I am an educator and world traveler on a mission to help educate children about the wonderful and interesting world we live in, through books, songs, videos, workshops, apps, and cool characters.
Kimberley Kleczka,
Author, Radio Presenter, Songwriter, and Entertainer
Many years ago, Kimberley thought about developing a character that could help educate and entertain the children and youth of the world. Her character needed to navigate from country to country. She had a vision of sharing her experiences of the people she has met, the way they lived their lives, what they did for fun, the foods they ate and the multicultural global lifestyles they led. Since birds migrate long distances and can move freely around the globe, she knew her main character had to be a bird. The first character Kimberley created is called Alook. He is a big, funny, a little clumsy and quirky creature, who is very curious and always inquisitive. More about the name Alook later.
Kimberley always put her family first, and it was important to spend the precious growing-up years with them, so the publishing projects were put on hold. Now that her lovely children are grown-up and off on journeys of their own, she has the much-needed time on her hands to focus on all the other wonderful children out there, so her characters started coming to life.
Children’s books are just the latest project Kimberley is tackling, having previously worked in the entertainment industry for 20 years, including six years as the International Talent Coach for Miss Universe and Miss World Netherlands. In many ways, Kimberley has seen and done it all. She's even starred in a television commercial for Vonage, the communications company, which you can watch HERE.
Growing-up and living as a third culture child played a huge part in how she sees the world today. Kimberley was born in the United Kingdom and migrated to Africa as a wee dot, which was just the beginning of her journey, after which she ventured on to America, New Zealand, back to several European countries and now Hong Kong where she currently resides with her husband of over 35 years. This lifestyle provides her an opportunity to see how amazing and incredible our Planet Earth really is. Kimberley says, "I hope you will join me on my edutainment adventure!"
Author, Radio Presenter, Songwriter, and Entertainer
Many years ago, Kimberley thought about developing a character that could help educate and entertain the children and youth of the world. Her character needed to navigate from country to country. She had a vision of sharing her experiences of the people she has met, the way they lived their lives, what they did for fun, the foods they ate and the multicultural global lifestyles they led. Since birds migrate long distances and can move freely around the globe, she knew her main character had to be a bird. The first character Kimberley created is called Alook. He is a big, funny, a little clumsy and quirky creature, who is very curious and always inquisitive. More about the name Alook later.
Kimberley always put her family first, and it was important to spend the precious growing-up years with them, so the publishing projects were put on hold. Now that her lovely children are grown-up and off on journeys of their own, she has the much-needed time on her hands to focus on all the other wonderful children out there, so her characters started coming to life.
Children’s books are just the latest project Kimberley is tackling, having previously worked in the entertainment industry for 20 years, including six years as the International Talent Coach for Miss Universe and Miss World Netherlands. In many ways, Kimberley has seen and done it all. She's even starred in a television commercial for Vonage, the communications company, which you can watch HERE.
Growing-up and living as a third culture child played a huge part in how she sees the world today. Kimberley was born in the United Kingdom and migrated to Africa as a wee dot, which was just the beginning of her journey, after which she ventured on to America, New Zealand, back to several European countries and now Hong Kong where she currently resides with her husband of over 35 years. This lifestyle provides her an opportunity to see how amazing and incredible our Planet Earth really is. Kimberley says, "I hope you will join me on my edutainment adventure!"
People ask all the time, "what does the name Koolamundo mean?"
Let's break it down for you, Koola = Kool (as in cool dude) and Mundo = world in Spanish. Together you get her tagline, “It’s a Kool World.” From the name Koolamundo also came Alook, which is koolA spelled backwards. How cool is that?
When Kimberley decided it was time to get busy and start writing her books, it occurred to her that there are additional ways to educate and entertain our youth, so she created a concept called, “The Whole Package” which is much more than a book. Having spent almost 20 years in the entertainment industry Kimberley had learned so much about what goes on behind the scenes. It occurred to her that music and song would compliment the books as well as fun videos and a read-along book on video. Additionally, she created a character puppet and backpack for the kids to compliment the digital and audio experience. This is how the 'Whole Package' concept was born.
The Whole Package consists of the following:
Kimberley is currently creating other fun merchandise that kids adore, like, t-shirts, keychains, stickers, bookmarks, activity books, journals, diaries and more. She is also in the final stages of completing an institutional license for pre-schools, kindergarten and primary school programs.
When Kimberley decided it was time to get busy and start writing her books, it occurred to her that there are additional ways to educate and entertain our youth, so she created a concept called, “The Whole Package” which is much more than a book. Having spent almost 20 years in the entertainment industry Kimberley had learned so much about what goes on behind the scenes. It occurred to her that music and song would compliment the books as well as fun videos and a read-along book on video. Additionally, she created a character puppet and backpack for the kids to compliment the digital and audio experience. This is how the 'Whole Package' concept was born.
The Whole Package consists of the following:
- A rhyming children’s illustrated picture book
- A read-along video
- A sing-along song
- A hand puppet
- A backpack (to put it all in)
Kimberley is currently creating other fun merchandise that kids adore, like, t-shirts, keychains, stickers, bookmarks, activity books, journals, diaries and more. She is also in the final stages of completing an institutional license for pre-schools, kindergarten and primary school programs.
This is a review by the Kids Fun Channel
Probably the most important aspect to you as a parent about Kimberley, is how she grew up. She's lived all over the world and learned firsthand what the many cultures of the world can offer you and your child. Kimberley enjoys being around different cultures and learning first hand about their traditions and way of life. What she's done with her fun set of books is created an idea in the form of a word. That word is "Koolamundo", which she tells us means "It's a Kool World". Every book of hers that I've read is a story that shows many different ways that people (or birds in the case of her character Alook) live in our grand world. She explains how these differences are great and gives your little one a chance to view these differences positively. She has such a clear vision as to what and why she's creating books for children, and that's one of the reasons we chose her for this Toddler's Author Feature!
Don't forget to Smash, crash, and learn!
Brian Read
Kids Fun Channel
Don't forget to Smash, crash, and learn!
Brian Read
Kids Fun Channel
A nice note from Madame Perry's Salon
Kimberley Kleczka is a cosmopolitan, multimedia powerhouse whose cool world - Koolamundo - is gaining worldwide fans with such speed that we wonder how she manages to maintain the production of books, music, and videos to keep up with the demand.
Madame Perry Salon - Radio
Madame Perry Salon - Radio
I always dreamed of writing and producing my own Christmas song. Dreams do come true!
What an exciting time it is for Koolamundo, creating books, songs, videos and merchandise. There are now over thirty books in multiple languages in both paperback and digital. We have 8 songs in English and German, 3 read along videos and 5 book trailers, a new t-shirt line called 'Koolamundo Tees' (available on Amazon), Klara The Cow backpacks and puppets and we continue to build our multilingual edutainment dream.