ONCEKids, Inc. Launches RAINBOW PANDA AND THE FIRECRACKER FIASCO

Pink Hamster and the Big Birthday Surprise! is a fun story about what most every child enjoys - birthday cake. Pink Hamster loves birthday cake so much she dreams about it at night. But everyone forgets her special day and she worries that she won't get any birthday cake. Black Tortoise and the Dynasty Dragon shares a little history about the ancient Korean battle boats and the Dragon in Asian culture. When some of the animals start to go missing, the Samurai go on a mission to help find them and discover the young Dynasty Dragon that was sent to Fujimini Island for protection. Reuniting the Dynasty Dragon youngster with his mother brings all the animals together.

Eileen Wacker's journey to become a children's book author took a circuitous route. She has a deep passion for storytelling and a genuine curiosity in cultures of the world.

She moved with her husband and their four children, Olivia, Christian, Ethan and Natalie to Seoul, South Korea and lived there for four years. The family traveled extensively across Asia, visiting many countries, most frequently China and Japan. Eventually the family settled in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Eileen continued to visit Japan and Korea as her husband was still commuting to Seoul for his job. She is inspired by the rich and diverse cultures of Asia and enthused to learn of the many traditions, celebrations and unique viewpoints found there.

In Seoul, she ran the school's book program, sparking her interest in children's books. One of her children is Chinese and after researching the market, she discovered a shortage of quality children's books drawing upon pan-Asian themes. She decided to develop a book series with Asian characters for the mainstream children's book market (in English language children's books).

In 2007 she conceived of what developed into the Fujimini Island Adventure Series. The first book was released on the Hawaii islands in 2010. Eileen is an active educator and blogger writing articles about her passions - parenting, diversity and technology, for major online and print media. She is a board member of Assets School in Honolulu, a school for gifted students who learn in different ways than mainstream students. Eileen Wacker graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a finance degree and attended Harvard Business School where she earned her MBA.

ONCEKids seeks to push innovation in reading, expose young readers to elements from several Asian cultures, and unite moms, parents, caregivers, educators online to blog about experiences, challenges, and modern strategies in parenting and education.

ONCEKids, Inc. (www.OnceKids.com)

Rainbow Panda and the Fireworks Fiasco
by Eileen Wacker, Illustrated by Alan Low
ISBN: 978-1-4675-1749-2
Hard cover, pp 40, $10.99
Trim: 8.25" X 8.25"