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Sydney and Simon “Go Green” in Book #2 of Paul and Peter H. Reynolds’ STEAM-Powered Early Reader Chapter Book Series

This post was originally published on FableVision Learning's blog.

Last we saw them in the debut book of the STEAM-Powered Adventures of Sydney & Simon: Full STEAM Ahead!, the creative problem-solving siblings were using their science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) skills to save their prized flowers wilting during a prolonged heat wave. Along with learning lots about the water cycle and evaporation, they used their creative maker skills to build a watering invention based on Archimedes’ pump. Now the twin mice are back to apply STEAM thinking to promote sustainability and to protect marine animals impacted by trash.

In Go GREEN! the adventure starts on a class field trip to the aquarium. Sydney is upset when she learns that Greenie, a sick green sea turtle, is recovering from digesting plastic that made its way to the ocean. She must convince Simon that trash can accidentally get swept into sewers, streams, rivers, and possibly end up in the ocean where it harms living creatures – like Greenie.

The twins collect data on the trash habits of their household and school and find they are all part of the problem. They need to figure out a way that their family, their neighborhood, and their school can cut down on garbage production and make better use of their discarded items. Along with learning about the science of trash decomposition, Sydney and Simon create a recycled art sculpture, as well as write and perform a hit song that gets the attention of everyone the city of Wonder Falls to rethink their trash habits.  

Twin brothers, FableVision co-founders, and creative collaborators Paul and Peter H. Reynolds.

FableVision’s CEO Paul Reynolds notes, “Our planet is facing so many challenges – many of them environmental. Peter and I hope that the Sydney & Simon series will inspire the kind of creative STEAM thinking and doing that will foster the next generation of creative problem-solvers who will be the stewards of a cleaner, greener world in the decades to come. “

Short chapters written by Paul, paired with Peter’s lively illustrations will inspire readers to take a closer look at protecting the environment by implementing small changes that make a big difference.  The book also models holistic literacy which helps support all four components of literacy: listening, talking, reading and writing/creative self-expression, which furthers the work FableVision has been doing with Reading Is Fundamental and the National Writing Project.

Visit www.steamthinking.org for more information about Go GREEN! and to share your stories about how you, your school, your community is adding the “A” to STEM.

Celebrate the book launch with Peter and Paul! Everyone is invited to the Sydney & Simon: Go GREEN! book signing and launch party on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10:30-12 p.m. at The Blue Bunny Bookstore in historic Dedham Square. For more details visit the Blue Bunny online.

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#InYourWords: Classroom, Inc. Highlights the Voices of Students and Educators Across the Country

The following post is written by guest blogger Celia Alicata, Director of Marketing & Communications for Classroom, Inc. FableVision Studios worked with Classroom, Inc. to develop the award-winning After the Storm and Community in Crisis. The interactive learning games promote middle-school-level reading and writing through real-world workplace simulations. Aligned to Common Core State Standards, the games encourage leadership skills and are used in classrooms with an interactive online portion and offline project-based materials. Celia recounts the following story of sharing the games with some middle schoolers in Alabama and New York.

Picture this: it’s a record-breaking 100+ degree-day in a small suburb outside of Birmingham, Alabama. We’ve just arrived to film Ms. Mahan’s summer learning class using Classroom, Inc.’s Community in Crisis—the organization’s latest learning game that puts students in the role of executive director of a community service center. We’re so thrilled to talk to real students who are diving in to their role as boss, but the heat has us running nearly on empty.  

Our first stars arrive timidly at the door of the classroom shoot—lights, cameras, and boom mics greet the children before we are able to. As the interviews kick off, it’s quite evident that the heat is no match for the energy and the powerful conversations being prompted by the real-world scenarios in the game. The young learners quickly forget the cameras are rolling, and tell stories about how the games help them see a world beyond their own:

“We’ve been learning to express ourselves differently to the world, and to really look at stuff in a new way,” explained Brillith, a soft-spoken, thoughtful 7th grader.   

