The event at Southborough Summer Nights was cancelled due to bad weather. Thank you to Chief Mauro for setting up the book event at the Southborough Fire Station. We had a great turnout and had alot of fun meeting people from the community.
Thank you to the firefighters at the Southborough Fire Department for all that they did to host and support this event. A portion of the proceeds will go to the department's public education program.
Today we began the process of taking photos for the new children's book, Sparkles Goes to Boston, featuring Sparkles, Lt. Jim Peltier and firefighters of the Southborough Fire Department. The book is scheduled to be released April 2009.
Talk about a very fun day! Sparkles and I met lots of new fans of the safety tips on PBS KIDS Sprout and we were very excited to say hello to so many children and their caregivers, as well as the many firefighters here in the Northeast!
We were also really excited to meet these Sproutlets!
Sparkles and I would like to thank Chief Ronanye for his hospitality while we were visiting his station. We were very impressed with the Canton Fire Department's fire safety efforts and applaud them for all that the department does to keep those in their community fire safe!
Today Sparkles and I went to Canton, MA to visit the Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation at the Dunkin' Brands Headquarters. In September 2007, we had the honor of being named a Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation Hero and we wanted to stop by to say thank you for the honor and for their support of firefighters and fire department's everywhere.
We were also very excited to meet a couple of Sproutlets there!
Today Sparkles and I went to Boston to get some photos for our new book, Sparkles Goes to Boston. A sampling of the promotional photos for the book are below:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAt the harbor
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBoston Skyline
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBoston Fire Museum
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBoston Fire Department Fire Boat
We had a really nice day taking pictures. The weather was absolutely beautiful!
After taking pictures, we were stopped by a mother and her child, who watch Sparkles, Spanner and I on PBS KIDS Sprout On Demand. We were so very excited to meet them!
Sparkles participated in a photo shoot for the annual Project Smile calendar with Southborough firefighter families Jim Peltier and Anthony Alessi.
Thank you to Linda Hubley, editor of southboroughnews.com, for catching these images of the photo shoot. More photos of Sparkles and information on Project Smile can be found on Hubley's website.
We finally reached our destination after 28 hours of driving! We are really very excited to be in Marlborough and ventured out today to say hello to friends. We had the opportunity to visit our good friend Jim Peltier along with his family, Karen, Steven, Sara and Shawn.
Jim and Karen surprised Steven and Sara with our early arrival and it was a true delight seeing their faces when they walked in the room and saw Sparkles for the very first time!
It was the first time that Shawn had ever seen a dog and it was really very sweet to see how much he enjoyed watching Sparkles.
The Hermitage Library in Nashville, Tennessee was the location for the latest book event.
Sparkles with her new friend, Amber
Thank you to Jeff Huddleston (Tennessee State Fire Marshal's office) and AJ Furnish (Nashville Fire Department) for organizing the book event at the Hermitage Library in Nashville. Another big thank you to Pat from the Hermitage library and members of the Nashville Fire Department for their participation today. We had a terrific turnout and appreciate everyone coming out to meet Sparkles and purchase our new book.
Author Dayna Hilton and Sparkles along with firefighters from the Nashville Fire Department, Pat the Librarian from the Nashville Hermitage Library, Jeff Huddleston from the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's office and some new friends.
AJ Furnish, Public Safety Educator with the Nashville Fire Department, takes time out of her fire safety programming schedule to provide a book review of Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog.
Spanner has announced her retirement and has asked Tango to take her place. Tango was donated by Dalmino's Dals in Jenx, Oklahoma to help Firefighter Dayna teach fire safety. Thank you to Lori and Mac for allowing Tango to come to live with us in Arkansas.
This statement comes from Dalmino's and shares Tango's background.
"Tango, whose registered title is Champion Dalmino’s Conquistador, was the first to finish his Championship in a litter of seven champions. Very few litters include so many champion get. Tango’s sire, Ch. Tuckaway Winged foot is one of the top sires of Champions with 82 sons and daughters earning titles. He is the most winning Dalmatian of all time with 427 wins. Tango’s mother was the top producing Dalmatian the year the puppies debuted. A natural showman he quickly included several Bests of Breed as well. Tango was always friendly and outgoing to all and soon became a Junior handler’s beginning dog. Tango and Andrea made it to the Top Five Dalmatian Junior handlers in their first year.
Tango has participated in parades, greeted the public at the fair for the firefighters and has always been an outstanding ambassador for the breed. Tango was bred only once and has a lovely son that achieved his Championship with three Major wins (only two are needed). Most of all, he is the champion of all our hearts and his winning Dalmatian “grin” is always met with delight. We are so happy to have him with Dayna and continuing to give to us all by teaching fire safety skills.
Thank you to Senator Mark Pryor, Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for his kind words at the Community Preparedness Sub-Committee hearing today on Capitol Hill.
Sparkles and the book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog, was in this months issue of the Pennsylvania Fireman. To view the article, click HERE or on the picture above.
Pat Mieszala, a burn nurse, public education advisor and President of Burn Concerns, was gracious to provide Firehouse Dog Publishing, LLC with this new testimonial for the book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog for the fire service and public fire and life safety educators.
Plans are underway for additional book events in Tennessee and Oklahoma. The book event in Tennessee will be held in Nashville on June 14th. This event will be held in cooperation with the Tennessee State Fire Marshals office and the Nashville Fire Department. To see the event flyer, please click HERE.
