After visiting 600 smiling young faces at Mecca Elementary School in the CA Cochella Valley, Ray of Light Books with Music for Children and Books for Buddies had quite a busy week when author Sharon Ray and Illustrator Jaime Becktel arranged to rendevous in Southern California for a visit to the Ronald McDonald Charity House, and Children's Hospital of Orange County. A series of storytelling concerts and author visits, brought lots of smiles, laughter, love and inspiration to children! We sure look forward to bringing more Books for Buddies to the children who are most in need of joy, positive direction, and literacy support. If you would like to purchase Books for Buddies, please visit Sharon and Jaime at www.booksforbuddies.com. We thank you on behalf of the little ones! Here's what we've been up to recently, in Southern California.

Ronald McDonald Charity House of Orange County

Our visit to RMCH of OC was such a fun treat! The fabulous director Katie Russell showed us around the beautiful grounds where families enjoy comfortable amenities and lodging while their children undergo medical treatment for life threatening illnesses. The house creates a homelike atmosphere of familiarity and comfort for the families, each dealing with very challenging circumstances. Pediatric illness is not only tough on the patient, but also on the parents and other siblings, so it was our pleasure to bring some joy and entertainment to them as an hour of reprieve from their constant stress.

Sharon read her stories, My Mother Is a Mountain and Jumping the Grate, to the children, and we all sang the Rockin' Theme Songs and danced around the room together! Parents laughed at the antics of their little ones as they twirled and spun around, and we ended the evening with everyone in attendance receiving their own signed copy of a Ray of Light Book compliments of our Books for Buddies Program.

- Sharon and Jaime

Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)

While Sharon went out to buy a sound system for her engagement at the Laguna Niguel Library's Family Night, I headed over to CHOC Hospital to bring good cheer and inspiration to the children there. I had the touching experience of visiting the playroom and the private rooms of children in treatment for cancer, and personally shared My Mother Is a Mountain and Jumping the Grate with them reading with all the appropriate character voices, of course! Each child received his or her own signed copy of a Ray of Light Book, compliments of our Books for Buddies Program.

- Jaime

Mecca Elementary School

"It was a great pleasure for me to take my guitar and stories to Mecca Elementary School. I shared My Mother is a Mountain with 300 kindergarden through 4'th grade children in Mecca's large auditorium. Many of the children were just learning English, and wanted to repeat every line of the story after me. It was great fun! Then 300 5th and 6th graders poured into the auditorium for a reading of Jumping the Grate. These older children were very enthusiastic in answering questions after the story, and showed that they really understood that we must apply perseverance and passion towards making our dreams come true. They clapped to the rhythm of the theme songs to the story, and waved their hands in the air! One of the teachesrs told me that the children often seem down, and that it was so good to see them having such a great time. I brought a Books for Buddies copy of Jumping the Grate for each of the 108 graduating sixth graders. Every fifth grader was able to hand a sixth grader a book, and tell them "Congratulations" on graduating. It was a sight to see. I hope to return to Mecca Elementary School with a Books for Buddies book for each and every child."

- Sharon

We received this gracious letter of thanks from Roberta Klein who had made it all possible:

Dear Sharon
You were a giant, enormous success. The children and the teachers were ecstatic. We can't say thank you enough for providing this wonderful opportunity to children who really need to hear your message.. All children need it but those in the east valley especially. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Blessings
Roberta Klein