Latest / Parent's Talk with Francine Juhlin / EPISODE 16: Transform Your Home With One Simple Shift

Transcript

EPISODE 16: Transform Your Home With One Simple Shift · Parent's Talk with Francine Juhlin

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Ashley's magical journey from classroom to beloved children's author, igniting
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: young imaginations. I'm just amazed by your story of how
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: you went from math teacher to children's Hello, welcome to
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  Speaker 1: Parents Talk. This is Francine Julie, and I am with
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  Speaker 1: my new friend Ashlee Wall, former educator, well really still
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: an educator, is now educating through her books book author.
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  Speaker 1: Can you let us in and how that can happen?
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  Speaker 2: Yes? Absolutely, Well I've always loved, you know, we've been
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  Speaker 2: passionate about educating kids and empowering kids to believe in
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  Speaker 2: themselves and you know that their future is wide open,
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  Speaker 2: it can be anything they want to be. And also
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  Speaker 2: been an avid reader. So once I had kids, I
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  Speaker 2: stayed home and just we went through tons and tons
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  Speaker 2: of you know, one hundred thousands of books, and I
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  Speaker 2: knew I eventually wanted to get back into some sort
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  Speaker 2: of career for myself. I wasn't sure why it was
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  Speaker 2: at the time, and I just kind of kept getting
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  Speaker 2: inspired to write children's books, and I knew, I definitely
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  Speaker 2: knew I always still wanted to be working with kids
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  Speaker 2: and empowering kids in some way. And then, you know,
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  Speaker 2: year after year that thought kind of kept going from
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  Speaker 2: the back of my mind to the front of the mine.
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  Speaker 2: You know, children's books, children so books, so I you know,
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  Speaker 2: I mentioned to my husband.
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  Speaker 3: He was fully supportive, and so we went for it.
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  Speaker 3: Wrote the children's books and seeing my.
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  Speaker 2: Kids and living that young you know, parenting journey with
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  Speaker 2: the kids. I saw what children's books did for them
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  Speaker 2: and how much they wanted to read, and how much
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  Speaker 2: it improved their vocabulary and their imagination, and also the alternative,
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  Speaker 2: how much screens and other things can also suck their
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  Speaker 2: attention away. And I really wanted to develop a love
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  Speaker 2: for reading and develop big imaginations and kids that they
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  Speaker 2: can believe in themselves and be empowered and turn to
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  Speaker 2: books and you know, all the things. And that's what
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  Speaker 2: I kind of tried to wrap around and into my books.
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  Speaker 2: And that's where now, Yeah, like you mentioned, I still
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  Speaker 2: think of myself as an educator because I go into
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  Speaker 2: this schools and I read to kids and help, you know,
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  Speaker 2: build their imaginations and their belief in themselves, and everything
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  Speaker 2: is just a different way with words instead of numbers.
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  Speaker 1: Now you're not in the classroom anymore, but can you
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  Speaker 1: tell us what you do when you go into the school,
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  Speaker 1: how you interact with the kids.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, it's one of my favorite things, if not been,
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  Speaker 2: my favorite thing about being an author. I first kind
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  Speaker 2: of wanted to show the kids how a story is made.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we talk about imagination, and you know, I
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  Speaker 2: tell them, you know, think about an animal, and now
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  Speaker 2: think about what that animal is going to do, and
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  Speaker 2: does that animal have a friend, and so they're thinking
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  Speaker 2: about all stuff in their mind when I'm like, you're
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  Speaker 2: writing a story, and then we talk about you know,
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  Speaker 2: a lot of them are four, five and six, so
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  Speaker 2: they're learning how to write and read. And I was like,
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  Speaker 2: while you're you're practicing your letters and putting words together,
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  Speaker 2: then you start writing down your story and you can
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  Speaker 2: become an author.
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  Speaker 3: So I really want to inspire them.
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  Speaker 2: To, you know, create their own stories and everything like
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  Speaker 2: that and use their imaginations.
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  Speaker 3: And then we go in and read the books. And
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  Speaker 3: at the end of.
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  Speaker 2: Each one of my books is a little teaser for
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  Speaker 2: the next one, because again, I just really wanted to
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  Speaker 2: empower kids to want to pick up another book. So
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  Speaker 2: like the end of the Bulldozer, there's a dinosaur tale,
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  Speaker 2: so then the kids are dinosaurs. So we picked up
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  Speaker 2: we read a second book, and then at the end
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  Speaker 2: of that one there's a fire truck fire tuk ins.
