September 7, 2023

A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch Named a 2017 IBPA Ben Franklin Award Finalist

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Dallas, TX— Dallas-based Brattle Publishing Group LLC (BPG) announced today that A Raccon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch was selected as a finalist for an Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) 2017 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award in the Young Reader: Fiction (8–12 years) category. The Gold Award winner will be chosen on Friday, April 7, 2017, at IBPA’s annual Publishing University in Portland, Oregon. The award is one of the highest honors given by independent publishers nationwide. Finalists are chosen on the basis of excellence in book editorial and design. As a finalist, A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch has already received an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award. “We are thrilled to once again be chosen as a finalist for this prestigious award,” said Richard A. Lena, President and Publisher of Brattle Publishing Group. “A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch was our first collaboration with author Fran Hodgkins and well-known illustrator Donnachada Daly. We were excited with the results—it’s a great story with a powerful message and a creative shift in our illustration style.” A Raccoon’s Tale is Hodgkin’s first work of fiction. “I’m so pleased and excited that the IBPA has recognized my book. It means a great deal to me as an author,” said Hodgkins. “In our world, small animals have no control over their environments. . .humans don’t think about how we so easily alter animal habitats. I wanted to write about a bright spirit who navigated her changing environment with resiliency. That spirit turned out to be Seven Rings Moon, our heroine. She never gives up.” Enhancing Hodgkin’s narrative are the charming illustrations of Donnachada Daly, who has more than 30 years of experience illustrating and animating books and feature films. His credits include Shrek, Shrek 2, Madagascar, and Antz. For more information, please visit Brattle Publishing Group at brattlepublishing.com, and follow BPG on Instagram and Facebook. About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Founded in 1983, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is the largest not-for-profit trade organization for publishers in the United States. IBPA’s mission is to lead and serve the independent publishing community by providing advocacy, education, and tools for success. About Fran Hodgkins As a child, Fran loved animals and books—especially books! The neighborhood branch library was one of her favorite haunts, and she spent hours there, reading her way through the children’s collection. After years of working for educational publishers, Fran authored more than 20 books for young readers. Her titles include The Secret Galaxy (Tilbury House, 2014), a Junior Library Guild recommended book, and Little Loon (Down East Books, 2015). With A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch, Fran has written her first animal fantasy title in the spirit of Watership Down and the Warrior series. Fran lives in Maine with her family. About Brattle Publishing Group Brattle Publishing Group LLC (BPG) is a provider of innovative educational and entertainment products and services. Led by experts with decades of experience in education and literacy, BPG creates products that encourage enthusiastic learning. BPG publishes children’s books by award-winning authors and illustrators. The company also creates educational programs designed to motivate preK–12 students through inspired learning and provides professional development for preK–12 educators.

A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch Wins Purple Dragonfly Book Award

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Dallas, TX— Dallas-based Brattle Publishing Group LLC (BPG) announced today that A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch won first place in the Middle School Fiction category of the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards. The adventure story for 8-to-12-year-olds was written by Fran Hodgkins and illustrated by Donnachada Daly. The Purple Dragonfly Book Awards recognize excellence in children’s literature. Winning any place in the Purple Dragonfly contest is a huge honor, because in order to maintain the integrity of the Dragonfly Book Awards, a minimum score is required before a first or second place or honorable mention will be awarded to the entrant—even if it is the sole entry in a category,” explains Linda F. Radke, president of Story Monsters LLC, the sponsor of the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards. “Competition is steep, too, because there is no publication date limit as long as the book is still in print.” In April, A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch won an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award. “We are excited that A Raccoon’s Tale has been recognized by the Dragonfly Book Awards. This win, combined with the Benjamin Franklin Award earlier this year, proves what a great story Fran wrote and Donnachada illustrated. We hope that teachers and children across the country will enjoy the story,” said Barbra Lena of the Brattle Publishing Group. A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch is Hodgkins’s first work of fiction and her 22nd book overall. Illustrator Daly has more than 30 years of experience illustrating and animating books and feature films. His credits include Shrek, Shrek 2, Madagascar, and Antz. The book can be purchased through Brattle Publishing, the Ingram’s catalog, Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. For more information, please visit Brattle Publishing Group at brattlepublishing.com, and follow BPG on Facebook, and Instagram. About Story Monsters LLC To learn more about Story Monsters LLC, celebrating more than 30 years of business in Chandler, Arizona, visit www.StoryMonsters.com, email info@storymonsters.com, or call 480-940-8182. About Fran Hodgkins Fran was born in Massachusetts, the youngest of four children. As a child she loved animals and books—especially books! The neighborhood branch library was one of her favorite haunts, and she spent hours there, reading her way through the children’s collection. After years of working for educational publishers, Fran authored more than 20 books for young readers. Her titles include The Secret Galaxy (Tilbury House, 2014), a Junior Library Guild recommended book, and Little Loon (Down East Books, 2015). A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch is Fran’s first animal fantasy title in the spirit of Watership Down and the Warrior series. Fran lives in Maine with her family. About Brattle Publishing Group Brattle Publishing Group LLC (BPG) is a provider of innovative educational and entertainment products and services. Led by experts with decades of experience in education and literacy, BPG creates products that encourage enthusiastic learning. BPG publishes children’s books by award-winning authors and illustrators. BPG also creates educational programs designed to motivate preK–12 students through inspired learning and provides professional development for preK–12 educators.

