Tips for success from an author who really knows her audience.
04/01/2009
Now a counselor and nanny, she has brought wonderful stories into the lives of the many kids in her care. Her audience is about to get a whole lot bigger, as she recently sold her first children’s story, The Great Dog Wash—a tale in which everything is going just swell until a cat arrives on the scene.
Braeuner’s delightful story got its break in the first annual Spoonfuls of Stories® New Authors Contest sponsored by Cheerios®. As part of the prize, the editors of Simon &Schuster Children’s Publishing reviewed the manuscript—and liked it so much, they offered her a book deal. The Great Dog Wash will be published in hardcover in July. Meanwhile, a paperback version in both English and Spanish will be available free in 1.5 million Cheerios boxes this spring.
“It’s been absolutely phenomenal,” marvels Braeuner. “This isn’t just a step up from what most first-time authors experience; it’s an elevator ride up.”
What kids learn from books
Braeuner, who holds a Master of Education degree in Developmental Counseling, knows that good stories can reach and teach kids in ways that nothing else can. Early in her career, she utilized bibliotherapy—books as therapy—as a counselor for children and adolescents.
These days, as nanny for a busy Nashville family, she frequently tells and reads stories to the four kids in her care. In fact, her award-winning story was inspired by the family’s 3-year-old, who sang a dog-washing song while helping her bathe the family dog.
Want to help your kids get the most from the books you share?
Braeuner offers these tips:
• Consider what’s happening in your kids’ lives. Are they adapting to a new circumstance or facing a milestone? Look for story characters responding to similar challenges in relatable ways. Braeuner likes Felix Salten’s Bambi, for example, as primer for going back to school. “It’s all about Bambi meeting the new animals that weren’t like him,” she points out, “and how he learns to deal with some who smell funny, some who are smaller, some that are bigger.”
• Look beyond the obvious. Consider avoiding preachy titles and look for great stories with morals more subtly woven in, says Braeuner, who read and reread Judi and Ron Barrett’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to some of the kids after their great-uncle died. “The story has nothing to do with death,” she says, “but when the people
left their magical island, they found that life went on. I think this was a hopeful message.”
• Talk about what you’re reading—and seeing. Relate the story to your kids’ lives, pointing to different scenes and asking how they would feel if they were in a similar situation. “You want them to open up,” Braeuner says. “If your child is talking to you about something that happened at school, go with it, listen to them—even if you don’t
finish the story.” She laughs, recognizing what at first seems to be a disconnect between her old and new worlds. “As an author, I hate to say that!” But as any parent would agree, the measure of a good Shellie Braeuner with Fluffy, who inspired her award-winning book. book is its ability to make an impact—just like the books Shellie
Braeuner’s parents once shared with her.
To learn more about the next Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories New
Author contest for up-and-coming children’s book writers, visit
spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com