We are thrilled to announce that our family gift book, Life to the Max: Maxims for a Great Life by a Dog named Max, was among the select award recipients that were revealed today in the Parent Tested Parent Approved^TM Latest & Greatest Summer 2010 campaign. The book was honored with the influential PTPA Media Inc’s Seal of Approval for excellence in family products.

All PTPA products are tested and evaluated by independent parent volunteers throughout North America in their own homes. As a result, the Parent Tested Parent Approved^TM Seal has quickly gained recognition as an international leader in certifying consumer products for quality, effectiveness and value.

To celebrate our award, we are offering another 10% off our already reduced price for the whole month of July. There’s no better time to stock up on holiday gifts and support rescue. That’s because the charity you choose on our website receives 25% of the price of the book.

Thanks to all our loyal readers and followers who continue to make Life to the Max a success!

On Wednesday evening, we had a chance to share our book with  a group of children who attended the Read to Me program at Save the Family.  The kids listened intently to Max’s story (we were told that was the most attentive they had ever been!) and then were asked to share some of their ideas for their own stories. There were thoughts about events in their lives, people they had met and one moral tale about a Stinky Boy! I am sure there are some future writers in the group!

After discussing how I came to write the book and showing some of the book’s pictures and lessons, each child was given their own copy of Life to the Max so they could read the whole story at home with their parents. The kids were very appreciative and some of them sat down with their helpers to dive into the rest of the story.

But the show was stolen when Amber arrived to say “howdy do” to all the kids.

We all had a great time and I am pleased that we are able to support the Read to Me program, which is just one of the great services that Save the Family offers the children of the homeless families who are working to get back on their feet.

Now I hope you will join me in supporting Save the Family.  When you donate $50 or more to Save the Family, you will receive a free autographed copy of our book as a gift of thanks.  To make your donation  and receive your free gift, go to the Save the Family’s special donation page. In addition, when you purchase something in Max’s Store and designate Save the Family in the drop down box, 25% of your purchase on our site will be donated to Save the Family.

So please help Save the Family to put roofs over the heads and hope in the hearts of these families. For those of us with roofs over our heads, it is a small way to express our thanks for what we have.  And in this season of thanks as Max would say in Maxim #18: When times get tough, the smallest kidness can bring you joy!

This week I will be participating in the Read to Me program at Save the Family. Save the Family is a nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing and skill programs for homeless families with children. Although this is a local group, it has captured national news media attention for its innovative approach to helping homeless families.

In the Read to Me program, I will be reading selections from my book, Life to the Max: Maxims for a Great Life by a Dog named Max to some of the program’s children, talking about what lead me to write the book, and introducing them to Amber and telling them a little about Airedale Terriers. This is a great opportunity for me to draw the parallels between what Max teaches with his Maxims and what the kids are learning in the Save the Family program.

For example, as Max says in Maxim #4: Even after the worst experiences, the best things can happen.  Even though these children may come from devastating circumstances, Save the Family helps setup all their household necessities and helps them regain their stability and confidence to pursue a more hopeful future.  Families who complete the program feel like they have their lives back.

In addition to the reading, I am donating autographed copies of my book to the organization to use as an incentive to donate $50 or more to Save the Family. $50 will help support Save the Family’s children programs including Read to Me, Kids Works, Pre-and Adolescent Life Skills (P.A.L.S.) Programs, Tutoring, Therapeutic Art Projects, After School Programs, Summer Camps and Early Literacy and Development.

I know that the economy has hit us all hard, but just imagine if you suddenly had to flee a domestic violence situation with nothing more than your small children and the clothes on your back. You want to put a roof over your children’s heads and food on the table, but you have no job, no training and no one to turn to. This is the situation for many of the families who come to Save the Family.

Some of you may be wondering why I am not just sticking to animal rescue organizations since my book is about a dog, but my book is also about surviving loss, the importance of family, and maintaining a positive attitude-all of which are an important part of the work of Save the Family.

Also I believe that when people become homeless, pets become homeless. If we want to break the cycle, we have to start at the source and help families to become self-sufficient again so they can have a pet again. That is why I have also added Save the Family to my list of charities who can be chosen to receive the donation portion for items purchased in Max’s Store.

The link to donate and get your autographed copy of the book is http://bit.ly/b6R1I. Even if you really feel you can’t afford to donate, please do me a favor and tell your family and friends. This is an organization that is worthy of all of our support. As Max would say Maxim #9: Help someone else by sharing the gift of you.