Ms. Carr’s class of leaders from Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change in Harlem, New York shared similar revelations as they made the connection between literacy and leadership. 

“The game is going to help me do my career because reading helps you throughout your whole life,” reflected Adriana, 8th grade.

“There’s great responsibility in life. And after I was done playing [After the Storm] I saw what I have to be ready for,” said Axel, an animated 8th grader who plans to be a magician when he grows up.

The games ignite a sense of self and aspiration in these young students—from Birmingham, to New York, and to Los Angeles—and that’s what sticks with us. Listening to the voices of the educators and students whom we partner with is how we learn. It’s how we grow. And most of all, it’s how we ensure we’re developing literacy and leadership skills for children across the country. Keep watching classroominc.org for more #InYourWords videos.

Celia Alicata, Director of Marketing & Communications, Classroom, Inc.
Celia Alicata leads the marketing and communications efforts to share Classroom, Inc.’s stories of impact; reach thought leaders, bloggers, and journalists; and build awareness about the organization’s learning games. She brings a decade of experience in strategic communications and marketing, community engagement, and education policy and advocacy for issues impacting our most under-served communities.

Most recently, Celia was director of grassroots and regional marketing at Teach For America where she managed outreach for 13 TFA regions. Prior to that, she managed programs at Change the Equation, a STEM advocacy organization, and federal policy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In addition to her nonprofit experience, Celia spent time at Collaborative Communications Group, a consulting firm for education organizations. She holds an M.Ed. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Communications, Law, Economics, and Government from American University in Washington, DC.

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Meet FableVision's 2015 Extra Life team!

Gamers, start your consoles! Team FableVision is gearing up our fundraising efforts for the Children’s Miracle Network through Extra Life. What’s Extra Life? It’s a 24 hour game-a-thon fundraiser for any Children’s Miracle Network Hospital of your choice, and Boston Children’s Hospital, we choose you!

Folks can sponsor a member of our team starting at $1 per hour (a total of $24), or support FableVision as a whole by visiting our team page here. Every member of our team has been training for this since we were kids; from Super Mario to Tag, from Dungeons and Dragons to Scrabble, we are truly an Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A-Team! Introducing Team FableVision!

Name: Gary Goldberger
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I remember after school on winter days a group of six to seven kids would come over and bounce between playing epic games of M.U.L.E. on the Commodore 64 and Risk (board game) at the same time. 
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? One of the most exciting parts of the Extra Life event is that you never know what new game you will learn. 
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Boston Children's Hospital was there when my child was in need of an emergency operation that saved his life. I am hoping that this support will allow them to help others in the same way they helped me and my family. 
Fun fact about yourself: I am a collector of hobbies...lately it's been bee keeping and origami.

Name: Matt Brelsford
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: Playing Dungeons and Dragons with my older sister and her friend from up the road. It's really the perfect game for a kid; it's all about imagination, creativity, cooperation, and there are no limits to what you can do.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Any of the social games, like Resistance or Two Rooms and a Boom.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Get to do something I love with people I love, all for a good cause. Doesn't get better than that!
Fun fact about yourself: I wrote a computer program that, given enough time and space, would eventually generate every possible picture. Most of them would just be noise, but there would be pictures of you riding on a dragon through every city in the world, past or present.

Name: Adam Landry
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: Not necessarily my favorite, but I very distinctly remember playing Decathlon on the Atari 2600 for hours on end - trying to wiggle that darn black joystick with the red button back and forth faster than any of my friends. Everyone had a different take on how to do it. Of course, finding the little "glitches" were always a treat. I think at one point I pole vaulted a couple hundred feet in the air.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? I love the mix of board games, card games, video games and the occasional wheelbarrow race.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? It is such a great way to raise money for a wonderful cause. And, by participating with my children, they are learning all the fun ways to do good in the world.
Fun fact about yourself: Mr. Troy, my 6th grade teacher, required that we be able to recite 150 prepositions in under a minute. I can still do it. Give or take a couple seconds.

