Tag: picture book

Picture Book Boosts Disabled Children’s Mental Health

Published on by awsstudiosart1 Comment

From art to mental health and back

When I first started this blog, I mainly wrote about my art – how I made it and why. Then, as I tried to find a publisher for my picture book Adventures with phearnik!™, I learned the importance of building a platform to help launch my books and curricula into the market. That’s when I started to post more about how most of my work is about boosting mental health skills. Today’s post has a little of both –art and mental health skills.

Most of my picture books so far, I wrote for my granddaughter, Fia.  One Christmas, I made her a pillow out of a coat that had been her great-grandmother’s, my mother, Lucy. I wrote Lucy’s Pocket to tell the coat story and how it became a pillow. The following year Fia wanted a rag doll like the one I had made for myself. I made her a matching doll and wrote Adventures with phearnik!™ to explain the meaning of the doll and gave it to her for her birthday. The book giving is now a tradition where I try to make one a year for her birthday.

JP character sketch for a book about children with disabilities

Picture books in the making

This year I had two book ideas – one a pastiche of the book Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (more about this later) and a book about her Uncle Peyton. She doesn’t see him often, so I wanted to tell her more about why he drives a power wheelchair and how he’s a power soccer athlete.

When I started writing about “Uncle Peyton,” I couldn’t stop! I wrote pages and pages – many more words than a picture book. So, I thought I had started a chapter book. But after getting feedback from my critique group, I got the manuscript back to picture book size. This week, I sent the “Uncle Peyton” story, JP Wants to Play Sports, out to a publisher looking for stories about disability, diversity, and inclusion!

JP Wants… is a somewhat fictionalized story of how Peyton (“JP” in the story) looks for sports to play as a power wheelchair user. I hope the book is published so that non-disabled children like Fia learn about their disabled peers and see how, in many ways, they share the same desires. Plus, the book provides a way for disabled children to see characters like themselves in picture books, an essential mental health booster for their social and emotional health!

New character sketch

I submitted the manuscript without illustrations but told the publisher that, if interested, I would be happy to do the pictures. I did do a character sketch of JP, though. I like how it came out. I think he looks a lot like the young Peyton – happy, confident, and full of life!

So, fingers crossed that I get a positive response from the publisher. In the meantime, I’m working on the illustrations for the pastiche (I’ll tell you more about that later)!

If you know a publisher who is looking for picture books about children with disabilities, contact me here!

A Picture Book with Help for the Fearful and Anxious!

Published on by awsstudiosart1 Comment

My picture book “Adventures with phearnik!™” helps people with their fear and anxiety and thanks to Anna David at Legacy Launch Pad, I am using her Elevator Pitch Template for a pitch of the book. So, here it goes. See what you think!

PITCH:

My picture book, “Adventures with phearnik!,” is for fearful and anxious children and adults who yearn to be free of their fear so they can join in, have fun, and get things done that they want or need to do!

So, what do you think? Would you be interested in this book? Let me know in Comments! Or you can contact me here or pre-order the book here!

Parent Sharing and How to Get Your Toddler to Behave!

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I am writing about parenting because it’s my hope that parents will find my to-be-published book “Adventures with phearnik!™” useful. Find out more about the book here. 

This post is about how I first got into mental health education as a parenting educator.  I got into parenting education because I wanted/needed my toddler to behave! 

Parenting struggles and parenting classes

I loved/love parenting education.  I was introduced to it as a participant in a parenting class.  Like I said, I was having a tough time and getting frustrated with my toddler’s behavior.  And I was stymied.  I was a high school and college graduate and I still didn’t have the answers for what to do. 

I asked my mother for help and she said, “Oh, I never had that problem.  You were so good.” It was obvious to me my mother didn’t remember hitting me with the yardstick when I misbehaved as a toddler!  And because of that experience, I wasn’t going to resort to using it with my children.  My mother wasn’t going to be any help.

A humorous illustration of the "old woman and the shoe" depicting parenting a lot of children.

I mentioned my frustrations to my health care provider.  She suggested I enroll in our HMO’s parenting class.  I was hesitant.  Weren’t parenting classes for parents involved with child protective services? Parents who were abusing their kids and had them taken away?  That wasn’t me.  I was just getting a little frustrated.  I ended up going, albeit begrudgingly, and feeling embarrassed.  And once there, I was so glad I went!  I came to love the class.  (By the way, of about 15 participants in the class, only one parent was mandated to go.)

