Grandma’s stories–twins in trouble

Available on Amazon

Hi, Everyone!

Welcome to Wanda Luthman’s Christian and Children’s Book Blog.

Today, I have a fun book about twin girls that I know you’re going to enjoy hearing all about.

Nancy Dearborn is the author and she’s the mother of twins. She’s here to tell us about her book.

In the picture book Grandma’s Stories Twins in Trouble the Grandma is telling stories to her two grandchildren Cory and Hazel from when their mom and her twin sister were little girls who, at times, managed to get into some mischief.

Grandma’s Stories Twins in Trouble is based on real events as Nancy Dearborn is the mother of identical twin daughters.

The interplay of the text and the illustrations by Abira Das brings out the humor in the book as does the twin’s quick thinking when they find themselves in a bit of trouble.

Themes

All children, whether twins or not, will get into a little trouble from time to time. But most parents still love their children with all their heart because their love isn’t based on their  children’s actions.  

Also, as humans, we learn not only from our own mistakes, but by listening to and taking to heart the stories of others. Cory tells his mom that he and his sister Hazel are not going to pull the stunts his mother and her twin sister did when they were growing up.

Inclusion

One of the reasons I wrote Grandma’s Stories Twins in Trouble is that diversity in books isn’t just about race or sexual preference, but it is about every child seeing characters like themselves in  books, including twins.

At times, identical twins have different life experiences than the rest of us. Sometimes Christine and Valerie’s dad got them mixed up, so I painted one of Valerie’s toe nails red. As a toddler, when Christine looked in a mirror, she saw herself, but when Valerie looked in a mirror, she saw Christine. It took a while for Valerie to learn to see herself in the mirror, and not her twin sister. Christine and Valerie’s friends sometimes mistook them for each other which created some interesting situations.

Path to Becoming a Picture Book Writer

Career wise, I have taught babies through seniors in high school, so I have a wide range of teaching experience. I also started writing at a young age. When I was in elementary school, I wrote plays. My teacher allowed me to select other students for the parts, gave us class time to practice, and then we performed them for our parents, complete with props and sound effects.

I have published over 275 articles, stories, and poems in magazines, newspapers, anthologies, and on the Internet. I thought about writing books as well, but writing lengthy works didn’t seem to be my forte, so I decided to try my hand at writing picture books.

Over the course of several months, I went to my local library and read picture book after picture book. I studied them and took copious notes, asking myself questions like: What about the title or cover right away caught my attention? What were the characters like? What made me want to keep reading the book? How many words were usually on each double page spread? What theme or message was conveyed? And many, many more.

I also read books on writing picture books, joined a couple of critique groups, and attended some writers’ conferences.

Book and Contact Details

Title: Grandma’s Stories   Twins in Trouble

Author:  Nancy Dearborn 

Illustrator: Abira Das

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Publisher: Pen It Publishing  (traditional publisher)

Release Date: May 2023

ISBN: 978-1-63984-256-8

Page Count: 32

For sale now on Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Author Website: nancydearbornauthor.com

Previous Publications

Hugga Loula (March 2021 with Familius Publishing)

I Found a Wallet (July 2021 with Pen It Publishing)

   Recipient of a December 2021 Global Library Awards – Grandma’s Book Club

Runaway (August 2021 with KDP Amazon)

When Will It Snow? (2018 Highlights audio book)

Forthcoming

The Giver’s Secret – (2023 Pen It Publishing)

The Mysterious Box, The Scheming Witch, and Santa’s Magic Belt (2024 Pen It Publishing)

Dad Extraordinaire (2024 Pen It Publishing)

      3rd place winner in a spring/summer Children’s Book Manuscript Contest

Congratulations, Nancy, on your awards! That’s fantastic! Thank you for sharing about your book today about twins and about getting into trouble. Those of us that aren’t twins don’t know or understand the unique experiences that twins have. I appreciate that you bring these to light. I also appreciate that children will get into trouble but as parents, we are there to understand and help them learn from their mistakes.

Thank you to my loyal book blog followers! I appreciate each one of you. I hope you will grab the child in your life a copy of this unique book today.

As always, likes, shares, and comments are also appreciated

Stay safe