Image Cascade Publishing's Page

I was motivated to found Image Cascade Publishing primarily by my belief in and love for the books that I had read in my youth. They were positive, uplifting books that, unbeknownst to me as a young girl, had influenced me throughout my life. And now as a psychologist, I see the value of these classic books from a new perspective. I strongly believe that the literature that we read in our youth has a profound influence on our values and beliefs and serves to mold us throughout our lives. But in 1998, these old favorite books were becoming more and more difficult to find and were fetching $200+ per book in used bookstores. The libraries had discarded the majority of them, and the series were on their way to becoming distant memories. Young readers would never know these classic gems. And avid readers would never complete their collections – or would go broke trying! There seemed to be no alternative. The books HAD to be republished. So I contacted the author's family (this sometimes takes a year or more just to FIND the family!) and the original publisher, drew up royalty contracts with each, and set out to be a publisher. I began with 14 titles, the Beany Malone series by Lenora Mattingly Weber, and now we are preparing our latest series which will bring our listing to 150 titles -- each of them being wholesome, uplifting stories with optimistic heroines, strong families, and, of course, love and romance.

I hear from women each week who tell me that our authors' books had a significant effect on their lives. And now they are sharing the same stories and characters with their young daughters, granddaughters, and nieces. And as a mother of two girls, I wholeheartedly agree that it is tremendous to "talk over" characters and storylines with your children -- comparing your thoughts and feelings about the stories and sharing a special bond linked by your own youth and the youth of your favorite young reader. As part of my plan to be "a doer," I am preparing to conduct a study of children's literature to assess the relationship between: 1) what we read in our youth, and 2) the preliminary and long term effects of what we read on our outlooks, quality of life, and levels of optimism. It is my intent to share the data and resulting outcome with the psychological community, librarians, educators, other publishers, and most importantly with readers! I am always striving to spread the news of the importance of quality fiction for young readers. I am grateful for the opportunity within this forum to do so.

Sincerely,
Joy Canfield, Ph.D.
Image Cascade Publishing... in the Image of Girls
www.ImageCascade.com
420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 300
New York, NY 10170
(212) 297-6115