ABOUT OUR COMPANY
Samartino Stories is a small-business, family owned company located in New Jersey. The formation of this family-friendly organization is based on building collaborative projects together and sharing the finished product with the world... and hopefully creating great memories and fun along the way!
How do we do we do this? It will vary from project to project, but our current focus is the development of children's books:
Crow the Courageous will be launching on Kickstarter on November 2nd and running through November 25th.
See below for more details.
We hope you will join us on this fun adventure!
CROW THE COURAGEOUS
Read the Book, Live the Experience
FUNDED ON KICKSTARTER
Designed to be an engaging story for children ages 3-9 years old.
This great family experience will help the reader understand the relationship between FEAR and COURAGE.
To reinforce the message of the book, a 1-4 player companion game has been created.
Additionally, this campaign will feature a KIT OF COURAGE that is filled with self-affirming items to
help build your child's confidence.
Are you ready to help build a COMMUITY OF COURAGE?
THIS STORY HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO LIVE ON BEYOND THE PAGES OF THE BOOK. WHEN CROW'S STORY ENDS, YOURS BEGINS...
This story introduces you to Crow, a bird of flight that chooses not to fly out of fear. He makes friends with other birds that can not fly. They enjoy each other's company, but are looked down upon by the other farm animals because of their limitations. One day a storm traps the farm animals in a barn. All except for Crow and his friends, as they had been excluded and were playing in a different field...
Enjoy the adventure of Crow and his farm friends as they turn this unfortunate situation into an opportunity to overcome their fears and save the day, despite their limitations. Upon completion, the reader should better understand the relationship between fear and courage while respecting the power of teamwork, non-quitting spirit, and being proud to be themselves.
Designed for Children Age 3-9 years old
Available in E-Book and Print versions
36 Colorfully Illustrated Story Pages
10 Character Sticker Pages with over 100 stickers (only available in print versions)
A fun story in a relatable setting that will have your child excited to see what is on the next page
An excellent message that highlights that having fear is part of life, and that what we do with that fear when facing challenges is what matters most
The Reader Brings the Story to Life:
What's better than reading a good story?... Being part of its creation! A child will want to read this story over and over for the simple reason that they helped make it.
The backgrounds of this book have been created. Now its up to you to bring the story to life by either imagining, drawing, or placing stickers of characters.
Imagine: The background art is fully illustrated to provide a canvas for your mind
Draw: You can use the stickers as reference in the back of the book or create your own interpretation on the design of Crow, Chicken, Duck, Rooster, & Ostrich.
- If you want to draw, but just don't know how, check out our YouTube Channel where my daughter and son will show you how to draw each of the characters!
Sticker: To make your creation process simple, we have provided over 100 passionately created stickers. The have been organized by page to help you find the art that is suggested for each page.
- To help personalize the experience, the child character stickers come in both male and female genders, in 3 different skin tones.
Crow the Courageous is more than just a story!
The underlying message that supports this campaign is the understanding that;
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
To support the messages of the story, so young readers can carry the experience with them in their daily lives, we have created the Crow the Courageous: Badge of Courage Game and the Kit of Courage positive affirmation bundle. Each component of this project has been carefully conceptualized and designed to do one thing; create an atmosphere of positivity that would allow the potential for families to create good memories together.
We are excited to share the Crow the Courageous experience and hope, in some small way, that this project can help create moments of joy with the ones that you love. Thank you for your interest in this project. We strive to create good memories one story at a time.
The following sections will tell you more about these additional components and why they were selected.
CROW THE COURAGEOUS: BADGE OF COURAGE
The Companion Game - Coming Soon 2023
EXTEND THE STORY BY PLAYING THE GAME!
A cooperative companion game that complements the messages present in the Crow the Courageous book. 1-4 players will work to overcome challenges and save their friends. This game uses basic strategy and supportive gameplay elements to teach young players how to not give up, problem solve, work as a team, and use basic math, matching, & memory skills. All while having great family fun!
Become one of Crow's friends; Chicken, Rooster, Duck, or Ostrich. You begin at the barn where the animals are trapped and must travel across a field of challenges. You will take turns uncovering these numbered challenges and have to use a combination of dice rolls and resource cards to add up enough points to pass the obstacle. The team continues this process until they reach the farmhouse to collect the water card to put out the fire at the barn. Once you collect this card you have to travel back to the barn avoiding the uncovered challenges and trying not to find new ones. After you reach the barn, you will attempt to complete the final challenge that will get harder the longer it takes you to achieve your goal. But don't give up! The core version of the game promotes teamwork and has no lose condition (alternate gameplay modes are available if you wish to increase the difficulty for older players).
Overall, your family will face their challenges, use their resources, and work together to have a fun fast-paced game that will make you feel like you are even more of a part of the story!
 Game Box |  Game Set up and Contents |  Game Components |
|---|---|---|
 Coin of Courage |  Halfsies Dice - D6 |  Halfsies Dice - D20 |
Coin of Courage
4 Plastic coins available in each game,
Deluxe metal coins available for purchase
We are very excited about this item. It embraces two important elements of the Crow the Courageous campaign:
1) The "Badge of Courage": A symbol of reward that provides the player positive reinforcement for trying their best and working to achieve their goal.
