This book is also available on Amazon.com.
Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends is the first book in the series, "The Adventures of Harry Hawksbill!" Harry the hawksbill turtle discovers that his angelfish friends aren't getting along because they look different from each other. Harry teaches them they are more alike than they realize, while children also learn about sea life. This is a fun book for beginning self-readers or for parents and children to read together. Vibrant photos set this book apart from other children's books. Author and diver Paul Mila uses his vivid underwater photos to bring this story to life.
Reviews
"This terrific little book has everything. The story is fantasy, but the underwater color photos showing the interaction of reef characters are real. The information about turtles is easy to understand, and the fish learn a great lesson about befriending those who are not always just like you. It even has easy, fun questions at the end to enhance the learning."
Cathy Church, award-winning underwater photographer, teacher, author
"Paul Mila invites us into a beautiful undersea adventure and introduces us to a rainbow of new friends. He combines accurate science and spectacular photographs with an important lesson about the value of diversity, giving readers many important insights! The balance of informational text with an important social message makes this a fine addition to any children’s library."
David Flatley, Superintendent Carle Place Schools
Find the book in Barnes & Noble located at Country Glen Center, 91 Old Country Rd in Carle Place, NY 11514
The author's 3-year old granddaughter, Sophie, reading Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends. Amazingly, these photos were not posed. She picked up the book from a shelf and started "reading/babbling" on her own. Her engagement with the book is the best review of all!
Media Coverage
Read the review posted by Adventure Sports Dive Shop in Ontario, Canada.
http://www.adventuresports.ca/adventure-sports-blog/childrens-book-harry-hawksbill-helps-his-friends
The Westbury Times interviews author Paul Mila on the social message behind his children's book.
http://thewestburytimes.com/
Visit the SeaLife News Room for more information on the equipment 
used for the photography in this book.
About the Author
Paul Mila has expanded his horizons from Brooklyn to Baja and beyond. He traded in his corporate suit for a wetsuit and now devotes his time to writing, scuba diving, underwater photography, and speaking to groups about ocean conservation.
He has enjoyed photographing and diving with Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas, humpback whales in the Dominican Republic and Tonga, and diverse sea life around the world, including his home waters of Long Island, New York.
Using his photographs and personal adventures, Paul brings the people and undersea creatures he encounters to life through interesting stories for readers of all ages. In addition to this children's book and two nonfiction books, he has authored a scuba diving thriller/fiction series drawing from a cast of colorful, real-life Caribbean characters.
Global Distribution - Ways to Order
1) Ingram
Reach readers around the globe with Ingram’s worldwide print and distribution program. In addition to print-on-demand facilities in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, Ingram also partners with suppliers globally so books can be sold worldwide without the hassles of international shipping.
Order at: www.ingramcontent.com
2) Direct from Publisher - Best Publishing Company
Offering competitive quantity discounts to resellers around the globe, ordering directly from the publisher avoids the middle person and puts more money in the pockets of retailers, dive shops, resellers, and distributors. Shipping is available to locations worldwide.
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (ask for Mr. Andrew Sisko, head of customer service)
Phone: +1-561-776-6066
Blog Articles by the Author
Selecting the Characters for Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends
Author Paul Mila wrote Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends to impart both a social message for young children and also to teach them about sea life.
In this article, Paul shares, "As a diver, author, and underwater photographer, showing children the beauty under the sea and the creatures who inhabit the ocean was the easy part. The photos speak for themselves. Teaching a social message of acceptance and inclusion in an entertaining way was the challenge."
Read More . . .
To Illustrate or Photograph?
When author Paul Mila was writing Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends, he and the Best Publishing Company editorial staff wrestled with one main question: should we use his underwater photographs to tell the story, or retain the services of an illustrator?
The challenge of using photographs is that the scenes have to be in sync with the story and dialogue, while an artist can draw the scene to fit the story.
Read More . . .
A behind the scenes glimpse of the writing of Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends
What does it look like to write a book?
Author Paul Mila shares a behind the scenes glimpse with us of his writing of Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends.
Read More . . .
Diving with Sea Turtles
It's always makes for a great dive when sea turtles are nearby, don't you agree?!
Sea turtles are among the most favorite of marine life species. They are fun to engage and provide great photo opportunities.
For author Paul Mila, pictured here swimming with a Hawksbill Turtle in Cozumel, Mexico, choosing a sea creature as the hero in his first children's book was easy. Harry Hawksbill was a natural!
Read More . . .
*Quantity and reseller discounts available. Contact us at 561-776-6066 or email [email protected]
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