July Update – Dog Days of Summer

Ilene — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:38:30 +0000

Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer! Brandy and Val are enjoying their ice cream to beat the heat and we hope you are having your own “fun in the sun.” Our big news is that Brandy and Val, LLC just celebrated its’ first anniversary. We are very proud of our accomplishments this year in “doing good where good is needed.” To name a few, the following charities have benefited from the sales of our products: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary; Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary; Prader-Willi Association; Cabrini Connections Tutor-Mentor Connection and, of course, Fortunate Pooches and Lab Rescue, where Brandy and Val were adopted from! So, a big thanks to all of you who have supported us throughout our first year and who helped make this possible.

Continuing to make news with our fabulously fun books and toys for tots, we appeared this past month in PET PRODUCT NEWS and NATURAL DOG. If a child you know doesn’t have one of our books or toys yet, order one now as they make great diversions for the kids while on car rides, at the beach or anywhere toddlers become restless, in other words, EVERYWHERE!

We would LOVE for you to comment and suggest stories for our blog, “What We are Barking About” and don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too. Also, look out for our article in the September edition of Women’s World magazine. I hear it will be on newsstands in mid-August.

In closing out the month, Brandy and Val also want to say thanks to the Center for Independence Camp for allowing us to read to and work with your special children. We hope that through our pet therapy duties, we can enhance the lives of children in some positive way! Please contact us at info@BrandyandVal.com if you would like Brandy and Val to visit a school, library or children’s program in the Chicago area.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. As always, thanks for your support,

Ilene Fine, Author,

Brandy and Val, Brandy and Val’s Favorite Things, Brandy and Val’s Special Story

ABC7 Karen Meyer Recognizes Brandy and Val’s Special Needs Appeal

Ilene — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:50:13 +0000

Brandy, Val and I were privileged to have been recently interviewed by ABC7 Chicago’s Karen Meyer, a feature reporter focusing on disability issues. Karen contacted me after having seen our mention in Chicago Special Parent Magazine this past summer. Brandy and Val books and toys are intended for children 3 and over and the books also have special needs appeal–a feature that I am pleased is receiving some recognition. The sturdy tabbed pages enable little fingers, children with motor-skill deficits and mild learning disabilities to turn the pages more easily than with traditional board books and the colored rings that bind the pages allow them to grab hold of the books for easier carrying. Being able to perform these simple tasks helps foster a sense of independence in a child who otherwise is dependent on others. The simple themes in the books can be opened up to a myriad of social development topics; brightly colored pages facilitate the learning of colors and simple page layouts enable the learning of shapes. View the interview and meet us!

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In that same vein, on Tuesday night we were invited to introduce our books to NTDSE (Niles Township District for Special Education) where I spoke with the parents who attended and then brought Brandy and Val over to meet and greet the children who were there. Social workers and teacher’s aides from the special education school that some of the children go to were also there. The meeting was held at the Skokie Library and moderated by the Come On In! coordinator, Holly Jin. Holly and the library staff has made their Youth Services section a very special and inviting place for children with disabilities. The Come On In! Program has been nationally recognized for its’ excellence and is one that I hope libraries across the country are paying close attention to and thinking of emulating. We are grateful for the invitation and hope that in the future we are invited back to do a pet therapy program in some capacity.

Another youth disability program of note that we will be participating in is the Easter Seals Book Fair at the Lily Garden Child Development Center in Villa Park, IL on December 10. Our books will be on sale for the entire event but on that day, Brandy, Val and I will be in the classrooms meeting with the kids and reading the books.

In addition to having all children enjoy our Brandy and Val books and toys, a future goal is to have them be incorporated as an educational tool for use by schools and pedi -OTs.

Brandy and Val » special ed

July Update – Dog Days of Summer

ABC7 Karen Meyer Recognizes Brandy and Val’s Special Needs Appeal