By Kakie Fitzsimmons
We elected Barack Obama to be the 44th President of the United States of America. Seeing all of this happen at this level in such a public way makes it real for many people who thought they would never see this day. Read the rest of this entry »
America, we want you to get out and vote today. Let us not forget those who have struggled so that we could have the right to vote. It is a privilege and an honor. If you are not sure where to go, be sure to click here and enter the information to find out!
http://www.vote411.org/bystate.php
It’s a new day!
-Kakie and JoAnne Read the rest of this entry »
Sun Country Airlines has been ranked the Top Domestic Airlines by Condé Nast Reader’s Choice Awards in the Top 10 Domestic Airlines category. Condé Nast Traveler is the worlds premier travel magazine. Read the rest of this entry »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that children who have one hour or more of physical activity per day receive substantial benefits. Read the rest of this entry »
By Kakie Fitzsimmons
Last winter I was at a business conference where we broke off into small groups for a discussion about personal growth and what has shaped us in our lives. There were at least three men at my table, all over the age of 40, and every one of them talked about being a boy scout. I don’t have any brothers, so what they said amazed me and helped me understand why we needed to jump on board this year for my seven year old to join cub scouts. Read the rest of this entry »
A New Chapter On Realism : JoAnne Pastel is creating children’s books that mirror social diversity. by Carolyn Will
Art imitates life, or so JoAnne Pastel thought until she went looking for books to read with her young son, William. “I didn’t find anything out there that reflected real-life characters living in diverse families like ours, or portraying multi-cultural traits, like my son’s African-American hair,” says Pastel. Any books she found typically used animal characters to show diversity. Click here to read the full article Read the rest of this entry »
We are pleased to announce the arrival of Jacqueline Marie, Born June 28th, 2008 to mom, JoAnne and dad, Bill.
There is no question that being a big brother is an important job. We recently interviewed William (a.k.a. ‘Bur Bur’) about his experience.
Q: I understand that you are the best big brother in the world, is that true?
A: Yes, it is true
Q: I can tell you are probably a really good helper, how do you help with your little sister?
A: I help her goes to sleep, kiss her, hold her and I feed her one time!
Q: What is your favorite part about being a big brother?
A: I get to snuggle with her. I am a good snuggler
You have been doing a terrific job William, we are VERY proud of you!
We invite everyone to leave comments below! Read the rest of this entry »
The School Library Journal is the world’s largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teenagers. Amy Bowllan, writer for The School Library Journal, recently commented on our new book, Anna Goes Hiking, on her blog. Read the rest of this entry »
It is no secret that the prices for gas have exploded and families are feeling the pain. Recently, Kayak.com, the world’s largest travel search engine, surveyed its consumers about what they plan to do over the summer. More than 64% responded that in order to keep it affordable, they would be staying closer to home.
In response to the survey, “KARE-11’s News on Saturdays” will be interviewing co-author, Kakie Fitzsimmons, Read the rest of this entry »
My son William, (aka ‘Bur Bur’) has been participating for the first time this year in organized t-ball. I think back to the first day a month or two ago and am amazed at how far his whole team has come. With the encouragement of families and coaches, their eye and hand coordination, learning how to be team players, understanding the basics of the game all has come together so well. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently, Kakie Fitzsimmons, Farmer’s Hat Productions™ VP/Founding Partner and co-author of the award winning Bur Bur and Friends™ children’s book series, was interviewed by BusinessWeek Journalist, Jennifer Fishbein and quoted in an article titled “Readers Voice Their Workplace Problems Here are the six things that are driving BusinessWeek readers nuts about their jobs”
The magazine conducted extensive surveys of workplace issues that were important to their readers, (work-life balance, time management, etc.). In response to the results, BusinessWeek has recently launched six blogs on the workplace issues based off of online surveys they conducted. A total of 8494 readers responded. Read the rest of this entry »
By Jodi Nelson, mother of two, 5 and 15 months
As I sit here I am thinking about my 15 month old and his newly developed strong personality. He has formed an opinion about everything good and bad. Take food for example, after experiencing a bad case of the flu he has decided that the only food group he needs to eat is carbohydrates. Bread in particular. We try to get him to taste other things, we use all the “play” techniques to get the food into his mouth, which he humors us by putting it in there and then spitting it out. (Sometimes even laughing as he does it!) Read the rest of this entry »
Local Burnsville-Eagan TV’s Access to Democracy, hosted by Barb Daily and Alan Miller, recently conducted a 28 minute interview featuring Farmer’s Hat Productions™ Leadership team, JoAnne Pastel and Kakie Fitzsimmons. The interview was conducted by Barb Daly. Read the rest of this entry »
Farmer’s Hat Productions Founder featured in the Minnesota Women’s Press.
Click here to read full article
“We want to show reality and what the world truly is like.”
- JoAnne Pastel
by Erica Marston: Minnesota Women’s Press
When JoAnne Pastel couldn’t find storybook characters that her 2-year-old biracial son could identify with, she decided to do something about it. “I was just not seeing a lot of diversity. There were no characters who looked like him, which I felt was really important in helping to build his confidence.” Read the rest of this entry »
Click here to read the full article with images:
Apple Valley Magazine - An interview with Kakie Fitzsimmons, an entrepreneur, single mother and co-author of the award winning children’s book series, Bur Bur and Friends.
By Valerie Tukey - Apple Valley Magazine
January, 2008
Seven years ago, when her son, Isaiah, was born, Kakie Fitzsimmons began to write. As a single mother of a biracial son, she started a journal full of her thoughts, values and struggles in hope of giving it to Isaiah someday. Little did she know that her love for writing personal letters soon would bloom into a career of creating children’s books. Read the rest of this entry »
