Books and Songs
- Broadway Barks
To promote the charity, Peters wrote a children's picture book, Broadway Barks, with mixed-media collage illustrations by Liz Murphy. The book was released in 2008 by Blue Apple Books and is designed for ages four through eight. It reached #5 on the New York Times Children's Best Sellers: Picture Books list for the week of June 8, 2008. It tells the story of Douglas, an abandoned dog, as he follows a "pretty lady" (whose looks are similar to Peters) to a Broadway Barks pet adoption event in Shubert Alley in New York City. He takes his turn singing, but people laugh at him, hearing only barking. A girl named Isabelle understands that he is performing and adopts him, renaming him "Kramer."
The book is accompanied by a CD, which has the story and a lullaby being read and sung by Peters herself. The lullaby, "Kramer's Song", has music and lyrics written by Peters. Additionally, Kramer has a plush toy dog named after him; proceeds from sales of the toy go to the Broadway Barks charity.
The mixed-breed dog named Kramer, who Peters adopted from a shelter, and her goddaughter Isabelle were the inspirations for the characters in the book. The interactive book app for iPad was published, based on the book.
- Stella is a Star
Peters has written a second children's book named after her other dog, Stella, titled Stella is a Star, with illustrations again by Liz Murphy and including a CD with an original song, "Stella's Song," written and performed by Peters. Stella is a pit bull who would rather be a pig ballerina, but learns to accept herself. It was released in April 2010 by Blue Apple Books, with proceeds going to the Broadway Barks charity. The CD also contains Peters' narration of the book. Peters introduced the book with a reading (and also singing the song for Stella) at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, California, on April 24, 2010. She also participated in New York City's Learning Leaders Great School Volunteer Week by reading the book to pupils at a local New York City school in May 2010.
Read more about this topic: Broadway Barks
Famous quotes containing the words books and/or songs:
“Books are fatal: they are the curse of the human race. Nine- tenths of existing books are nonsense, and the clever books are the refutation of that nonsense. The greatest misfortune that ever befell man was the invention of printing.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“O women, kneeling by your altar-rails long hence,
When songs I wove for my beloved hide the prayer,
And smoke from this dead heart drifts through the violet air
And covers away the smoke of myrrh and frankincense;
Bend down and pray for all that sin I wove in song....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)