2) This plastic Coin of Courage features the Badge of Courage symbol surrounded by the messages "I am Courageous" and "The Power is in You".
- The intent of this item is to allow your child an opportunity to keep this coin in their pocket as a reminder that if they believe in themselves that they are capable of achieving great things... "If you're afraid to join, remember the coin!"
Halfsies Dice
Featuring 2 Popular Designs:
-
D6 "DaVinci Dice" are MONA LISA INSPIRED BLACK & GOLD W/ SILVER NUMBERS
-
D20 "Phoenix Dice" have a FIERY ORANGE & YELLOW W/ BLACK ASH NUMBERS
Halfsies Dice are the original layered dice! Featuring a unique half-&-half color arrangement, a semi-translucent nature, a pearlescent swirl within each color, and a smooth blend where the two colors meet.
Due to the unique layering process for resin that Gate Keeper Games & Dice invented in 2013, air-bubbles are prevented from forming inside the dice. Thus, Gate Keeper Games dice are the heaviest, densest, and most well-balanced resin dice on the planet!
There are too many different types of amazing dice collections and unique variations to list them all here. Go to www.gatekeepergaming.com for more information.
CROW THE COURAGEOUS:
KIT OF COURAGE
Positive Affirmation Bundle - Coming Soon 2023
We bring the campaign together with a kit
that helps support positivity:
One of the cornerstones of a developing mind is the reinforcement that we have the ability to be courageous. Just like Crow and his friends, we will all face challenges, and we will likely be nervous, anxious, or afraid during these experiences. A fear of failure can sometimes prevent us from reaching our potential. A great way of dealing with this is to remind ourselves that believing in our abilities can push past this fear so that we can be Courageous in the pursuit of our goals.
Sent in a treasure chest inspired cardboard box, The Kit of Courage is full of positive affirmation items that will help support this mindset and has been designed in a way to surround a child with positive reinforcement. Keep reading for sample images of each item contained in the Kit of Courage, when these items can be used, the reason they were selected, and each item's unique features:
Component Details
 Kit of Courage Treasure Box |  Kit of CourageComponents: 11 Unique Items |  Bank of Good Deeds |
|---|---|---|
 Cup o Courage |  Cape abd Mask of Courage |  Courage Stickers |
 Pin of Courage |  Window Art |  Mirror Art |
 Magnet of Courage |  Courage Quills |  Courage Poster |
 Band of Courage |
TESTIMONIALS
What are people saying about the Crow the Courageous Experience?
“Crow the Courageous is a book that you will want to share with all the children in your life. It is a culturally relevant story that encourages the readers to be brave and confident, yet true to themselves. I love how Jim provides everyone with a unique opportunity to connect with the characters in the story by using their imagination. This book is truly inspiring!”
Lauren Dennis - PhD student (Education: Curriculum and Instruction)
12 years of experience in the field of education (teacher, principal, administrator)
"What an honor! I had the opportunity to share this book with my first-grade students. They were engaged and intrigued. It captivated them from beginning to end! The students quickly became invested in the characters and expressed emotions throughout the reading.
They really enjoyed that I was able to use one of their names in the story. It made it very relatable. As an educator, I loved that it contained a lesson that the students can connect to: Never Give Up! It is relatable to many ages. There are many teaching points in this story that any educator would be happy to use in his/her classroom lessons. I can’t wait to buy a copy and be able to use it for years to come! "
Erika Issler, 1st Grade Teacher
“Crow the Courageous soars above expectations for a fantastic children’s book! It allows children to bring their narrative visions to life in a revolutionary way where they become a part of the writing process! Brilliant!
Julie Aguero, Mother of 2
Story Reflections of a Mother
Book Tour 2022
“Courage is to be brave and know you can do it”
“We Loved it”
“AWESOME!”
“I liked it because I love animals”
“I liked it because when he needed to show courage he did”
“They called him crow the coward but now they realize he’s brave”
“Best was when Crow was brave and flew to save the animals”
“ You could hear the students saying:
Oh no! I hope the animals get out!
Fly Crow… you can do it!
Yay… Crow is a hero!”
“Crow was scared but when he knew he should fly,
he faced his fear and saved all of his friends”
“With family and friends beside you, you can do anything”
“If you read this book, you could overcome any fear!”
COLLABORATORS
A community of courageous supporters
BIO
About Me:
Hi I am Jim Samartino, father of two, and a creative spirit that enjoys entrepreneurial endeavors. Samartino Stories is my newest and 3rd privately owned company. I previously was the president of Ninjace LLC, an apparel, video production, and graphic design company. Ninjace merged with Everything Epic where I enjoyed five years creating board games and developing "EPIC" stories. After taking some time off to enjoy time with my children, I have now created this organization to foster the creative spirit of others in the development of collaborative stories and board game designs. Regardless of the pursuit, I hope I can set a good example for my kids, teach them how to run a small business, and make great memories for all those that chose to join me on this adventure.
"One of the greatest gifts is the creation of a good memory. So live the way you want to be remembered"
Jim Samartino
