CBA Retailers+Resources interviewed Melissa Leembruggen, author o >f>h>er first published book, The Sudan Project (Abingdon Press). In addition to being a child of the King, wife of one, and homeschool mother of three, Leembruggen is also president of her company, Clay Bridges Communications. Leembruggen is a Dutch surname that means clay bridges.
“Ever since I found that out,” Leembruggen says on her Web site, www.claybridges.com, “it has inspired me with the idea of bridging the gaps in communication between people.”
“I’m passionate about ‘building people up to span life’s challenges’ (my company motto) whether it’s through a motivational speech at a MOPS group, or a life-skill training session with leaders. I believe The Sudan Project continues with that passion by bringing helpful information to children, encouraging them to act on their natural desires to help others.”
What made you decide to write The Sudan Project? Writing has been a part of my life all through school, of course,
but I began writing children’s books a few years ago with another homeschool mom. We couldn’t find age-appropriate books sometimes on our subjects of study, so we began writing nonfiction books to fill the gaps.
Kids learn of Sudanese people through In September 2006, my family and I moved to the Dayton, OH, area. We previously identified Ginghamsburg Church A-Z book, The Sudan Project. as the church where we felt called to worship. I’ve learned from prior moves and Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God Rebuilding With the that the best thing to do when entering a new church is to pray about what God is calling me to do, to observe where God is already at work in the Body, and then to join God at People of Darfur work when He calls.
In late October, I heard the call to write a children’s book about The Sudan Project ministry and the people
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Brighter Minds offers its “30-Min- ute a Day” series for preschoolers, kindergarten, and grade 1 ($15.95 each). The series is an iParent-ing Award Winner, and was a Book of the Month Club official selection earlier this year.
Group Publishing recently released Grapple Sunday school curriculum for preteens, giving users exclusive access to their Sunday school class’ own online community during the week. Leader page can be customized with upcoming events, announcements, and more. Visit www.group. com/grapple for more.
Integrity Kids (Provident-Integrity) offers its SPK 52 kids worship DVD curriculum ($119.95), a comprehensive 52-week program. The package contains four quarterly audio CDS with curriculum PDFs, and stereo and split-track versions of six songs, a Shout Praises Kids video MPEG DVD-ROM with 12 videos, and a 14-song choreography tutorial DVD-ROM.
Labosh Publishing
(Baker & Taylor) offers
The Child With Autism
Learns the Faith ($14,
p) by Kathy Labosh,
part of a series written
from Labosh’s personal
experience with her own
children. Parents and
church educators will get
a better understanding
of how to communi-
cate with children with
autism in a classroom or
social setting. Includes
15 lesson plans.
New Leaf Publishing Group’s The Complete Zoo Adventures ($16.99, s) by Gary and Mary Parker is a guide that includes checklists, connect-the-dot pictures, word finds, fact cards, a field journal, and more in the activity section. Users will find devotions, insights, goals, etc. to enhance a family’s zoo experience. Includes more than 25 reproducible worksheets for younger and older students.
Old Time Stories (STL/Faith Works) presents Joseph Mazerac’s Andy ($14.95), a comic-book series that tells of the rise of David through Andy’s imagination. A teacher’s guide ($18.50) to be used with Andy contains a CD with worksheets and the graphic novel in digital format. Bonus materials include fun biblical facts, games, and maps.
76 CBA Retailers+Resources | 10.07
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