Food for Thought: Pun Intended

I was just thinking about comfort food.  If we are raised to eat healthy when we grow older and go through tough times our comfort food would be healthy food.  This healthy comfort food would ultimately make us actually physically feel better.  What if when we are feeling down we grabbed some sliced apple with cinnamon (something my mom made for me when I was a kid) instead of hitting up the drive through?  If you are already feeling down and turn to unhealthy foods you are going to just feel worse.  If you turn to foods that remind you of childhood where your parents/guardians taught you to eat well then your comfort food would not be such a bad thing.

Lollipop

I seem to have challenged myself with illustrating Dolphins Don't Eat Donuts.  I gave myself triple the work.  Instead of having one image for each picture I have been painting two paintings and then I combine them on Photoshop.  It is a three step process not including adding the final image and text together in InDesign.

Throughout the process I have been questioning myself as if this was the best way to go.  Of course I could turn back and start over.  No, just kidding!  No turning back now.  I am hoping to have Dolphins Don't Eat Donuts available this summer 2018.

I recently read an article in the Bulletin from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators about how your book is like your baby.  When it is finished it is like giving birth.  Well, I feel like I have been pregnant with this one for 4 years!

Dolphins Don't Eat Donuts was an idea I had before ABC Healthy.  I didn't know where to start so I thought having the structure of an ABC book would be a good start.

There is a certain pressure that comes with writing healthy books.  I have had a few snide remarks from people who don't care to live healthy lives at my events.  I had an editor tell me that the "Don't eat donuts, choose dates instead" line in my ABC book sounded too negative.  Um, yeah that is the point!

Today I worked on my "Horses eat apples" page for Dolphins.  I looked back to a picture of me on my pony from childhood to help with colors.  My pony's name was Lollipop.  This is just a bit ironic.

I do get a sweet tooth now and then.  Don't take me to an Italian restaurant and expect me to not finish with a Tiramisu.

I guess my point in writing healthy books is that we in America are out of control!  A lollipop at the fare as a kid is not going to make you fall over and die.  Let's just not binge on sugar and unnecessary ideas that eating junk food every day is going to lead to a happy life.  Eating and living healthy is a happy and healthy way to ward of disease and make us feel well day in and day out.  Let's raise our children with the idea that there are healthy treats out there.  The more healthy foods we consume the better we will feel.  After all Food is Fuel.

I am looking forward to spending more time with my third book, Food is Fuel.