Book Giveaway: HELLO, SWEET BABY! by Janeen Jackson

Janeen Jackson’s debut picture book HELLO, SWEET BABY!, illustrated by Brittainie Gaja and published by Paw Prints Publishing. Janeen has agreed to share a book 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 Jeneen and Brittanie.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Young and in love, Momma Red and Poppa Yellow Tomato decide to have a baby tomato. However, Momma and Poppa quickly learn that they cannot properly care for their sweet seedling the way and make the difficult decision to release her to another loving tomato family in Hopewell Garden, using the assistance of a helpful ladybug adoption agent.

Hello Sweet Baby is a heartfelt, magical story by a bright new talent about adoption, making tough choices, honoring differences, and celebrating different types of families.

BOOK JOURNEY:

In 2018, at age 46, Janeen received unexpected news through DNA technology: she was adopted and biracial. “The information about my adoption shattered me–not because I am adopted but because of the cloud of secrecy looming over me my entire life.” Additionally, the discovery of Janeen’s mixed ethnic background shocked her too. “My (adoptive) parents are African American, and my family skin tones cover a broad spectrum. There was no question in my mind that I was different from my family. So, when I discovered that my birth father is Jewish and my birth mother is African American, I was stunned.” Read about Janeen’s adoption discovery at mixedupdiary.com.

Janeen found inspiration for this book in a small tomato garden at her son Phoenix’s elementary school. “Phoenix was five years old when I told him about my adoption. Before my adoption discovery, he’d often ask my husband or me how I was African American if my skin was so light. I’d tell him that Black Americans and our history are complex and that we come in all shades of color.” However, when Janeen learned about her adoption and ethnic background, she wanted to tell her son in a way she hoped he’d understand. “I remember picking Phoenix up after school and sitting at the school’s picnic table, and I asked him if he knew what adoption was. His school had just wrapped up a unit on different types of families. We talked about adoption for a while, and he got excited because he thought I was going to tell him we would adopt a puppy. It was cute. However, I told him we weren’t and that I was adopted. He wasn’t surprised and had a lot of questions, but when I told him that my birth father, his biological grandfather, is white, Phoenix was confused. He said, ‘I thought you said you’re Black Momma!’ it was a tough conversation. As I tried to explain, I looked at his school’s garden and saw two tomatoes–a red and yellow one alone on a vine with a tiny tomato in the soil. ‘That’s it! This is how I will explain my adoption and the complexities of race to Phoenix! ‘ I said to myself. And that is how my book, Hello, Sweet Baby! was born.”

During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Janeen decided to put pen to paper and write her book. “I originally wrote the book without the intent to publish it. I wrote it because I wanted to leave my interpretation of my adoption to my children and future family. I also wrote it to help me heal. My adoption discovery, coupled with the pandemic and our country’s civil unrest, was a lot to hold and digest–writing helped me process it.

The writing and illustration process

After I wrote the first draft, I hired a consultant, Jesse Byrd of Jesse B. Creative, to help me finesse it. I told him my plans for the book, and Jesse encouraged me to publish it. However, I wasn’t ready for that process at the time.

After many consultations with Jesses and his staff, I decided to move forward with self-publishing and hired an illustrator. Finding one was easy for me as my background is in graphic design and art direction. After reviewing many sketch tests, I chose to work with Brittanie Gaja. Her ability to translate my story and ideas was beautiful. She was also professional and a joy to work with.

The characters of the book are Momma Red (my birth mom), Poppa Yellow (my birth father), Sweet Baby Red (me), Ladybug Blue (adoption agent), and Mr. and Mrs. Love (my parents, the Jacksons). My birth parents were teens when they had me, so I wanted the illustrations to reflect their youth. As you’ll see in the book Poppa Yellow has braces, and Momma Red has a bow in her hair. I also wanted Sweet Baby Red to “look” mixed race, such as I am, and so that’s reflected in Sweet Baby Red’s “heirloom tomato” skin. As for the Loves, I wanted Brittanie to create “mature” tomatoes because my parents adopted me in their 30s. Also, I asked Brittanie to give Mr. Love a newspaper in the scene where the ladybug first meets them because, believe it or not, my parents found out about me in a newspaper ad an adoption agency placed. I was adopted in the 70s. Back then, agencies had difficulty finding homes for Black and mixed-race children (one child with a Black parent). The agency was desperate, so they placed an ad–it worked…at least for me. So, the newspaper under Mr. Love’s arm is a nod to the moment my parents read about me. The last character Lady Bug Blue is my favorite. Kudos to Brittanie for making him come alive in my book. I love the colors, the actions, and the facial expressions she gave him.

