Blog Archives
The Kids’ Book of Brave: A Gentle Guide to Finding Your Yet
The Kids’ Book of Brave, by Catherine Stephenson, is a gentle picture book about confidence, nervousness, and the small, ordinary moments when children learn to keep going. Through classroom worries, playground rejection, spilled cupcake batter, jealousy, shyness, and trying something new, the book shows bravery as something quiet and practical rather than loud or showy. Its central idea is simple but lovely: children don’t have to feel fearless to be brave; they just need one small step.
I really appreciated how tenderly the writing handles big feelings. As a parent, I’m always drawn to books that don’t rush children out of discomfort, and this one sits beside them for a moment instead. The repeated ideas, such as adding “yet” to “I can’t do this,” taking a slow breath, and noticing the thump-thump in your body, feel reassuring without becoming preachy. The phrasing is especially warm, and Stephenson gives children language for feelings that can otherwise seem huge and shapeless.
The artwork has a soft, handmade sweetness that fits the subject beautifully. The pencil and watercolor illustrations feel light and convey emotions well, with children who look uncertain, proud, jealous, shy, or relieved in ways that are easy to recognize. I especially liked that bravery is shown in such modest scenes: raising a hand, tapping a soccer ball, asking for help, and walking into a classroom. The ideas are familiar, but they’re handled with care, and the book’s rhythm gives those little moments real weight.
The Kids’ Book of Brave is a thoughtful and comforting children’s book with a clear sense of purpose. It doesn’t make confidence seem magical or instant, which I value; it presents it as something children can build, breath by breath and choice by choice. I’d recommend it for preschool and early elementary kids, especially those who are anxious, perfectionistic, shy, or easily discouraged, and for parents who want a calm way to talk about courage without making feelings sound like a problem to fix.
Pages: 42 | ISBN : 978-1917442091
YOU ARE MY YELLOW
You Are My Yellow follows Tony, a yellow monster living in the very green Land Green, where being different makes him feel lonely and unwanted. After trying to hide who he is, Tony meets Penny, a small red dragon who also feels out of place because she can’t fly or breathe fire like the others. Their friendship becomes the heart of the story, and when danger strikes Tony’s school, Penny discovers that the very thing she thought made her “bad” at being a dragon is actually what helps her save the day.
I found the emotional core of this book genuinely touching. I’m like stories that give children language for that awful little ache of feeling excluded, and Tony’s sadness felt easy to understand without being too heavy. The message is clear, and I appreciated that the book doesn’t just say “be yourself” and leave it there. It shows how hard that can be when everyone around you seems to agree that different means wrong.
The writing has a bouncy, rhyming rhythm that gives the story a playful read-aloud quality, though there are moments when the rhyme takes over and makes the wording feel a bit crowded. Still, there’s warmth in the repetition, especially in phrases like “You are my yellow,” which becomes tender rather than cute. The ideas are simple but sincere: belonging, courage, friendship, and the painful little compromises children sometimes make to fit in. The artwork supports those ideas beautifully. I liked the strong color worlds, the green sameness of Tony’s home, the red warmth of Penny, and the way the illustrations make difference visible before the story even explains it.
You Are My Yellow is a gentle and heartfelt story about self-acceptance, but what stayed with me most was the friendship between two children who recognize each other’s hurt and make room for each other. I’d recommend it for young readers who are navigating friendship, confidence, or feeling different, and especially for parents who want a story that opens the door to a tender conversation afterward.
Pages: 36 | ISBN : 978-1037117695
Discover Your Gold Mind
Discover Your Gold Mind by David L. Shabazz is a motivational and reflective guide about cultivating what the author calls a “gold mind,” a disciplined inner life shaped by self-awareness, faith, purposeful action, goal-setting, persistence, and care for the body as well as the spirit. Shabazz moves from self-concept and perception to dreams, confidence, perseverance, character, health, income, and legacy, drawing on examples such as Maya Angelou, Joe Dudley, Tom Dempsey, Satchel Paige, Walt Disney, and Maurice Ashley to argue that success begins long before the visible achievement. The book insists that poverty and abundance are not only material conditions, but habits of thought, and that a person’s future is deeply affected by the way they speak to themselves, imagine possibility, and act under pressure.
I found the book most affecting when Shabazz turns from broad exhortation to concrete human moments. The Volkswagen Jetta story, where he realizes he has neglected the value of what he already possesses, quietly becomes one of the book’s best metaphors: we often treat our minds like inherited property instead of sacred equipment. That idea stayed with me. So did the discussion of the Johari Window, especially the “unknown” quadrant, because it gives the self-help material a welcome tenderness. It suggests that we are not merely broken things to be fixed, but undiscovered countries. The book’s recurring emphasis on self-concept, inner speech, and disciplined imagination has real emotional force, particularly when paired with stories of people who had every reason to surrender to humiliation, injury, poverty, or delay.