On July 12, Sparkles and Author Dayna Hilton will be at Pooches Place in Tulsa for a book signing event. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Tulsa Dalmatian Assistance League.
To see a list of additional book events, including our book tour in the Northeast in June, please visit the Book Event site.
Would you like to know the latest about Sparkles and her big fire safety adventures? Or, how about fire safety tips shared by Sparkles? New fire safety videos and more on her new e-newsletter. Sign up today! To see a the first issue, click on the button below.
Click on the "Subscribe via RSS Feed" link at the bottom to be added to Sparkles' list. We promise not to share your email to outside parties.
Author Dayna Hilton was on Book Bites for Kids, a live radio show by the National Writing for Children Center. Hilton was interviewed about her book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog by host Suzanne Lieurance . Lieurance talks with authors about their books and writing for children on this daily broadcast. To listen to or download the broadcast, click HERE
Sparkles will be in attendance at the New England Fire Chief's 86th Annual Conference and Exposition in West Springfield, MA. She will be at the Expo at the Robotronics booth from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Firefighter Dayna Hilton will also be in attendance and signing copies of her book.
This just in! New book reviews on Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog.
“In a fun, simple and easily understandable format, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog presents to children of all ages keen insights on fire safe behaviors certain to be remembered should the need arise. Such could mean all the difference in a safe and healthy life.”
Wayne Powell Fire/Life Safety Specialist Marriott International
“Instilling fire safety in young children is vitally important. Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and Firefighters Dayna and Michael make learning these important safety messages fun, and easy to understand so that our children will be able to know what to do in the event of a fire. Congratulations on a wonderful book!”
Heather Schafer Executive Director National Volunteer Fire Council
"Both the book and the audio book are done well. This book is a great educational tool for the public education officers. Children and elderly are the most vulnerable age groups when it comes to fire. In this book, Sparkles has done great to educate our children. Now, Sparkles and her friend Spanner must find a way to do the same for the elderly. That should keep Dayna quite busy working on the next book!"
Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah, P.E., EFO, CBO Fire Protection Engineer Las Vegas Fire & Rescue
Today was a very special day. Not only did we get to see lots of our favorite people, Sparkles was excited to meet Caden, age 5.
Sparkles also was very excited to see Nancy Trench and share a copy of her new book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog.
Today marked a very special day. It was the very first day that the draft of our new book, Sparkles Goes to Boston was read by someone other than the author. Thanks to Cindy for taking a look at it and offering her suggestions. We are really very excited with this new book and the direction that it is taking!
Sparkles looks over the draft of Sparkles Goes to Boston.
I'm holding two model fire trucks in my hand. Could you tell which one is a toy and which is a lighter? Could a child?
This week (May 4-10) is Arson Awareness Week. According to the United States Fire Adminstration, the theme for this year’s Arson Awareness Week is "Toylike Lighters: Playing with Fire."
Toylike or novelty lighters have been responsible for injuries, deaths, and accidents across the Nation. Children are attracted to novelty lighters because they look like toys, with visual effects, flashing lights, musical sounds, and toylike designs.
In 2002, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated 13,900 child-playing structure fires were reported in the U.S., with associated losses of 210 civilian deaths, 1,250 civilian injuries, and $339 million in direct damage.
Some local and State governments are taking action by banning the sale of toylike and novelty lighters, and limiting their distribution. Get involved! Learn more about Arson Awareness Week and the intiative to ban lighters by visiting USFA's website at:
Author Dayna Hilton, Sparkles, and Clarksville Primary School Principal Steve Ziegler
Dayna Hilton, author of the new children’s fire safety book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog, and her dog, Sparkles, recently presented their new book and audio book to Principal Steve Ziegler, for the Clarksville Primary School’s library. Hilton’s book is based on the latest fire safety research and showcases Sparkles the Dalmatian’s love for helping teach fire safety. More information may be found on Sparkles’ website at www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com.
With so many exciting things happening lately, it was time to update the bio. Each time I have read the bio over the past couple of years and watched it evolve, I realize how very thankful I am that I have so many friends that help promote from safety and have taken the time to support Sparkles and my fire safety efforts over the years.
I just wanted to take this moment and stop to thank the following people and organizations:
RFD #1 Firefighters
PBS KIDS Sprout
First Alert
Robotronics
IFSTA
The Home Safety Council
Janet Wilmoth
Arkansas Fire Prevention Commission
My good friends in the Northeast, especially Jim, Jack and Harry
Congressman John Boozman
Firehouse.com and Pete Matthews
Robert, Michael, Randy, Margie and Glenn
Dalmatian Assistance League of Tulsa
Karla Wood and Harriett Sisson
Jenni Glenn
Chief John Mauro and the Southborough Firefighters
Kari Wood
National Fire Academy
Emily McGlaughlin
Steve Ziegler and the teachers at Clarksville Primary
Cindy Finkle
Nancy Trench
Chris Neal
Thank you to each of you and to the many other folks who help keep our communities safe.
Sparkles Theme Song is now available as a single on Amazon.com, eMusic and iTunes (US, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, UK/European Union, and Japan), . This original fire safety song by Firehouse Dog Publishing, LLC, was composed by Michael Post of Post Arrangements. Vocals by Post and Roger Haak.
The theme song is also available as a ringtone on Groupietunes.com
Soon, the theme song will be available on and on Rhapsody, Napster, and Lala.
We were also really excited to meet these Sproutlets!
.JPG)
