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The Story Behind the Story of WHY CATS ARE

Why Cats Are tells a story of social and emotional bullying of a young boy by his school classmates. Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words, or other more inclusive forms. Bullying can be physical, mental, verbal, emotional, social, cyber, and subtle. The bullied individual typically has trouble defending himself or herself and frequently does nothing to “cause” the bullying. Outcomes from bullying can lead to suicide, self-inflicted wounds, lowered self-esteem, and other behavioral changes. Bullies don’t care how… Read More »The Story Behind the Story of WHY CATS ARE

Meet Kelli…LOVE UNLEASHED #1 Fan

Meet Kelli…Love Unleashed #1 fan!! Kelli doesn’t let her disabilities stand in the way of her joy of reading. She loves her books to pieces, literally. That is, when she’s not giving them away to others. That’s okay, we’ll keep ’em coming! You are an inspiration to us all, Kelli, and show us how literature can have a profound impact in our lives.  Thank you for sharing…and for being You. Kelli’s mom writes: Thank u Tana Thompson 4 opening up a beautiful world 4 Kelli that we never knew existed! Why Dogs Are, Why Cats Are & Why Horses Are… Read More »Meet Kelli…LOVE UNLEASHED #1 Fan

Deafness in Cats

In the book Why Cats Are, from the Love Unleashed illustrated children’s picture book series, Mike the cat is deaf. We see from the story that Mike has adapted well to his physical challenge and enjoys his life like other cats do.  Let’s learn a bit about deafness in cats: Deafness in cats can have several origins:  congenital (born deaf) or acquired (infection, trauma, degeneration, aging, toxins (including certain medications).  Deafness at birth can be inherited—a certain gene in cats causes white fur, blue eyes, and deafness (the chance of deafness is as high as 80% in a white cat… Read More »Deafness in Cats

Interview with Illustrator Debbie Lentz

Debbie, what was it about the illustrated children’s picture book series Love Unleashed from Kendall Neff Publishing that interested you to become a part of that creative project? I had always wanted to do some book illustrations so, when Tana asked me if I would be interested in working with her on Why Horses Are and later on Why Cats Are, I jumped at the opportunity. I really liked the stories and the messages they relayed and was proud to be a part of that project. How long have you been producing such beautiful nature art and what got you… Read More »Interview with Illustrator Debbie Lentz

Story Behind The Story

Brian was a student at the Helen Keller School of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB). I met Brian and his family when my husband and I both worked at AIDB and had opportunities to work with him, his family and his teachers as they tackled the difficulties of trying to teach or learn about life without seeing or hearing. Many times I pondered how one teaches such an individual about concepts that are difficult to grasp even with no disability. How can parents and teachers share emotions, morals, beliefs and intangible concepts, such as patriotism, charity and… Read More »Story Behind The Story