Ballad of the Rag Man, written entirely in rhyming verse, was a recent finalist
 in the Indie Excellence Book Awards

NEW YORK CITY – November 21, 2010 – Audiences are taking note of those making a real difference in the character education of our youth. The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles hosted its first annual international film festival and awards ceremony last week, honoring those who educate about the holocaust and genocide prevention. The museum is one of many organizations emphasizing the importance of tolerance in all aspects of a culture ever burdened with the threat of prejudice and hatred.

Author Cynthia Gustavson's hope to teach children the value of tolerance and compassion shows in her new picture book, Ballad of the Rag Man. Clothed in beautiful rags, the Rag Man gathers cast-off items that others don’t find valuable. He collects them in heaps outside his home, walking through the streets of his little town with a cart. Nothing escapes his attention. To him, nothing is junk. A little girl watches the Rag Man from a distance as he takes her old, cast-off teddy bear, and she follows him to his mysterious shop, and wonders what will happen with her well-worn toy. Much to her surprise the Rag Man repairs her teddy bear and brings it back to her. From the story, children learn a valuable lesson about pre-judging others before they get to know them.

This book supports the Rag Man Project. The Rag Man Project brings college students and young adults into bookstores, libraries, schools, and hospitals, among other places, to teach children about those in society who might be different, whether they have disabilities, they are homeless, or they simply don’t act like everyone else.

Ballad of the Rag Man written by Cynthia Gustavson with illustrations by Kristina Tosic is available in hardcover (ISBN 978-1933918-42-6) by Blooming Twig Books and can be found on www.amazon.com. For more information please visit the book web site www.cynthiagustavson.com.

About the author:

Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson is the award-winning author of five poetry collections and several workbooks for therapists, and has been published in numerous journals. She has a family therapy practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she resides with her husband of 40 years, a pediatrician who all too frequently takes care of neglected children. She was educated at Gustavus Adolphus College, Boston University, Louisiana State University, United Seminary of the Twin Cities, and Oklahoma State University, and has Taught at Northeastern State University in Tallequah, Oklahoma, and Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Visit www.cynthiagustavson.com for more information.