Taught by HMO staff, the class used the “Systematic Training for Effective Parenting” program (Dinkmeyer and McKay). These techniques were found effective in raising socially and emotionally healthy children.  I loved the strategies and learning to direct my child’s behavior with love and understanding and calmer.  I loved it so much that I just had to spread the word.  This is me.  I am an educator through and through.  When I learn or find out about something that I get excited about, I want to share it.  So, I set out to be a parenting educator.

More Useful Parenting Information

Soon after I completed the STEP classes, another opportunity arose. A short course on conflict resolution came to town.  I like the term “conflict management” better as conflict cannot always be resolved. Something we learned in the course.  I sought out conflict resolution (management). Even though I struggled with my toddler’s behavior at times, my husband and I engaged in some arguments too.  (Makes one wonder how much that was contributing to the toddler’s behavior, right?) Anyways, I went to the conflict classes and loved what I learned there too! 

Right after that, I signed up to become a trainer of the EPIC parenting education program.  EPIC stands for “Every Person Influences Children” developed by Bob Wilson from Buffalo, NY.  A keen, visionary mom in our town was frustrated by the high rate of unintended teen pregnancies.  She believed in addressing the problem. Her strategy included providing parents in the community with a parenting program. The mom thought it could be an effective preventative strategy to help bring the rate down.  Along with some other moms, I traveled to Buffalo and received the  training and became an EPIC trainer.  We then came back home and started training parent groups. 

I trained the EPIC program for a little while but I felt that it wasn’t enough.  It was my belief that the parenting classes could use some of what I learned in the STEP program. In addition, it definitely needed pretty much everything I learned in the conflict resolution classes!  So, I developed my own parenting education course. 

I took a little bit from EPIC and a little bit from STEP and used most of the information from the conflict resolution classes.   I started teaching my curriculum at the NY State Education Dept. Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) Adult Education Program in Syracuse, NY.  And guess what?  Yep, you got it!  I loved teaching that parenting education curriculum!  I especially loved getting parents together.  Parents who like me had some struggle with parenting their children and were hungry for some help, some answers. 

Parent-to-Parent, the Best Parenting Education

We had so much fun in those classes!  It was great to be able to facilitate their sharing of issues but, most importantly, the ideas and strategies that worked for them.  They may have been having an issue in one area of parenting but in other areas, they had great ideas for the other parents.  This was one of the things that I particularly liked in the STEP classes, when a parent would say, “Oh, that?  I don’t have an issue with that because this is what I have done when that happens….”  The parent sharing was the best.  Through my years as an educator and trainer, my colleagues and I would always agree that one of our most important teaching strategies was to facilitate the sharing of ideas from the students or participants to one another.

Commenting on blogs is a terrific way for readers to share their stories and what’s worked for them when it comes to parenting children.  What about you?  Have you ever participated in a parenting class?   Which one?  Did you like it?  Why or why not?  Do you have a child rearing tip or strategy that works/worked well for you that you’d like to share?  I would love to hear about it in the Comments/Reply section below and, as always, thank you for reading! 

Looking for resources?  Check out the National Parenting Education Network (NPEN), a national organization that promotes the field of parenting education and encourages information sharing, professional development and networking opportunities for individuals who educate and support parents.

Another Why “There’s a Mental Health Crisis Among American Children”

Published on by awsstudiosart2 Comments

Something’s Missing

In the NY Times article, “There’s a Mental Health Crisis Among American Children.  Why?: And the pandemic is not the only reason,” I noticed a missing “why”, a big one.

Tingley lists many reasons why we have a mental health crisis in this country. These include issues with data collection, the ability for more children to receive adequate and early mental health care. She also points out how the pandemic has added to  the crisis. But, she adds “rising numbers” of children and youth with mental illness was happening before Covid19. Less than 15% of these youth received treatment. 

A Lack of Mental Health Education

A picture showing to little girls hugging to emphasize the need for more mental health education.

As a mental health educator, the “why” there’s a mental health crisis in the US that I see missing is the lack of mental health education.  The NYT article and others about the state of mental health in the US usually  emphasize the issue of accessing treatment as the number one reason.  But treatment for mental illnesses is a “downstream” strategy, a way to administer to those who are ill.  They are often emergency life-saving measures.  On the other hand, mental health education is an “upstream” strategy.  Its purpose to arm individuals with the things they need to know and do to maintain mental health and prevent mental illnesses and the need for treatment as much as possible. 

