Theme Songs:
"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony"
(after I learn to carry a tune!)
and
"I'm on the Top of the World"
Recent Author Interview:
booksteacupnreviews.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/authorinterview-with-susan-schaefer-bernardo-susanbernardo/
Hello! My name is Susan Schaefer Bernardo, and I’ve been writing poetry and stories since I could hold a crayon! I am a big believer in the power of creativity. The process of writing poetry or making art allows me to express and understand my emotions. Through our imagination, we find ways to move through painful experiences and transform them into something very beautiful and healing.
I wrote my first book Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs because I wanted to reassure my kids (and myself!) that we are always connected to the people we love. Writing my poem “Tonic Waters” helped me cope with grief over my mother-in-law’s death. I was so honored when “Tonic Waters” was published in an anthology and read aloud at the 2014 World Cancer Day Concert – because it meant my words might console others experiencing similar pain.
Taking a leap and indie publishing SUN KISSES, MOON HUGS with my illustrating partner and friend Courtenay Fletcher was an amazing experience. We ran a successful Kickstarter drive and felt so supported by our "book tribe" of friends, family and fans. And almost immediately... following that dream led to a magical opportunity to collaborate with LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow, Roots, Star Trek: Next Generation) on a picture book to help kids coping with trauma: THE RHINO WHO SWALLOWED A STORM! RHINO was published in 2014, and has been on an incredible journey ever since...LeVar read the book to kids in Israel and Palestine, he and First lady Michelle Obama read it to military kids, and...IT WENT TO SPACE! That's right, a copy of the book was loaded onto a rocket and sent to the International Space Station where it was read aloud by Astronaut Kate Rubins. Wow - book in space! It makes me glow every time I think of our book orbiting the planet, bringing a message of hope and healing to kids everywhere. During the pandemic, LeVar Burton has been reading the book aloud on his Twitter livestream - reaching an audience of millions. Poetry can take you far :)
After Rhino, Courtenay and I teamed up for a third picture book, The Big Adventures of Tiny House, inspired by real-life tiny house builders and documentary filmmakers Christian Parsons and Alexis deHart Stephens of Tiny House Expedition. Since the book's release in 2017, we've read onstage at FIFTEEN tiny house festivals around the country! Our latest collaboration is The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, a fictional biography of an amazing artist who lived in Paris in the late 1800s and early 20th century.
I released INSPIRED, my first YA novel for girls, in 2018 -- although the idea first came to me in a dream in 1994! I needed 24 years to complete one novel. Sometimes, I get frustrated with myself that it took me SO LONG to finish writing and revising that book. My inner critic is VERY LOUD sometimes! Then I pause and think...the Universe usually has a plan for me, so maybe right now is the right time. Inspired is about girls finding their voices and standing up for what they believe in - and trusting their magical intuition. So I'm going to do exactly that - trust in myself and my creative impulses (and maybe give myself a pat on the back for sticking with it all these years until it was done!). Now I'm working on the sequels. I won't give too much away, but book 2 will explore Celtic mythology...which was a very good reason for a fabulous research trip to Ireland last fall.
I love to learn just as much as I love to teach, and I hold a B.A. in English (UCLA), a Master's degree. in English Literature (Yale) and my elementary/secondary teaching credentials (Pepperdine). I keep my inner flower child happy and inspired by sculpting, dancing, exploring tide pools, raising chickens in the city, traveling to cool new places (and attempting to speak the language, even if it's just please and thank you), and taking long nature walks with my family and our rescue terrier Poppy. I'm happiest when I'm barefoot, surrounded by beauty and learning something new about the world.
I wrote my first book Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs because I wanted to reassure my kids (and myself!) that we are always connected to the people we love. Writing my poem “Tonic Waters” helped me cope with grief over my mother-in-law’s death. I was so honored when “Tonic Waters” was published in an anthology and read aloud at the 2014 World Cancer Day Concert – because it meant my words might console others experiencing similar pain.
Taking a leap and indie publishing SUN KISSES, MOON HUGS with my illustrating partner and friend Courtenay Fletcher was an amazing experience. We ran a successful Kickstarter drive and felt so supported by our "book tribe" of friends, family and fans. And almost immediately... following that dream led to a magical opportunity to collaborate with LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow, Roots, Star Trek: Next Generation) on a picture book to help kids coping with trauma: THE RHINO WHO SWALLOWED A STORM! RHINO was published in 2014, and has been on an incredible journey ever since...LeVar read the book to kids in Israel and Palestine, he and First lady Michelle Obama read it to military kids, and...IT WENT TO SPACE! That's right, a copy of the book was loaded onto a rocket and sent to the International Space Station where it was read aloud by Astronaut Kate Rubins. Wow - book in space! It makes me glow every time I think of our book orbiting the planet, bringing a message of hope and healing to kids everywhere. During the pandemic, LeVar Burton has been reading the book aloud on his Twitter livestream - reaching an audience of millions. Poetry can take you far :)
After Rhino, Courtenay and I teamed up for a third picture book, The Big Adventures of Tiny House, inspired by real-life tiny house builders and documentary filmmakers Christian Parsons and Alexis deHart Stephens of Tiny House Expedition. Since the book's release in 2017, we've read onstage at FIFTEEN tiny house festivals around the country! Our latest collaboration is The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, a fictional biography of an amazing artist who lived in Paris in the late 1800s and early 20th century.
I released INSPIRED, my first YA novel for girls, in 2018 -- although the idea first came to me in a dream in 1994! I needed 24 years to complete one novel. Sometimes, I get frustrated with myself that it took me SO LONG to finish writing and revising that book. My inner critic is VERY LOUD sometimes! Then I pause and think...the Universe usually has a plan for me, so maybe right now is the right time. Inspired is about girls finding their voices and standing up for what they believe in - and trusting their magical intuition. So I'm going to do exactly that - trust in myself and my creative impulses (and maybe give myself a pat on the back for sticking with it all these years until it was done!). Now I'm working on the sequels. I won't give too much away, but book 2 will explore Celtic mythology...which was a very good reason for a fabulous research trip to Ireland last fall.
I love to learn just as much as I love to teach, and I hold a B.A. in English (UCLA), a Master's degree. in English Literature (Yale) and my elementary/secondary teaching credentials (Pepperdine). I keep my inner flower child happy and inspired by sculpting, dancing, exploring tide pools, raising chickens in the city, traveling to cool new places (and attempting to speak the language, even if it's just please and thank you), and taking long nature walks with my family and our rescue terrier Poppy. I'm happiest when I'm barefoot, surrounded by beauty and learning something new about the world.
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Two Mummies.
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