You might be looking for books to read this summer that reinforce family values. I’ve found a great author that has a collection of picture books that touches on this subject.
Harvey L. Frierson. Jr. has been a hit songwriter for musical icons such as Mary J. Blige and New Edition. Now, he finds his most current audience could be his most rewarding yet, his three-month-old niece and the next generation. With books like “My Big Sister is the Best” and “I Love to Wave”, Harvey L. Frierson Jr. is using his talent to bring social skills and values to children. I had the chance to ask him about his childhood reading memories, writing routine, and what writing means to him.
What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?
Harvey L. Frierson Jr: When I was a child, I had a collection of Batman stories that you read along with a 45” inch “action” recording. LOL
Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.
Harvey L. Frierson Jr: My writing routine is talking to my brother about what my niece JJ is doing, and then writing a story hoping she will be impressed.
What is writing to you in one sentence?
Harvey L. Frierson Jr: Writings are messages for my children, nieces and nephews to appeal to their family values.
“I Love to Wave” is a story about a girl coping with the new pandemic social norms. Hunter loves to wave, but finds it difficult in this new world of mask wearing, social distancing and virtual school. Through the help of her parents and school teachers, they model how Hunter can stay safe and continue to be kind to people.
Judith A. Proffer is the author of the children’s book, “We Stayed At Home”.
With all the new changes with COVID and distance learning, it’s hard for children to understand why the changes are happening and to safely follow all the new expected procedures. I’ve found a great book that revisits the story that happened to us all this spring, and why it’s so important to embrace the changes in our lives and stay safe for everyone.
Judith A. Proffer is the co-author of the book “We Stayed At Home”. Written with co-author Tara Fass, a licensed marriage and family therapist, this book helps illustrate the ups and downs that children are experiencing with the virus, and how they can be supported with school, home life, and their general well being. I had a chance to talk to Judith about her reading memories as a child, favorite authors, inspirations and why she loves to write.
1) What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?
Judith A. Proffer: Visiting the library weekly with my mother and sisters, we each could select a handful of books. It was such a rich experience. And for me it was more than the content, it was also about illustration, the feel of the paper, the typography. The entire book appreciation experience. I may have even smelled a brand new book or two. I shall neither confirm nor deny that.
2) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?
Judith A. Proffer: Asking me to name a favorite author is akin to asking me to consider my favorite song or book or dog. As a child I wasn’t a finicky reader, I enjoyed a swath of genres. I have a crush on storytellers and writers. As for how they may have influenced me. I learned early on that words don’t need to be particularly hefty or fancy to make an impact. They just need to be the right word in the right sentence to pack a powerful punch.
3) Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.
Judith A. Proffer: I love writing with my morning tea. I love writing in my rose garden at sunlight’s golden hour. And I even love those 2 a.m. moments of inspiration.
4) What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?
Judith A. Proffer: Travel, climate change, honoring the heroes among us.
5) What is writing to you in one sentence?
Judith A. Proffer: Writing is the purest expression of my truest self.
“When We Stayed Home” is a wonderfully, illustrated book that helps children cheer themselves on during these unusual times. It honors their role as “superheroes” by staying home and learning, but validating the necessity of the sacrifice of keeping distance, avoiding playgrounds, and limiting visits with family and friends. Co-authored with a family and marriage therapist, this book will help families navigate the bumps of the pandemic with a dash of hope and optimism.
For more information on Judith A. Proffer, please visit her website at: http://huquapress.com/.
I have a surprise for everyone. I have written a picture book to help support all the parents and teachers during these strange times. It’s called “I Don’t Want to Wear a Mask!”. It helps children validate their feelings with all the strange routine changes, and models a parent lovingly supporting and validating their little one’s emotional turmoil. With all the different return-to-school programs through out the country, structure and safety is what kids need to help them right now. I wanted to help reassure them, and support their emotional needs.
“Back to School” has never been so difficult. Some school districts are returning to in-person school, some are remaining online with distance learning, and others are doing a combination of both depending on their communities. With so many changes, parents and children need support in adapting to these new structures. So, I wrote a loving and supportive book to help children understand the changes around them.
I targeted the preschooler and kindergartener, even though the book could be read up through third grade. It will hopefully lead to discussions and communication with parents, teachers, and the children that are going through this huge, educational upheaval together.
Tiffany Turner is the author of “I Don’t Want to Wear a Mask!” and head editor/writer of this blog.
I am an elementary teacher that has been writing and self-publishing for children since 2007. I’ve also been a teacher for 20 years. I have a middle reader series, and another self-published picture book called “Pumper the Pumpkin.” For this new book, I hired a fabulous illustrator from Columbia, Natalia Cuno. She captures the beautiful warmth and caring that I wanted to convey with this book.
I invite you to check out the book on Amazon.com. It is available as an ebook for many tablets and the Kindle phone app as well as a print edition. I welcome feedback in its many forms, such as reviews or as comments below in this post. I would love to hear what you think and how your child reacts to the book.
We can all get through this together, and remember to wear a mask.