Making Mental Health Skill Building Fun and Easy

Because of the lack of mental health education, states like New York and California have made or are making it a law. These laws work to ensure mental health education happens in schools.  It’s too bad we need laws to make mental health education take place.  Teaching and learning the skills of mental health isn’t hard.  And it can be fun!  In my last post, I talked about learning the social and emotional skill of acknowledging fear. Embracing a “little fear” helps us move beyond anxiety to a place of thriving.  For all healthy skills, it helps to understand why we need the skill and why it works.  To learn the skill of acknowledging fear, it helps to understand how our brains work when we’re experiencing it. 

Fear is a powerful emotion.  In its basic form, it keeps us safe.  And in our early human development, tuning into fear was essential for survival.  The thing is, even now hundreds of thousands of years later, fear still wants to react in its primal way.  A lot of fear we experience isn’t a life-or-death. Because of this,  we need to embody the skill of calming our primal brain areas down and tune into the areas that provide a more modern, logical and practical  approach.

I like how Dr. Steve Peters explains this in a simplified and fun way. Helping to clarify the complexity of brain science, Peters breaks it down. He conveys how our “emotional thinking machine” “The Chimp” needs to placate “The Human,” the area of thinking and planning. Says Peters, “You are not responsible for the nature of the dog but you are responsible for managing it, keeping it well behaved.”  Just as “you are not responsible for the nature of your Chimp but you are responsible for managing it.” And that’s a mental health skill! 

So, yes, we may be in a mental health crisis. But we don’t need to wait for laws and our schools to put a dent in that crisis. Mental health education can be provided now.  As parents and adults, we can help build the skills of mental health in our children. And, more importantly, for ourselves – in fun and engaging ways.  That’s what my picture book, “Adventures with phearnik!™”  is all about.  It’s a fun way to learn how to keep your social relationships and emotions healthy! 

What about you?  Could you use a fun way to help your child not be so fearful or anxious?  Could you yourself use the same!?  “Adventures with phearnik!™” can help! 

Art, Artists, Anxiety and Overcoming Fear of the Blank Canvas

Published on by awsstudiosart5 Comments

New Way to Handle Fear

Image shows a collage illustration of a man sitting in front of his easel looking unsure of what to paint like he can't start his painting.

My picture book, “Phobe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears,” is a story about a way for children (and adults!) to deal with fear and anxiety.  Compared to how fear presents in other children’s books, my book introduces a new and, may I be so bold to say – revolutionary – way to handle fear.

As an artist, I suffer from what’s called “blank canvas syndrome.”  It’s like “fear of the blank page” that some writers experience or stage fright that actors might encounter. 

Artists + Fear

We fearful artists have the expertise to do our jobs. At least we have enough to produce a piece of (art) work. But fear holds us back from tackling  the canvas, page or stage.  While experiencing this, I feared the outcome.  Would my picture come out as I envisioned it?  I feared my work would be judged by others negatively. When the artist accepts the outcome of their work, they more readily dismiss negative judgements. They then see it as a mismatch between the art and viewer.

Building Confidence

Having these fears mainly shows a lack of confidence. Confidence comes from artists doing a large amount  of work. With this comes the faith that the outcome won’t be so bad. Granted, not all art outcomes are accepted, even by the confident artist.  Doing scores of work – making lots of paintings – might become garbage. I wonder how many artists out there have a fear of wasting materials like me?!  I am a child of parents who grew up during the depression.  People like us don’t waste things!  We eat everything on our plates!  We use and reuse things repeatedly and rarely buy new!  Cheap artists like me want the work to come out the way we wanted it to the first time. Or else we’re wasting materials!  Yes, sad but true.

Studying Fear

For years, I “studied” what I could do about my fear of the blank canvas.  I read books like “Art and Fear”, “Affirmations for Artists” and “The Artist’s Way” and kept them for reference.  But none of these helped me break through my fears until I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic: Creative living beyond fear.” 

Take Fear with You

In the book, Gilbert offers a new way for artists to deal with/confront their fears in a now, well-known vignette titled, “The Road Trip.”  In it, Gilbert suggests artists accept and acknowledge their fears instead of trying to ignore it or get over it or, somehow, get rid of it.  She uses the metaphor of taking a road trip as a lesson in acknowledging fear.  On the trip, you bring your fear with you but it must sit in the backseat and it doesn’t get to control anything.  It doesn’t get to drive and it definitely doesn’t get to control the radio!

