I’m excited today to have children’s author April Lee Turner on The Literary Mama today. April’s children’s book Sidney Saidso The Miss Know-It- All Girl is available now on Amazon!
PW: Welcome April, tell our readers a little about yourself.
AT: Hello! Thank you for having me on your blog today. I am very excited to share my work with your readers because I think this is a great story for young minds. I am a graduate of University of Maryland College Park and received a Masters Degree in Teaching from John Hopkins University. Currently, I am an educator in the Baltimore City public School system and literacy is my focus. All of my years of teaching have been in Early Childhood Education. My desire to write children’s literature was sparked by the need to have stories that are geared toward my student’s everyday experiences in school. I wanted them to be able to travel into a story and make text to life connections while learning a valuable lesson at the same time.
PW: What is Sidney Saidso about?
AT: In the first book of the Sidney Saidso series, you meet a young girl who thinks she knows it all. Sidney is constantly being bossy, taking other students things, and correcting everyone’s mistakes. When her friends are finally tired of her ways, Sidney learns the true meaning of being the Miss-Know-It All Girl.
PW: Where did you get the idea for Sidney Saidso?
AT: I noticed a lack of literature with African American’s as the main character and I wanted to create a character with whom my students could relate. The demographic of Baltimore City Schools is predominately African American, and I saw a need for students to find themselves in literature. Sidney is a common character that you will find in any school all over the world. She engages in many activities and reacts to situations just as most children would. Through her and her classmates in the story, children will be able to see realistic experiences that mimic their daily struggles. Additionally, they will be able to learn from Sidney’s mistakes and apply this knowledge to their own life.
PW: What do you hope readers learn from this story?
AT: The main themes of this story are bullying, learning from your mistakes, and taking responsibility for ones actions. I hope readers can relate to Sidney’s character and make connections to their own life. At the end of the story, I have Extension Questions for parents, teachers, and students to use for an enhancement of critical thinking skills. There are many inferences made in the illustrations and the text that will provide the opportunity for children to think about, beyond, and within the text. Not only is this book great for pleasurable reading, but it is a tool for reading comprehension.
PW: What is one thing readers may be surprised to know about you?
AT: Hmmmm… I think readers may be surprised to know that prior to my teaching career I worked at a fashion design company in New York City. My goal at the time was to be the next big songwriter! Instead, I joined the Baltimore City Teaching Residency and began a new career as an educator, with the overall goal of becoming a music teacher. Although my aspirations of songwriting and teaching music never came to fruition, I fell in love with Early Learning and channeled my lyrical talents into book writing. I continue to write poetry and maybe I will get back to music one day!
PW: You also started a publishing company. Tell us about that.
AT: A.Lee Publishing, LLC is an independent publishing company that was formed in 2009. We are most widely known for our Sidney Saidso series, which connects children to their everyday life at school and provides them with solutions to their daily struggles. A.Lee Publishing is dedicated to promoting literacy and education for youth through developing, marketing, and selling products that will enhance their understanding of history, community, and the world. Our goal is to become the primary source for children’s entertainment with a concentration on diversity and disadvantaged communities. The vision of A.Lee Publishing is to encourage, empower, and develop youth through literature.
I decided to self publish because I wanted total creative control over my work. I really wanted to have a sense of ownership in my product and it needed to feel very authentic. Additionally, I wanted to develop a safe space for other new authors, specifically those who have a strong connection to education.
PW: Do you have any other books coming out soon? (You can provide a brief blurb about them).
AT: Yes I do! Currently in the illustration phase, my next installment of the Sidney Saidso series is titled, Sidney Saidso and the Cheating Disaster. This story is about the affects of peer pressure and how Sidney gets pressured into cheating on a quiz and is the only one caught by the teacher. Here children will learn how to make good choices even when their friends may pressure them to do the opposite. Also, they will gain an understanding of the consequences of cheating and the moral value of being honest and living a life of integrity. My goal is to have this ready for purchase by June 2012.
PW: How can readers get in touch with you?
AT: My website is www.aleepublishing.com. You can purchase the book online at www.amazon.com. You can email me at april.terrell@aleepublishing.com. Also, become a fan of Sidney Saidso on Facebook and follow me @SidneySaidso on twitter!
Sightings!!!
I will be at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on September 23 in Washington DC, and I will be at the Baltimore Book Festival on September 25. If you are in the area, please stop by!
PW: Thanks for chatting with us today, April!
AT: You are so welcome! Thank you for having me!
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