Dear Readers and Writers,

Once upon a time, not so long ago, loving parents and gentle souls with warm hearts were enchanted by happy, innocent children. They delighted in reading a beautiful book with them as their wide-eyed audience hung on every word and looked at each exciting color picture.This nurturing scene happens today where children grow surrounded by good parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and are cared for by devoted older brothers, sisters, and friends, participating in their unfolding.  Indeed, reading great literature to children could save our world.

The difficulties many families face in our times are due to manufactured, hurtful fears, fears we can remove through the power of the arts and the imagination, powerful guides that offer a new way of seeing the world. Most know that for this to happen a major and truly positive change is needed.

Change is a magical word. Tried and tested sailors know when a “change of course” will take their boat into safer waters. A change of course, however, is possible only by firmly taking hold of the wheel and giving time, attention, and energy to what lies ahead.

Children deserve our loving attention and must be given the best education we can gather from humanity’s rich legacy. For each generation to thrive, this treasure of wisdom must be renewed: that means we must introduce our children to the classics as well as to new literature so they can discover what they could never find in the dark television madness of insipid, frantic, and meaningless consumer brain-washing. Additionally, many children’s videos and games promote violence and destroy a child’s innocence.

Francisco and Gabriel’s Blue Moon Adventure is a soul-nourishing tale of love, family unity, brotherhood, mysterious communication with nature, and the amazing flight of a great bird, projecting the fullness of a child’s imagination and opening the heart to bravery, ingenuity, exploration, generous self-sacrifice, and a future of infinite possibilities.

But there is much more in this delightful book. Francisco and Gabriel’s Blue Moon Adventure is a tool for caring adults who know the change we seek in our decadent times is always contained, like a magical seed, in the innocence and pure joy every child brings into the world at birth. Good men and women never give up hope for a better world. They never say: “There is nothing I can do!” because they know that planting and nourishing a fertile seed has the potential to restore our earthly garden. All we need do is allow the seed of innocence to grow. With love and guidance, that is what Francisco and Gabriel’s Blue Moon Adventure helps us do.

Every child comes in this world with a hunger for life and beauty. The reading of great literature helps satisfy this hunger. Reflecting back to our youth, we adults may fondly remember the joy of looking at the pictures in our first books, be they multi-colored flowers or the menagerie of earthly creatures like kittens, puppies, crickets, and birds. Wise discrimination in selecting enriching stories plays an important role in the development of a healthy, open mind and character. 

Francisco and Gabriel’s Blue Moon Adventure is a celebration of nature’s power, kindled by family love and fantastic events. The path of the mythical blue albatross into endless space and infinite time beckons children to follow the bird’s flight with their own inner eyes into realms beyond the heavens. Uncle Rico, Francisco and Gabriel’s confidant, while imparting his knowledge of winds, clouds, and the sea, about rudders and sails, provides – rather than today’s ridicule and distain between adults and children – the example of generational sharing and respect. The protective character of the older brother, Francisco, toward his younger brother Gabriel illustrates – rather than today’s competition and bullying – the kind of loving relationship siblings need to cultivate as they grow into adults.

The Glossary of Nautical Terms offers an easy way for parents and teachers to teach children the power of a robust vocabulary.

Good literature is one of the best gifts to give others. Tales like The Little Prince, Winnie the Pooh, and Pinocchio are still enjoyed by adults because these books perennially reinforce the universal truths that have inspired generations to not only develop and appreciate the arts, but to foster healthy attitudes toward the dignity of life, the importance of mental and spiritual liberty, and respect for one another.

By giving Francisco and Gabriel’s Blue Moon Adventure to a child you love, you will be remembered as the generous giver whose gift will endure in many family bookshelves and libraries for a long, long time to come. 

Heart greetings, 

Viktoria Vidali
viktoriavidali@gmail.com
bluealbatrosspress@gmail.com

P.S. Your personal review of the book on Amazon.com will be a great gift to the author and illustrator. Kindle edition also available. Spanish/English edition coming soon.