An illustration of a seated woman with a very frightened look on her face but you don't see what is frightening her.

Revolutionary Strategy

This idea of acknowledging fear but not letting it take control was, for me, revolutionary.  It makes so much sense.  Fear is one of our most powerful emotions.  It’s part of us.  It cannot be willed away.  It’s always there but we can learn to control it.  And, as a mental/social and emotional health educator, I know that’s a skill.  Having an understanding about a health topic and learning the skills is how we are healthy.

A picture of the "Phoebe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears" a picture book that helps kids reduce their fear and anxiety.
Book cover

Picture Book Explains Strategy

In “Phobe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears,” I’ve created a picture book using Gilbert’s idea. I take it one step further. I help kids and adults learn the skill of acknowledging fear. In addition, I want them to not let it take control of the things they want to try or need to do.  It’s worked for me and I bet it can work for you too!

How about you?  Are you an artist that has experienced fear of the blank canvas or page?  Or maybe even fear of wasting material!?  Or maybe you are someone who would like to of make art but is afraid of what people would say about it ?  I would love to hear about it in the “Leave a Reply/Comment”.   

And, if you’d like to  be one of the first to get a copy of the “Phobe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears,” picture book, click on the picture to place your pre-order! After your info, type “Pre-order” in the box!

A picture of the "Phoebe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears" a picture book that helps kids reduce their fear and anxiety.

An Easy Way for Picture Book Authors to Illustrate their Books

Published on by awsstudiosart3 Comments
Lucy’s silhouette

In a recent meeting of the Florida SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), I heard writers expressing their desire (and frustration?) for ways to illustrate their picture books.  Two years ago,  I came up with an idea to make my granddaughter a picture book about my mother (her great grandmother) for Christmas.  Since the idea sprang up late in the year, I didn’t have time to do full color illustrations.  The method I finally chose is one writers (who are not illustrators) could use for their picture books.  

While spending a weekend at my sister’s and thinking of ways to illustrate my book, I spied a small, black paper silhouette cutout of my mother in her twenties that she had made of herself while visiting the boardwalk in Atlantic City.  Silhouette is one of the oldest forms of expression that advertising and other print media have used for decades. 

In “Printers’ Ink”, an old journal for advertisers, a commercial art manager said of the art of silhouette that, “History refers to it, and the French have always been fond of [the] simplified art”; adding, “[t]he silhouette is more than apt to print under any and all circumstances… generally speaking, it is accident proof”.  Along with black and white “clipart,” the profile portrait of my mother became the perfect foundation for my story’s illustrations.

Fia’s silhouette

As a collage artist, I enjoy the hands-on cutting, manipulating and laying out of paper on paper and did not use a computer.   Finding boarders and frames to use with the black and white pictures and laying out the pages was, for me, a lot of fun.  Some frames I found I collaged or printed in the text I needed to illustrate from the story.  To mirror the boardwalk silhouette of my mother, I made one of my granddaughter for the book.   While babysitting her one weekend, my husband and I took her to a local beach where while playing in the sand, I was able to snap a picture of her in profile which I then turned into a silhouette.

I printed the clipart and the frames and boarders out on my studio printer and laid out each page of the picture book on 8”x 8” card stock.  Along with some modifications, it still took me the four months working part-time to complete the book getting the text and layout just right.  Once all the pages were complete with the printed text, I took all the pages to be copied and bound to Staples.  There, I chose to have the book and it’s copy spiral bound.  The Staples print technicians* at the store in Clay, NY did a great job with the printing/copying and the binding. 

I was pleased with how my black and white picture book came out.  It’s rare for a picture book to be produced in black and white instead of color but it works for this book.  I think some of the reasons are that it’s a small book, the text moves right along with quick page turns and many of the black and white illustrations show movement i.e., the banner on the beauty school, the “sailor” on the Playbill, the shopper, the dancers and the ribbon waving behind the seamstress. 

 Also, the silhouette is a unique communication tool that has been used by print media for their concise and immediate recognition.  Their simplicity engages readers by leaving something to the imagination, which, I think,  especially works with children.  My book must “work” because my four-year-old granddaughter says she loves it and it has often been her number one choice when choosing a book to read!

If you are not an artist or illustrator and if you are looking for a way to add illustrations to your picture book, clipart could work for you too. 

