The Green Woolen Fedora: A sentimental look at cherished mementos

All the creative work for this stunning new picture book is now complete, and it will be released on April 6, 2021. Finishing up the art and design work always leaves me with a mix of much excitement, and a pinch of sadness. It reminds me of reading a novel I love. I read franticly to get to the end, and then instantly feel remorse that it’s over…a world I’ve come to cherish that I must leave behind. At the same time, I can’t wait to share this special story with little readers.

I must say that the process has been a joy, largely because of Stella Mongodi. From Italy, and now living in the UK, Stella’s unique, moody and sentimental style was perfect for this story. Her humor and creativity pop up throughout her illustrations in little details children will love to discover.

Stella Mongodi’s illustrations are full of emotion and splattered with whimsical, fun surprises children will love.

From its rich, warm color palette, to its distinctly European feel, to its perfect mix of playful adventure and deep sentiment, the art draws you into this lovely story and holds you captive till the end.

I like to share some of the back story for my books, and The Green Woolen Fedora is my “Covid 19” endeavor. The subject matter itself has nothing to do with the pandemic, but the premise was inspired by an effect of the pandemic I found especially tragic: the need for separation of grandchildren from grandparents. Probably because my relationship with my grandparents was such a cherished part of my childhood, and because I am painfully aware of how brief that time together is, even under normal circumstances, the stories of grandchildren waving to grandparents through windows tugged at me. After a few months of a creativity “vacuum” following the onset of the pandemic, one night I dreamed this story, and woke up with an urgent need to write it.

Nora, the main character, has a hat that is her connection to her grandpa. The story doesn’t specify whether her grandpa is no longer alive, or is simply no longer physically nearby, and this is intentional. I hoped that children who have lost a loved one, or are simply apart from a loved one, would find themselves in this book.

The idea of using a hat as the cherished memento of a loved one has its own back story. When I was a child, we had a dear, family friend. We always had a special connection. He had a hat that, over the years, I repeatedly told him I loved. On my sixteenth birthday, he came to the door with a gift box and inside, was the hat. He is now gone, but I still have and cherish that hat, and every time I see it, I smile and remember him. So, a hat seemed the perfect link between Nora and her grandfather, though my hat is black and white houndstooth, and hers is green.

This book is, first and foremost, an adventure story about two best friends and how much they mean to each other. Like life, it has exciting moments, funny moments, and tender moments. I hope The Green Woolen Fedora will both entertain and touch readers. And for those struggling with loss or separation from a loved one, I hope it will provide some comfort.

Coincidence? Often, not...

Some argue there’s no such thing as a coincidence. When it comes to my children’s books, this is often true. I love to include little details that have meaning in all aspects of the book…from the story itself, to the illustrations, to the design.

I thought it would be fun to share some of those little touches with you. So here goes!

Soaring Soren is the true story of the first French Bulldog to become an agility champion. The book pays tribute to Soren’s incredible real-life story and his logic-defying accomplishments. But it also pays tribute to some very special real-life agility dogs who shared his journey. Almost EVERY dog that appears in Soaring Soren is a real agility dog that competed with Soren. The other dogs belong to the illustrator :)

The font we chose for the interior text of the 2nd Edition is called Spartan, chosen because the town where Soren lived was called Sparta. And in the scene in the story where Deb is putting Soren in the car to go to their agility trial, his paw is in her hand. This is because the real Soren loved to “hold hands” with me while we were driving in the car, and would relentlessly put his paw on my hand till I took it and held it.

Real Soren loved to “hold hands” on car rides

Finally, the three women at Soren’s party are actually his breeder, Tove Rasmussen, his co-owner, Suzanne Orban-Stagle, and our agility instructor, Barbara Miller—three amazing women and friends who were very much a part of Soren’s journey and successes. The cat is Furby, Soren’s real-life best snuggle buddy. And the two Frenchie pups are Soren’s real-life kids, Audra and Sagan.

Oy, Elephants! characters, Grandma Gussie and Grandpa Morris, are based on my real grandparents by the same names. Some of the dialogue is actually direct from real conversations (including my favorite line in the story from Grandpa…”We used to have a lot of nice things.”) Also many of the tchotchkes shown in the illustrations are things from their home…like the little brass dinner bell my grandpa used to ring to tell us dinner was ready. In the story, Grandpa Morris makes his famous egg creams, just as real Grandpa Morris used to do for us when we were kids.

The real Grandpa Morris made the world’s best egg creams, much to the delight of all the grandchildren

In the yard there are some Birds of Paradise flowers—those were my grandmother’s favorite and I would often send them to her on special occasions.

Birds of Paradise were real Grandma Gussie’s favorite flower

And whether you liked it or not, if you went to the pool with real Grandma Gussie, you were wearing a sun hat. If you did not have one, one would be provided.

The main character, Joel, is based on my real cousin, and the elephants, Martha and Lou, were named after my grandmother’s sister and brother-in-law. And their last name, Helfand, is the yiddush word for elephant. Finally, if you look closely, you will find Soren appears twice in the book, once with Deb and once by himself. I’ll let you look :) No hints ;)

The Last Rhino is the story of Ayubu, a baby rhino who must persevere after he loses his family to poachers.

The names of the main characters in The Last Rhino all have significance relative to the story

The African name Ayubu, means one who perseveres despite obstacles, and was chosen for that reason. The cattle egret who watches over Ayubu after he loses his mother is named Imari, which means devoted friend. And Ayubu’s mother’s name is Nthanda, which means star. I won’t give away the story for those who haven’t read it yet, but that is a pivotal reference in the book. The font we chose for the book’s title and chapter headings was also significant. It is called Immortal, and we chose it to symbolize our hope for the future survival of the endangered rhinoceros.

An Armadillo on My Pillow, our newest book coming out this February, also has an appearance by Soren. See if you can find it :) The book features over thirty different animals, and the font we chose (not coincidentally) is called Faune.

The font we chose for this story that celebrates over thirty different animals, is appropriately called Faune

I hope you enjoyed hearing about the little touches that add another layer of meaning. I love to include real details in my stories and characters because, in addition to being fun and sometimes sentimental, it adds a certain reality and depth to the story. Real characters, real emotions, real life—it’s what’s at the heart of every good story in one fashion or another.