Clover and the Shooting Star was officially launched on September 11, 2016 and I was reminded again why I love picture book launches! There is nothing quite like watching people react to your work and see their faces light up as they view it. And planning the launch gives me a chance to be a kid again!
Planning
Planning a picture book launch is just plain fun! Yeah, sure, it might seem overwhelming at first, but remember who you are doing it for - kids! They aren't picky, they just want to have fun. You get to let your imagination go wild and think like a child to come up with fun food, interesting interaction stations and a fun venue. I used Pinterest to create a board where I gathered ideas that would fit with my woodland animal, shooting star theme. I enlisted the help of my kids to make fun food and decorations based on the pins I collected:)
I chose a park location because what kid doesn't want to go to the park? And we have a beautiful park near us which is where we go to watch shooting stars! Perfect!
Enhancing
Bringing the story of Clover and the Shooting Star to life for little ones and adults alike was really important to me. The story is touching and the characters are engaging and I wanted all who came to the launch to experience that. My good friend Maxine came to the rescue when she created plush versions of my characters from the book! She is an amazing designer and works miracles with fabric. Look at the adorable characters she made for the book launch!
A raffle of the individual characters allowed five lucky people to take a one-of-a-kind Clover plush home with them, and the proceeds went to benefit a "No-Kill" animal shelter in honor of my niece who loved dogs. That's a double win! But Maxine didn't stop there, she made me Clover the Rabbit in quantity so people could take Clover home with them along with the book!
Embracing
But with out doubt the best part of the picture book launch was meeting and sharing with people who were touched by the story of Clover. I am so honored that people shared their stories of loss and grief with me, and that they found comfort in the wonder and hope of Clover and the Shooting Star. Moms, dads, and little ones alike can relate to Clover and his story. And having the Clover the Bunny for little ones to hold and love along with the book just warmed my heart.
Creating Clover and the Shooting Star to comfort my family in a time of need helped others in their time of need too. There is no bigger reward than that.
Clover and the Shooting Star has been the benefactor of some wonderful news coverage this week, and I just wanted to share it with you!
Our local paper The Buffalo News, covered the story in their on-line and printed Lifestyle section called Refresh. The fabulous student journalists at St. Bonaventure University where I teach, who publish in our school paper and in Tap into Greater Olean, gave Clover wonderful press. And my amazing publisher at CrissCross AppleSauce, the children's imprint of Buffalo Heritage Limited, spoke to readers about Clover through The Buffalo Vibe.com.
You can click on the links/articles below to see how Clover is touching others with his story of wonder and hope:)
Clover officially launches this weekend September 11, 2016 at the Book Signing held at Chestnut Ridge Park, in Orchard Park, NY from 2 pm - 4 pm. If you can't make it to the event you can check back here on Monday where I will post pictures from the event. And of course you can pick up your own copy at www.cloverandtheshootingstar.com
Thanks to everyone for your support of Clover!