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  Speaker 2: They want to keep on reading. So however long the
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  Speaker 2: teachers will allow me and the kids will stay engaged,
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  Speaker 2: I will keep on, you know, reading the books. And
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  Speaker 2: then and then we go over again at the end
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  Speaker 2: about you know, just using their imagination and that you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's it's open ended.
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  Speaker 3: There is no stop to what they can do.
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  Speaker 1: I like that, getting them to use their imagination. I
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  Speaker 1: remember when I was a kid a long time ago,
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  Speaker 1: our toys made us use our imagination.
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  Speaker 4: We didn't have computer games and.
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  Speaker 1: Video games stuff that kids have today. It's almost like
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  Speaker 1: that the toys are thinking for the kids.
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  Speaker 4: That's the beauty of a book.
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  Speaker 1: When somebody reads a book, it conjures different pictures in
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  Speaker 1: their brains. So have you ever had a kid think
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  Speaker 1: or tell you about something in your book that you
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  Speaker 1: had never thought of?
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  Speaker 4: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I mean the kid. It's a funny thing
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  Speaker 3: because then the kids, since it has.
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  Speaker 2: That teaser, you should do this next, you should do that,
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  Speaker 2: They should do they should do do this, And it's funny.
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  Speaker 2: I also had my illustrator in my spacebook. That's coming out, said,
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  Speaker 2: I showed them in the book, and they want to
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  Speaker 2: know what happened to the you know, space creatures, and
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  Speaker 2: I was like, they have to come up with that themselves.
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  Speaker 2: And so the kids do love to always, you know,
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  Speaker 2: come up with their own Oh if I had this,
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  Speaker 2: I would do that, and so it's kind of something
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  Speaker 2: that I didn't really expect. Also in the books that
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  Speaker 2: it's like the day I had. So it can be endless, right,
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  Speaker 2: it can be anything that the kids are like, Okay,
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  Speaker 2: so this is what this is what I'm going to
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  Speaker 2: have or this is what I would do with the dinosaur,
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  Speaker 2: and it really like helps them have confidence and empowerment
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  Speaker 2: on like okay, well what would you do? You know?
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  Speaker 2: And then there's like little easter eggs throughout the book
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  Speaker 2: that hint at other books and they get really.
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  Speaker 3: Engaged and involved in that too.
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  Speaker 2: Oh there's this, there's that, And so they're always coming
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  Speaker 2: up with ideas, you know, of their own, which is great.
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  Speaker 1: So you made me think of something with my books.
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  Speaker 1: My books are about Camp confidence, where all the kids
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  Speaker 1: have something in their lives that bring them to this
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  Speaker 1: camp where they learn how to become more confident self resterance.
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  Speaker 1: And one thing I don't do is really go into
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  Speaker 1: that character development because it's more about what happens in
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  Speaker 1: Camp Confidence. So I'm starting an Instagram series, given each kid.
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  Speaker 4: A bit of a backstory.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you just made me think, how cool will
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  Speaker 1: that be to get input from the kids.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, it's awesome.
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  Speaker 2: They think of things you don't even think about, you know,
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  Speaker 2: which is awesome.
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  Speaker 3: They're like, oh, yeah, I gotta put that in my
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  Speaker 3: next book. I gottadd this, I gotta add that. You know.
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  Speaker 2: We're like, this is a great thing. Let's make sure
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  Speaker 2: we keep those going. Getting input from the kids. They're
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  Speaker 2: the ones that we're writing for, so seeing what they
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  Speaker 2: want and they're interested in what catches their attention is I.
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  Speaker 1: Love that well, and it also could bring up new
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  Speaker 1: themes for new books. I was struggling with book two
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  Speaker 1: because what I thought I.
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  Speaker 4: Wanted to write about just didn't sit well.
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  Speaker 1: I wanted to write about a shy girl and about
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  Speaker 1: how Camp Confidence was making her less shy, but then
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  Speaker 1: every time I try to write it, it was like
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  Speaker 1: telling this.
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  Speaker 4: Little girl not to be herself. Yeah, I feel right.
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  Speaker 1: So I actually talked to my publisher about it. Who
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  Speaker 1: has I think he's twelve year old boy now who
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  Speaker 1: is offto an author, and he told me that the
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  Speaker 1: kids in the middle school area hide what makes them
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  Speaker 1: special because they don't want to stand out. Yeah, that's
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  Speaker 1: how Let Your Sparkle Shine came. All the kids are
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  Speaker 1: hiding something, and then Sparkle Feathers and Princess Francy help
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  Speaker 1: them find out why it's so special to let your
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  Speaker 1: Sparkle Shine.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, totally.