Name: Sonnye Lim
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I used to play Super Mario World and Raiden on the SNES with my dad.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Any game that involves competition and teamwork. I'd love to play Mario Kart!
Why are you participating in Extra Life? This will be my first time participating. It just sounds like a lot of fun and It'll be for a good cause.
Fun fact about yourself: I have a pet albino crayfish.

Name: Michael Fogarasi
Favorite Game Memory: Growing up, one of the houses I lived in had a great rec room in the basement. We were able to black out the windows and make it completely dark. Then we would have one person guard the light switch at one end of the room. Everyone else, armed with pillows, would have to fight their way across the room to see who could switch the light on first. It was a little dangerous, but I'm pretty sure it's the most fun I ever had.
What am I looking forward to playing: New games! I love finding a new game that I really enjoy.
Why am I participating: It's a great way to raise money for a very important cause that I am passionate about!
Fun Fact About Myself: I finally won the kick the shoe contest at our local fair this summer after coming in second for almost five years in a row.

Name: Sarah Ditkoff
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I played flashlight tag with my whole neighborhood. I had two favorite hiding places: behind my house in the wild blueberry bushes, or in my mom's vegetable patch.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Two Rooms and a Boom
Why are you participating in Extra Life? It's the right thing to do. Boston Children's Hospital does incredible work and whatever I can do to help that along is worth it -- especially when it's this fun!
Fun fact about yourself: I'm in the process of learning calligraphy.

Name: Hannah O'Neal
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I've always loved playing video games. As a kid, I would play with my siblings so it was super fun. We would use our Sega Genesis to play Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Earthworm Jim. I LOVE those games!
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? I pretty much love any game where you get to work collaboratively with other players.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? I get to do something I love with people whom I love, and help raise money for sick children in the Boston area and beyond.
Fun fact about yourself: I can make a whistle out of an acorn top.

Name: Isabella Boettcher
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: My family is extremely passionate about Scrabble. At least once a week after dinner, we would clear the table to make room for our limited edition Scrabble board. It got very competitive.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? All the games! I'm not sure which one's we have...
Why are you participating in Extra Life? I love Boston, and therefore I love Boston Children's Hospital. To be able to help them out in any way is an opportunity I wasn't about to pass up!
Fun fact about yourself: I have over twenty different allergies.

Name: Karina Kolb
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: Playing Dominos and Old Maid with my grandparents, huge game nights with my family and neighbors, and playing Zoombinis on the family computer.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? I’m not sure what games are on the table (figuratively and literally), but I’m bring my 20-sided dice ;)
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Many people in my life have been touched by cancer. The Children's Miracle Network truly helps kids and their families, deciding to participate was not a hard decision.
Fun fact about yourself: My favorite animal is the majestic Gopher Tortoise

Name: Brian Grossman
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: The Atari 2600. I spent way too much time with the Atari 2600. Hmmm… in retrospect… maybe I should be a little more understanding when I find my 13-year-old son playing video games into the wee hours of the morning...
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Hanging out with all my friends from work spending an entire day doing nothing but fun stuff!
Why are you participating in Extra Life? To raise money for Boston Children’s Hospital, of course! … and maybe to have some fun, too...
Fun fact about yourself: I am clinically addicted to sugar.

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October FableFriday: Bob Flynn, Director of Art & Animation

Bob Flynn is obsessed with creating. That obsession landed him at FableVision Studios, where he’s been our Director of Art & Animation for the past decade. Bob guides character and background design, storyboarding, and the look and feel for all our projects.

“I’m genuinely obsessed with this stuff—writing and creating. I start feeling weird if I idle for too long,” Bob says.  

Bob’s passion for writing and creating is translated in his signature style, which is present both in and out of FableVision. In his spare time, Bob flexes his talents on notable freelance projects such as SpongeBob Comics, Bravest Warriors, and Heeby Jeeby Comix, to name a few.

This month, Bob shares how he came to land at FableVision—it all started with a serendipitous run in with a lunch box—his character-creation process, inner science nerd, and how innovation and story make him tick.