We have been humbled and grateful that so many different groups of people have fallen in love with our book-teachers, parents, grandparents, teens, young kids, dog lovers and life lovers have praised the wisdom of Life to the MAX. Now you can meet the two-legged author, (that’s me–Robin Reynolds), at the ArtFest of Scottsdale, on Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22. This outdoor festival will feature more than 200 artists and I will be part of a special “Book Street” for Arizona authors. The free event will be held at the Scottsdale Civic Plaza from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and I will be available for book signings from 10 am to noon and 1 pm to 3 pm both Saturday and Sunday. Life to the Max: Maxims for a Great Life by a Dog named MAX was named Best Gift Book in the Arizona Book Awards and earned an Award of Excellence from the Dog Writers Association of America.

In addition to our award-winning book, we will be offering our new Life to Max Gift Pack as well as individual Life to the Max items for sale at the show. Stop by to get a free Live Life to the MAX balloon!

The Life to the Max Gift Pack contains a hardcover book, pewter pet tag. pet bandana, set of 12 postcards, homemade dog biscuit recipe card with dog bone cookie cutter and four balloons

We'll be signing our award-winning book at the Fountain Hills Book Festival this Saturday!

This is kind of last minute thing, but Amber and I are going to be at the Fountain Hills Book Festival this weekend from 10 am to 4 pm. We’ll be signing and selling our award-winning book and also our silver “Live Life to the MAX” pet tag–both at special low Festival prices. This is not only a great time to come out and see us, but also to meet local authors and celebrities like Jim Paxon, the Fire Guy, Jana Bommersbach, Tony Mandarich, Betty Webb and Barry Goldwater, Jr.–just to name a few.

Amber and I will be sharing a booth with my Arizona Book Publishing colleague, Bill Trimble, who has written a great book called “Screw It: I’ll Be My Own Contractor”–a must-have for anyone who wants to save a good chunk of money on any home building or remodeling project.

The Book Festival will be held at the Fountain Hills Library, 12901 La Montana Drive, at El Lago Boulevard and La Montana. Booths will be outside on the paved circle area directly in front of the Library’s main entrance. Parking is available at the Library and in the adjacent Community Center parking lot. For more information visit: http://www.fhla.net/. 25% of our book sales will go to support animal rescue, so come out and enjoy all the fun!

Here’s a press release about our signing:  http://www.pr-inside.com/award-winning-writer-robin-reynolds-to-sign-books-at-fountain-hills-book-festival-march-14th-r1106130.htm

Krissy with 'dale friends in Tucson

Krissy and I had a great time at the Home for the Holidays Fur Affair on Saturday in Tucson.  Krissy got to meet a lot of big Aire-heads and their dogs were nice, too!  Just kidding!!

Everyone was pretty calm here but when the boxers (dogs, not underwear) and Santa showed up, we had quite the vocal protest!

Toby, (pictured in the red “Adopt Me” vest), the Poster Child for Airedale Adoptees, thought Santa was some kind of monster alien!  We all thought Toby was going to tear Santa a new one, but when Krissy and I went over by Santa and Toby saw that Krissy wasn’t afraid, he finally decided it was okay-not great-but okay.  You have to wonder what Santa did to him in another life!

Sidney Hardie with Toby; Robin & Krissy

Anyway, it was great to meet some of the people we have been working with, but haven’t met face-to-face before:  like Sidney Hardie who heads up Southwest Airedale Terrier Rescue in this part of the country.  Sdiney has been a tireless volunteer for Airedale rescue for several years and I just loved hearing some of her stories about the dogs she’s saved, fostered and placed in forever homes.  Some of these dogs have quite the story to tell and you can find many of these tales under “Happy Tails” on SWAT’s website. To read these stories and find out more about Southwest Airedale Terrier Rescue, click here.

"Santa just took it out of me!"

At the end of the day, everybody was tuckered out and (fingers crossed) we think Toby may have a forever home.  Though the event was small, we were able to raise another decent amount to support Sidney’s efforts with rescue.  What a GREAT day!  Now this is living “Life to the MAX!”

This is very last minute, but Krissy and I am going to appear at A Home for the Holidays Fur Affair tomorrow, which is being held Sabino Canyon Pet Resort, 2001 N. Sabino Canyon Rd. in Tucson.  This event goes both Saturday and Sunday, but we will only be there on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm.  Look for us in the space for Southwest Airedale Terrier Rescue where we will be talking about all things Dale, rescue and selling and signing Life to the Max books.  Remember 25% of the book price goes to support Southwest Airedale Terrier Rescue and at this event, we’re going to pay the sales tax!  Ho-ho-hope to see you there!