Brattle and RTI Develop Liberia’s New Early Grades Reading Program

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Dallas, TX— Brattle Education, a division of Brattle Publishing Group, LLC has been chosen by Research Triangle International (RTI) as a collaborative partner to develop the early grades reading program Read Liberia. Developed under the auspices of USAID, the program will be a comprehensive curriculum for Grades K–2. It will build upon earlier USAID efforts executed by RTI and Brattle to increase literacy in Liberia. Working closely with Liberian and American literacy and cultural experts, including Dr. Shirley Dickson, formerly of the University of Oregon and Texas Education Association, RTI and Brattle’s comprehensive curriculum will include daily instruction, student reading and activity books, and a full assessment system. This program will extend the research-based instructional strategies introduced in earlier literacy programs developed for the West African nation. “We are thrilled to be working with RTI, the Liberian Ministry of Education, and all of the dedicated experts involved in this effort. This is the fourth program we’ve developed for the teachers and students of Liberia, and we are always excited to participate in this mission,” said a spokesperson for Brattle Publishing. Brattle will deliver the program for use by Liberia’s teachers and students in fall 2018. Its staff will work closely with RTI to monitor student progress during the year. About Brattle Publishing Group Brattle Publishing Group LLC (BPG) is a provider of innovative educational and entertainment products and services. Led by experts with decades of experience in education and literacy, BPG creates products that encourage enthusiastic learning. BPG publishes children’s books by award-winning authors and illustrators. The company also creates educational programs designed to motivate preK–12 students through inspired learning and provides professional development for preK–12 educators

Brattle Releases the First Novel in a New Preteen Series by Award-Winning Author Fran Hodgkins

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Dallas, TX— Brattle Trade, a division of Brattle Publishing Group LLC, announces the release of Hex: The Apprentice, the first in a new series from author Fran Hodgkins. In this book, preteen heroine Robin West learns In this book, Robin learns from her grandmother, Gram Madder, how to make hexes, paintings that have the power to make things happen. Her life becomes complicated by intolerant neighbors, friends who don’t understand “Madder business,” and a first love. “A lot of different threads came together as I was working on this story,” said Hodgkins, who grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts. “When I was a kid, my mom had four hex signs that my dad had made for her, and I loved them. The colors and the designs were intriguing. I wondered about their power.” Hodgkins has had this new series in mind for several years. “My dad was a talented artist. His experience made me think about the meaning of art and its impact on the people who come in contact with it. At its heart, Hex is a story about family and art, and what they mean to us.” Hex: The Apprentice is Hodgkin’s second novel published by Brattle Trade. A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch won a Silver Ben Franklin Award in 2017. Hodgkins, a New England native, has also authored more than 20 nonfiction titles. Her first book, The Orphan Seal, received the Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award from the ASPCA. “Our target audience—readers between 9 and 13 years old—are still going mad for the supernatural, and we believe that the Hex series will hit home with this group,” said Brattle President and Publisher Richard-Anthony Lena. “After they finish reading Hex: The Apprentice, we know our readers will look forward to the next two books tentatively due to release in 2020 and early 2021.” Hex: The Apprentice is for sale at booksellers and online stores such as Amazon. Hodgkins will be signing copies of her book at Kids Con in Portland, Maine, on November 16, 2019. Fran will also be interviewed by WMTW-TV Portland at Kids Con. About Hex: The ApprenticeRobin West is a normal teenager living in a normal town, but when she finds out that Gram Madder makes hexes, her life gets far more complicated than she ever expected. What is a hex? It’s a painting that has the power to make things happen—or to stop things from happening. At least that’s what some people in town believe. Targeted by people who don’t understand what she is doing, Robin must protect herself and her loved ones from a force greater than she could have ever imagined. About Fran HodgkinsFran Hodgkins was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the youngest of four children. As a child, she loved animals and books—especially books! The neighborhood branch library was one of her favorite haunts, and she spent hours there, reading her way through the children’s collection. Fran lives in Rockport, Maine, with her family. About Brattle Publishing GroupBrattle Publishing Group LLC is a provider of innovative educational and entertainment products and services. Led by experts with decades of experience in education and literacy, Brattle creates products that encourage enthusiastic learning. Brattle Trade, a division of Brattle Publishing Group LLC, publishes children’s books by award-winning authors and illustrators.

