New York, U.S.A. – Random House Children’s Books launches Choose Kind, a campaign to encourage students, educators, families, and readers of all ages to combat the nationwide rise in bullying with every day acts of kindness, it was announced by Chip Gibson, President and Publisher. The initiative was inspired by “Wonder”, the debut novel by R. J. Palacio, which tells the story of Auggie, a fifth grader with a facial deformity who attends a mainstream school for the first time.

“Wonder has inspired us, and captured our hearts entirely,” said Gibson. “The outpouring of enthusiasm from book lovers and educators moved us to share the poignant message of this novel with a wider audience. I am proud to give them, and anyone around the world, the opportunity to discover the story and to pledge with us to Choose Kind.”

ChooseKind.tumblr.com is the online home of the campaign, designed as a next step for the ardent supporters of the novel who have been asking for additional resources to use in sharing “Wonder” and its message with families, schools, and communities across the country. Each section of the site offers an interactive user experience.

• Share: Fans can contribute a post, ranging from personal experiences of being bullied to moments where they wished they had stood up for someone else.
• Sign the Pledge: Pledge to Choose Kind in an effort to end bullying, and print a certificate to display.
• The Book: Watch the trailer for “Wonder”, read reviews, and find links to the novel’s social media channels.
• The Author: Read about R. J. Palacio, and how to connect with her on Twitter and Tumblr.
• Resources: A Digital Toolkit of stickers and Web badges, as well as links to other anti-bullying efforts such as the It Gets Better project and the National Education Association’s Bully Free: It Starts with Me.

Additionally, the campaign will have a global footprint with full support from Random House UK, which will publish “Wonder” for adult readers on June 6, 2012, following its release as a children’s novel in March.

“Celebrating those who have made the choice to be kind—not always an easy thing to do when you’re a kid!—is the best way to raise awareness to this very simple fact: kindness is a virtue whose ripple effects can literally change the world,” says “Wonder” author R. J. Palacio. “One child at a time, one person at a time, there’s no greater antidote to bullying than the steadfast refusal of children, teachers, and parents to accept a culture where bullying is tolerated.”

A word-of-mouth sensation from the start, with its Twitter hashtag, #thewonderofwonder, the book has also been the topic of countless blog posts from parents, teachers, and librarians praising its ability to relay a universal message from the story of one unique boy. Clara Beatty, a nine-year-old girl with Treacher-Collins Syndrome, was already reading “Wonder” when the Associated Press spoke with her and her family for a recent feature. Her parents Janet and Eric were impressed with Palacio’s skill in realistically portraying Auggie’s experience, noting “As a family with a child of facial difference, ‘Wonder’ gives an amazingly accurate view of our world from a number of perspectives. We are hopeful that this story raises awareness of how being kind can be powerful.”

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Presidential candidates go to great lengths to claim the moral high ground as they jockey for support from the American public. While contenders from Gingrich to Obama seek the imprimatur of religious institutions across the land, the fractious political landscape scarcely reflects the values to which all would aspire.

Into the battleground of the farm state of Iowa comes an unusual native son: Marc Daniels, American-Jewish author of the German published ‘Der Himmelsgarten: Das Handbuch des Spirituellen Gartners’ (‘Heaven’s Garden: The Handbook of Spiritual Gardening’).

As the grandson of Ross Daniels, the inventor of the Ross Root Feeder, Marc Daniels’s horticultural and Iowan roots run deep. Yet it took an eight-year journey into the mystical heritage of Judaism and studies in both Germany and Israel to reveal the choicest fruits of his Hawkeye stock.

Daniels has come to Iowa for the January 3rd caucus to advance his campaign and to meet with press and potential US publishers. His book, preliminarily titled for English publication as ‘Weed Out Hate: Sow the Seeds of Peace,’ is the groundwork for the Weed Out Hate initiative and is ripe for American publication.

One need not have a spiritual disposition to appreciate the wisdom of this work. The Weed Out Hate initiative integrates family values by addressing the epidemic bullying problem through gardening pedagogy. It is the quintessential children’s grass-roots instrument that transcends party politics, cultural, and religious differences.

Elementary schools around the country have already begun to integrate his Weed Out Hate gardening pedagogy into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s tenants of social inclusion by distributing specially designed Sunflower Peace Seed Packs, donated by Daniels, to school children.

Each of the packages contains an anti-bullying message and encourages children to email President Obama asking him to organize a Weed Out Hate gathering. At this globally televised White House-sponsored mega event, the children of the world would be called upon to fulfill Dr. Martin Luther King’s Promised Land vision by rooting out hatred once and for all.

Daniels’s  initiative has attracted endorsements from around the world, including those from German President Christian Wulff and Chancellor Angela Merkel, to Dr. Walter Milton, Jr., Superintendent of the Springfield IL Public Schools. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, and Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad have all issued children-oriented anti-bullying proclamations, calling for weeds of prejudice to be extracted and seeds of peace and understanding to be planted.

With Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) assistance, Daniels is pressing President Obama for a declaration of support. He has also received endorsements and encouragement for his initiative from Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachman, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum at various town hall and Republican Party sponsored forums.

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