MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Cindy is available for interviews and commentary by appointment. She can be contacted at: Badbillstories@gmail.com or by clicking below
LOCAL EDUCATORS DEBUT FIRST IN A SERIES OF CHILDREN’S STORIES CHRONICLING THE ADVENTURES OF BAD BILL.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: ScotSimmons@mac.com
Agoura Hills, CA – Being Point Press has announced the upcoming new release of Bad Bill, a children’s book written by Sumac Elementary School Teacher Cindy Simmons and illustrated by Mariposa School Teacher Nanci Powers.
For more than thirty years, Cindy Simmons has taught elementary school in the Los Angeles and Las Virgenes School Districts. She began telling the Bad Bill stories in her Sumac Elementary classroom years ago, sharing the unfortunate saga of a seven year old boy who has issues with choices…and just can't seem to stay out of trouble.
Since that time these stories have become a regular in-classroom event and a cherished childhood memory for countless returning students (and parents, as well).
“From the time children begin to interact with others, they are running a gauntlet ,” explains Simmons, adding “-- learning to play, socialize, share, adjust, adapt. They are immersed in situations which impress upon them the fact that everyone is different, that they can’t always be first, and that good behavior is not always the most surefire way to be noticed. They must make choices…and they must endure consequences. I thought it was time to impart the message of Bad Bill to children everywhere – a message of human frailty, the sometimes painful reality of consequences, and, of course, the power of love and redemption”
Bad Bill makes bad choices. His unfortunate, “unfiltered” activities – from glomming marshmallows to pirating bird’s nests to throwing a brand new jacket in the trash – are the source of his documented misery in the Bad Bill stories.
From the moment a child is introduced to Bad Bill, the “uh-oh” factor -- that very real “he’s-going-to-get-into-so-much-trouble” alarm -- kicks in. They are drawn to Bill as a representation of their other self…their naughty self – the one that invariably must pay the piper for succumbing to the impulse to cross the line. With acknowledgement of the Bad Bill within us all comes also a sense of pride in the realization that they can control those naughty impulses – at least most of the time. And as bad as he is, even that rascal Bill manages to find redemption at end of day.
Simmons continues: “The children love the element of surprise -- the audacity of Bill’s badness. They embrace the redemption that comes from having to suffer the consequences of choice; the politics and pain and isolation of exclusion; and the sheer fun and freedom of indulging the naughty side, without having to really suffer for it. Bill suffers for them….learns his lessons the hard way, and is ultimately redeemed.”
As an artist, Powers brings to the stories her own masterfully different perspective. As a teacher, she is very much in synch with Simmons’ storytelling animus.
“Cindy was my master teacher years ago. I learned many things from her in our time working together…not the least of which is the power and impact that good storytelling -- combined with a profoundly loving and caring attitude – can have on the life of a child. Cindy is a master of her craft…and I love nothing more than helping bring her vision to life.”
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