SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Four children’s books by author and composer George Kirazian—The Sleeping Violet, Perry the Peacock, Beyond the Koala Kingdom, and Leo and the Mulberry Flute —have been released by Laurel Publications and are available on Amazon.com.
Kirazian wrote the first three books—The Sleeping Violet, Perry the Peacock, and Beyond the Koala Kingdom—for his three daughters when they were young children. Leo and the Mulberry Flute was inspired by his grandfather, aunt and uncle. The four books are being published for the first time.
In The Sleeping Violet, illustrated by Victoria Skakandi, Andrea receives a bowl of African violets from her aunt for her tenth birthday. She’s disappointed because, as she says, “You can’t color it, or play it, or throw it—or do much of any fun thing with it.” But she learns a beautiful lesson from the gardener next door—a lesson that teaches her that loving and caring for all living things is a form of prayer.
In Perry the Peacock, illustrated by Sidra Mehmood, Perry and his friend Penny live a very happy and comfortable life in Bird Park with their bird friends. But not all the birds in the Park are so friendly. Baxter Bluejay, for example, doesn’t like Perry very much at all, and always makes fun of “that bag of feathers you always drag around.” But in a rainstorm one afternoon, Perry shows Baxter that some birds and people, even though they are different from each, are able to help one another when needed most.
In Beyond the Koala Kingdom, illustrated by Mehmood, Beppo the koala and his friend Keena have always enjoyed living in the Blue Eucalyptus Grove. But one day Beppo decides to visit and enjoy other places, places he’s never seen before, like the ocean, the mountains and the forest. So, waving goodbye to Keena, who is sad to see him go, he leaves the grove and visits all three. He meets fun-loving friends wherever he goes and learns a lot about each new place and friend. But in the end, he learns a lot more about himself and his life in the Grove.
In Leo and the Mulberry Flute, illustrated by Skakandi, Leo has enjoyed music lessons playing the flute his grandfather carved for him from his favorite climbing tree. But after a while, the flute sounds become lower and softer. And a day or two later, there’s no sound at all—nothing, not a single note. Sad and puzzled, Leo visits his grandfather at the family farm hoping to find an answer, but they aren’t prepared for the mulberry tree’s magic.
Author, teacher and composer, George Kirazian completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at New York University. For more than 30 years, he taught writing, literature and music appreciation courses at Grossmont College and San Diego State University.
In addition to his children’s books, Kirazian’s young adult novella, A Time for Fathers, was also released by Laurel Publications earlier this year. Kirazian has published extensively in poetry and fiction. His nonfiction book Easy Writing helps adults improve their writing. He has also written scripts and instructional videos, including the popular Let’s Play the Piano and All Those Keyboards (Kultur Video).
Kirazian’s work as a composer includes various art songs, hymns, the Armenian Apostolic Church liturgy and a ballet, The Book of Ruth. Several of his works have been performed by various choral groups in the San Diego area.
George Kirazian is also on Facebook and on Twitter.
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