Seattle Author and His ‘Time-Traveling’ Son Ask Young Americans to Make a Choice: "To Live a Life of Purpose”

Author and photographer Michael S. Class has used advanced digital photography to place his twelve year-old son, Anthony, in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis with Charles Lindbergh, on the moon with Neil Armstrong, and on Normandy beach on D-Day.

Father and son labored for nearly four years in their garage filled with props from an army surplus store; the garage walls were covered with blue bed sheets. The result: It looks like Anthony really did meet Thomas Edison, Jonas Salk, FDR, Lou Gehrig, Charles Lindbergh, and Audie Murphy. The Web site, www.MagicPictureFrame.com, displays some of the book’s amazing 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.” The book, Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, is recommended for young adults, Grade 6 to Grade 12. Readers say the photographs are “amazing” and marvel at the book’s quality.

"The storyline is fictional, but the history is authentic," says Class. Authentic in every detail: even Anthony’s conversations with the people of the past are based on things they really said, all properly footnoted (261 quotes in all). Another 312 footnotes deliver fascinating historical facts and background stories about the events that Anthony witnesses.

“This is American history the way it used to be taught,” insists Class. “It’s not politically correct history. It’s the way it really was.” Class has received letters from adult readers who said they cried while reading Anthony’s ‘eyewitness’ accounts of America’s past: they recognized the realism and truth in Anthony’s story. Some of them were there.

Inspiration comes from what the heroes of America's past tell Anthony: "The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose, and doing the right thing always matters."

The book presents the moral lessons of American history, and prepares kids for the future. 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.

While recounting his adventures, Anthony discusses the nature of good and evil, right and wrong, war and peace, what it means to be an American, honor and discipline, success and achievement, courage and destiny, marriage and family, God and purpose. Anthony compares the people and events of the past with the people and events of his own time. Anthony’s observations prompt serious discussion of timeless moral questions.

“The book challenges young readers to think critically,” says Class, “and to see their modern world in the light of the lessons of the past. The book asks young people to make a choice: to live a life of purpose.”

"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 in 1907. I am with him the day he becomes an American. He taught me what being an American really means." Family photographs were used in Anthony's favorite chapter.

Anthony visits America’s past by stepping through a Magic Picture Frame. But, author Michael Class says the book includes a built-in ‘time machine’ that kids can use to see, hear, and experience the things that Anthony did in the past. The book includes fun “to do” lists containing hundreds of books, movies, music, and places to visit. This unique approach excites young adults about American history, and helps parents and teachers promote an appreciation for America’s past. Everything on the lists is content-rated. The author’s Web site includes a fun final exam.

"It can take a lifetime to experience everything this book has to offer," says Class. The author may be right: With recommendations for 461 books, 595 movies, 217 songs, and 155 places to visit, the book is sure to entertain and educate for many years to come.

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame (hardcover, 225 pages, $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 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.