Welcome to the last day of the Back to School Blog Tour. I hope you have enjoyed all of our featured authors this week, and have added to your home or class online library. I’d like to wrap up this fabulous week by introducing you to my last featured author, Thomasina M. D’Arezzo. She is a published poet, and has written children’s books and women’s fiction. She lives in New England citing autumn being one of her favorite seasons. She enjoys hiking, acting and listening to music when not involved in writing. She’s proud of her recent college graduate son.
Thomasina M. D’Arezzo is the children’s author of the mystery children’s book, “Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?”
Her recent book, “Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?” is a fun mystery adventure that any kid can get lost in. Great for writing assignments or studying the mystery genre, this book will introduce your child to her fantastic Marco The Mini Sleuth series. I had a chance to talk to Thomasina about her childhood reading interests, writing process, and what writing means to her.
1) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?
Thomasina M. D’Arezzo: For Children’s books there are multiple that I like. I enjoy a lot of classic tales. I particularly enjoyed “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter and “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.
2) Do you have a writing routine?
Thomasina M. D’Arezzo: When writing a novel I have a routine where I try to write 5000 words per day. When writing a children’s book, I will sit on the idea for a while in my head before I bring it all to life. 3) What is writing to you in one sentence?
Thomasina M. D’Arezzo: It’s a beautiful escape from reality! A world where you can create what you want!
“Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?” is a great mystery for any child to get lost in. Marco’s cousins have recently lost their new kitten. Marco is on the case. By using his magical magnifying glass, he goes out looking for clues. They all work together to solve the mystery, but they get side tracked along the way. Will the clues lead them to the kitten in time?
“Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?” is available at Amazon.com.
To close out this year’s blog tour, I’d like to announce two things.
It’s not too late to still enter the Back to School 2020 Blog Tour $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway. The giveaway will be open through the end of the week, and will close for entries on Sept. 7, 2020. The winner will be announced next week on the blog. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!
I’ve been working feverishly on this project the last few months, and I’m happy to announce it’s release during this year’s Back to School Blog Tour. This picture book is a great way to help children validate their anxiety and concerns about the pandemic and how it is changing our lives.
A little about my new book:
Trying to teach your child about the importance of wearing a mask in school?
Albert is returning to school. But this year is different than all others before. He has to wear a mask. The COVID-19 Virus has spread around the world in the first pandemic in one hundred years. He has been studying at home, and has missed a lot of things. He misses his friends in preschool. He misses his teacher. He misses being outside and playing on the playground. But for his first day of Kindergarten, he has to wear a mask. Will talking with his mother about the reasons to wear masks help Albert understand how he can be a superhero?
This picture book helps children understand the importance of wearing a mask in school. They can be a superhero just like Albert as they wear a mask like other adult heroes in grocery stores, post offices or libraries. Teach your little one the importance of mask wearing as they return to in-person school or prepare for online distance learning. Help children understand the new normal happening around them and why it is important. This book is recommended for ages 3 to 8. It’s available on Amazon.com as a print or ebook edition.
I want to thank all of the participating authors for sharing a little of themselves and their fabulous books. I look forward to this blog tour highlighting unique, Indie children’s authors at the beginning of each school year.
This year is so very different than many others, and I hope the book recommendations, interviews and my resources are supportive and helpful to parents and teachers during this school year of 2020 -2021.
***Please follow my blog to find out about wonderful, fabulous Indie children’s authors and their books all year long!
Until next year, remember to keep reading and writing,
This pandemic has made many of us become aware of those things to be thankful for. It may also be bringing on feelings of resentment of what your child might have lost out on. Help them deal with the loss and look at the positives of their new situation with a fabulous find, a “Gratitude Journal for Kids”.
Tiffany Watkins is the author of this book. She has a BSA in Sociology with a minor in Child and Family studies, and a master in Divinity Studies. She received a doctorate in Christian Counseling. She enjoys serving her community and working with the United Way Young Philanthropist Program. Through her book, she hopes to encourage children to look towards what they are grateful for each day and find the magic in a moment of their day. I had the chance to interview Tiffany about her childhood reading memories, favorite author, and what projects she has in store for the future.
What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?
Tiffany Watkins: My favorite memory from reading as a child was how fun it was to have your peers reading about the same thing and able to discuss it among them.
Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?
Tiffany Watkins: My favorite memory from reading as a child was “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret?” by Judy Blume. This book greatly influenced my walk as a middle schooler because it addressed the things I was experiencing at the time.
What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?
Tiffany Watkins: In the future, I would like to write about positivity for kids.
“Gratitude Journal for Kids” is a helpful tool to help children focus on the positive aspects of their lives. Written to encourage an Attitude of Greatness, the journal has daily entries so your child can write three things daily about what they are grateful for. Each entry also includes a “Magic Moment of the Day” in which they can reflect on something that was positive and memorable about their day. Drawing is encouraged in the entry to express their gratefulness and artistic abilities. This book will help your child get in touch with their feelings and cope with the loss of a daily routine and events during the COVID19 pandemic.
“Gratitude Journal for Kids”
The Indie Children's Authors Connection 