Becoming a Nonfiction Children's Author

Generally when I post here it's about my romances, but I have a series of nonfiction children’s books From the Farm to the Table. They were actually the first books I self-published. The first book in the series From the Farm to the Table Dairy was inspired by an article I wrote for an ag magazine. 

         For those who aren’t aware, I've worked as a freelance photojournalist for 35 years. I started with parenting magazines moved to flyfishing, then settled on agriculture.

         I covered all aspects of agriculture from potatoes to tree crops to cattle. One day I got a call from a local vet I'd worked with in the past on a variety of articles. He told me he’d just been to a dairy where quadruplet calves had been born. The chances of this happening are once every 700,000 times a cow gives birth. Even more incredible, they were delivered without assistance, all female, and healthy which only happens once every 179.2 million births. The calves weighed about 65 pounds apiece. In a single birth the calf weighs about 85 pounds. And even more incredible, they suspected twins, but no one knew this cow was carrying quadruplets. 

         I wrote the article, and a colleague commented on what an amazing story it was. She suggested I write a children’s book about it.

         With her encouragement, I started a series of nonfiction children's books about agriculture starting with the four quart girls as the dairy producer called them. I currently have six books in the series—dairy, bees, olives, potatoes, almonds, and beef. Each book centers around a farmer/producer/grower and the commodity he grows. I explain what they do, how they got into farming, and what they love about it. My hope is to educate children about farming and where their food comes from.

         The books were specifically designed for second and third grade readers. I worked with a reading specialist to choose age-appropriate language and highlighted words for this age group, but I’ve found children as young as three and four enjoy the books.

         I originally thought they would be picked up in e-book format, which of course is ideal for self-published author, and where we expect most of our sales. But I couldn't of been more wrong. The vast majority of these books are sold in paperback. 

         I just released 5 box sets. If someone is looking to purchase them in ebook format it’s much more affordable. I’m also experimenting with two box sets for print, but this is taking longer to put together. I hope to release them later in the fall.

         Because of the type of book I can’t offer an excerpt, but here are the covers and sample are available at all retailers.

         Thanks you so much for dropping by today.