As 2018 draws to a close, we are getting prepared for another fun year ahead. On the personal side, 2018 brought lots of love, laughter, craziness, exciting travel adventures and new friendships that we cherish and are thankful for. On the Koolamundo side, we have spent the last three years building a portfolio of books, songs, videos, character merchandise and apparel. We had about 6-7 planned events with children in 2018 and plan to spend a lot more time with the little ones next year spreading the good word about the amazing world we live in and having some fun with storytelling, songs, movement and puppetry. Below are some of the highlights for 2018.
And we would be remiss if we didn't share the newest professional puppets we added to the Koolamundo family this year. We have a busy year ahead lots of new projects for 2019, including but not limited to:
In closing, the Koolamundo Family would like to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and festive, safe and joyous Holiday Season!
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Dogs are one of our best animal buddies. They are friendly, loyal, never judge you, kind and give us lots of love. This year is very special to us at Koolamundo, as it is the year of the dog in the Chinese lunar calendar. Dobby The Dog is one of our book characters. He is a curious, energetic, intelligent Australian Cattle Dog, which is also known a Blue Heeler. Dobby gets up to lots of trouble when cats are in his view. And he especially loves to catch his frisbee. To celebrate the life of this incredible dog, Koolamundo will be doing two FREE five day promotions. The first one will be Dobby’s New Home. This colorful illustrated rhyming children’s book is based on fact. Dobby started his life in a sad environment until he arrived into the loving arms of his special friend. He also has the help of an older Dutch dog, that made him feel more settled. Dobby's New Home promotion will run from the 26th November to 30th November on Amazon.com. It is easy to download the book and view it on many apps. Koolamundo Fun Facts:- They say that these great dogs have descended from the wild Australian Dingo dog. Most Heelers are born with a white coat. And the white patch on the head is called a Bently Mark, which is supposedly named after a breeder called Tomas Bently. The oldest living Blue Heeler was Bluey, he lived to be the ripe old age of 29 years and five months. What a lad! The second book, Run Dobby Run is also a rhyming illustrated story for ages 2-6. This book is about his experience in Spain and the shenanigans that he got up to. This promotion will be FREE from the 10th December to 14th December on Amazon.com. Have fun reading the Dobby The Dog books with your families. You can also like to wear one of his T-shirts. Dobby The Dog T-shirts can be found at Koolamundo Tees on amazon.com. About 6 weeks ago we started creating short 20-30 second videos with Klara The Cow for the little ones. In our most recent production we added an introduction which you helped us choose from four that were created. We call this the "Koolamundo Swirl Intro." We also added what we call an outro at the end of the video that you also helped us choose, which we call "Koolamundo Space Outro." We will use this in all future short videos as our signature. This is what the outro looks like. Then we added the body of the video where Klara is dressed in different costumes from her Klara The Cow Dress-up App and she is strutting her stuff in front of camera. She did well under all of the bright lights and flashes! If you have a minute, please take a look at the finished product and feel free to share and provide your thoughts. We appreciate all feedback. #itsakoolworld, #koolamundotees, #klarathecowapp
A typical layout for a picture book (ages 2-6) is 32 pages. Thirty-two pages will be the total length of the book, but your story can only have 24 pages. The other 8 will be used for the book ends, title and copyright. With 24 pages for your story, you can have 12 two-page spreads (the left and right page opened), 24 individual pages or a combination as long as the story fits on a total of 24 pages. In the example I am using today, Klara The Cow Who Knows How To Bow has less than 250 words. STEP 1: In order to illustrate a children’s book, you first need to have the story written. The creative direction you provide to an illustrator will be inspired by the written words, this is done by creating a story board. STEP 2: Either you can start drawing your illustrations or you need to find an illustrator to help you make your story come to life. For the purpose of this example, we will assume that you need the help of an illustrator/artist. How does one find an illustrator? There are many websites that offer these services, like Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, DesignCrowd.com, Freelancer.com and more. The one I have had the most luck with is Fiverr.com. STEP 3: You audition several illustrators by posting a job on one or more of these websites. The ad would be something like this, “I have written a book about a cow, her name is Klara. She is a young cow and has eyes, the colour of corn. Please create a cow character for my 24 page illustrated children’s picture book. Let me know if you have any questions.” You will pay for the illustration samples whether you use them or not. When I posted this add back in early 2015, these are the two sample illustrations I received back from two different illustrators on Fiverr.com. ILLUSTRATOR 1 ILLUSTRATOR 2 It was immediately clear to me which illustrator I was going to work with. Once you have chosen your illustrator, the next step is to send the story board with creative direction for each page. I have created a standard template that I use for this process. STEP 4: Provide story board with creative direction and the story. Let’s start with a simple example. This is the text for the first two pages. In a pasture so green, was a sight to be seen. A calf was just born, with eyes the colour of corn. Creative Direction to Illustrator Two-page Illustration. Left