The writing is warm, direct, and sermon-like, with the rhythm of a speaker who wants to reach the person at the back of the room. I admired that accessibility. Shabazz writes with conviction, and his best passages have the cadence of lived counsel rather than abstract theory. The phrases about goals, thought, discipline, faith, and self-mastery begin to accumulate like a drumbeat. By the time the book reaches practical habits such as planning the day, exercising the body and mind, and building a spiritual foundation, its message feels less like a slogan and more like a daily ethic.
I respected Discover Your Gold Mind for its heart, its moral seriousness, and its refusal to let readers hide behind talent, circumstance, or delay. I’d recommend it to readers who appreciate faith-inflected personal development, students or young professionals looking for a practical push, and anyone drawn to motivational writing that blends self-reflection, discipline, and purpose with a strong sense of spiritual accountability. Its best audience is someone ready not just to be encouraged, but to be confronted with the responsibility of becoming.
Pages: 149 | ASIN : B0GS7LK64L
Pursuing Our Own Passions
The Literary Hedgehog follows a mouse poet who struggles to have her voice heard and starts to doubt her worth, yet with the help of friends, she finds her confidence. What was the inspiration for your story?
Every author who questions their self-worth as a writer. Derek and I have both experienced this at some level, and we see this online in the Writing Community every day and with students when we present writing modules in local high schools. We want to offer support and encouragement to writers and let everyone know— you have a voice and deserve to be heard, just like Evie.
What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?
We wanted to juxtapose some biases and stereotypes by sharing a deeper view of the main characters. For example, when Mr. Hedgehog’s attitudes are shown, his beliefs are stuck in the past. When presented with an alternate perspective by Ms. Rabbit, he isn’t really a misogynist, and he proves this again when a crisis at City Magazine arises. He changed his mindset and gave Evie a chance— an opportunity for publication.
With Ms. Rabbit and even Evie, we wanted to demonstrate a common gender-role bias of a woman’s role in society that lingers today. Granted, this bias isn’t as strong as it once was, but gender bias still has a foothold in cultures around the world.
For Brayden, we wanted to demonstrate that although he has gifts and talents of his own, supporting others like Evie along their path doesn’t mean he isn’t pursuing his own. It shows he is supportive, friendly, and encouraging— help and be helped.
And finally, Evie demonstrates the importance of being true to ourselves by pursuing our own passions and not falling prey to doing what we think others or society expect from us. We all have gifts; we all have talents, and we live our most fulfilled lives when we utilize them.
Overall, there is more to each of us than meets the eye.
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
One of our favorite scenes is when Brayden is searching for Evie so he can deliver the post message to her from City Magazine. He finds her near the woods picnicking and delivers Mr. Hedgehog’s request for Evie’s poetry. At first, Evie is uncertain, but Brayden tells her it is her big chance and that she can’t miss it. When Evie realizes he is right, she takes the lead, jumping on the front of the tandem bicycle, and Brayden hops on the back, and they head to the post office to call City Magazine. This is fabulous— it’s the moment Evie takes control of her fate.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
We are always working on the next project and usually more than one. Right now, we are creating Our Spring: Imagination, Creativity, & More, the fourth book in our family-focused Keepsakes series, which includes Our Christmas: Traditions, Memories, & More, Our Halloween: Mysteries, Monsters, & More, and Our Summer: Adventures, Amusements, & More releases on March 20th.
Additionally, we are creating the fourth book, The Enchanted Summer Faerie Realm, in our Enchanted Realms series of faerie-themed poetry books, each with a different aspect introducing children to the elements of poetry. It releases on May 6th. The next two books in our Enlightenment series are near completion and include kintsugi- inspired Life is Sweet: Words of Gratitude (February 11th release) and Bloom: Ho’oponopono Words of Love and Gratitude (March 11th release).
While all that is going on, I’m writing The Golden Locket, the sequel to Katie’s Attic, for my MG supernatural historical fiction Thread Through Time series, and it will be released on March 25th. And Derek released a new poetry book in December, New Year’s Frost, and he has another poetry book, Soulmates Forevermore, releasing January 7th. But his current solo project and this is exciting, is his first fiction novel— a sci-fi thriller, which is slated for release in the third quarter of 2025.
Needless to say, we aren’t short of projects; each brings us much joy.
