10/26/16

Trucker Books (and the Trucker) a Big Hit with All Ages

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Trucker/husband Paul Wesley Gates and I went before two audiences last week where we had a ball. While at one, a woman came up , tapped my husband on his arm, and said: “You look just like Roy Rogers.”

I laughed, inwardly, as I thought:  “That must make me Dale Evans.”

I get why she said it. He’s tall, lanky, with a Southern drawl (he’s a long-ago transplant from Arkansas who got here as a Navy Seabee.) As such, he’s a great favorite of the ladies. It helps that he wears a western hat, cowboy boots, and a leather vest with insignia sewn on.

I freely admit:  I use him for my presentations.

You see, I write about his adventures in our children’s books, Grandpa and the Truck (Books 1 and 2), for he was a long-haul, big rig driver who went all over the United States, moving households. Our books are the perfect vehicle (pun intended) to teach geography, regional differences, dialect, trucker lingo (the words we can safely use). Each story comes with guide questions, maps showing where the truck is, a moral (remember—I’m a teacher) and table of contents.

To date, we’ve published two colorfully-illustrated books, and we give lively presentations to children, too.  Our biggest audience was a 200-child school gathering in Tiverton, RI.

How we doing? Our colorful books fly out the door, at these presentations, with women who recognize their value….author-signed books recommended by teachers and truckers.

If you order your own now, we get them to you before the holidays….

#truckers #bigrigdrivers #kidstruckbooks

07/13/16

Note to Truckers and Teachers!

trucker and cabIf you like what we do–then please support our efforts.

We are the ONLY stories written for little kids by a 30-year trucker who won awards for his expertise and his author partner (her work appears in Wall St. Journal, Providence Journal, and a host of others.) In addition, she’s a 30-year teacher.

And we’re endorsed by the two biggest trucker groups–OOIDA and WIT.

So, if you support American truckers and they hard job they perform, support our books by buying them.

We sign as author and personalize to a specific child if you put that in the instructions.

We cannot produce the rest of our series (6 more books, each set in different geographic regions) without your support.

Why should teachers support us, too? Grandpa and the Truck books are written by a teacher, and teach geography (and a whole lot more.) We’ve included table of contents, questions, maps, trucker terms.

This fall the author will begin a series of auditory books–the stories she and her husband have created.

Help us bring to the public the very real and exciting life of the American trucker. You can do this by ordering books from this website. They make great children’s gifts and help the image of the American Trucker.

01/27/16

On the Road of Life

How “Grandpa and the Truck” books…a hospital database manager, and a seriously-injured trucker and his wife came together on life’s journey.john brown house author night

In Hawaii, a few years ago, I met California’s Colleen McGuinn at a luau when my husband and I visited the ONLY state this long-haul trucker had never been to (we tell school children audiences: “There are no water wings sizable enough to float a big rig.”)

While there, we got to talking about a long-haul trucker’s life…the hurdles…the excitement (pic to right shows us explaining, at a book show, what truckers do for America.)

Flash forward to December 2015, when McGuinn heard from Indiana sister-in-law Carolyn Bledsoe that Carolyn’s 72-year-old trucker friend, Jerry Matson and his wife, Janet, faced a medical crisis.

While grabbing some well-deserved shut-eye in the cab, of his big rig, in Oakland, California, Jerry was attacked by a gun-wielding assailant who broke in and shot him in the stomach. A former soldier, the trucker lunged forward and warded off his attacker who fled. But Matson suffered serious injury.

At his first hospital, he fared poorly. Infections raged and his wife, a retired ER nurse, saw little improvement. A local TV station stated that wife Janet slept in local hotels and on one occasion ‘in her car.’

When Database Manager for Saint Francis Foundation, Colleen McGuinn heard of their plight, she recalled the Grandpa and the Truck authors she met in Hawaii and set in motion a plan to help. With the approval of McGuinn’s boss, Kevin Causey, Foundation Board Chair, Tom Klein, Case Manager, Sara Lee, Linda Newton and Darlene Brady, Jerry Matson was moved into Saint Francis’s Burn Unit (because of type of wound he sustained); he was given a skin graft; and he is now on the road to full recovery.