During the writing process, I asked for feedback from an established children’s book author. She told me self-publishing was a good route for me because she believed no publishing company would sign me because my characters are vegetables. The author said, “No one can connect with vegetables as it pertains to adoption. If you change the characters to people or animals, then perhaps, you’ll get a publishing deal. Otherwise, stick to self-publishing.” Her comment took me aback, and I had doubts about my book. In fact, I took a two-month break to decide if I should not publish at all and stick to my original plan of creating my children’s story. After my hiatus, I went back to the book as it was 90% complete. I decided to keep the characters as they were for a few reasons, 1) this is how I explained my adoption to my son, 2) I think it easier to explain the complexity of adoption and race through things people may not be able to relate to such as a vegetable and 3) I had already spent a lot on money on the illustrations (LOL).

In December 2021, my consultant, Jesse, called me and asked if he could pitch my book to an undisclosed publishing company. He was pitching it along with several other of his clients. I agreed. However, about two weeks later, he told me my book wasn’t selected. I was disappointed but didn’t give up and completed the book about six months later. August 2022, a week after making a big move from Santa Monica, CA, to Evanston, IL, Jesse called and told me the publisher had changed their minds and wanted to offer me a publishing deal with Paw Prints Publishing of Baker & Taylor! They said that they couldn’t stop thinking about my story. Most importantly, they loved that the characters were vegetables and thought they were a unique twist to adoption discovery. They loved the illustrations so much that they kept everything my illustrator and I had created.

As you go on the journey with Lady Bug Blue, aka Blue you will learn about different types of “veggie” families, some that changed their mind about adoption (Zucchini family) and some that have adopted “outside of their vegetable” before. For example, you’ll see that the Royal Bean family adopted a baby carrot. You’ll also see Blue’s struggle with one family that isn’t interested in adoption, the strawberries, because of the way Sweet Baby Red looks. This story touches on truths about my adoption journey. However, the reader will eventually discover that Blue finds a family for Sweet Baby Red, who always wanted baby tomatoes but could grow any on their vine–the Loves.

The book’s last page is about “Things to Consider” and offers the reader questions about what’s happening throughout the book. This page was created to help parents and educators start conversations about adoption, families, and differences.

My adoption journey and discovery have been and still is an emotional one. However, this book is a beautiful result of my healing process. I’ve done more with this book than I could have ever imagined. The story grew from one that I created on the fly to my son to one that will be shared around the world. Hardcovers are available on Amazon now, and softcovers will be available wherever books are sold.

JANEEN’S BIO:

Author Janeen Jackson lives in Santa Monica, CA with her husband Ron Clark and their two sons, Tyson and Phoenix. She received her B.A. from Norfolk State University, an HBCU, and completed her master’s in Education Leadership and Change in 2020 from Antioch University.

In 2018, at age 46, Janeen received unexpected news through DNA technology: she was adopted and biracial. Read about Janeen’s adoption discovery at Mixedupdiary.com. Janeen found inspiration for this book in a small tomato garden at her son Phoenix’s elementary school. Writing this story was Janeen’s way of explaining her adoption, the complexities of race, the family that released her, and the family that adopted her and loved her as their own.

Hello, Sweet Baby! is Janeen’s debut children’s picture book.

Janeen Jackson lives in Santa Monica, CA with her husband Ron Clark and their two sons, Tyson and Phoenix. She received her B.A. from Norfolk State University, an HBCU, and completed her master’s in Education Leadership and Change in 2020 from Antioch University.

In 2018, at age 46, Janeen received unexpected news through DNA technology: she was adopted and biracial. Janeen found inspiration for this book in a small tomato garden at her son Phoenix’s elementary school. Writing this story was Janeen’s way of explaining her adoption, the complexities of race, the family that released her, and the family that adopted her and loved her as their own. Hello, Sweet Baby! is Janeen’s debut children’s picture book.

Visit her blog, mixedupdiary.com, to learn more about her adoption journey. #pawprintspublishing – #jessebyrd – #brittaniegaja – #mixedupdiary

BRITTANIE’S BIO:

Brittanie Gaja is a Los Angeles based illustrator with a BFA in Illustration from ArtCenter College of Design. Her work takes inspiration from her love for nature, travel, and yummy treats, often using geometric shapes with organic forms to create her whimsical illustrations. She has a strong interest in children’s book illustration and publishing as well as editorial illustration.

In her free time, you can find her staring at fish at her local aquariums, hoarding plant children, or plotting how to hide a secret pet chicken under her bed.

Janeen, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. This is a fun book. Ladybug Blue, a counselor from the Hopewell Garden Adoption Center was a great addition. I love the veggie characters, too. They all really bring the adoption story down to a young child’s level. This is a great book to help children understand that they are loved by their birth parents and how happy their adoptive parents are to have little tomato to love and take care for. I can see why you wanted Brittanie to illustrate your book. Her whimsical and colorful style is wonderful and perfect for this story. The whole book is filled with action, movement, and so many little details that will keep kids coming back to look at the book over and over again. Ending with a signed contract was a nice touch. Good luck with the book!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy