We Are All The Same Inside - The Blog

Press Release Audible to Publish Timothy Bellavia’s WE ARE ALL THE SAME INSIDE ® series for the First Time as a Digital Audio Books New York, NY (October 7, 2014) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Audible announced today— that they have acquired world rights to the digital audio of Bellavia’s beloved classic We Are All The Same Inside ® children’s book series. "I'm a throw-back. I love analog and traditionally published books," says Bellavia "But I must get with the times. This is We Are All The Same Inside® for a new digital and accepting generation." Originally published on May 23, 2000, by the T.I.M.M.-E Company, Inc.- a boutique press which eventually partnered with amazon, this Christopher Award nominated children’s series has sold in English worldwide, been translated into both Spanish and French, and continues to sell and reach new fans each year. Now, for the first time ever, the We Are All The Same Inside® series will be available as digital audio-books with extra exclusive content, narrated by noted voice–over talent Alan Caudle. The digital audio will be released worldwide exclusively through Audible, iTunes and amazon on October 21, 2014, to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the book's original publication and acclaimed doll-making workshop. "Narrating and producing these children’s books has been pure joy. Since they are so well-written by a respected educator, these volumes will capture children's attention while teaching them the importance of realizing that we are essentially all the same inside“ says Alan Caudle. "Timothy Bellavia has indeed written books that will quickly become classics. They deserve to be in every home and classroom library." ABOUT WE ARE ALL THE SAME INSIDE® Founded in 2000 by Timothy Bellavia. The company’s first publication earned a Christopher Award nomination, and an opportunity to present the We Are All The Same Inside ® - Sage doll-making workshop curriculum on the International Day of Tolerance at the United Nations. In 2004, the New York City Department of Education awarded Mr. Bellavia's T.I.M.M.E. Company a contract. Over the past decade, The T.I.M.M.-E. Co. Inc. has collaborated with several non-profit organizations including: Sesame Workshop, Core Knowledge, Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation, Girl Scouts, LEAP (Learning through an Expanded Arts Program), Hip Hop H.E.A.L.S., Light of Love Foundation, Mama Mae and Lee Lee, We Are Family Foundation, Single Parent Resource Center, NYC Cultural Affairs, Project Aspire, among others. You can visit the We Are All The Same Inside - Sage doll-making workshop / TIMM-E Publishing online at: http://www.weareallthesameinside.com

Pleased to announce that later this month five of We Are All The Same Inside ® children's book titles will be exclusively available as audio books through ITunes, amazon.com and Audible. Special thanks to Ashok Rajamani and my graphic design life supporters Kristin Ward, Rich at RJT Designs and Sibyl RS ... and most of all Alan Caudle for your "voice over" magic!

Recently I was in attendance at the #artRAVE in New York’s Madison Square Garden featuring none other than Lady Ga Ga and minions of little monsters. It was dreamlike. Each fan was dressed in various ways to pay tribute to their own success and uniqueness. It is without question Ga Ga and her little monsters (as she calls her fans) need each other. She has created her very own planet where she can exist and have an exchange between herself and her high paying and loyal fans. Hardly the aloof diva of days of yore, Lady Ga Ga’s is unquestionably present for her audience. As the show progressed and the costumes got more outrageous I thought of my own fascination as a middle aged monster. Suddenly, I am 15 again and as Lady Ga Ga blew a kiss to the crowd and I catch it and hear Miss Diana Ross's echoes of "I love you all.” Here I stand aging in a sea of youthful little monsters and once again I believe, "It’s going to be all alright”. I threw away my troubles kept dancing so I didn’t have to feel the pain of life and the embraced fully the pursuits of peace and love. For me Ga Ga is one of a select few pop sensations who aggressively creates art, shouts-out words of hope and genuinely loves her public. It’s like a great escape for both parties. She includes and made all feel welcome to be themselves on her special theatrical stage that looks like it is from another world. Yet her humanity is down to earth and her stage banter is genuine, “I saw your post on twitter, girl” Ga Ga explains. My mind raced to when Diana Ross used to fearlessly dive out into her audience and reach out and touch her own fan base. In the midst of an economic crisis Lady Gaga creates songs of inspiration and self-affirmation for a new era depression. Even if it’s to the detriment of her own finances Ga Ga will follow her art. Be it her latest digital download or video Ga Ga’s little monsters (and my middle aged self) have embraced her hope and are inspired to create a universe that may not be as prosperous as our parents’ generation. .But until then we will be humming, dancing along in the hope that our dreams of art and peace will see us through to forever. Is peace possible? Is hope still alive? The dreamy platform created by the seemingly fearless Lady Ga Ga is the best of what humanity has to offer where all peoples on this very planet come together and celebrate. Until then, it is for certain that these little monsters will develop a strong sense of self and undeniable enthusiasm for living … or at least for their next Lady Ga Ga fix or tour.

