New Children's Book by Demi and Alexis York Lumbard, When the Animals Saved Earth

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - March 25, 2015 - PRLog -- On a faraway island the animals live in peace and harmony. But when humans arrive the animals are put to work and maltreated. Brought before the court of the spirit king, and charged with spreading fear and pain throughout the island, the humans must answer for their actions. Will justice be had? Will balance return to land, sea, and sky? Will the earth be saved? Find out in this unique retelling of a 1,000 year old animal fable which is an effective teaching tool for anyone wanting to introduce children to the notions of environmental protection, ecology, and the prevention of cruelty towards animals.

The Story Behind the Story

When the Animals Saved Earth was inspired by a 1,000-year-old fable with a fascinating, multi-faith history. The first version, The Case of the Animals Versus Man Before the King of the Jinn, was written in Arabic by the Muslim Brethren of Purity and appeared in 10th-century Iraq. The tale then traveled all the way to 14th-century Europe, where the Christian King Charles I of Hungary had Rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus translate the story into Hebrew and Latin. The Hebrew version remained popular in Jewish communities until the early 20th century.

ISBN: 978-1-937786-37-3

Pub Date: Earth Day, April 22, 2015

Price: $16.95

Trim Size: 10” x 8.75”

32 pages hard cover

Ages: 5 and up

The author is Alexis York Lumbard of the award-winning titles The Conference of the Birds (illustrated by Demi), Angels (illustrated by Flavia), and more recently Everyone Prays (illustrated by Alireza Sadeghian) and Pine and the Winter Sparrow (illustrated by Beatriz Vidal). A busy mother of three, she was motivated to write by her children. With a B.A. in Religious Studies from George Washington University, it is her sincere hope to bring the wisdom and beauty of the world’s cultures and religions to the eager minds of young children. One of Alexis’ favorite writers, the famous children’s book author Tomie dePaola, wrote to her about The Conference of the Birds, saying “Congratulations on a lovely book. You have made a wonderful contribution to the world of children’s literature. . . . Please, keep up the good work!” Alexis lives with her husband and three daughters in Natick, MA.

The illustrator is Demi, an award-winning author of over 130 bestselling children’s books, including Jesus, Mary, Buddha, The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna, Rumi, Saint Francis of Assisi, The Dalai Lama, and The Legend of Saint Nicholas. Her titles have sold over half a million copies. The Empty Pot was selected by former First Lady Barbara Bush as one of the books to be read on the ABC Radio Network Program Mrs. Bush’s Story Time, sponsored by the Children’s Literacy Initiative. Demi’s book Gandhi was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and received an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, while her book on the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, was named a Kirkus Editors’ Choice Award. Major exhibitions of her work have been held in numerous museums in the US, including the Time/Life Gallery in New York, the Botolph Galleries in Boston and Cambridge, and the Los Angeles County Museum. In addition, she represented the US at the First International Children’s Book Conference in Beijing, China. She lives with her husband in Yarrow Point, WA.