Little Ant Children's Books

The second book in my Little Ant children's series was also inspired by my sons. I wrote it as a way to ease their fear of nighttime noises. In my house, when the lights go off, the noises come out! The heat comes on. The cat meows. Someone flushes the toilet. And both boys are up and calling my name.  

When I think back to when I was a kid, I was also afraid of the dark. I would hear a noise or see a shadow and that was all it took to get my imagination going. It was ironic—the creativity that brought joy and adventure to my days, now cursed my nights! I had to find a way to quiet my fears.

It wasn't long before I learned to change the picture (or story!) of the noise. I now hear the cat walking up creaky stairs instead of a ghost; and squirrels on the roof instead of rain. Since I couldn't change the noise itself, I had to change my interpretation of it. And this is what I hoped to convey through my story. 

Now, when my children hear a noise at night, I say it's the neighbor outside or the cat downstairs. I give them something more fun and exciting to think about!

As with all of my Little Ant books, this one was inspired by my own life experiences. When my oldest son was 5, he would be late for school every day because he couldn’t tie his shoes. I would teach him how to do it and he would still struggle and cry in frustration because he could never master the skill. He finally took matters into his own hands and just tied some knots into the laces. He would then slip them on and off every day in a much easier fashion.

This planted the seed.

Then last year, while we were on vacation, my 4-year-old son had trouble sealing the Velcro on his sneakers. They kept flopping open every few steps. This was unacceptable. He kept crying and acting as if he couldn’t walk with his shoes undone. I ran to the local dollar store (just what you want to do on vacation!) and picked up safety pins and extra shoelaces.

I proceeded to try and safety-pin the straps to the sneakers. If you’re ever in this situation, do not, I repeat, DO NOT try this! It was a total disaster! So instead of the shoes popping open every few steps, they popped open and poked my child’s foot! I finally decided to just loop the new laces through the straps and tie them up his leg. I essentially tied the shoes to his body. It was not pretty, but it worked!

This book pulls apart that one small problem and tries to solve it in many silly ways. It was really fun to write, and in the end, it actually surprised me. I wasn’t sure exactly how to end the book, and then one day, as I was driving to my mom’s house along Route 17, it just hit me. Like a bolt of lightning, it shocked me and made me laugh out loud. It was the perfect ending! So, this book took me on an adventure, as well. It is silly and suspenseful, and kept me guessing the entire way!

​Little Ant Saves the Day was inspired by my children but explored through the eyes of one little ant. It was such a joy to write and even more fun to complete, and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Welcome to my fourth Little Ant book! It is a story inspired by the child in me. Sure, it’s centered around my sons’ favorite treat (ice cream!), but when choosing the actual story, I tried to write a book that I would've enjoyed as a kid. So, this story is a little bit different from the rest. It is not based on any specific event that happened in our lives, but on my old-time favorites. I tapped into the past, wrote from the heart, and created a really fun mystery for all to enjoy!

Before I could put pen to paper, I had to think back to my childhood. What did I like in a good book? What types of stories do I even remember reading? I went to Catholic school, which means we read A LOT. A few good books came to mind. One was And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I remember being blown away by that book! The mystery and the suspense were amazing. And then in high school, we read Bleak House by Charles Dickens. That was also an incredible book. We read it in segments, much like the ‘episodes’ that were originally published in the 1800’s. We were not allowed to read past the assigned chapter, so it really built the suspense and kept us wanting more. That, too, was a fantastic mystery.

As you can see, many books influenced me as a child, but I would be remiss not to mention TV shows, as well. My all-time favorite was Scooby Doo. I must’ve watched every episode, ten times over! I absolutely loved trying to solve those mysteries. And of course, hanging out with ghosts and ghouls were a real treat, too!     

This all led me to write my very first mystery. Coming up with the story was fun, but drawing the pictures was even funner! (I know that’s not a word, but it should be!) When it came to illustrating this book, I really abandoned my inhibitions. The pictures just flowed. The colors seemed brighter, the pigs seemed piggier. As I was designing it, I would say, “I think I need a grasshopper here.” Or “How about a flock of geese over there?” And then I would just draw it. I had a renewed confidence in myself. The best example of this ‘new illustrator in me’ would be the cover of the book. It was like the cherry on the...well, ice cream sundae! I really loved all the colors and creating that awesome, swirling effect. Of course, I tried to draw that swirl by hand, but I knew instantly that it wasn’t going to work. I will thank Photoshop for the assistance on that one! In a final, bold, and daring move, I colored the cover black. It not only captured the spirit of the mystery, but made the colors really pop off the page. It was a great move because I am now IN LOVE with that book cover!

In the end, Little Ant & the Ice Cream Mystery turned out to be a fun, silly, and exciting story—one that I would’ve loved to have read as a child. It is the perfect, sweet mystery for the little ant to solve!

I never thought that I would write a book about bullying. But here I am, giving this hot topic some attention!

So, not long ago, my son was coming home from school every day saying that his friend was being mean to him. And it was true—his friend was being a bully! He would tease him and push him around, and exclude him from different activities. But then he would be nice and fun and thoughtful. It was so confusing! As a mom, I wanted to advise him to "Just stay away from anyone who's mean to you," but that blanket statement wasn't going to work here. This child clearly had something positive to offer my kid, and was actually a good friend...most of the time! 

So, I had to put my protective "momma bear feelings" aside and really think about the situation.

Would anybody really wake up in the morning and say, "I want to be a bully today?" (Okay, maybe somebody out there would!) But I think most children are just trying to figure it all out. Rules at school. Rules at home. Complex social situations. Emotional control. Conflict resolution. Hands to yourself. Sharing and caring. Be nice. Do your homework. Messages! Messages! Messages!

And I started to wonder—maybe some of these "bullies" were just kids who had trouble handling their emotions, or at least handling their everyday problems! And if they didn't have the right coping skills, wouldn't their frustration just spill out onto the world around them, i.e., my kid?

Too deep? Probably... But once I stepped back and looked at the situation objectively, I started to have a little compassion and understanding. I mean, we're all human, right?

So, that's where my book comes in. This is a story of friendship, understanding, and kindness. And even tolerance. The ant discovers that his shadow is a bully, and tries to first outrun him and then physically remove him from his space. These are all techniques that I would've tried as a kid—to get rid of my own bully. But sometimes, you can't outrun (or out-bully!) a bully. So, you hit the pause button and try to understand things, so you can make the best of a bad situation. Maybe you can even discover a reason behind their behavior. It doesn't excuse it, but it certainly would explain it! 

As you can imagine, this was a complex book to write with so many underlying messages. My most important message is one of kindness. I hope this book inspires children to be kind to one another and to really do what they can to make this world a better place!