayon and marker. I have always loved the infinite possibilities of a child's imagination and still feel that mine was never truly forced into containment.

The birth of my first son and my constant reading to him as he has aged spurned a need for me to create stories that were meaningful while still entertaining. I've always loved the morals behind the works of Dr. Suess, subtle but effective even for the youngest to understand.

My hope is that my books will deliver meaning and cause children, as well as adults, to question the way things are and why, and to have a greater understanding and toleration of those around them. While not all of my works will have the deepest of moral values at their basis, they will all strive to teach a lesson, great or small.