BLOG VIEWS | Most-Viewed Posts to Date

The Boissevain Books blogsite has just passed the  5,000-page-view mark. The site was opened in 2013. Thank you for reading. We expect to be posting here more frequently from now on. These are the most-read posts so far, in order of popularity: THE BOX HOUSE | Review by Marlene Rehkamp Aug 13, 2015
TO AFRICA WITH A DREAM | Olga Marlin Is 80 Sep 15, 2014
RONDO | Where UPS, FedEx, USPS Dare Not, He Goes!!... Dec 25, 2014
WW2 | The Dutch Resistance Apr 15, 2015
NEW EDITION | The Borrowed House May 21, 2016
BOOK BIZ | Goodman's Plan for Indie Stores May 31, 2017
BOOK BIZ | Outsourcing Design May 31, 2017

BOISSEVAIN BOOKS | Board Meeting July 2018

The annual meeting of Boissevain Books LLC was held at 28 Third Avenue in Ottawa and also at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa, July 14, 2018.

Board Meeting of Boissevain Books LLC, July 14, 2018, in Ottawa, Canada. L to R: John Tepper Marlin, Managing Partner; Christine Schintgen, Observer; Myles Dunn, Observer; Marguerite Marlin, Recording Partner. Not shown (behind the photographer): Randal Marlin, Nick Marlin, Alex Marlin,
Alice Tepper Marlin (Observer and Photographer). Missing board member: Brigid Marlin.

CHRISTMAS CAROL | Dec. 17–Pub. Date ("Scrooge"). What year?

Charles Dickens,
A Christmas Carol,
A 1900 U.S. edition.

It was 1843 when A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was first published.

You may forget the name of the book. It was made into many successful movies, and they usually give the story a better name, just Scrooge:

• Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost, A Christmas Carol (1908)
• A Christmas Carol (1910)
• Scrooge (1913)
• Scrooge (1935)
• A Christmas Carol (1938)
• Scrooge (1951)
• It's Never Too Late (A Christmas Carol) (1960)
• Scrooge (1970)
• A Christmas Carol (1971)
• An American Christmas Carol, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Scrooged,The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol (1997)
• A Diva's Christmas Carol, Christmas Carol: The Movie, A Carol Christmas,Springtime with Roo, Chasing Christmas, A Christmas Carol (2006)
• A Dennis the Menace Christmas, An American Carol,Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,A Christmas Carol (2009)
• The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011)

You know the story. Three ghosts – from the past, present and future – haunt Ebenezer Scrooge, by the end of which he has learned the Spirit of Christmas. My favorite Scrooge I think is still Alistair Sim.

You don't need to pay for a copy of this book any more. The copyright has expired. You can read the entire book free. The full text is here: http://www.stormfax.com/dickens.htm. You're welcome.

Now, with the money you have saved, the sponsors of the Boissevain Books suggests that you buy a copy of the just-released book Princess Josephine and the Rainbow Dragon. The copyright is fresh so you can't get it free for at least another 50 years.

It's a beautifully printed hard-cover book. Surely there is a princess in your family who wants this book. A young lady aged 5 to 10, maybe? A daughter, granddaughter, niece, great-niece? The lessons are powerful, but are transmitted Mary Poppins-wise.

If your princess is not yet ready for this $145,000 diamond
tiara from Tiffany, I suggest the $19.95 book, Princess
Josephine and the Rainbow Dragon.

The book is illustrated by my sister Brigid Marlin and is written by my niece Kate Bodsworth. I recommend it highly.

The illustrations are uniquely heart-warming. Princess Josephine reveals the inside scoop on the three things she has learned from Princess School. If anyone knows how to reason with dragon, Josephine is it.

The dragon is not an easy sell. He sucks all the colors out of her kingdom because if he doesn't, he loses his own colors – which if you don't know it, would be hugely embarrassing for a Rainbow Dragon.

Worst case scenario, when he is all grey, he will turn to stone.

Bottom line, the dragon has No Choice! What can Princess Josephine do?? She puts on her Princess School thinking cap, that's what she does. She thinks and thinks... .

..and you will have to buy the book to find out what happens next. The book is an inexpensive gift for a princess at $19.95 and to ship it direct to you we add on only the actual cost of shipping. What a deal. ACT! CLICK HERE NOW.

The only way to get a 15% ($3) discount on the $19.95 price is to order from the Boissevain Books Store online. Go to http://www.boissevainbooks.com. Copy this code into the discount box: JCKRN2S38AFK.

Thank you for ordering,
John
John Tepper Marlin for Boissevain Books

THE BOX HOUSE | Review by Marlene Rehkamp

The Box House cover by Brigid Marlin.
Excerpts of the book may be read here.

Boissevain Books has just released The Box House by Brigid Marlin - the story of an abused child, Cassie, as told to an adult who has befriended her.

Boissevain Books was interested in the opinion of someone who has worked in the children's-services field. We contacted Marlene Rehkamp, who used to serve New York City's Administration for Children's Services as Deputy General Counsel. She has just sent her review of the book, and we couldn't be more pleased at her reaction to the book:

"Ms. Marlin shares the real-life journey of an abused and courageous girl who uses her imagination and resourcefulness to help shelter her siblings from an abusive and neglectful home life in 1960s England.

"Fashioning a playhouse out of cardboard boxes in a nearby alley, the young ‘Cassie’ creates a safe haven of sorts; there, away from the imminent threat of harm, she provides the children some feeling of normalcy and tenderness.   The author knows Cassie well: soon after meeting her, Ms. Marlin reaches out to help and unwittingly becomes the girl’s model of good motherhood.

