Monday, January 19, 2009

The Interminable Syllables of Slush

Hello,
There’s a new book for kids who stutter that is really making some noise. The book is titled [redacted], and it’s about a little squirrel who stutters and how his disability affects his life and those around him. The reviews and endorsements for this book are fantastic, and rightfully so. I would highly recommend it to your readers. For parents who have children that stutter, this book is a must have. You can read about it on the home page of The National Stuttering Association, and Speechpathology.com. Both links are listed below. The reviews can be found at the end of the article on The National Stuttering Association link.
Thank you and best wishes.


Dear Reader,

No thank you.

Sincerely,
EA

15 comments:

Christine Tripp said...

This is an Ad for a book, why would anyone send an Editor a promo for a book that is already out (all be it, self published I'm sure) and what "Readers" do you have that you should recommend they get the book? (or does this person mean US?)

Jo Treggiari said...

It sure is annoying when spamsters get somewhat innovative!

Anonymous said...

It looks like EA will never escape the squirrels.

Chris Eldin said...

Interesting.
I have two sons who are coping with stuttering, and I've learned a lot in the past five years. Both are doing okay in that their stuttering waxes and wanes, but mostly it's under control.

The thing is, the more you talk about and emphasize stuttering (remedies), the more it can backfire. There's a huge pyschological element involved. So while you can't avoid talking about it (and you shouldn't. it's the elephant in the living room if you live with someone who stutters), there is a delicate balance. I would never buy a book about stuttering for my children. Instead, I try to find and connect with people who stutter and who have succeeded (for example, their pediatrician).

Anyway, just some ramblings....

Chris Eldin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wendy said...

As someone who once edited a picture book on stuttering (and who has a close family member involved with the National Stuttering Association), I don't see how this is all that objectionable, except that it was sent to the wrong kind of children's book blogger.

As far as I can tell it's just one of those books that cater to a very specific special-needs audience and is independently published, probably with the help and endorsement of NSA and a speech pathologist organization. Sometimes groups like these can reach a specific audience better than a traditional publisher can.

Sure, the book itself sounds pretty awkward by children's book industry standards, and whoever sent this is doing a lousy job with marketing if he/or she doesn't know which children's book bloggers to target. Otherwise, though, this appears to be a legitimate book which fills a need and has found its niche audience. So I guess the lesson here is that if you're trying to market an independent book, it only takes a few misssteps and badly targeted emails to be mistaken for spam.

Anonymous said...

A squirrel. Who stutters. An advertisement for a self-published book about a squirrel who stutters sent to an anonymous editor. Wow.

The only squirrel worthy of his own story is Squirrel Nutkin. And he was a complete bastard.

none said...

We sqrls are everywhere!

This came into GUD, too. The book is published by a hospital, iirc.

Jennifer said...

Hey, what about Melanie Watt's Scaredy Squirrel? Utterly neurotic and crazy-popular!

Christine Tripp said...

Ah.. but Scaredy doesn't stutter, he has OCD, he's a germaphobe, he is completely nurotic but he doesn't stutter :)

Anonymous said...

This sounds like an interesting book. I think any publication that helps educate people on stuttering, especially children, is worthwhile to share. I too belong to the National Stuttering Association (NSA - www.westutter.org) and it is a great place for people who stutter of all ages to meet and interact with other people who stutter. They offer local chapter meetings (including kid and teen chapters) and conferences where over 600 people who stutter attend each year (including tons of kids and teens)! Check em out when you get a chance or to learn more, contact them at info@westutter.org or 1-800-937-8888. Thanks again for sharing this book with us!

Cathy O.

Christine Tripp said...

I agree, it's interesting enough but why would anyone send the "press relase" of it to an Editor?

Anonymous said...

I used to work at Random House Children's Books and we had a roomful of unsoliciteds. Our favorite titles were:
Jesus Bear
Two Boys and a Ferret
Hell and Damnation (Illustrated)
Ernie the Brick (he speaks Arabrick)

And it was extraordinary how many authors thought that because I worked in children's publishing I was bound to be a bit soppy and so would send me pictures of their cat which bore no relation to their manuscript.

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Unknown said...

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