The Giving Meadow on Tour with Stephanie Burkhart

"The Giving Meadow"

was a joy to illustrate, there is such a flow to the words that the images really just came to me very easily; putting it down on paper was another matter.  But all the hard work was worth it.

A few things helped me make this book the best it could be. 

1) Stephanie wrote a simple tale with a lot of heart and it did not require a lot of text to make it work, which gave me more room to create the illustrations without worrying so much about where the text will fit.

2) In June of this year I did a little post called "Maurice Sendak & The Giving Meadow" it was about how seeing the Maurice Sendak artwork on exhibit inspired me to take my own artwork to the next step. If you ever get a chance to be that close to someone who inspires you Do It!

3) Also, on a personal note, the reference material I used for the snake in the story came from my cousin Joey who owned the snake. He past away in a car accident only a day or two after I finished some of the first pages of the book when the snake comes into the story.  I never got a chance to share it with him. But I will be able to share it with his son.     

I just want to thank Stephen for having me today on my blog tour for my children's book, "The Giving Meadow."

Just a little about me: I was born in Manchester, NH but live in Castaic, California with my husband, Brent, and two sons, Andrew and Joseph. I have fond memories of Manchester, but have made California my home. I earned a BS in political science from California Baptist University in 1995.



I have been writing since I was 5, first making homemade comic books. Now, I work on creating short stories and novels. I spent 11 years in the US Army and over 7 years in Germany. Writing is a passion that still challenges me. The Giving Meadow is my first children's book and my first book with 4RV Publishing.


THE BLURB:
The Giving Meadow is about a caterpillar who hatches from his egg in the middle of a meadow. As he travels through the meadow, he meets new friends who learn the value of sharing.


THE INSPIRATION:

I go to Blessed Kateri Catholic Church (in Santa Clarita, CA) and I'm involved in our Sunday Preschool program. We call it Little Church. The program works with 3, 4, and 5-year-olds. I help to teach the 3's along with 3 other talented ladies, Shirley Chang, Maureen Dunahoo, and Mary Tesselaar. Every year I help to write the Easter play for the children. In 2009, "The Giving Meadow" was our Easter play.


After I wrote it, I showed Vivian at 4RV. She's also a moderator at Writing.com and I wanted her feedback on the story. She offered it a contract! I was tickled pink. It was a nice, unexpected surprise. I can't thank Vivian (Gilbert Zabel, publisher, 4RV Publishing) for believing in the story and wanting to bring it to life.


GOODIE TIME: Leave a post here on the blog. I'll pick two lucky winners to receive an autographed postcard of the cover. Winners will be drawn out of a hat, and I'll return on AUG 13th to announce them.

Next STOP  Crystalee Calderwood on August 13th

Were else you can find Stephanie Burkhart on the Web:
Blog site ,Website, Facebook, & Twitter 

To Purchase a copy of "The Giving Meadow" please follow one or all the links below:

4RV PUBLISHING:,  BARNES & NOBLE:, and Amazon