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Am I Brave Enough To Conquer It?
Marky the Magnificent Fairy follows a young fairy who is teased for looking different and teaches the other fairies about acceptance and compassion. What was the inspiration for your story?
Writing Marky has been a very emotional journey. The book has always been about a Fairy who could not fly because she had a small wing, but she could still do so many other things. However, it began to evolve into much more as I started talking to teachers, doctors, families, and others who work with and/or live with special needs children.
I am so blessed and fortunate to have partnered with Linda Radke and the Story Monsters team on this book. The entire team fell in love with Marky as I did. It has been a passion project for all of us.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
Marky the Magnificent Fairy is written with the intent of eliciting back and forth discussions with children at home or in the classroom. This book is about diversity, inclusion, bullying, disabilities, kindness, believing in yourself, self-love, confidence, acceptance, positivity, and compassion. No matter what age you are.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Jeff Yesh?
I always had a firm vision of Marky in my head, and I could not move on to any other illustrations until she was created. I knew once we captured the essence of Marky everything else would fall into place. During a phone call I gave Jeff the “backstory” of who Marky was and how she came to be. That was helpful to him in understanding her background and importance.
As a surprise Jeff added in the small yellow Japanese Caterpillar which you see throughout the story. I have since named that caterpillar “Tomo” which is short for Tomodachi which means friend in Japanese.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
We are still busy rolling out Marky the Magnificent Fairy which is currently in Pre-Order. Tomo plushies are on the way and will be available for sale soon. We are currently updating my website to accommodate it all… However, there is a dystopian novel I started outlining a year ago, the question is, am I brave enough to conquer it?
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Marky the Magnificent Fairy
In Marky the Magnificent Fairy by Cynthia Kern Obrien, readers are presented with an array of characters with numerous differences and physical capabilities that are then quickly explained and understood. As society is becoming more aware and educated on the diversity of people in many aspects, it is important to be able to introduce this subject to growing minds, and this vibrant children’s book does just that.
Throughout this charming picture book, readers are taken on a journey exploring the differences between people and get to understand self-love, confidence, acceptance, compassion, and positivity, among other things. All these things are core values that all people should learn about, but author Cynthia Kern OBrien makes it very easy for young readers to understand. All of these characteristics come into play as children grow into adulthood. This book also includes discussion questions that get kids to self-reflect and understand themselves and others better. Teachers will greatly appreciate The Resource Guide, as I thought it was helpful in furthering the discussion on how to handle situations with disabled people.
The beautiful illustrations were incredibly adorable and fit the atmosphere of the book perfectly. They were charming and captured the essence of each unique character. The writing is easy to follow and sends a clear and compassionate message. I would highly recommend Marky the Magnificent Fairy to all children, parents, and teachers. This would be a great book to have in an elementary school classroom to inspire discussion on diversity and self-respect.
Pages: 36 | ISBN: 1589850157
LITERARY TITAN 