How about you?  Have you ever seen clipart used for a picture book?  Have you ever tried using clipart to make illustrations?  Let me know.  I’d love to hear from you.  Use the “Comments” section below.

*I found out with my next picture book that all Staples print services are not the same.  You are not guaranteed the same services even from your preferred store as it can depend on the specific technician.  If you are pleased with the results from a certain technician, I recommend that you get their name so you can request their services in the future.

A Different Kind of “Self-Publishing”

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DIY Picture Book

With “How-To” Download!

“Adventures with phearnik!™” hardcover
Trimming the edges
Covers folded and glued to inside
Applying white glue with a brush
End pages hold the stitched pages in the book
The overnight pressing
Completed hardcover book!

A couple of posts ago, I “debuted”, “Lucy’s Pocket” © 2020, a black and white picture book. I created the book for my granddaughter. It was one of her Christmas presents. 

In my last post, I unveiled another picture book, “Adventures with phearnik!™” © 2021. I wrote and illustrated this one too. It was for the same granddaughter. This time for her birthday. (Hopefully, it will be a less chaotic time than Christmas to present her with a special book!)  

I needed a copy of the book for the gift (soon!). I also wanted another for myself. I would use it to have on hand to show and shop around.  I’m looking for an  agent to help me shop the book to publishers.  I’m not travelling the “conventional” self-publishing route. If I were, having just finished all the illustrations this past month, there would not be enough time to get the books printed by mid-November.   

Book Building

I also costed  “photo books” made by online photo book printers but the cost was a bit beyond my budget – around $50 per book for a 32 page 8” x 9” picture book.    So, I decided to travel a different “self-publishing” route and made built the books by hand.

I have been through the process of putting my own picture books together before with “Lucy’s Pocket” and another book I made for a nutrition unit for a family daycare provider training I developed. For both of those books, I took the original pages of text and illustrations I had laid out, one on card stock and the other on paper printed from my home printer and laminated, to Staples for copying and binding.

Not Spiral Bound, Hardcover

With “Lucy’s Pocket,” Staples Print Services made a copy of the original  8” x 8” pages and spiral bound both the original and the copy into two books for less than $20 each. (More like two-for-one compared to a 32-page photo book from an online printer!)  Because many of the illustrations in “Adventures …” are full page spreads (occupying the whole of two facing pages), I did not want the book to be spiral bound (the full page spread illustrations would have a gap between the two facing pages) and  I wanted to try my hand at making my own hardcover book.

Tools of the Trade

I started by using my personal home scanner and scanning my illustrations to the computer, saving them as jpeg photos. Then, I used Microsoft Publisher to layout the pages of the book. Publisher does not have book or booklet templates for custom sizes, so I had to create my own.  I made an 8” x 9” “Custom” “Blank” page and used this to lay out all 32 pages of the book.  I then imported my scanned illustrations onto the pages and copied and pasted my text from Word into text boxes in Publisher.

At first, my pages were presenting with a white border around each page.  Although it looked nice, I couldn’t have a border where the two pages came together in the center to make the full-page spread.  I finally figured out how to remove the borders and was able to layout the spreads.  Once the layout was complete, I used Staples again to print out the pages, but this time, I did it myself on one of their “self-copiers” using a pdf of the Publisher file saved on a thumb/jump drive. 

Learn From my Mistakes

Because the “Adventures…” book pages are 8” x 9” and they were printed on 8 ½” x 11” paper, I had to cut each page down to size.  I unfortunately made the mistake of printing each page one sided instead of two-sided!  I can’t believe I did that!  (Even my husband said, “All book pages are two-sided”.  Like, “Duh”!)  I had to glue all the pages together to make them two sided, making sure each “front” page was glued to its corresponding “back” page.  Next time, I will be sure to print the pages two-sided!    After that, I laid out the pages, taped them together with Magic Tape, added the “end pages” (the ones that get glued to the inside of the cover) and stitched them together with my trusty, old metal Kenmore sewing machine and pressed them folded overnight. 

I then made the hard cover for the book.  I used an old, stained piece of 4 ply (1/16”) mat board (it was getting covered so the stains wouldn’t matter) cutting two pieces to the size of the finished book – 8” x 9” and a thin, ¼” x 8” piece for the spine.  I  covered the board with the front and back cover pictures.  This was tricky because the pictures only measured 8.5” x 11” so there was not enough “cover” to fold around to the inside of the board.  Because of this, I glued more paper onto the cover pictures so they could fold into the inside nicely.  Once the front and back covers were glued down, I glued down the end pages covering up the folded parts of the covers.  And after another overnight pressing, the book was complete!  I’m really pleased with how it came out. 