"Occasionally visiting the Marlins’ house and dreaming of creating a safe and loving home like hers, Cassie emerges poignantly as a model herself: one of lifelong commitment to family and faith. Ms. Marlin’s epiphany on the effects of taking time to help the young outcast is priceless.   Told through Cassie’s perspective, Ms. Marlin’s cinematic portrayal of violence and betrayal of trust, and of one child’s resilience, reveals youthful stoicism and terrifying realities rarely seen in young adult works.

"The author insistently details the profound effect of adults’ treatment of children over time, and the perils of passivity. The systemic, utter failings of family, school and government safeguards during this period in the history of the United Kingdom as well as of the United States, loom large. Given recent revelations surrounding the global trafficking of children, Cassie’s true story takes on new dimensions today.

"A lauded painter, Ms. Marlin paints with words. Her brushstrokes illuminate the young girl’s intimate experiences in a way that will move teen and adult readers alike to tears of sorrow and delight. This book is a joy, a bona fide page-turner and must-read for teens and for all parents and other adults devoted to understanding the unspoken yearnings of children in crisis."

The Box House can be ordered through Amazon.

BOIS BOOKS | Annual Meeting 2015

Emily and Charles Boissevain, c. 1872.

The 2015 Annual Meeting of Boissevain Books LLC will be held on Sunday, October 11, 2015, in Ottawa, Ont., Canada.

Boissevain Books, named after Charles Boissevain, editor of the Algemeen Handelsblad of Amsterdam, was created in 2007, a year after the death of Hilda van Stockum, to keep her books in print and publish new related books.

Charles Boissevain was Hilda van Stockum's maternal grandfather and her first publisher.

The financials for Boissevain Books for 2014 will be presented along with an account of 2015 results to date and a budget for 2016.

Expected attendance so far:
John Tepper Marlin
Randal Marlin
Brigid Marlin
Alex Marlin

NEW BOOK! | The Box House, by Brigid Marlin

Just Released: The Box House

Boissevain Books has just released Brigid Marlin's The Box House, a poignant and inspiring story of a child's ability to transcend neglect and abuse.

This remarkable new book is the true story of an abused and neglected child's struggle to survive.

Only eight years old when we first meet her, Cassie Drover is determined to protect her younger siblings and create a "real home" for them all.

The Box House is Cassie's story. Both heartbreaking and inspiring, this story will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

Set in a small English town in the 1960s, the story follows the Cassie's journey. She has taken on the role of caretaker to her younger siblings. 

She is determined to make a home for them. She literally builds a box house - a home constructed out of cardboard boxes. 

The heroine of the story is a young teenager. The book is not intended for young children, since it describes child abuse. It might be appropriate for young adult readers.

The Box House is the Brigid Marlin's third book. She previously authored A Meaning for Danny and From East to West: Awakening to a Spiritual Search. 

Ms. Marlin is known primarily as an artist and is the Founder and Director of the Society for Art and Imagination based in the UK.  She has also illustrated a number of books, including King Oberon's Forest, a children's book written by her mother, Hilda van Stockum.

Boissevain Books has primarily published books for children, building on those of Hilda van Stockum (1908-2006), whose books are the core of the list. Starting with Robert Wack's book, Time Bomber, Boissevain Books has opened up a list of biographies/memoirs, of which this book is the third. (The second was Brigid Marlin's A Meaning for Danny, about the tragic life of an autistic/epileptic boy.)

To order The Box House (preview of some pages is available), click here.

EAST HAMPTON | Bois Books at Children's Fair 2014

Featured Book: Little Old
Bear, by Hilda van Stockum

Boissevain Books LLC - which was originally created by her children to keep alive the books of Hilda van Stockum - will be represented at the East Hampton Library Children's Fair in the afternoon, 2:30 to 5:30 pm, of August 10, 2014.

Little Old Bear, by Hilda van Stockum, is the featured book. It will be read out to any children stopping by the table by the author's son,  John Tepper Marlin - or possibly daughter, Brigid Marlin, who illustrated one of Hilda van Stockum's books, King Oberon's Forest.

The Boissevain Books team has been involved in bringing a Harvard singing group, the Din & Tonics, to the Children's Fair at 4 pm.

I described the last one, a year ago, here. There were 2,500 children and their families visiting the fair.

I will be reading out Little Old Bear to anyone who will listen, in the book area under one of the tents. It takes me less than five minutes to read it out. Little Old Bear was written by my mother and I try to keep it in print by reading it out. It's a great story that appeals to young and old (the bear, after all, is old and is blind when you first meet him) and I never get tired of reading it out.

The book authors are arranged alphabetically, so the van Stockum table is likely to be close to the end of the line, by the cash register.

April is Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month and one of the Boissevain Books LLC titles is about autism,
A Meaning for Danny - a book not for children, but for their parents.

In Brigid Marlin's son's case, the autism was combined with epilepsy and was therefore difficult to treat. The drugs for either illness accentuated the symptoms of the other.

Autism is not easy to deal with in any case. A mother who seems to be coping with TWO autistic sons has written about their story so far here. She notes that autistic children often call out the best in other people and she calls their ability to do this a "superpower".  She blogs about her experience caring for her sons at Life with Greyson and Parker.

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.

Give a Van Stockum Book this year - Click to Order

Give a book by Hilda van Stockum this year

Just click on the title to order from Amazon

For Kids - books by Hilda van Stockum -

Little Old Bear 

Patsy and the Pup 

Kersti and St. Nicholas 

King Oberon's Forest

For Teens - books by Hilda van Stockum 

Penengro  

King Oberon's Forest 

Memoirs - 

To Africa with a Dream, by Olga Marlin, daughter of HvS

A Meaning for Danny, by Brigid Marlin, daughter of HvS