Brattle Education and RTI Kick Off Okuu Keremet! Project in Kyrgyzstan

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Dallas, TX— Brattle Education, a division of Brattle Publishing Group® has been chosen by Research Triangle International (RTI) as a collaborative partner on the Okuu Keremet! Project, a teacher-training program in Reading and Mathematics instruction and supplemental reading development for the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Developed under the direction of USAID, RTI and Brattle will be creating a multi-year, multi-lingual teacher-training program that will introduce improved instructional strategies and routines to the teachers of this Central Asian republic. Working closely with Kyrgyz and American literacy and math experts and linguists, RTI and Brattle will create professional development in Kyrgyz, Russian, and other local languages that will include hands-on and digital learning components. “This collaborative program is an incredible opportunity to improve the quality of instruction in Kyrgyzstan. Despite the difficulty of developing and delivering such an experience during a global pandemic and the subsequent restrictions on daily activities, our team is thrilled to be working with the dedicated experts from the Kyrgyz Republic and RTI. Our team in the United States and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan will produce and deliver an incredible learning experience,” said Richard-Anthony Lena, President of Brattle. Development of the materials will continue through the fall of 2020 and will be delivered to the program’s participants over the next several years. About Brattle Education Brattle Education is a division of Brattle Publishing Group LLC ® and is a provider of innovative educational and entertainment products and services. Led by experts with decades of experience in education and literacy. The company creates educational programs and instruction that motivates preK–12 students and provides professional development for preK–12 educators.

Hex: The Apprentice Nominated for a Maine Literary Association Award

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Dallas, TX— Brattle Trade, a division of Brattle Publishing Group,® is pleased to announce that its newest release, Fran Hodgkins’ Hex: The Apprentice, has been chosen as a finalist in the 2020 Maine Literary Awards, Young People’s Literature category. The winner will be announced on May 28, 2020, during the association’s online ceremony. The award is an annual competition sponsored and coordinated by the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. The competition is open to Maine residents and includes published and unpublished works. Each year, teams of judges review hundreds of submissions in 18 categories including Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, and Young People’s Literature. “We are excited that Fran, an enthusiastic Mainer, and her incredible book, Hex: The Apprentice, have been selected for Maine’s noted literary award. Fran is a fantastic writer, and this book is her best work yet. We are thrilled and honored that the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance has recognized Fran’s skill at storytelling,” said Richard A. Lena, President and Publisher of Brattle. “Hex is a multi-layered story. It is a coming-of-age story with underlying themes of acceptance, tolerance, loyalty, and family. It promotes the values that we at Brattle believe are important, and we are excited to include this story in our catalog.” “For me, Hex: The Apprentice is a special book, because it draws from my childhood memories of the hex signs my mom had, and it gets into many issues that are personally important, ” said Hodgkins. “I’m so honored to be a finalist. Maine has such an outstanding literary tradition, and I am very happy to be a small part of it.” Hex: The Apprentice is available through Amazon and other online retailers. Booksellers can purchase the title through the Ingram Wholesale catalog. For more information, please visit the Brattle website at https://brattlepublishing.com/trade/ About Fran Hodgkins After years of working for educational publishers, Fran authored more than 20 books for young readers. Her titles include The Secret Galaxy (Tilbury House, 2014), a Junior Library Guild recommended book, Little Loon (Down East Books, 2015); and A Raccoon’s Tale: Seven Saves the Notch, a silver medal Ben Franklin Award winner (Brattle Publishing Group, 2016). Fran lives in Maine with her family. About Brattle Publishing Group Brattle Publishing Group, LLC® is a provider of innovative educational and entertainment products and services. Led by experts with decades of experience in education and literacy, Brattle creates products that encourage enthusiastic learning. Brattle Trade, a division of Brattle Publishing Group, LLC® publishes children’s books by award-winning authors and illustrators.