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  Speaker 4: I think listening to the kids is important.
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  Speaker 1: What's affecting them and how can we as authors write
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  Speaker 1: a story that will help them work through their childhood woes?
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  Speaker 4: So yeah, you.
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  Speaker 3: Know, yeah, so I love that.
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  Speaker 2: That's especially now with this social media and everything out there.
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  Speaker 3: You know, kids are from such a younger age too.
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  Speaker 2: Oh I shouldn't do this or I shouldn't like that,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and it kind of takes away a little
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  Speaker 2: bit of who they are. But to be able to
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  Speaker 2: put that back in there, saying no, that is unique
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  Speaker 2: and that is you and that is important.
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  Speaker 3: I love that. That is fantastic.
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  Speaker 1: Well, one of the characters in the book, she loves
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  Speaker 1: to dance, but she's chunky. Well, that girl came right
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  Speaker 1: from my childhood, I always I'd love to dance, but
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  Speaker 1: I didn't fit that persona of a ballerina, so I
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  Speaker 1: hid that until finally in my adult life, I'm a dancer.
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  Speaker 4: Who cares me. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm gonna do what I love.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. So that's what I try to bring out to kids.
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.
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  Speaker 4: Of you to what you love.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, I love that.
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  Speaker 4: So what are some of the common themes in your books?
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  Speaker 2: So the big one, the big one's imagination. I really
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  Speaker 2: want kids. I believe that a kid who can imagine
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  Speaker 2: as a kid who can change the world, and they
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  Speaker 2: can then, you know, and starting that imagination from the
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  Speaker 2: young age grows into this you know, the things that
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  Speaker 2: you were talking to. As they get older and grow
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  Speaker 2: from my books to you know, your books, as then
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  Speaker 2: they can imagine and they can see the world differently
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  Speaker 2: and make their own choices. And that's another theme in
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  Speaker 2: the book is where these kids are empowered and they're
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  Speaker 2: in charge of their day and they're choosing to be
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  Speaker 2: kind to each other, and they're choosing to work together,
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  Speaker 2: and they're choosing you know, they're figuring out how to
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  Speaker 2: solve problems, which helps build that confidence and and just
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  Speaker 2: really build who they are from that young age that
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  Speaker 2: they can think for themselves and you know, maybe we
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  Speaker 2: don't agree or maybe somebody struggling about, we can still
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  Speaker 2: help and we can still be friends, and we can
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  Speaker 2: still be kind.
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  Speaker 1: I love that, the fact that we could disagree and
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  Speaker 1: still be friends.
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 4: Wow, the world leads a whole lot more of them.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe maybe I just got my third book.
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  Speaker 4: There you go, there you go. So tell me which
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  Speaker 4: is your favorite character.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, that is so tough.
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  Speaker 2: I love all of them because, like the narrator is
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  Speaker 2: is Luke, and he's kind of I wouldn't even necessarily
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  Speaker 2: say he's the leader, but he's just the one who's
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  Speaker 2: telling the story of the day.
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  Speaker 3: And he's your the guy, you know, the kid next door.
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  Speaker 2: He's he loves his family and he just wants to
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  Speaker 2: have one of his friends. And then you've got Noah,
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  Speaker 2: who loves to read and learn and he's always giving
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  Speaker 2: facts about, you know, the different adventures that they're going on.
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  Speaker 2: And then Mikey is accident prone. He's kind of that
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  Speaker 2: silly wild kid. He's gonna, you know, climb the stairs
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  Speaker 2: from the outside.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and so.
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  Speaker 2: He's always doing something you know, a little silly and
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  Speaker 2: causing some mishaps. And then there's Emma who is so
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  Speaker 2: sweet and she's girl power and coming up with ideas
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  Speaker 2: and suggestions, and they really just all compliment each other
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  Speaker 2: and with their own like distinct personalities. So I don't
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  Speaker 2: know if they can pick a favorite because I kind
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  Speaker 2: of holds all different little things, you know, and highlighted
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  Speaker 2: them each to.
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  Speaker 3: One, you know, so they're all unique in their own way.
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  Speaker 1: Love it, and I imagine kids could see little parts
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  Speaker 1: of themselves exactly. Yeah. Yeah, that was always what made
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  Speaker 1: me want to read a books when I could identify
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  Speaker 1: with the characters.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: So are your books more to be read too kids
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  Speaker 1: or four kids at that beginning sage where they're learning
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  Speaker 1: how to read.
