Inspiration for the New Year from American Heroes: In New Book, the Heroes of America’s Past Inspire Time-Traveling Boy to Live a Life of Purpose

In a unique history book, twelve-year-old Anthony steps through the picture frame on his bedroom wall and meets the heroes of America’s past. Anthony’s historical adventure is the brainchild of Seattle author and photographer Michael S. Class.

The book, Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame ($35, www.MagicPictureFrame.com), grabs attention with amazing digital photography that places the author’s real-life son in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis with Charles Lindbergh, on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on Normandy beach on D-Day, in Thomas Edison’s laboratory when the light bulb is invented, on the baseball diamond with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, and alongside Dr. Jonas Salk to help invent the polio vaccine. The Web site displays some of the book's captivating photographs.

"I wanted to capture the interest of today's kids," says Class, "by turning American history into a grand time travel adventure—with a moral lesson.”

It’s the book’s moral lessons and Anthony’s conversations with the heroes of the past that can provide inspiration for people—young and old alike—who will soon be making New Year’s resolutions.

The chapter about Lindbergh’s flight is about perseverance. The story of Lou Gehrig is one of a virtuous life. The chapter about Thomas Edison is really about business. The story of Apollo 11 is about wonder, taking risks, and courage. The story of Dr. Jonas Salk and the cure for polio is really about dedicating one’s life to a higher purpose. Anthony’s observation of D-Day and the liberation of the death camps during the Holocaust is a testament to the reality of evil and the need to fight it.

"The storyline is fictional, but the history is authentic," says Class. “Even Anthony’s conversations with the people of the past are based on things they really said.”

Anthony learns that the heroes of the past have something important to tell us: That the purpose of life is to live a life of purpose, and doing the right thing always matters. His conversations with the heroes of the past lead him to make an important life decision—a New Year’s resolution: “Time is precious,” Anthony says in the book. “It is given to you only once, and you never know how much you have. If you use your time to achieve, to contribute, and to do what is right, then you will be using your time wisely. And if you try to do all the good that you can, for all the people that you can, for as long as you can—and you trust in God to guide you—then you will be happy. Since I returned to the present day, I have been trying to do just that.”

“In the book,” says author Michael Class, “Anthony has dozens of conversations and there are hundreds of quotes. But I think ten quotes were most responsible for Anthony’s resolution upon returning from the past. They are my favorite quotes, of course, and they are the basis of my personal New Year’s resolutions for 2006. Perhaps these ten quotes from America’s heroes can inspire others as well.”

Resolve to live life to the fullest:

1. Michael Collins, Apollo 11 astronaut: “To go places and to do things that have never been done before—that’s what life is all about.”

2. Helen Keller, author and educator: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

Resolve to choose your destiny:

3. William Jennings Bryan, American orator: “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

4. Charles Lindbergh, pilot of the Spirit of St. Louis: “The important thing is to start; to lay a plan, and then follow it step by step no matter how small or large each one by itself may seem.”

Resolve to take advantage of opportunity:

5. Antonio Gaetano, Anthony’s great-grandfather: “America is a place where every morning brings new hope and the opportunity for a fresh start. In America, your past is not your future—if you don’t want it to be.”

6. Thomas Edison, American inventor and businessman: “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

7. Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet: “This time, like all times, is a very good one if we but know what to do with it.”

Resolve to work hard:

8. Lou Gehrig, baseball player: “My success came from one word—hustle.”

9. Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States: “I’m a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

Resolve to be true to yourself, and to give of yourself:

10. Dr. Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine: “Do what makes your heart leap. That’s what I have done. I wanted to be a scientist and a healer, so I used science for healing. It was good advice and I give it to you.”

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame ($35) is available at www.MagicPictureFrame.com, or by calling toll-free: 1-800-247-6553. The book is also available at select bookstores and on amazon.com.

The book is recommended for young adults, Grade 6 to Grade 12. Adult readers say the photographs are “amazing” and marvel at the book’s quality. Talk radio host, author, and film critic Michael Medved says the book is “entertaining and educational.”

"Every kid should read this book," says Anthony, the time-traveler. "My favorite chapter is when I go back in time to meet my great-grandfather at Ellis Island. I am with him the day he becomes an American." Personal family photographs were used in Anthony’s favorite chapter.

The book is published by Magic Picture Frame Studio, a new publishing company in the Pacific Northwest, dedicated to telling the stories of the past to the children of today in exciting new ways. Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame is the first book in a planned series of historical time-travel adventures.

Note to editors and book reviewers: Michael S. Class and Anthony are available for interviews. Photographs and review copies are available.

Contact: Michael S. Class (author), 425-222-7562, class@MagicPictureFrame.com, Magic Picture Frame Studio, P.O. Box 2603, Issaquah, WA 98027-0119. Or contact: Maryann Karinch (publicist), 970-577-8500, maryann@karinch.com.