Peacebe reinforces good values
Published:Thursday | June 4, 2015 | 12:00 AMKeisha Hill
The values and attitudes we live by affect how we relate to other people and to all our activities in the environment, and so is a major influence on our prospects for achieving a sustainable future. Values are qualities that students should develop as principles underpinning behaviour and decision-making, whereas attitudes support cognitive functioning. Both are personal qualities that students should develop.
Leneen Faith, a fourth-grade teacher in Florida, has penned a series of children's books, The Adventures of Peacebe and the Heartwatch. Along with her sibling, David Campbell, Faith created the character Peacebe, a six-year-old boy who has a magical watch named Heartwatch.
valuable lessons
With Heartwatch, Peacebe can fly, teleport, transform, become invisible, and much more, in amazing adventures that teach and reinforce values and attitudes such as compassion, kindness, and self-control. Of course, it all comes back to the moral in the end, and each story finishes with interactive questions and discussions to reinforce the ideas.
She has been a full-time teacher for four years. However, she first had the idea for a children's book series about eight years ago, while stuck in a boring training session, before she got into the education field. She has come a long way since then, and so has Peacebe.
"I have always loved to write poems and found writing a passion since I was a child. Children are getting so many messages that, most of the time, present a negative connotation. I wanted to find a way to give positive messages that they can be excited about and saying that being good can be positive and exciting," Faith said.
Meanwhile, the Peacebe idea is in full bloom, having taken on the formula of the eight character traits so revered in schools and giving them a whole new life. Faith has already written the first eight Peacebe adventures, each book corresponding to a different character trait.
She has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in elementary education and was recently selected as the 2013-2014 'Teacher of the Year'. Faith has a true love for writing, and enjoys being creative and is very passionate about character education. She loves to inspire children to be great.
Her brother received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Florida in graphic design and has been an artist/illustrator for more than 25 years. He believes in the vision for Peacebe and spends countless hours ensuring that all visuals are captivating and appealing to all.
Campbell is responsible for the creation of all the characters and aesthetics in the Peacebe Universe, and he is confident that the Peacebe brand will be a long-lasting and impactful global franchise.
"Going forward, we want to have the books in schools worldwide. We are working to get a publishing deal and, eventually, we want to develop a cartoon from the series. We are currently working on the pilot episode," Faith said.
The duo has organised a KickStarter campaign, which raised $15,000 that will be used to print the first small set of books. With additional help from another sibling, they hope to print a larger set of books, completing the animated pilot, as well as extra work on their website.
For more information on the series visit www.peacebekids.com.