FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 THREE NEW CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS FROM BESS PRESS TEACH YOUNG READERS ABOUT BEING YOURSELF, LOVING YOUR 'OHANA, AND WORKING TOGETHER

Waltah Melon: Local-Kine Hero, Mele da Mynah's Noisy ‘Ohana, and The Surf Rats of Waikiki Beach are the latest additions to Bess Press 's varied selection of children's picture books. The stories are written for children from 3 – 8 years old and each page is full of bright watercolor illustrations.

All three books were written by Carmen Geshell , author of Muffin & The Lessons of Kokua (Island Heritage, 1995) and Muffin's Makapu'u Adventure (Muffin & Co., 1998) and illustrated by Jeff Pagay, a freelance artist who has painted murals in many schools, homes, and restaurants around O'ahu. They will be available at local book outlets in October 2004.

Bess Press , celebrating 25 years of independent publishing is located in Honolulu , Hawai'i and publishes trade titles about Pacific-related topics in the following categories: children's literature, cookbooks, humor, sports, languages, reference books, and guidebooks.

Review copies and digital images are available from Bess Press: info@besspress.com , (808) 734-7159, ext. 21.