What is your journey to FableVision story?
I was still living in St. Louis (2004), working at my first design job at a small studio called Schwartz & Associates Creative, when I noticed a red lunch box high on a shelf. I picked it up, read the name ‘FableVision’ in an orange star burst, opened it, and there were all these trading cards of various team members. My wife Loren [Lee-Flynn, FableVision UX/UI Designer) and I had already been talking about future plans beyond St. Louis. I’m originally from Maine, she’s from New York, so Boston seemed like the ideal middle-ground city to venture off to.

Within weeks of settling in to our new apartment, I called FableVision, after sending an email, to make sure they received it. I went about my morning. And then an hour later they called me back and asked if I could drop by the studio that afternoon—good sign! I showed up with my work at the then Watertown office at 44 Pleasant Street. As I opened the office door outside, I remember distinctly saying to myself—audibly—“Don’t blow this…”

I was later fortunate that the studio was looking to hire a new staff artist. So began my decade-plus career at FableVision.

What has been your favorite project here at FableVision and why?
So many! I’ll go with the brain-in-my-gut and say Lure of the Labyrinth, which we developed with Maryland Public Television and the MIT Education Arcade. That was back in my early days with the studio, and we had an incredible collaborative rhythm going on that game—development and art working seamlessly together. I got to draw a lot of monsters and comics. Labyrinth was also the reason we brought on Keith Zulawnik, FableVision’s Lead Artist (and my partner in monster-making). It was a pretty key project in establishing the Studio’s growth into gaming.

A very close collective second would have to be all the projects (including Evolution-Health Connection) we’ve worked on with Marjorie Prager at Jeff Kennedy Associates for various museums (Denver Museum of Nature & Science, New York Hall of Science), because they all perfectly combine my love of science with animation. And we got to make them all cartoony, weird, and funny.

A close third would be the animations I designed and directed for The Powder & the Glory documentary that aired on American Experience on PBS. Standout projects always come back to the team. Working with filmmakers Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman was a delight. I was still a kid, and I learned a lot about what would become my animation process on that project.

You take a particular interest in the projects related to science. Why are you drawn to these in particular?
Science has long been a deep interest, just short of what I’d call a true passion…or I’d be a scientist right now. I initially planned to double major in physics and art (at Washington University), but the math started getting pretty abstract and I quickly found myself much more at home in the art classes. People often get intimidated by equations, terminology, and complicated theories. You only need to know all that stuff if you’re in a particular field. Any idea can be explained and understood, and what better a medium to do that in than an animated cartoon?

We’re doing that right now collaborating with the Smithsonian Science Education Center on our Good Thinking! The Science of Teaching Science animated series for science educators. It’s just the right blend of humor, storytelling, and zeroes in on really specific content—addressing the kinds of misconceptions folks have.

What draws you to FableVision’s mission?
I really connect on story and people. Inspiring folks to learn, laugh, smile, create. Kids especially. Kids rule.

What is the process of creating a character at FableVision like?
It differs from project to project, but usually it starts with me drawing a mess of them on sheets of paper until I find the right character for the role. We like to send our clients a bunch of options, so it doesn’t hurt that I like coming up with tons of characters.

How do you balance your work at FableVision with the other projects you take on (such as the SpongeBob comics, other freelance projects, and of course, your website work)?
The company has always afforded us a stable studio culture that is passion-friendly and family-friendly. Because of how teams are structured and projects are scheduled, I’m able to accomplish what I need to do for FableVision during the day. I put in the bulk of the time required to complete the extra work I take on during nights and weekends. I do sleep! Sleep is the one thing I never let slide because that’s how you get into a mess. I really think this is my natural state. I mixed comics into my homework when I was a kid and in college, too.

What is your preferred software to use when working?
Manga Studio for inking/drawing. It’s great! I do all of my coloring in Photoshop. I’m long done with Flash. Toon Boom creates much better software for animation and storyboarding, so that’s what I prefer to use when I can.

