Michael S. Class is an author and photographer living in the Pacific Northwest. He is a retired executive of a successful Seattle-based Internet startup who once dreamed of being able to bring the heroes of the past into present-day classrooms to teach children the lessons of history. He dreamed of making history more exciting and relevant to young Americans. Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame is the result of that dream.

'Time-Traveling' Son in Photo History for Kids

Author/Photographer Depicts His 'Time-Traveling' Son in Photo History for Kids -- Offers Moral Lessons For Today

Book Designed with Teachers and Homeschoolers in Mind!

Seattle, WA - Author and photographer Michael S. Class has used digital composite 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, and Audie Murphy. The Web site, Magic Picture Frame, 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." The book, Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, is recommended for young adults, Grade 6 to Grade 12.

The author says that the book's unique approach can help teachers and parents who homeschool their children. Anthony's conversations with the people of the past are based on things they really said, all properly sourced. Designed to be useful in the classroom, the book includes fun "to do" lists containing hundreds of books, movies, music, and places to visit. Everything on the lists is content-rated. The author's Web site includes a final exam.

"The storyline is fictional, but the history is authentic," says Class.

"It was a challenge," says Class. "I made my career in the business world. I had to go back to school to learn digital photography and compositing. But I was on a mission. After 9/11, children were looking for guidance." Class wondered: "What would the heroes of the past say to the children of today?"

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame answers that question. The book teaches 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. Anthony's observation of D-Day and the liberation of the Holocaust camps is a testament to the reality of evil and the need to fight it. 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.

"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 this chapter.

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame ($35) is available on Amazon and in select bookstores, or by calling toll-free: (800) 247-6553.

The book is published by Magic Picture Frame Studio: the publishing company dedicated to telling the stories of the past to the children of today in exciting new ways.

About the Author

Michael S. Class is an author and photographer living in the Pacific Northwest. He had a previous career in high technology engineering, sales, and marketing: He is a retired "dot-com" executive. He helped start a successful Internet Security company and take it public; he worked for Bill Gates, marketing digital photographs in the Corbis Corporation historical archive.

About the Publisher

Magic Picture Frame Studio is a new publishing company, headquartered in the Pacific Northwest.

The company's mission is to tell the stories of the past to the children of today-in exciting new ways. The company plans to publish printed books, electronic books, and Web sites that capture the interest and imagination of young adults-to get America's kids interested in American history.

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, published in September 2005, is the first book in a planned series of historical time-travel adventures.