Attention Educators and Caregivers:

REGISTER NOW TO JOIN IN THE ONLY
GLOBAL READING EVENT OF ITS KIND!

"The 2008 International Buddy Booby's Birthmark Read-Along for Tolerance & Awareness"

It's a simple, free, fun opportunity for children to participate in a global educational effort aimed at increasing tolerance and compassion for each other's differences; promoting self-esteem; and raising birthmark awareness by reducing the prejudice and myths surrounding vascular abnormalities. Attention: Educators and Caregivers:

Visit the Buddy Booby’s Birthmark website for complete details on how to register for the Read-Along and raise awareness.

http://buddyboobysbirthmark.com/_wsn/page6.html

Join the Buddy Booby Read-Along on May 15, 2008! However, the read-along can be celebrated as an awareness event any day throughout the year.

Meet the Authors Evan and Donna Ducker

Evan Ducker has a port-wine stain on his face. Statistics show he is in good company--One in ten babies is born each year in the U.S. with a birthmark of some kind. The incidence is estimated to be the same in other countries. Yet, as common as the marks are, Evan asked (at the age of 4) why none of the characters in his story books had a birthmark like his. That one question became the inspiration for Buddy Booby's Birthmark.

Evan developed the concept of the setting, plot, and characters by drawing on his imagination and relentless interest in animals. Together, with his mother Donna, they created the story based on their personal experiences.

"I guess I just wanted kids with birthmarks, like me, to have a book with a character they could relate to," says Evan. "I think people who read it will get a better idea of what we (kids with birthmarks) go through every day."





Donna Cardenia Ducker is Evan's proud mom. A former television journalist, Donna worked as an associate producer for CNN in Atlanta, GA, and as a reporter with WTZA-TV in Kingston, NY. She wrote, produced, and edited features for local and national television.

A former Press Writer and Media Relations Coordinator for the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Donna was responsible for all matters related to the Institute's publicity via international print and broadcast media.

Although Buddy Booby's Birthmark is her first children's book, Donna has written for Taste magazine and has had several freelance features published in various publications.

Donna is the President of E & D Books, Ltd., www.eanddbooks.com a corporation she and Evan founded together for the Buddy Booby™ series. She is also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.


Donna and Evan Ducker reading to a classroom during the
2007 VBF Day of Awareness Read-Along