December 24 - Rondo, Santa's Delivery Dog (Superseded)

This post has been superseded by this one:
http://boissevainbooksllc.blogspot.com/2014/12/rondo-goes-where-ups-fedex-and-usps.html

This stub is kept in place so that links are not destroyed.

December 6 - St Nicholas Day

Order this 76-page book with
color illustrations, about $10.

In much of Europe, St. Nicholas Day on December 6 has as much importance as Christmas does in the United States. It is the main gift-giving day for children in Holland.

Kersti and St. Nicholas by Hilda van Stockum shows how important St. Nicholas is to the Dutch. It is also a story of mercy and forgiveness and puts a human face on St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Holland, Russia, New York City, sailors and children (one of the very few saints venerated equally in the West and the East).

The book is a perfect gift for a child or grandchild who looks forward to December because of the holidays. This magically illustrated book is set in Zeeland, the Netherlands. The premise is that Kersti has been misbehaving, to the dismay of her six older sisters and parents, and she worries that St. Nicholas won't give her a gift.

On the night before the saint's feast day on December 6, the highlight of the year for the family, Kersti goes out and confronts St. Nick and persuades him to give a present to a naughty child: "Why don't you give her the doll? Maybe it will make her so happy she'll be good all the rest of the year." St. Nicholas relents, Pieterbaas expressing shock. Order the book for about $10 from Amazon, plus shipping if applicable.

Boissevain Books 2013 Annual Meeting

Boissevain Books LLC is meeting at 28 Third Avenue in Ottawa this weekend. The publishing company was created in 2007 to keep in print and exploit rights to the books of Hilda van Stockum, who died in 2006. The rights to her many books and artworks was left to her children, with her son Dr. John Tepper Marlin as executor and trustee. He has collected all the copyrights and other evidence of title and for succession purposes has assigned them to Boissevain Books LLC, with one-sixth of shares owned by each of the six beneficiaries of Hilda van Stockum's will.

In pursuit of its mission, Boissevain Books LLC has achieved since HvS's death the following:
1. In conjunction with CreateSpace, it has republished the following four books by Hilda van Stockum that were out of print: "Little Old Bear", "Patsy and the Pup", "Penengro" and "Kersti and St. Nicholas". With CreateSpace it has also published a second edition of "To Africa with a Dream" by Dr. Olga Marlin.
2. In conjunction with Infinity Publishing, it has republished the following book written by Hilda van Stockum: "King Oberon's Forest". It has also published "A Meaning for Danny" written and illustrated by Brigid Marlin. Two additional books are under contract and prepaid to be published with Infinity Publishing.
3. A contract has been signed to publish a second edition of "In Apple Blossom Time", by Dr. Robert Wack, which is a fictionalized story revolving around the life of Dr. Willem van Stockum, brother of Hilda van Stockum and pioneer in the translation of Einstein's special relativity equations into time-travel concepts.
4. Additional titles are in the pipeline, including "The Box House" by Brigid Marlin.
5. Rights to translation of "A Day on Skates" into Japanese were successfully negotiated and the book was received well in Japan.
6. For the first time ever, one of Hilda van Stockum's books was in 2013 translated into her native Dutch. Her book "The Borrowed House" was translated as "Het Gestolen Huis", a less forgiving title.
7. Boissevain Books LLC maintains several web sites, including www.hildavanstockum.com and www.boissevain.us.
8. Boissevain Books LLC updates several blog sites, including www.boissevainbooksLLC.blogspot.com, www.writers4kids.blogspot.com (with biographical and other data on writers of children's books), www.hildavanstockum.blogspot.com, and www.nyctimetraveler.blogspot.com.

One issue before the Board of Directors is the extent to which Boissevain Books LLC should add more original titles to its list, especially in the memoir/biography genre, and how these books should be marketed. As mentioned above, Boissevain Books LLC has published the second edition of "To Africa with a Dream" by Dr. Olga Marlin and "A Meaning for Danny" by Brigid Marlin. (These and all other books published by Boissevain Books LLC are available on www.Amazon.com by searching on the name of the book and, if disambiguation is needed, the author.)

The first meeting of the Board of Directors of Boissevain Books LLC was at 771 Fireplace Road in East Hampton, NY, in August 2012. This weekend is the second annual meeting. The members of the Board, listed in age order, are: Ms. Brigid Marlin, Dr. Randal Marlin, Dr. John Tepper Marlin and Alexander Marlin. Half of the beneficiaries are personally represented.

The Board of Directors meeting will take up the following issues:
1. Approval of 2012 minutes by Dr. Randal Marlin.
2. Legal issues - LLC status (under the laws of the State of New York). The operating agreement picking up from Hilda van Stockum's will and providing for succession. Ownership of rights. Role of the Board of Directors.
3. Editorial issues - titles published in 2012-13 and new titles in the pipeline. Separation of children's books from other titles - new division, company?
4. Marketing issues - marketing plan for children's books and other books.
5. Financial issues. Operating results for 2012. Sales data for 2013.
6. Next meeting - location and date.