The Book Bar - a fun place to sip and flip!

Raising the bar on reading!

Hi, my name is Marilyn and I'm the bartender here...

Welcome to "The Book Bar."  A beautiful space for you to order up your favourite drink and listen to guest authors, illustrators, musicians, anyone really, who loves books.  If quiet is what you are seeking you can take your drink and wander to the back of the bar and enter the room entitled, "Booked!"  This room is specifically reserved for those who want to curl up in a big comfy chair by the  fireplace and get lost in their own story with little or no distractions.  Others may join you there, but all-in-all it is a space created just for you and your book to enjoy each other's company.

This is the perfect venue to discover new books, relax yourself, have discussions about books, meet new people of like-minds, and of course make some new friends.  

I would like to highlight some great drinks for your enjoyment from time to time.

I'd want to introduce you to our special guest author today Brad Snyder. Grab your drink and head off into the lounge where he is waiting for you....

R. Bradley Snyder is the president of New Amsterdam Consulting, Inc. and has worked for industry giants Marvel Comics, The Discovery Channel, and Nickelodeon. The projects he has designed and managed have helped develop raw concepts into some of the industry's most successful program and campaigns for children.

Brad is going to talk to you about his book for parents called, 

"The 5 Simple Truths of Raising Kids."

Raising pre-teens and teenagers doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, if you only know five essential truths about why kids do what they do, you’re on your way to becoming a smarter, happier, and more sane parent. Brad Snyder is an expert in adolescent behavior and has years of experience decoding the messages that parents don’t get. He’s surveyed over 100,000 children and adolescents, and has interviewed close to 4,000 in group and one-on-one sessions. In spite of what you see on tv, kids these days are not more violent, more sexual, or more in danger than you once were. Kids are kids.

WithThe 5 Simple Truths of Raising Kids, you’ll:

• Learn some secrets of tween and teen communication
• Find out what exactly your kid is doing all day and why
• Make rules that make sense for the whole family, without building resentment
• Learn the truth about kids and social networking, texting, and bullying
• Become a parent your children respect, but not one they hate or fear

What others are saying about Brad... (no worries, it's all good)

"This book provides an excellent overview of youth development. Educators and parents always look for advice and they will find many ideas about how to understand, support, and educate adolescents."--Gil G. Noam is the Founder and Director of the Program in Education, Afterschool & Resiliency (PEAR) and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. 

"In this wonderful book, Brad stands up for today's kids, debunks all the claims that they're somehow worse than the last generation, and offers sound, research-based advice on how parents and communities can do a better job raising them."--Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. 

 "Brad's humanity is infectious, and his dedication to his work is inspiring. I can think of no better mentor to parents needing reassurance that kids are good, and everything is going to be okay."--Art Roche, Creative executive for digital media and family entertainment "You'll learn from his book, and enjoy the lessons. Like Spock two generations ago, Snyder's worth your attention

Hey want to win a signed copy of Brad's book?  It's simple.  All you need to do is let me know what the favourite drinks (yes you heard me....drinks....plural) of Sir Winston Churchill were and the first two to respond (and to get them right) will win one of Brad's great books.  Just email me your answers at: 

*Twitter: Storywraps@Storywraps1

#TheBookBarOpenMic

*storywrapsblog@gmail.com  

* comments here on the blog

 I'll contact you, get your mailing info, send it off to Brad and voilá...this awesome book is yours.

If you have any ??? questions ??? that you want Brad to answer concerning parenting you can leave them at the above places too.  I will gather them all up, have our expert answer them and then I will feature them another day on Storywraps. 

Interview with Brad...

Rapid fire questions:

1. What is your dream car?

Nash Metropolitan.

2. Do you prefer to give a gift or to receive one?

Both.  But I prefer not to open gifts I receive.

3. Do you prefer a sit down meal or a picnic?

Sit down.  

4. Are you left-handed or right-handed?

Left.

5. What is your favourite drink?  (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)

Espresso and Highland Park Scotch Whiskey (not mixed together)

Serious stuff:

1. What was your favourite book as a child?

I liked reading The Little Engine That Could, but I loved having A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh read to me.  

2.  What person influenced you most in your lifetime?

I have been lucky in that I have had wonderful mentors at different times of my life. Of course, my family (my mother and father, my grandparents, and my Aunt Barbara) is the foundation that instilled in me a commitment to service and afforded me the confidence to explore new things. Later in life, I would be inspired by people who were committed to making a difference in their communities for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. My work with kids is largely influenced by a close friend I had growing up whose home life was so radically different from mine that it created a dissonance in me that I have never been able to shake. The fact that there are children who are neglected or even abused by the very people they rely on for love and security continues to motivate me and shape my work and writing.

3. What motivated you to become an author?

Before I started writing, I was speaking at public events, conventions, etc., about how the picture popular media paints of children is very different than what researchers know to be true.  Initially, I found it amusing that a morning talk show would report on the some "dangerous new trend" impacting youth that was neither a trend nor dangerous in any measurable way.  The overflow from those talks (i.e., the questions I could not answer during the sessions) became a blog.  Eventually, I was approached by a literary agent.  

4. What is the best/worst thing about being a writer?

I prefer speaking to writing.  With the audience in front of me, I can assess the pace, the difficulty, and the entertainment value of the message.  There is not that feedback when one is committing thoughts to text.  Also, I had to unlearn my academic writing style.  I also worry a lot about being right.

5. What do you like to do to relax?

I like to run and to cycle.  However, nothing is as rejuvenating to me as a great conversation with smart people over a glass of wine...kind of like what you are doing here.

6. What is the hardest thing about being a parent?

Parenting is a lot like trying to balance a wobbling object:  you can create a solid foundation (i.e., a structured environment, good nutrition, exercise, rest, etc.), but it is hard to predict where the child is going to be physically, emotionally, etc., at any moment. As a parent, it also can be difficult to give your child the space and time to do the right thing and opportunities to reset after mistakes are made.  Adults want immediacy, and we tend to hold grudges.

7. What adult authors do you like to read that you can pass onto us?

I like everything Paul Auster writes.  Lately, some work I am doing with Pop Goes the Classroom, which is a group that uses pop culture to stimulate learning in school children, has me reading graphic novels.  I am particularly fond of Paul Pope's Battling Boy.  Finally, I am reading some vintage science fiction by Richard E. Peck, collected in one volume appropriately titled Vintage SF, in preparation for an event I am moderating, called From Science Fiction to Science Fact:  How the science fiction writing of Richard Peck inspired his son Mason Peck to become one of the nation's most important aerospace engineers.  If you are in the Phoenix area on May 27th, you should check it out.

8. Do you have any new books that we can look forward to coming out in the near future?

For the last year or so, I have been focussed on a children's book series that I co-write with Marc Engelsgjerd.  It is the What Every Child Needs To Know Series, and it is designed to help adults introduce young children to a favorite artist, to start a conversation about a difficult topic, or just to explain why we adults are the way we are.

Happy Hour Humour...

Hope you enjoyed hanging out here with me.  Hope you got inspired and will check out Brad's book.  Hope you'll fill up your glass again and stay a bit longer before last call....Hope you will love reading always!

Thanks for your company.  You are always welcome at The Book Bar! I look forward to seeing you here next time. Cover charge...your smile.

 

The Book Bar will be open next

 May 27th.  

 Drain your glasses....close your books.... it's lights out!

It's a wrap!