page 4 – Right page 5 Illustration: A barn with a green pasture (page 4 left) with Klara being born with her mum giving her love (page 5 right). Klara’s eyes need to be the colour of corn. Her eyes are special. The first result is always a black and white sketch. This enables the author and the illustrator to ensure they are in sync and come to an agreement before colouring. This was the first sketch. How exciting! STEP 5: Provide feedback to your illustrator on the sketch. My feedback was, “we need to see Klara’s beautiful eyes, the colour of corn. Since this was the only change, the illustrator makes the suggested changes and provides the colour version. One thing to note; you can have the illustrator add the words to each illustration or you can add them yourself later in the set-up phase for publishing. Since Klara was being translated into 10 languages, I decided to add the text myself. This collaboration process continues until you have 12 double page illustrations, 24 single page illustrations or a combination. STEP 6: Once the illustrations are done, the book needs to be set-up for publishing. At this point, the illustrator will need to create a single page by cutting the two-page illustrations in half like this. That my friends, is the short version of How To Illustrate A Children’s Picture Book! I won’t go into the details about how everything is set-up for publishing, but it is important to mention that this particular book is 8.5 x 8.5 inches square, but the size of the illustrations are 8.75 x 8.75 to allow for (full page bleed) printing and trimming the final product. It is important to understand the publishing requirements, when you have written the manuscript and start creating your story board.
My first self-publishing book project, Klara The Cow Who Knows How To Bow took approximately 90 days to complete the illustrations and another week or so to publish. #itsakoolworld This activity book for kids ages 3-6 contains coloring or colouring pages, stickers, dot to dot, mazes, word search, word search, find the shapes, circle the words, draw the picture, find Klara and more! This book is both entertaining and educational and will provide hours of educational farm-themed amusement and fun. This book includes pictures and activities with cows and other farm animals, a prince, a farmer, farm tractors, castles, barns, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Available now in my Etsy shop. Three Pages of Fun StickersOne Example Of Many Dot To Dot PagesWhat child does not like to connect the dots to see the completed picture? Dot to dot activities is a fun way to practice counting and help children get ready for school with math and counting sequencing. Fun and Challenging MazesMazes are used for problem solving, functioning skills and fine motor control, (moving the pencil through the lines without touching the edge), learning patience and precision. Also, a great way to boost a child’s confidence. Klara is waiting for you to help her get back to the castle. Klara The Cow's Activity Book is 64 pages full of fun that will keep the little ones engaged for hours of fun. The pages above are just a sneak peek at what's inside this book. To get your very own copy, please go to Etsy and we will ship it to you anywhere in the world!
Please let us know what you think and if we can answer any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Chickens are used all around the world as mascots and national marks. My favourite cereal has a cockerel, the athletic rooster is a sports equipment manufacture, Gallic rooster is a national symbol of France. Many international sports clubs use chickens as their logo’s and as good-luck icons. Let’s not forget the Pathé logo, which we constantly see at the movies. Even Sir Robin had a chicken on his shield from a famous British comedic film. Koolamundo has a friendship series of rhyming books. All the characters on Klara’s farm have a unique talent. Chuck the Chook is a special chicken that is being teased by his friends. As he mimics every sound that he hears. So, Chuck leaves the farm and meets up with his new friend Klara The Cow. She helps Chuck and he saves the day! Beware, you might be laughing out loud! As Chuck’s talent gets him into a pickle with his clever skills. Chook Named Chuck Has Amazing Luck is FREE to download on Amazon Kindle for the next 5 days. Please have fun also reading our illustrated book and do not forget to make the sounds with your children. Hopefully I am not in trouble. :D #itsakoolworld
Every country has its own story to tell. There are 195 countries with their own currencies, flags and government. We live in a world of contrasting cultures, old traditions, distinctive cuisines and languages that have been taught through the generations. Our homelands have diverse climates, time zones and landscapes. As well as remarkable flora, fauna, insects and water life, that some of us have never seen or heard of before. That is why I created an International bird. His name is Alook and he comes from the smallest star in the universe, Koolamundo. This cute, fun loving character travels around the globe and through the universe. He carries a magical bead and his travel journal. He is a very curious feller that can be mischievous at times. Alook is eager to learn more about the world we live in and his enthusiasm for nature and other cultures comes through with his rhyming stories and songs. Alook’s Dance In France is his second book in let’s explore the world series it is about a magical journey around the world, which ends in Paris, France where Alook learns how to do the Koolamundo street dance with his new international friends. Come and join us on this fun journey with Alook. You can download his book in English, German and Italian on Amazon, Kindle for five days. 22nd February - 26th February. #itsakoolworld
https://www.amazon.com/Kimberley-Kleczka/e/B010VTW7WI Press www.koolamundo.com
Some countries love their food spicy, others prefer fresh fruits, salads and lighter cuisines, whilst other cultures might enjoy heavy soups and stews.