Now that I have “built” a hard cover picture book from start to finish, I am no longer intimidated by the process.  I recommend it as a good experience for any picture book illustrator.   (You may gain a new appreciation for publishers and printers! I certainly did.)   Plus, I may have started an annual tradition – giving a very special granddaughter a Nana book for her birthday (or maybe even Christmas)!

Have you ever put a hardcover book together from scratch?  Did you run into any issues?  Were you pleased with the results?  I’d love to hear about it in Comments!

Get the “how to” steps here!
This is a picture of the inside spread of the Beyond the Gate at Casey Key See and Say booklet by aws Studios

“Beyond the Gate on Casey Key” © 2020, A children’s “See and Say ™ ” booklet

Published on by awsstudiosart1 Comment

In the winter, my husband and I leave our cherished cottage on “The Great Sodus Bay” (as it’s termed in Google Maps) off Lake Ontario for the warmer climes of the Gulf of Mexico.  My favorite bike ride there is to leave my home in Venice, Florida, hop on the wonderful “Legacy Trail” and make my way over to Casey Key.  Casey Key is one of the many unique Keys running along the intercostal waterway on Florida’s “Gulf” side.  Casey Key in Nokomis, Florida is known for its narrow motorway with gorgeous views of the Gulf and its spectacular and lovely oceanside (and intercostal side) mansions (it’s also a winter home to Steven King).  On one of my biweekly rides, I finally took the time to snap some shots along the way.  The picture of the iron gate inspired me to make a “See and Say” booklet for my toddler granddaughter. 

The “Beyond the Gate on Casey Key See and Say” booklet’s front cover is the shot of the gate beckoning the reader to open the gate to “see” what’s beyond.  Once open, I collaged a fantasy view of the Gulf with, well, like the rhyme says, the sun, the waves, the sand and shells, sailboats, dolphins and seagulls.  I enjoyed making this fun booklet and made a few copies for friends’ children and grandchildren and a few of my adult friends received a copy as a greeting card.  If you are interested in a copy of the “Beyond the Gate on Casey Key See and Say” booklet, contact me here.

Have you been to Casey Key?  If so, have you ever spotted the gate there?  

Beyond the gate on Casey Key, tell me now, what do you see?

Do you see a butterfly kite? And a big yellow sun shining bright?

On the shore some seashells gather while dancing waves make a lather.

Count the starfish if you can. They are hiding in the sand!

Out on the Gulf of Mexico, where the winds begin to blow,

Sailboats chase the dolphins gray all through the blue green ocean spray.

Feathery gulls fly up high as the clouds go drifting by.

It’s a beautiful day for you and me beyond the gate on Casey Key!

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This is a picture of the cover of the children's picture book "Lucy's Pocket." A great book to help celebrate Grandparents' Day.

Debut of “Lucy’s Pocket”, a new picture book!

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  • “Lucy’s Pocket” © 2020
  • Excerpt from “Lucy’s Pocket”
  • Page from “Lucy’s Pocket”

Can a great-grandmother’s warm, furry coat transform into a fantastic surprise for an unsuspecting granddaughter?

Great grandmother Lucy had a very special coat.  And, like “The Giving Tree”, the unassuming coat obtained 80 years ago (with a secret spot to hold special memories), still to this day, keeps on giving.

From social and emotional health curriculum developer honoree Alis Wintle Sefick, “Lucy’s Pocket” is an endearing story about a treasured family heirloom – a special coat – that travels through the generations into the future and heart of its youngest family member. 

“Lucy’s Pocket” is a “book and plushie” package.  It is a 8 x 8 inch, comfortable to hold, spiral bound, “touch and feel” picture book for children ages 3 – 5.  Using bold and simple, black and white clip-art illustrations, the tastefully designed book maintains an easy page-turning cadence that keeps children – and adults – coming back to the story again and again.  The plushie “surprise” is a replica of the coat’s transformation (but we’re not giving the surprise away here)!

Sure to delight readers and plushie lovers young and old, the “Lucy’s Pocket” package is a perfect anecdote for anyone needing a little warm and fuzzy grand-mothering.  These days, who doesn’t need a little bit of that now and then!

If you are a picture book agent interested in seeing more of “Lucy’s Pocket” or if you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book or book package, contact me here .