Hello and happy everything upon your house!

We have heard so many of you during this past year: Where's our newsletter?  The newsletter, folks, the newsletter!  Why have you forsaken us?  WE MUST HAVE OUR NEWSLETTER!

We hear you cry.  Stop holding your breath, and read on!

First of all, the apology:  The simple reason you haven't received your newsletter is that we didn't write it.  Worry not, that was our fault, not yours.

Now, onto the news:  We have so much good stuff, knock on wood, we'll get to the biz first and the famille second.

A) We have a new CD out, and it's a holiday CD Danny made with his good friends Kevin Kammeraad and Yosi!  Friends and family ONLY can acquire this CD now - but as a recipient of this newsletter, you qualify!  Note, ...AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR is NOT at our site, there is no button to push at our webstore, it can not be found at book and music stores throughout the country, and the only way to get it is to request it by email...and only until January 15th.  We are then pulling it until next year's holiday season as we intend to push this with some strong national publicity, but we thought of YOU first: as loyal supporters, we wanted to give you the chance to get the CD a full year before the general public!  No need to thank us, you deserve it.

...And a Happy New Year is filled with songs for everyone and celebrates the winter holidays in a style that is both fun and musically versatile, and is truly for entire families.  The lucky among you might be able to hear some of it on XM or Sirius (at the kid's channel on XM, or the Hanukkah channel at either), or on Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child (Saturday morning radio emanating from Massachusetts - you can find archives at sparetherock.com), or at Gooneybirdkids radio (a live 365 station on the 'net).

Now: Would that that were the only news!  Our newest book is also making it's debut:  We have advances in for Mommy's Having a Watermelon, an hysterical laugh out loud book coauthored by us and illustrated by the lovely and talented Megan Halsey! Megan is an award winning author/illustrator with close to fifty books to her credit.  It's our first chapter book, and it is a milestone for us - our tenth book! Mommy's Having a Watermelon is currently also available by sending an email, although we will be setting it up through traditional channels much sooner than the CD.  We will keep you posted, but we have to get the advances out for review first. 

Meanwhile, this year has been just lovely to us, our books, and our music!  School Library Journal reviewed Listen Up in March, and How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck in June.  Needless to say, they were wonderful reviews and we were just as pleased as punch with all of the corresponding hoo-hah.  And Oh No, Domino! received plenty of nice attention earlier in the year, too.

Looking for where else you'll be able to find any of our works? Try these fine outlets:

1) For those in the general Metuchen/Edison area, please STOP IN AT The Raconteur, 431 Main Street in Metuchen. Remember, when you support an independent store such as The Raconteur, you ARE supporting us!  We'll be appearing there on Saturday, January 17th,  so come on in, say hi, grab your copy of our new title, and sing and read with us!

2) You'll also be able to find it in select Barnes & Nobles, although you'll be able to order it from any of them.  Or, order it from BN.com if you're into the online experience (not until this spring though).

Our site is a shambles and has not been updated in too long.  Don't get us wrong, it's still cute and functional, but we'll let ya know when it's really up to snuff, OK? Done.  It's a deal.  You drive a hard bargain.

And now, what you've been waiting for: Family news.

The two eldest just made honor roll for the first marking period.  Maxx would have, having received straight A's, but they don't have honor roll in fourth grade!  For those keeping score, Rachelle is now a junior and Joshua a freshman in high school.  Rachelle is about to start driving, whereas Maxx has been driving for quite some time...as in, driving us crazy!  Hah! Hah!

Rachelle is still playing cello in the orchestra, and just finished her first season on the girl's tennis team - and continues to make the grade. Last time, we reported that there were no boys that Danny needs to be worried about yet, as far as he knows.  Now we can say it is the boys who are worried!

Joshua has turned in his French Horn (temporarily, we hope) for repatory class, as he has been bitten by the acting bug.  However, he has NOT given up music entirely, we are happy to say:  he sings in chorus club!  Perhaps he is taking after his Grandpa Bill, the Barbershopper.  He is also now on the wrestling team (Josh, not Grandpa Bill)!  So consider this before messing with the man:  Black Belt in Tae Kwan Doe.  Wrestling team.  Personally, we wouldn't look at him funny.  But that's just us.

Maxx:  Maxx has picked up the clarinet, and you know what?  He's pretty good!  He practices a lot, and really seems to enjoy it, and yes, we actually like hearing it!  As mentioned above, his grades are fab, and for those wondering, he still makes it...exciting to be his parents.

Bowling:  We have never done this well before in bowling.  Perhaps that's because we didn't join this year.  Sigh.

Hey, here's something that is BOTH personal news AND business news:  Danny and Kim were invited on a school apearance to glorious Maui, Hawaii!  We decided it was too great an opportunity to pass up, and so we shall yank our kids from school and go as a fam!  We'll let you know how it went.  Suffice to say we're excited though.  We hear good things about the papaya.

More news:  Danny has been running open mic nights twice a month since last summer!  So if you sing, or dance, or tell jokes, play an instrument, juggle (we mean it, we have a juggler!), recite poetry, or what have you (gee, we love what have you), drop us a line - just hit the ol' reply button -  and we'll tell you when and where the next open mic is occuring. And for those of you with teens (NOT little kids, but teens): Rachelle also runs a youth open mic night!

Site of the month (hah! try year) Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child: Welcome to iMAGinationMedia! Marcia Garelick is a friend and supporter we have known for many years, and this past year decided to open up a shop of her own.  If you're looking for marketing/publicity, Marcia and her team offers a wide spectrum of exceptional, affordable design and promotion services for a one-of-a-kind website, logo, banner, brochure or personal projects designs.

Rock and roll closer:  You know, a lot of people had a hard year.  It's still a bumpy ride out there, especially the fiscal terrain.  Please remember what the master of philosophy himself said back in the '60's: "When you ain't got nothin', you got nothin' to lose".  It was Bob, of course.  Dylan.

Along those lines, we're also aware of how many people - some very close to us - did lose a lot of their material wealth.  Please, PLEASE remember:  It's not the material that made you wealthy.  This isn't exactly rock and roll, but as the Wizard of Oz himself uttered to the Tin Man back in 1939 (the movie): "A heart is not judged by how much it loves, but by how much it is loved by others". 

And remember, it's holiday time! So whatever you celebrate: Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Eid, Winter Solstice, New Year's...just celebrate. Do good.

With that, we bid you adieu, and

peace.

- The Adlermans

PS: Repeat when necessary: I want to remain on this list. I want to remain on this list. I want to remain on this list.  If that doesn't work, and you wish to be taken off, we're there for you, but hey: at one newsletter a year, is it really that much of a pain?