Derek King’s Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Instagram | Website | Amazon
Julie Kusma’s Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Instagram | Website | Amazon
This delightful tale teaches children the importance of believing in themselves, challenging outdated assumptions, and the value of friendship and encouragement. Evie Mouse’s journey shows that determination, courage, and the support of others can make dreams come true.
What this book can teach young children: The importance of self-belief and following your passions.
Challenging stereotypes and societal expectations.
The value of encouragement and support from friends.
Courage in seizing opportunities and taking risks.
Introduce your young readers to The Literary Hedgehog, and let them discover how far self-confidence and the support of friends can take them. Spark their imaginations and inspire them to find their voice—just like Evie did. Add The Literary Hedgehog to your library today and join Evie on her literary adventure!
Tools That Empower Women
Bozena Zawisz Author Interview
Liberating Inner Eve tackles the many perspectives Christians have on the story of Eve. What was your inspiration that made you want to write this book?
What inspired, or more accurately, “compelled” me to write “Liberating Inner Eve” were a couple of influences that crossed their paths during my life’s journey.
One was my ongoing professional dedication to nurturing high levels of confidence and self-love in my clients. Part of this calling always involved being aware of the many factors that restrict their experience of high self-worth, including those less obvious such as layers of historic conditioning (for example those relating to women being less encouraged to pursue self-development outside of their caring roles (than men)).
Another influence that inspired me to write “Liberating Inner Eve” was my journey as a mother. When introducing my son to characters from Bible stories, I found myself being very mindful of the messages that society’s common interpretations of popular Bible stories (like the account of Adam and Eve) continue to send to our future generations. For example, the popular depiction of Eve as Adam’s helper in many of today’s children’s Bibles often falls short of placing enough emphasis on Adam and Eve’s calling towards a complementary, mutually supportive union, as interpreted by JPII.
In every chapter of “Liberating Inner Eve” I decided to explore a theme that I frequently address as a counselor, presenting it as a holistic marriage between cultural, historic, and psychological influences. And pair it with those strategies that I found to be most effective in helping to transform it, so it resonates with the Gospel’s message of inclusion and empowerment.
I wanted to write “Liberating Inner Eve” from the heart, sharing my own journey of transformation with my readers, as well as the lessons I’ve learned from having the privilege to listen to so many female voices.
What do you find is a common misconception people have about the Genesis account of Adam and Eve?
As a counselor I appreciate the power that visualization has in stimulating the various sensory pathways and emotional patterns within our brains. There is much written about the power of visualization and metaphors in influencing our subconscious mind.
What I love about the Bible is the way it abounds in metaphors and analogies that describe not only the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven but also the many aspects of our humanity.
What I find most concerning about the common interpretations of the account of Adam and Eve, that is the ones that imply in some way that Eve is the more inferior of the original pair, is how this emphasis has been represented in art throughout history, as well as how influential it was in the forming of subsequent theological reflections and practices.
I feel that Adam and Eve’s calling towards a complementary, mutually supportive union (as interpreted by JPII) and her release from blame for mankind’s downfall (which I address in “Liberating Inner Eve”) needs a lot of reinforcement. So that in the midst of today’s “movement of equality” we can prevent many women from turning away from the depth and beauty of Christian spirituality, because of these and many other historic/social misconceptions.
I found this to be a soothing book that also serves as a guide to self reflection. What do you hope readers take away from your book?
My aim for “Liberating Inner Eve” is to raise awareness in relation to the many historical/social pressures and restrictions that impact on women’s experience today (as awareness is the first step towards transformation). I would also like to offer tools that empower women to manifest Christian values of equality, freedom, and mutual care in their life’s unique circumstances.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next book, on which I am working on with much excitement and enthusiasm, will be another “Reflective Journey for Women, within Christian values” book, about the importance of deepening the experience of our “connection” with ourselves. I hope to make it available within 6 months 🙂
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
![Liberating Inner Eve: A Reflective Journey for Women by [Zawisz, Bozena]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516NIl5J9TL.jpg?w=604&ssl=1)
I wrote “Liberating Inner Eve” as a result of my encounters with female clients from a Christian background who struggle to find a sense of personal strength, high self-worth, love, and acceptance.
“Liberating Inner Eve” offers psychological insight around the impact of commonly found interpretations of the teachings of the Old Testament (in particular the Genesis account of Adam and Eve) and New Testament (the lifetime of Jesus), on various themes relevant to women’s daily lives, such as how they experience their identity, self-acceptance, and self-worth.
Every Chapter of this book includes simple exercises, encouraging readers to take time to review their thoughts and feelings, relating to a particular topic.
Through “Liberating Inner Eve” I long to share with others how empowering the Bible can be in helping women find self-love, self-acceptance, and personal strength.
