"The Adventures of Danny and Checkers” focuses on our brave literary hero, Danny, and his trusty sidekick, Checkers, who just happens to be a panda of the stuffed animal variety. In each book, Danny will don a different hat from his collection, and based on the hat he wears, he and his panda will be whisked away on an astonishing adventure full of fascinating feats and stupendous discoveries brought to life through breathtaking art.
More often than not, their fantastical adventures wind up saving the day for Danny's little sister, Mabel, back in the real world.
Dustin is a high school English teacher from Huron, Ohio and author of the new children's book "The Adventures of Danny and Checkers: The Lost City of the Ivory Kings." Dustin has spent his career trying to convince high schoolers to love reading, which can sometimes be a tough sell. He decided not to wait until students were in his classroom to show them that reading can be awesome and fun and breathtaking, so he started writing books that children and their parents will love to read together instead of turning on the TV or firing up the tablet and zoning out until bedtime.
Dustin has never understood why Ohio gets such a bum-rap in popular culture, and he loves living there with his wife and two children. When he's not busy playing the dad/husband/teacher/author game, he enjoys drinking tea and eating scones with his old BGSU rugby mates when they get together to watch Cleveland sports teams or reruns of Downton Abbey.
Originally from Tontogany, Ohio Daniel Mauk is an award-winning and internationally collected fine artist. Recently, he has turned his skill and attention to the world of Children’s Book Illustration and story-telling (fiction). His illustrations bring to life colorful, memorable characters and his vibrant, textured scenery invites the reader to join in on the adventure.
Daniel’s 2nd and 3rd books are set to be released in 2021.
He lives in Las Vegas, NV.
Follow our brave literary hero, Danny and his trusty sidekick, Checkers, on their first amazing adventure.
When Danny pulls his fedora down onto his head, he and Checkers are transported out of Danny's room and they're on the hunt for the legendary Lost City of the Ivory Kings!
Read along as the two best friends make their way through the deep, dark jungle on their quest to discover the lost city and all of its secrets.
If you're in the Northeast Ohio area, you can also find Danny and Checkers at these fine retailers:
Reading to (and with) children is so important. One of our goals with the Danny and Checkers series is to, hopefully, get kids excited to read about a fantastic adventure and, rather slyly, learn a thing or two about creativity, fun, kindness, optimism and love.
Here are a few programs and websites that are doing great things to encourage youth literacy on a national and local scale.
