The Bracelet of Bordeaux, a children’s mystery adventure, will soon become a new breed of entertainment product with its launch at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores across south Texas in the fall. For the first time in the history of the film and book industries, a full-length feature film and a novel will be packaged together, debuting simultaneously as a Book-Movie (DVD) combo. The movie was filmed on location primarily in Houston and The Woodlands, and some of Culture Shapers’ past film competition winners were crew members of the movie production — Michael Wham and Eric Smith.

Bracelet’s upcoming Magical Mystery Bookstore Tour at the bookstore chains will feature in-store signing events around Houston with the main cast members and book author, as well as the movie’s star dog, Rufus, who will sign books with his “pawto-graph”. For tour dates and locations, visit the production’s website at www.TheBraceletOfBordeaux.com.

The concept behind the Book-DVD is to encourage literacy in young people. “A young reader will be able to read the book, then watch the movie,” said Producer Frank Eakin, president of Eakin Films, which has been developing the product for over three years. “The book adds depth and a new dimension to the home movie viewing experience. In our tests, children and parents found our read-it and watch-it model to be fun and engaging. A parent can offer the movie as an incentive to read the book, or children who don’t read easily may be motivated to read the book after seeing the movie, thus enabling them to practice reading skills.”

Maria Falcon, librarian at Oak Ridge Elementary, said, “Bracelet is an exciting modern-day adventure story that will appeal to kids of all ages. I can’t wait to introduce it to our school.”

A set of professional, downloadable lesson plans for teachers (and some designed for parents to aid their children with comprehension and thinking skills) will be launched in the Educators section of the production’s website in the fall at: TheBraceletOfBordeaux.com. Sara Kuhn, EdD., a professor of reading and writing who consults with middle schools in language arts, is producing the educational materials. Organizations contributing online educational materials include the Anne Frank Center in New York and the Shoah Foundation Institute at USC in Los Angeles (founded by Steven Spielberg).

Authored by career WGA writer and playwright Casey Kelly, the 125-page novel has the elements “tween” readers love: magic, mystery, adventure, friendship and laughs. The movie is targeted to ages 6 to 12, and the mid-grade book is targeted primarily to grades 5th to 7th for independent readers, and 1st to 6th for family or group reading.

The prestigious American Film Institute International Film Festival (AFI) chose the movie as an official 2007 selection for its Family Program, and it has played in other major children’s festivals in the U.S. and Europe. The film was granted the “Family Approved” seal of the Dove Foundation and was endorsed by the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media. It has been selected for a national tour of libraries and children’s museums late this year. Eakin expects a that a national roll out of the Book-Movie (DVD) will begin in late 2007.

WEBSITE: TheBraceletOfBordeaux.com