TIP’S Magical Journey: The Ride of Discovery and Inspiration follows a young boy traveling on a train who meets people from all over the world and learns about their homelands. What was the inspiration for your story?

The inspiration for the story was from my father. He was a pharmacist in Center City Philadelphia in the 50s. On the weekends, I would get into bed with my parents, and he would tell me about Little Audrey – a girl without a home he engaged on the train.

I loved the Little Audrey stories and was actually jealous that she engaged with my Dad more than me. It was a true bonding with a working father. When I became a grandmother and had my first grandson, I switched Little Audrey to a boy. Years and years went by, and my grandson kept telling me he remembered those stories on a train, and I should write a book. My father was my first inspiration and grandson David was my second. I took my business, The Inspiration Project, and used the first letters of each word to form TIP.

Nine years ago, I started the not-for-profit, The Inspiration Project, where now 260,000 read my inspirations and over 110,000 follow me each day. I am the founder of this amazing company where I sent over 15,000 frames embedded with my inspirations to 12 charities – and I had at least 10 volunteers help me. The pandemic happened, and I was forced to switch gears. I have not taken any salary, and none of my volunteers did. I was privileged to be written up in the Philadelphia Inquirer and in the Jewish Exponent as a senior making a difference in Pennsylvania.

The artwork really stands out and allows the reader to immersed in the storyline, providing opportunities to enhance discussions with children. What was the collaboration process like with illustrator Jason Shiver?

The collaboration between Jason Shiver and me was wonderful. While my editor told me about Jason, I knew he would surround my dialogue with great pictures. And he delivered! We had a give-and-take with what Tip would look like; it was a joyful collaboration that I will cherish. I had an ongoing conversation with Jason with the pictures every couple of weeks – and I was blown away with his professionalism and his artistic skills. I hope Jason will agree to do my future books. He is a gem.

What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?

The educational aspects were many. First, I wanted a “clean” look to the book – no distractions – simple dialogue and equally simple pictures, but it had to be equally “friendly” to children who could not read yet. I was hoping the pictures would be important until a parent could read to the child and then the child could read the book themselves. It was important for me to talk about countries that people came from and get a sense of their mores and customs. It was important to talk about the food – which most children would recognize very freely as most go to restaurants. I researched a lot of the geographic aspects as I wanted children who may not travel to get a sense of other countries. I truly wanted the “sunshine of life” to tell children what other people are like, that to open our world to diversity and love would not make it scary and more friendly. I hoped that children reading this book would hold it close to them forever – and perhaps they could discover a world more open to them.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?

Yes, it will be a series. The next book is going to my editor soon – It is Tip’s Birthday Bash, A Celebration of Friendship.

Tip is now 10 years old – his parents throw him his first party. His friends from the neighborhood are invited – it is a diverse neighborhood. The friends each bring a gift that is important to Tip as it is all about them as individuals. There is a dog mascot and at the end of the book, I tell what each of these children, through inspiration, become in their lifetime. However, a final aspect of the book is that Tip and his friends decide on a summer volunteer project which they all partake. There are the kids we hope are growing up now in our society – they bring love, friendship, and diversity to the lives of many. Many are foreigners where their parents are on visas and they live in Tip’s community. They will provide children to be open with others, provide a community volunteer program and continue on with inspiration for children’s lives.

Author Links: Goodreads | Amazon | The Inspiration Project