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  Speaker 2: Both they really are geared towards that two and a
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  Speaker 2: half to five six range, so and you know, kids
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  Speaker 2: are are learning to read. You know, there's four year
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  Speaker 2: old who can read, and then some kids can't read
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  Speaker 2: till their six or seven. So it really depends on that,
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  Speaker 2: but a lot of them are Yeah, parent parents are
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: you know, reading the picture books to them and then
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  Speaker 2: as kids the print is large, so as kids do
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  Speaker 2: start to read, you know, like my daughter is just
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: finished kindergarten, so she's able to start picking out words now,
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  Speaker 2: so she can kind of do that. And then I've
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  Speaker 2: had kids at elementary school readings be able to read
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  Speaker 2: the pages.
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  Speaker 3: So that is really fun to see, you know, the.
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  Speaker 2: Preschool level all the way up to like those early
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  Speaker 2: elementaries where they can read it themselves.
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  Speaker 3: And so that's really fun transition.
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  Speaker 4: That's funny.
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  Speaker 1: When we're getting ready to put out my first book,
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  Speaker 1: I said, no, the font's not big enough.
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  Speaker 4: Well, that's the right fond for a kid. I'm like,
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  Speaker 4: it's not for me.
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  Speaker 1: I know, my books were actually designed for grandparents to
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  Speaker 1: read it.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, you need it.
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  Speaker 2: I'm working on an elementary chapter book that'll be out
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  Speaker 2: next year, and my book designer is putting it together
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  Speaker 2: right now, and I'm like, I need the font to
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: be big enough for me because I'm still reading chapter
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  Speaker 2: books to my kids and in the evening time and
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: I'm tired and the light starts super bright. Of was like,
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  Speaker 2: I need this font to be big enough for me
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  Speaker 2: to read too.
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  Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, we have to make it well. And some
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  Speaker 1: of my biggest fans are in their seventies and eighties.
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  Speaker 3: No, I love it.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: My friend said that she is learning how to be
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  Speaker 1: more confident from reading my job.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we've never stopped learning and growing.
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  Speaker 4: Right, that's it. That's it.
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  Speaker 1: And my children's books all started from my adult self help,
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  Speaker 1: and I wanted to make it more fun for the
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: young adult, the late high school, you know, starting out
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  Speaker 1: in college, to get this boost of confidence themselves. So
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: I put it in a fairy tale, and now I
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  Speaker 1: got all this wild feedback that, oh my god, kids
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  Speaker 1: need this message. So it the confidence is really a
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  Speaker 1: universal message Lord. And having imagination. I don't know why
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  Speaker 1: it is, but the older we get, the more we
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  Speaker 1: lose our imagination. So I love that your books are
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: all about imagination and keeping that imagination going, because it's
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: right around the age of seven or eight where kids
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  Speaker 1: start to lose it.
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  Speaker 3: They do.
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  Speaker 4: So I love that we're.
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  Speaker 1: Both doing the same mission, so to say, yeah, in
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  Speaker 1: different ways, you're trying to keep the imagination alive. But
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: as the kids lose their imagination, they tend to lose
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: their confidence. They got a log hand in hand. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I love that a lot of people say, why are
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: you helping promote other people's books.
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  Speaker 3: You can never have too many books.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: No, you can never have too many books, and we're
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: all complementary to each other.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you cannot get everything you need from one book.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: That's why there are libraries. So with that, tell people
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: how they could get your books.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you can visit mamabear books dot com. We're of
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: course on Amazon, but you know, support a website. But
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: also we're on you know, social media, author Ashley Wall,
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: and then Mama Bear Books on the socials and everything
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: like that too.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: Is mamabear dot com. Is that how they find you
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: on Instagram?
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: So mamabear books dot Com is our website and then
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: on Instagram, like my personal one is author Ashley Wall,
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: and then Mama Bear Underscore Books.
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  Speaker 3: Uh it is the publishing website. Okay or handle.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, everybody go out like and love, give her some
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: comments on our socials, give her books a boost.
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: I want to see you back when you put out
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: your next book.
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  Speaker 3: I would love to.
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  Speaker 2: I would love to and I can't wait to hear
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: how your next ones are coming along too. I feel
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: like we've got some great ideas and just this chat here.
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: Yes, yes, yes, I have book three ready to go now.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: Nice, nice, all right, Well, thank you so much for
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: being on Parents Talk. Is there any last words you
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: want to give to parents?
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: Just keep on reading, keep on reading, keep on imagining,
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: and never stop believing in magic.
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: Yes, and let your sparkle shine.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: Let you sparkle shine.
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: Bye, all right bye