Book Giveaway: YOU ARE YOUR STRONG by Danielle Dufayet

Danielle Dufayet has written and Illustrated a picture book titled, YOU ARE YOUR STRONG. Published by Magination Press. Danielle has agreed to share a copy with one lucky winner. All you have to do to get in the running is to leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know the other things you do to share the good news, so I can put in the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.

Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. Thanks for helping Danielle!

If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you everyday, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Soothing and empowering, You Are Your Strong reassures kids that they can handle big emotions and highlights the benefit of developing inner strength and confidence in oneself. With diverse characters and scenes featuring a range of different family relationships—from parents, to grandparents, to an older sister in the military—this book shows kids that they will have help along the way to being strong and in control. Includes a Note to Parents and Caregivers by Julia Martin Burch, PhD, with advice for building skills to navigate and cope with big emotions.

BOOK JOURNEY:

I have always been interested in health and psychology, especially positive psychology –what makes people tick –what makes people happy? I got my masters in Psychology about ten years ago and I think somehow I knew (subconsciously perhaps) I was going to eventually write a children’s book that dealt with psychological issues.

About 4 years ago, I found myself in an emotionally challenging situation (leaving an unhealthy marriage). I had a lot on my plate (work, school, kids, etc.) but I knew I had to “keep it together” and carry on, despite sometimes feeling like I was going to crumble. One day a friend asked me how I kept from falling apart. This made me start taking notice at the things I was doing to keep me strong and able to manage my difficult emotions. Right about the same time, I saw the movie, Room. In the movie, Jacob Tremblay plays five year old Jack who is being held captive in a room with his mom. At one point his mom wants to cut his long hair and he says no, because his hair is his strong. Later in the film (spoiler alert) he ends up cutting it and giving it to his mom when she has a nervous breakdown. I thought that was beautiful. His long hair gave him strength and then he shared his strength with his mom when she needed most. That’s when I knew I had a book.

I wrote You Are Your Strong in a very short time, compared to my other manuscripts. It took me about 3-4 months with about 5 rounds of critiques from my fabulous critique partners. I was so clear on my message: You are stronger than your emotions and you already have everything you need inside of you to overcome anything life throws at you. I really believe that. Many things keep us strong (family, friends, pets, blankets…long hair), but no matter what those outer things are, ultimately we are our own strength. When I wrote the book, I wanted children to know that they will have role models along the way to model healthy ways to manage difficult emotions (hopefully).  Eventually, however, we all need to learn how to manage them so that we feel self- empowered.  I learned to tap into my own inner strength and use things like nature, art, positive self-talk and intentional distraction to help me. I learned that I was my strong which left me feeling much more self-empowered. You Are Your Strong is kind of like the lemonade I made from lemons. I turned what felt like a negative into a positive.

When I submitted You Are Your Strong to Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary, I knew it was ready for submission. I had reduced some big concepts down to their essence. I used specific literary devices such as alliteration and I knew I had a powerful message that came from my heart. It wasn’t long before it found its home at Magination Press which is affiliated with APA – the American Psychological Association. It’s been a wonderful experience with them and they ended up buying a second book called Fantastic You –another positive message concept book about how to be your own best friend (also from my own experience). I never planned on writing books like these, but it sprouted from my life’s journey –   and I just had to share my message with the world and hopefully inspire children to be their strong.

DANIELLE’S BIO:

Danielle Dufayet, born in Yonkers, New York, now lives in sunny San Jose, California, where she writes children’s books and paints. She also teaches English and Public Speaking (Self-Empowerment) to grades K-12. Danielle read her first picture book (Little Raccoon and the Thing in the Pool) when she was 18 whereupon she was blown away by its simplicity, timelessness and transformative power. That’s when she knew it was her calling. Thirty five years and a Master’s Degree later, she finally made her dream come true and she’ll have TWO books out in 2019 – one about inner strength and the other about self-love/compassion.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielledufayet

Twitter: https://twitter.com/danielledufayet

Art Website: https://www.danielledufayet.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ddaniwriter/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/danielledufayet

ILLUSTRATOR JENNIFER ZIVION’S BIO:

Jennifer Zivoin has always loved art and storytelling, so becoming an illustrator was a natural career path. She has been trained in media ranging from figure drawing to virtual reality, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with highest distinction from the honors division of Indiana University.

During her professional career, Jennifer worked as a graphic designer and then as a creative director before finding her artistic niche illustrating children’s books. In addition to artwork, she enjoys reading, cooking, and ballroom dancing. Jennifer lives in Indiana with her family.

Jennifer is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and is represented by MB Artists.

Website: http://www.jzartworks.com/

Blog: http://jzartworksblog.blogspot.com/

Illustrator Saturday feature: https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/illustrator-saturday-jennifer-zivion/

Thank you Danielle for sharing your book and journey with us. Helping children navigate and cope with big emotions is an important topic. It was nice to see Jennifer’s art in your book. She was featured on Illustrator Saturday in 2016 (see link in bio). Good luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy