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Greetings from Arnie & Debra Cardillo
Welcome to our inaugural newsletter! It's been 11 years since we made Live Oak Media part of our family. We want to first thank you for your past and present support. Some of you are only learning about us now--thanks to the Odyssey Award (more about that later)--so we thought we'd start with a little introduction.
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| Our Story |
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Arnie began his career as a video and audio production engineer and then spent 13 years in marketing, sales and production for Listening Library. Debra came from a background in children's book publishing. She started in editorial and publicity at Clarion Books and then in publicity at Macmillan and Harper Collins. She left publishing when our son was born, and continued to freelance for various publishers while she raised our two children.
We purchased Live Oak Media in 1997. The company was founded by Roy and Thelma Oakley in 1980. They'd built a successful list of audio and video versions of such classic picture books as Don Freeman's Corduroy and Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline. In 1995, Roy passed away and after running it on her own for awhile, Thelma decided to retire.
Live Oak Media was a perfect fit for us, combining our abilities and interests. With Arnie's production experience, we knew we could bring the recordings to a higher level with careful casting, music and sound effects. With Debra's wealth of knowledge in children's books, we thought we could introduce many wonderful books that were new to a listening audience. Our motto is "Where Great Children's Books Play Nicely." We choose great children's books to produce on audio, and when you listen to them you can't help but notice the outstanding quality of the productions.
Turning Points
Buying Live Oak Media was a huge risk for us. We put everything we had into improving and growing the business. Fortunately, interest in and acceptance of audio was increasing. But we were so immersed in the overwhelming demands of a new business and caring for a young family that we rarely felt secure in what we were doing. Then at the 2001 mid-winter ALA meeting in Washington D.C., we listened to the Notable Recordings committee discussion on some of our readalongs and felt utterly disheartened. If only they knew how much work went into these productions! We left the conference early, totally discouraged. Then the Chair, Margie Stern, called to tell us that six of our titles had been selected! And finally, we felt confident that we were on the right track. |
| The Odyssey Award |
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Another major turning point happened just this January, at another mid-winter ALA meeting. This time, Mary Burkey called to say we had won the first-ever Odyssey Award for Jazz, written by Walter Dean Myers.
This annual award is given to the producer/publisher of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults. The Odyssey Award is jointly given and administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine. (More information here.)
Jazz, written by Walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Christoper Myers, explores the history and development of the musical genre.
We loved Jazz right away. We felt there was no other book that captured the energy, the rhythm, and the spontaneity of the art form so perfectly. The book also fits nicely with our Live Oak Music Makers program, which features books with music as a key component. The challenge though, was coming up with original music that allows the lyrical text to come alive.
We put together the team of Rob Mathes-who has arranged and orchestrated music for artists as diverse as Sting and Tony Bennett-and recording artists James "D-Train" Williams and Vaneese Thomas. Together it took us over 80 hours of recording and editing, over many, many rounds of rehearsals, before we could finally produce the final recording. You can sample the recording here. |
| What we're excited about |
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 Mack Made Movies
by Don Brown
"In concise, brilliantly understated text, Brown recounts how Sennett broke into the new entertainment business, how he applied slapstick techniques from Vaudeville to the movies, how his Keystone Kops became the hit of silent pictures, and how he introduced Charlie Chaplin to the world."- Starred Review, Booklist.
We love Don Brown and his books are perfect for the way they explore fascinating subjects and present the information in a way that is easily understood and interesting to young readers. With narration by the fabulous George Guidall, this recording is an excellent introduction to movie making for young fans. When we shot the video version of the book, we used the same animated effects and techniques as used in the creation of early motion pictures. The CD is now available and the DVD will be released in November. (More information here.)
Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa
by Veronica Chambers
"Chambers' enthusiasm for her subject is contagious, and the bright, uncluttered paintings of rounded, stylized figures in saturated, tropical hues echo the energy in the words."- Booklist
 Celia Cruz is not only a Queen, she's a Goddess! You can't help but move to her music. Narrated and sung by salsa & jazz singer Michelle Manzo with accompaniment by salsa musicians who've played with Tito Puentes, Johnny Pacheco, and Celia Cruz herself, this readalong also includes the pre-recorded song "Quimbara" performed by Celia Cruz and Johnny Pancheco. Celia Cruz is the latest offering in the Live Oak Music Makers series. (More information here.) |
| Web Specials |
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With the cost of most things going up, we are delighted to offer you a chance to save! Order online and receive FREE SHIPPING! This is a one-time only offer on on-line orders for $300 or more and you must place your order before December 15, 2008. More details on our web site at www.liveoakmedia.com.
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We want to hear from you!
We will be bringing you monthly behind-the-scene stories on our company and audio book making. Please tell your friends to sign on! Questions or comments? Please write us at info@liveoakmedia.com or call us at (800) 788-1121.
Debra and Arnie Cardillo
Live Oak Media |
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