You began as an illustrator and have evolved into an animator. What has been your greatest challenge with this? Any old illustration habits that are hard to break as an animator?
My background in illustration makes me a better animator, I think. Or, I come at animation with a focus on composition, color, form—considering the staging and the framing of every shot. The look of it. I have no formal training in animation besides decades of watching cartoons and learning from peers and books. But I’d say that counts toward something. Besides…Didi Hatcher (Lead Animator), Hannah O’Neal (Artist and Animator), and Sonnye Lim (Artist and Animator) deserve the real animation credit at FableVision.

Bob Flynn and Dan Moynihan show off Heeby Jeeby Comix at MICE.

You began Heeby Jeeby Comix after Nick Mag ended in 2009. What advice do you have for people wanting to begin an independent venture such as that, especially when working with collaborators as you did?
Heeby Jeeby was a very natural thing for me to take on, and infinitely more interesting because there were four of us pushing each other (myself, Chris Houghton, David DeGrand, and Dan Moynihan). It was all self-funded, self-published. We just wanted to keep making funny weird comics for kids to bring to comics festivals to sell. Like any venture, it had a passionate start which helped carry us through four books. We’ve all moved on to other things, but I think of Heeby Jeeby as an important launching off point. And we’re closer friends, connected through these books, because of it.

What inspires you?
Everything. Things when I least expect them. One time a kid on a bus tossed her pacifier on the floor and that inspired me. Liquid dish soap has inspired me. I’m partial to natural forms, rocks and flowers. I steal from nature all the time.

What’s your creative workspace at home like?
I snapped this pic the other day when I got home from work (getting ready to begin a night of work).

Which one of your creations would you want to take to lunch (you’re paying)?
He’s a co-creation, but it would have to be Impossibear. 100%.


Favorites!
Cartoon: Adventure Time (current)
Comic book: Impossible to pick a favorite, but I will say that I’ve been reading Carl Barks’ Donald Duck comics lately.
Kids story book: Charlotte’s Web
Medium to doodle in: Marker or pencil
Snack: Hard to deny the Cheez-It. French feta on pita or crackers is very good, too.
Spot to vacation: Hawaii (though, more practically based on proximity: Acadia)
Experience or memory at a comic con or animation convention: Ah, too many favorites here. Probably when a couple kids up in Toronto proudly paid together for a Heeby Jeeby with all the change they had in their pockets.
Toy of a character you’ve made: The first Catbug plush is pretty special (photo at right)
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — Kanye West (though I’ve probably listened to 808s & Heartbreak more)
Album to listen to while working: Changes every week. I will say I work to a lot of hip-hop, probably because it’s often so high-energy, bold, and built on bravado. Once I was powering through to finish a mini-comic in time for a festival—after working a week straight on it…day and night. My tank was on empty, I was bleary-eyed… panicking. On the final night, Watch the Throne carried me home.

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Lulu Jr. makes an AWESOME mark on Dot Day 2015!

This post was originally published on FableVision Learning's blog.

What happens when two organizations championing creativity and self-expression “connect the dots”? Something AWESOME!  Lulu Jr. and FableVision, after their award-winning My Awesome Book kids’ bookmaking kit collaboration, partnered to create My Awesome Publishing Company, an innovative online writing/design platform that gives teacher the tools they need to turn their classroom into a publishing company. 

Designed and hosted by FableVision’s Founder and New York Times bestselling illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, My Awesome Publishing Company guides K-6 students through writing, illustrating, publishing, and promoting their very own book. Currently being piloted in schools across the country, My Awesome Publishing Company encourages kids to make their mark. 

Which is why we were delighted to see the team at Raleigh, NC-based Lulu make their own AWESOME mark for International Dot Day 2015, which is now celebrated in by over 4 million people in 116 countries. Check out Lulu Jr.’s video!

It’s not too late to celebrate Dot Day. If you, your company or school are planning something awesome, let us know – and we’ll share it with the Dot Day community.  

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