I am excited to announce that I will be presenting at the 2014 National Conference on Bullying, the Nation's Premier event focused on reducing Bullying in Schools and Communities. The Conference is scheduled for FEB 26-28, 2014 at the Doubletree Hotel at Universal Studios Orlando, Florida. I am honored to have been chosen to be part of the instructional team for this educational opportunity. The session I will be presenting with Laraine Gaunt is entitled: The Words Remain Inside: Bullying Stops Here! The conference is co-hosted by the Florida Association of School Administrators, the Florida Association of School Resource Officers and SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere). I hope you can attend the conference as it draws from both educational and community organizations across the globe. For more information on this conference, go to www.schoolsafety911.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, New York, NY For years, if not decades, Laraine Gaunt (It’s OK to be Different) and Timothy Bellavia (We Are All The Same Inside) have both worked tirelessly for their communities, demonstrating the beauty of diversity, and bringing awareness to intolerance and bullying while implementing their innovative school programs. Both award winning educators focus on celebrating differences, promoting acceptance and peace within the classroom and beyond. After meeting initially on Facebook and then at an American Girl / We Are All The Same Inside ®doll-making event in Greenwich, CT in the spring of 2012, both agreed that the philosophy behind their programs brought them together. Now, Laraine Gaunt and Timothy Bellavia will team up to debut Bellavia’s new Sage doll – making workshop, The Words Remain Inside: Bullying Stops Here! at Tower Hill School in Red Bank, NJ where Gaunt currently presents It’s OK to be Different. The event will be held on Friday, October 18, 2013 at 10 am. This new workshop is a spin-off of the popular We Are All The Same Inside® book and accompanying Sage doll, yet has participants go beyond the surface in a special bully prevention workshop for children in which students create a doll with the outside skin as well as the interior organs; but use a permanent marker with hurtful words. The dolls then will be collected and washed with detergent and presented. The results will show that despite all the detergent and fabric softener the words remain inside, thus displaying the concept and a project based approach to combat bullying that reinforces dignity for all. With recent news about clashing religions, online and campus bullying that leads to suicide, and continuing skirmishes about immigration and basic human rights, The Words Remain Inside: Bullying Stops Here! and It’s OK to be Different affirm the need to promote tolerance at a young age. For more information go to www.weareallthesameinside.com www.facebook.com/itsoktoleranceprogram Contact Tower Hill School rep Adrienne Hoban for more information: 917-667-6735 Laraine Gaunt is the creator of the It's OK to be Different program. A special-education teacher for over 35 years, Laraine first developed the program to help students respect individual differences. She gives workshops on the program and trains parents and teachers how to deliver “It’s OK” in their own schools. In recognition of her work on tolerance, she received the Christa McAuliffee Fellowship from the state of New Jersey. Currently she is co-writing curriculum with national children’s author, Cheryl Kilodavis for her book, My Princess Boy. Timothy Bellavia is an award winning educator and the author and illustrator of 'We Are All The Same Inside','Paper, Scissors & Magic: Seven Ways to get your Kids to LOVE Books' among other children’s publications. Currently, Bellavia is an Assistant Professor at Touro College & University System within the Graduate Division of General and Special Education. He will be presenting his academic research paper on bullying at the University of New Mexico on October 29, 2013. Previously, Bellavia has collaborated with non-profits such as: Sesame Workshop, Core Knowledge, Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation, Girl Scouts, Materials for the Arts, We Are Family Foundation, and NYC Cultural Affairs, among others. Tower Hill School is celebrating 50 years of providing a quality Early Childhood Education to children in Monmouth County, The It’s OK to be Different program has been an integral part of the school for 10 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE2Tw8ROyMU

Yesterday, Mama Mae and Lee Lee along with project based learning through Paper, Scissors & Magic helped Girl Scouts in Stamford, CT "unlock themselves" ... FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: http://www.mamamae.com/