After 30 years of teaching young children and raising my own kids I felt a yearning to write my own childrens picture book. The words for the text came to me one night when I woke and noticed the amazing moon glow outside my kitchen window. I went back to bed with pen in hand and with a journal by my bedside I wrote the text for this book in the dark.
I have read hundreds, if not thousands of children’s books, some full of rhyming text, some with beautiful illustrations and some I couldn’t get past the first few pages.
I wanted my book to reflect my desire to share the magic of the human imagination with the enjoyment of learning about the awesome natural world around us. This aspiration has been ingrained in me since a very young age. I was blessed with a childhood entrenched with experiences of wildlife immersed in forests, shorelines, mountains, and fields. My love of nature is a product of holding garter snakes, raising a family of raccoons, searching for spring peepers (frogs) at our pond and keeping a baby squirrel after it fell from its nest until it was well enough to return to the woods.
My father, Paul Stoutenburgh, filled our childhood with adventures like these, on the water and in the woodlands around Long Island and across our beautiful country.
I hope Moonglow reflects this love of nature and the joy of imagination to all who will find a cozy spot to sit down and share my story or simply enjoy it yourself…no matter what your age!