And Janet? She’s been moved to a hotel, with room and meals for one full month, paid for by the Foundation.

Just one example of the larger community and a special hospital stepping up to help a trucker family in need. Here’s the TV station story, and pic of Database Manager, Colleen McGuinn, is below.

colleen mcguinnAs one voice representing trucker nation, Grandpa and the Truck thanks you, Colleen McGuinn and your colleagues, for your significant part in all that transpired.

(Readers:  Got your own story of a long-haul trucker who either got or gave unselfish help? Send the contact info to us… We’ll write it up and publish….If we’re personally involved, we’ll like it even better!)

#truckers, #long-haultruckers, #saintfrancisfoundation

And if you want autographed/personalized books for little ones, order them, by going to the right of this column, and clicking “Buy Now.”

Thank you. We work to get a positive image of our nation’s truckers out there…

12/19/15

Trucker Graveyard

Their big rigs have probably disintegrated, over the years, in the heat and dust of a Laredo landscape. But the bones of their drivers remain. Truckers who never made it beyond the SHORT CURVE in the road. Loved ones couldn’t retrieve, for they’d gone too far down. Now, they lay, tangled, in a Truckers’Graveyard. I bow my head when I pass, in my own big rig, and say a silent prayer………Trucking’s not for the faint of heart.

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06/23/15

Latest School Reviews and Our Newest ‘Fan’

 

suzanne and eddy with gr and truck booksOur Newest ‘Fan’ and School Reviews of Our Show…

Suzanne Souza bought Grandpa and the Truck books for her little grandson, Eddy Gomes. Dad says he’s our ‘newest fan’ and he ‘loves your books.’ Book 1 and 2 each have two exciting, professionally-illustrated stories, maps, questions to go along with story line. Little readers go on a ride with the trucker, in the big rig. You can order each or both at our website www.grandpaandthetruck.com. We personalize and autograph, too.

School Presentation Reviews Coming In….(We invite other teachers…parents to contact us should you wish a school visit of our colorful and exciting show.)

From Principal Manuel Cabral of Walter Ranger School

“I was very happy with the presentation of Grandpa and the Truck at Ranger School. The students were super-attentive and involved. The students kept on track and involved for the entire time and for that to happen in a space of 30 minutes with kindergarten,1st and 2nd grade students is a real testament to the program.

I know it is their intention to bring trucking’s importance home to students, while we teach geography…nature…American diversity…via a vehicle they love–the big rigs. I was really impressed with the presentation.”

Mr. Cabral
Ranger School Principal

From Media Specialist for Tiverton schools (The following is quoted material from Mr. Zanghi’s review of our performance.)
Colleen,

“Thank you for your visit to our School’s. Your presentation was an exciting blend of media that truly engaged our children. They especially enjoyed the slide show and interactive mapping activity. The students (K-2) were attentive and involved during the entire time.
The presentation really demonstrated the importance of trucking to students through the use geography, nature and diversity. They love the Big Rigs.
The Librarian in me really loves the non-fiction elements (Table of Contents, Glossary, Maps and Inquiry outlines) found in each of the Grandpa Stories. Thank you again for this wonderfully informative and entertaining presentation.”

Mr. Christopher E. Zanghi
Library Media Specialist

From Michelle Loxley, IT professional with Brown Univ.

“As an IT professional and mother of two young children, I have seen many multi-media presentations and presentations targeted to children. I attended the Grandpa and the Truck presentation at Ranger school and was very impressed with Ms. Mellor’s ability to engage the children with the subject of trucking via a range of music, images, and educational visual aids. The presentation not only informed the students about trucking and the role it plays in our everyday lives and economy, but also geography, weather, and communication. The children were excited about the subject and responded to Ms. Mellor’s questions eagerly. I think the Grandpa and the Truck books are a great way to incorporate core educational concepts with engaging stories.”

Michelle Loxley…Programmer/Database Mgr. Brown Instit. For Commununity Promotion and International Health Institute