'Sweet' Dreams

Even a tiny lamb can grow up to become a firefighter, a doctor, a singer—anything she can dream of—as long as she works hard and, above all, believes in herself. That's the heartfelt message of Growing Up With Loukoumi, Nick Katsoris' self-published sequel to his debut children's book, Loukoumi, which means "sweet" in Greek (www.loukoumi.com). "People are always discouraging children from doing what they want and I was also discouraged by many, many literary agents and publishers, but I set my mind to it and made this happen," Katsoris, an attorney, tells Playthings. "This is a message that I want to convey to children—to offer them encouragement to reach for the stars."

Packaged with the book is a story CD featuring the voices of Grammy-winner Gloria Gaynor, Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis, CBS' Alexis Christoforous, American Idol's Constantine Maroulis and Guiding Light's Frank Dicopoulos, who work with Katsoris on the charity he founded, the Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund. The CD also features "Believe," an original Gaynor song, plus narration of the first book. Best of all, says Katsoris, $2 from the sale of each book/CD set is donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A Loukoumi plush and kids' tees are also available. "There is nothing like making an impact on a child," Katsoris says. The book, a 2007 iparenting Media Award recipient, has been featured at over 120 storytimes at Barnes & Noble stores across the country. Up next for the brand is a national essay contest, additional book sequels and then, hopefully, DVDs and a board game, Katsoris says. "As long as children will listen, I plan to continue to bring Loukoumi's adventures into their hearts everywhere."