Statement in Support of Equality

International / By developer

Since its inception, Brattle Publishing Group® has worked to promote literacy, foster equity, and celebrate diversity. Recent events in the United States and around the world have made this mission even more critical. Brattle will continue to work with our global partners to build a world where people do not face systemic discrimination or are subject to violence due to gender, race, ethnicity, identity, or sexual orientation. We will continue to support and promote those organizations that share our mission, values, and a vision of a more educated, equitable, and tolerant world. Richard-Anthony LenaPresident

Brattle Releases Preteen Novel 1 For All by Author Sean McCollum

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Dallas, TX–Brattle Trade, a Division of Publishing Group (BPG), announced the upcoming release of its new preteen novel, 1 For All, a sports book about teamwork and leadership. This exciting tale of a middle school basketball team, the Traverse Musketeers, explores the struggles of team captain J.J. Pickett and his teammates as they face their most challenging season. The novel was written by award-winning children’s book author and digital nomad Sean McCollum and illustrated by longtime Brattle collaborator Sam Valentino. “I wrote 1 For All as a kind of love letter to what sports can be. Sports reveal our character as well as develop it. Competing on the court shows who we are under pressure, and lets us know where we’re solid and where we can improve as people as well as players,” said McCollum, who grew up playing basketball in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. “I modeled the Musketeers after the team I played on a long time ago. In some ways, the book is what I would tell my eighth-grade self about relaxing more and learning to enjoy the game, win or lose.” 1 For All is McCollum’s newest title and a rare work of fiction from him. The Wisconsin native is the author of dozens of non-fiction titles including, Theodore Roosevelt: America’s 26th President (Scholastic, 2004), Secrets of World War I and Secrets of World War II (Capstone Press, 2017), and Pro Basketball’s All-Time Greatest Comebacks (Capstone Press, 2019). His biography of Roosevelt and another about Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, part of Scholastic’s “Wicked History” series, have earned awards from the Colorado Authors’ League. Brattle Trade Publisher, Richard-Anthony Lena added, “We want to connect children and young adults with engaging literature. Working with McCollum, an author who shares this goal, has been fantastic. Sean’s love of sports and talent for story telling allows us to connect with kids on a whole different level.” The book explores relationships on and off the court as J.J. and his friends and teammates develop a deeper understanding of supporting each other and playing as a team — “All for one, and one for all,” as the line goes from Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. 1 For All can be purchased directly on Amazon and in softcover and digital versions beginning August 4, 2020. Retailers can purchase copies through the Ingram’s Catalog. About 1 For All J.J. Pickett, captain of the Traverse Middle School Musketeers, thinks this is the year he will lead his eighth-grade team to the conference title. But bad breaks, a new coach, and a long-standing grudge sabotage his hopes and leave him struggling on and off the court. Can J.J. and his teammates salvage something from what seems like a lost season? About Sean McCollum Sean McCollum was raised in Wisconsin, graduated from Lawrence University, and left the United States soon after to backpack around the world. During his travels, he worked on scientific projects in Australia and the South Pacific, taught English in East Asia, and traveled overland 5,000 miles across Africa. Drawing on his international adventures, McCollum began his career in writing in New York City in 1992. Today, Sean is traveling again and is a digital nomad, working from his laptop from all around the world. Together with his partner of 30 years, Sean has lived in Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, Oceania and the South Pacific, and has traveled in some 65 countries. Sean is the author of more than 60 titles and hundreds of magazine articles for such publications as National Geographic Kids, Junior Scholastic, and Teaching Tolerance. Sean also develops online educational content for the Kennedy Center. 1 For All is McCollum’s first book with Brattle Trade, a Division of Brattle Publishing Group. Watch Sean’s recent interview on Kidlit Social Distancing!https://writeforkids.org/blog/2020/07/kidlitdistancingsocial16/ About Brattle Trade Brattle Trade, a Division of Brattle Publishing Group (BPG) is a provider of innovative educational and entertainment products and services. Led by experts with decades of experience in education and literacy, BPG creates products that encourage enthusiastic learning. BPG publishes children’s books by award-winning authors and illustrators.

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