Goal: Develop diverse kids with positive behaviors who become diverse adults with positive behaviors.
That's what these books are all about. Learning about being part of
successful teams, successful collaboration, positive interactions,
achieving positive results and living complete,
fulfilled, enjoyable lives. These
lessons are the building blocks to
that end.
As far back as grade school, I have always enjoyed writing poetry.
Since that time, I have written several pieces but they have just
been put into a folder, in a box or on the
shelf.
It wasn't until I retired after a 50+ year career in the computer industry, that the thought of publishing was taken off the shelf and dusted off. Although I have other unpublished writings, This series of children's book is my first shot at getting my writing out on the public market. What better writing style than poetry to tell a story to children.
The lessons were inspired by some of my own childhood fears related
to a few of these bugs, plus what I observed from my own kids and
grandchildren. The actual books have been written since around
2015, but I lacked the confidence to illustrate them. The catalyst
that finally motivated me to push these books through, was due to
my granddaughter Delaney stepping up and offering to help
illustrate them. Sometimes we just need a little push! I write the
stories, Delaney creates 'the look' of each books character, then I
take the look of her characters and illustrate the
books. My
granddaughter is currently in college studying to get her teaching
degree for the grade school levels. Teaching has been a passion of
hers since she was little.
We are living in unprecedented times right now. On one hand, our
kids are being exposed to chaos regarding health issues, school
challenges, violence, greed, racism, bigotry, and dishonesty. On
the other hand, they are also seeing acts of kindness, acceptance,
compassion, and generosity.
It is never too early to start encouraging, teaching, and instilling these latter positive principles into their lives. It is important to flood their minds with how important kindness and positive practices are in this world that we have put them smack-dab in the middle of!
It is also never too late to take a new path in your life. Just
because you retire from one successful career, doesn't mean you
can't reinvent yourself into another adventure.