Dear  group,
A year ago, when we first launched our comic strip generator -- 
www.MakeBeliefsComix.com -- you were among the first to give us your 
support and encouragement in providing a useful educational resource 
for ESOL and literacy students.
We have just upgraded the site to enable users to also write their 
comics in Spanish as well as in English -- a request made by many 
educators -- and we have added more fun characters to use in the comics 
in response to user suggestions.  Since the site was launched more 
150,000  educators in more than 150 countries are using our free 
resource to encourage writing, reading and literacy.
I hope you will try out our new features and share them with your 
community.
Below is some background on the site.
All good wishes to you.
Bill Zimmerman

I am an author of books that are used in many educational programs to 
help people find their writers voice.  I have launched a free new web 
site -- http://www.makebeliefscomix.com-- where users can create their 
own comic strips.  It offers fun animal and human characters with 
different moods, blank talk and thought balloons that are waiting to be 
filled in with words and dialogue, and story prompts.  Schools are 
using it to encourage youngsters to write, read and express themselves 
creatively.  I am hoping that you will like it and share it with your 
viewers. I have included an announcement below with more details.
With good wishes,
Bill Zimmerman

New Online Comics Launched for Family Fun and Education –- 
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com

A new educational web site where children and parents can create their 
own comic strips and have fun together has been launched by family book 
author and journalist Bill Zimmerman.

At http://www.makebeliefscomix.com visitors can select from 15 animal 
and human characters with different emotions -- happy, sad, angry, 
worried – and write words for  blank talk and thought balloons to make 
their characters talk and think.  There also are story ideas and 
prompts to help users create graphic stories on themes such as: Travel 
to a Mysterious Place, A Day at School, Write a Love Story, Finding 
Your Courage, Making Wishes Come True,  and A New Fairy Tale.

Parents and children can create stories together, print them to create 
comic books or email to friends and family. The site can also be used 
by educators to teach language, reading and writing skills, and for 
students in English-as-a-Second-Language programs to facilitate 
self-expression and storytelling, as well as computer literacy.  Others 
will find the site a resource to be creative, calm down and have fun.

Because so many Spanish-speaking users asked us for the ability to 
write their cartoons in Spanish as well as in English, we also recently 
upgraded the site to accept words written in Spanish, including 
appropriate accent marks. This can be a useful tool for someone who is 
learning Spanish as well as someone whose first language is Spanish.   
In time, this feature will be extended to other languages.
As one who learned to read with comic books,  Zimmerman says, ‘’I know 
that creating comic strips can help people tap into their creativity 
and practice their language and storytelling skills.’’

The site is free with no ads and stems from Zimmerman’s                 
                lifelong mission to create educational resources that 
help people find their voice and express themselves imaginatively. The 
concept for makebeliefscomix.com is derived from his earlier books, 
Make Beliefs and Make Beliefs for Kids of All Ages (which can be found 
on his other web site: http://www.billztreasurechest.com).  A Make 
Beliefs interactive feature appeared for 13 years on his syndicated 
Student Briefing Page for Newsday (which was twice nominated for a 
Pulitzer) and in National Geographic’s World Magazine.   Among 
Zimmerman’s other books are  How to Tape Instant Oral Biographies, a 
family oral history guide,  and 100 Things Guys Need to Know, a book to 
help boys make their way in life.   His email address is: wmz at aol.com 
or billz at makebeliefscomix.com and he welcomes user feedback on the new 
site.



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