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Tale About Values That Will Delight Kids of All Ages
Lovable
Children’s Character Tells How It Feels To Be Forgotten
In today’s
world, even pre-school age children are considered fair game by
marketers. With so much emphasis on buying all the toys, games and
gadgets they see on TV, it’s easy for little kids to become
materialistic and to think that everything’s disposable. If
they break a toy, no problem; they just move on to the next one.
So whatever happened to the idea of kids having prized possessions
that they lovingly cared for and treasured?
The average
child is exposed to more than 40,000 television commercials each
year according to the National Institute on Media and the Family.
With that type of pressure, it’s no wonder that the material
age is upon us and parents everywhere are clamoring for relief.
And they might find it in the form of a story-telling motor scooter
who yearns to be reunited with the boy who owned him decades earlier.
“Kids
today are under constant assault from marketers and advertising,”
says author Douglas Charlton. “So it’s not surprising
to me that they feel as though they don’t need to take care
of their belongings because they’re just going to buy something
new to replace it.” The hope of instilling in children a true
sense of sentimental value is what motivated Charlton to write his
new book, Scoot and the Soaring Eagles.
Loosely
based on Charlton’s own love affair with the Cushman Eagle
motor scooter he bought with earnings from his job at the local
drug store soda fountain; Scoot tells a tale of lost happiness from
the corner of a junk yard where he’s surrounded by a collection
of cars who’ve all enjoyed better days. All the vehicles longingly
recall how much they were loved by their owners when they were shiny
and new; a message that Charlton hopes will resonate with children.
“I hope that hearing the story from Scoot’s perspective,
of how much it meant it to be such a prized and treasured belonging,
will inspire children to value what they have,” says Charlton.
“I want today’s children to learn what we did as kids,
to take good care of their belongings, to work for the things they
want and to never give up on their dreams. And I think you can share
that message in a positive, non-lecturing way.”
By featuring
a Cushman Scooter as the main character in the story, Charlton’s
book harkens back to the 1950’s and sends grown-up readers
cruising down memory lane while sharing a slice of American nostalgia
with younger readers. By appealing to readers from such a diverse
age group, Charlton wanted to inspire grandparents to not only read
to their grandchildren but also to share their own childhood stories.
“I think the descriptions of the innocent fun the kids and
the scooters have in this story are a great springboard for grandparents
to talk about what they did for entertainment as kids,” says
Charlton. “When you look at the amount of time today’s
kids spend watching TV or playing video games, they might be really
surprised to learn what their grandparents did for fun.”
Because
kids have always seemed to have a natural attraction to scooters,
Scoot’s character is vividly portrayed in the child-friendly
illustrations on the cover and throughout the book. Scoot’s
appearance is so charming that the book even includes an 8 page
Scoot Coloring Book Section at the end of the story.
While today’s
kids filter out all the advertisements aimed at them, Scoot and
the Soaring Eagles can transport them and their families back to
a simpler time. A time when Cushman motor scooters were all the
rage. A time when a bunch of fun-loving kids spent their happiest
moments riding together on their beloved motor scooters. And a time
when kids took care of their most prized possessions.
Scoot
and the Soaring Eagles
By Douglas Charlton
44 pp., paperback $6.82 US
Douglas Charlton, 2006
ISBN 9780615137056
Available at www.lulu.com.
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About
The Author:
Doug grew
up in the fabulous ‘50s. At the age of fourteen, he talked
his father into letting him have a Cushman Eagle motor scooter.
Doug worked behind the soda fountain at the local drug store after
school and on weekends to pay for his scooter.
In 1957
he joined the Air Force. Shortly after getting discharged in 1961
he fell in love at first sight with his future wife, Barbara. They
married a few months later and are still happily married today.
A proud father, Doug describes his only child Jennifer as a wonderful
daughter and person.
Source:
Event Management Services, Inc.
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