Hello Friends!
Most of my followers have already heard the news, but for those who have not…
Our first children’s book is launching very soon and we cannot be more excited. And I am not using “we” gratuitously. This book was truly a passion project poured into by the entire Bird House Family, immediate and extended.
The story itself was inspired by my husband who grew up with two United States Air Force parents. The longer I love him, the more I realize how many aspects of his personality are direct results of being a military kid. It takes a tremendous amount of fortitude, adaptability, social intelligence, and emotional resilience for a child to navigate a move to a new state and often a new COUNTRY every two or three years. And yet, that is the exact life that military children are signed up for. That childhood is a big part of the reason that he is so easy to like, so easy to relate to, so adept at understanding other people’s perspectives, and able to maintain solid friendships with people despite stark, and often glaring differences in worldviews and cultural norms between them. It’s really awe-inspiring.
Finally, after 9 years of listening to my husband awkwardly hesitate and equivocate in social settings when asked the most common dinner party/happy hour question where are you from? I realized that there are millions of military children turned adults that share that moment everyday. I can see the wheels turning in his head. I imagine his internal dialogue must be something like this: Are they asking where I was born? If I say some place overseas, how prolonged will the follow-up questions be – and is that even the right answer if I only lived in that place for two years? Should I just say whatever place my parents were stationed in the longest? Should I go with the city my parents retired in even though I only lived there briefly then went to college? Should I just say the place I went to college since that is the longest time in my life I’ve ever lived in any one place? After a few years I just started answering for him. He’s from everywhere! I would say with a laugh. Military kid. And everyone immediately starts nodding. Ah, they say. What branch?
So the title was already in my spirit but the book idea fell into my mind while I was asleep. Wouldn’t other military families like to talk about the nuance of military life with their children in a way that is uplifting and reassuring? Doesn’t everyone feel better when they see the things that seem isolating and difficult reflected in such a way that they are reminded of the value in that hardship? I firmly believe that representation matters, to children more than anyone. So like any latent creative worth their salt when the idea hit I sat up at one o’ clock in the morning and started writing the first pages. I knew from experience that if I didn’t do exactly that, I would wake up the next day with only a foggy half-memory of what I had dreamed about.
Now finally after countless edits, the storyboard and illustration, cover art, copyrights, and ISBN’s we are nearing the release date. I’ve run the drafts by educators, my life mentor, my family and my hyper-critical alter-ego. The book is ready to be shared with whomever can find joy and familiarity in it. I honestly cannot wait for you to meet the main character. He’s my little hero.