Different cultures express themselves by the presentation of their special dishes. Can you guess where these two photos were taken?
Kool Facts: -
Supposedly the pizza pie originated from Italy by a Neapolitan pizzamaker named Raffaele Esposito, he created the "Pizza Margherita" in 1889.
Luna & Alooks Funny Food Book gives you a taste of some of the amazing food cultures around the world. Alook our travelling companion shows samples of his favourite foods. Whilst Luna reminds Alook that it is very important to also eat fruit and vegetables.
This book is about the culinary adventures of these two fun loving birds.
Please download the book for FREE off Amazon Kindle - 25th January to 29th January.
https://www.amazon.com/Luna-Alooks-Funny-Explore-World-ebook/dp/B0178SLUPK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1516793328&sr=1-6
Kool Facts: -
The chocolate chip cookie recipe was invented by an American chef called Ruth Graves Wakefield. She owned a popular family restaurant called the Toll House Inn, in Massachusetts.
"No matter all the things we do, foods are shared with me and you!"
Come and join our lovable Alook in his funny food book as he chows done on some naughty desserts. Luna & Alooks Funny Food Book also comes with two songs; one has a jazzy element to it and the other hip hop. You can listen to both of these songs on our Koolamundo website and also our Koolamundo YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOJXQAWSORg www.koolamundo.com https://www.amazon.com/Kimberley-Kleczka/e/B010VTW7WI #itsakoolworld Two and half years ago, Koolamundo was launched with our first children’s book, Klara The Cow Who Knows How To Bow. And what an incredible journey it has been. Since then we have added a song, read along video, dress up app and the story of Klara is now in ten different languages. Klara even has her own Mummy and me puppets. Prototypes of our backpacks, puppets, and key chains are complete, and will all go to production in January 2018. Kool Facts:- Calves stay with their mums from three to eight months, until they are done with weaning. The longer a calf can stay with her mother the better it will be. Cow refers to the females of the bovine group and males are usually called bulls or steers. Cows can see at panoramic, vision, so it is hard to creep up on them. Did you know that Bovines cannot see the colour red. Also, cows have an amazing sense of smell which helps to detect imminent danger. Koolamundo has created an engaging teaching manual for the Klara The Cow Who Knows How To Bow book and song. Our teaching method helps stimulate word sounds, reading, creativity, acting, music, dancing and singing with the assistance of our Klara The Cow Puppets. We work with pre-school, kindergarten and reception. Below is a sample from our new Klara The Cow Activity Book. How many differences can you find? Let us know on Facebook.Exciting Koolamundo News:-
You will be able to download Klara The Cow Who Knows How To Bow in 7 different languages on KDP. 29th November – 2nd December. Please check her out and lets us know what you think of our famous friend Klara! She would love to hear from you all on Amazon. #itsakoolworld Have you ever wondered about the stars in the universe? And the surrounding planets? We have at Koolamundo and one of our fun-loving characters is Alook. He comes from the tiniest star in the universe, that glows with the brilliance of endless sunsets, all year around. Koolamundo facts:- Supposedly there are more stars in the galaxy than grains of sand on our beaches worldwide. Also, the stars are not casually drifting through space, they are actually gathered together into different groups called galaxies. Alook’s cool place in outer space is the first book in the Let’s Explore The World Series. This colourful rhyming book describes Alook’s home, family, and the fun life that he leads. Included is a Koolamundo song for you all to sing along too. The animated version is coming soon. Our curious bird is always up for a new adventure. His mission is to travel and learn about our planet earth. He collects memorabilia, interesting facts, and many cool friends along the way. His stories are about all kinds of adventures around the globe. Alook gives us a chance to see the amazing cultural world that we live in. You are welcome to view and download this book for free on Amazon in the next five days,
27th -31st October. www.amazon.com/Visit-Alooks-Place-Outer-Explore-ebook/dp/B01HWV4D0M/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 If you do not have the kindle app, You can download the app for free with both Mac and PC. They will walk you through the three steps. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at Koolamundo. www.koolamundo.com So are you ready to get your dancing shoes on? Time to sing along to the Koolamundo song. :D Happy reading. #itsakoolworld |
AuthorKimberley grew-up as a third culture kid; born in the UK, and then living in Africa, America, New Zealand, several European countries and currently residing in Hong Kong. She is on a journey to educate and entertain our children and youth about the Kool world we live in through her books, audio books, sing-a-long books, videos and fun puppets. Please join her on this edutainment adventure! Archives
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