Simpson Teacher Writes and Illustrates Children's Book

For Immediate Release
December 7, 2007

REDDING, Calif. - This holiday season, Janice Kirk has something to be thankful for. The Simpson University vocal music teacher wrote and illustrated her first children's book, The Christmas Redwood, a Forest Parable.

Published by Capstone Fiction, the book was made available for purchase Dec. 1.

Kirk said The Christmas Redwood was over nine years in the making.

"One Christmas, about 10 years ago, my husband and I decided that instead of buying each other a gift, we would make one. That's when I wrote The Christmas Redwood; it was a story for my husband."

Kirk said her story was inspired by family camping trips to the Redwood Forest in Humboldt County.

Eight years later, after many rewrites and critiques, she submitted her story to the Writer's Edge Service, an online company which acts as agent for writers.

Kirk was contacted by a number of interested publishers and signed with Capstone Publishing Group.

The Christmas Redwood is a 50-page fully illustrated book that tells the tale of a redwood seed that was planted on the first Christmas night, and becomes the most steadfast of all trees on earth.

The book is available from local outlets, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, and other national retail outlets.

Kirk is a long-term arts educator, writer, and illustrator. She is co-author of Cherish the Earth: The Environment and Scripture, with Donald R. Kirk (Herald Press: 1993). She illustrated Wild Edible Plants of Western North America, by D. R. Kirk (Naturegraph: 1970). Janice has taught public school art, language arts, music, and gifted children, and is presently an adjunct faculty member at Simpson University.

Kirk earned her bachelor's degree in music from the University of Oregon and her master's in vocal performance and pedagogy from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

For more information about Janice E. Kirk, visit http://www.kirksnaturebooks.net/.

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Contact: Wendy Matthews
wmatthews@simpsonuniversity.edu
(530)226-4126