Meet Suzie Canale, Author of The Bean Town Tales Series
What inspired you to become a children's author?
I was raised in a family owned wholesale flower shop in the Back Bay of Boston where I was surrounded by beautiful blooms imported from around the world. One early Saturday morning, I opened a box from the delivered shipment and smelled an incredible waft of chocolate. Inside, I found bunches of merlot colored petals that I came to find out was named "chocolate cosmos" which from there on in became my favorite. I remember thinking to myself how wonderful and magical that flower was and that someone should write a storybook about it. Twenty years later, after having children of my own, I picked up a pen and pencil and wrote a poem that soon afterwards became the book, "The Land of Chocolate Cosmos".
What was your favorite book as a child?
My favorite books were the Snipp, Snapp and Snurr series written by Maj Lindman. All of the books were wonderful but I particularly loved the Gingerbread story. Well written with lovely messages as well as interesting adventures, I really enjoy the gift of re-reading them to my own kids now.
How did you come up with the idea for The Bean Town Tales?
I knew after writing my first book that it would be impossible to stop there and I needed to name the series. Being a true Bostonian at heart, I thought it was the perfect name for my books which were not only written about enchantment and adventure but also the underlying theme of loving and caring for the environment, people and animals within our homes, Boston being mine. The city's nickname, "Bean Town", also played well as a title for the book series which all contain fun foods such as chocolate, poppcorn, candy, grapes, brownies and many more!
How many books have you written in The Bean Town Tales series so far?
I have had two books published within The Bean Town series, The Land of Chocolate Cosmos and The Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom with a third release coming early this summer called The Candy Roses of Cape Care. The third book will complete the "Green" portion of the series. I am excited about the upcoming publication, I think it's the most fun so far.
Your books, The Land of Chocolate Cosmos and The Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom have won the Green Book of 2011 Award and were Honorable mention in the 2011 New England Book Festival. What does that mean to you as an author?
It's been a huge honor to have received these awards and a huge inspiration to keep working on creating fun and educational stories for young readers.
What do you hope children will learn from your books?
I hope children will learn that they themselves have remarkable power within themselves to make changes within key concerns of our society. In each story, I have purposefully made the hero a child and written their characters as the leader and teacher to others. Kids are amazing with the ideas they have for finding solutions. The Beantown Tales is all about encouraging and nourishing that attitude!
Are you working on any other books in The Bean Town Tales series?
There are three more books that have been completed but not submitted which will become the "Do Good" segment of the series if published. Their titles are The Gourmet Garden of Good Will, The Voyage to the Five Flavors of Fortune and The Tunnel of the Seven Tricky Treasures. The books again work to empower children to problem solve but this time focus on humanitarianism. The themes are respectfully derived from "Meals on Wheels", "The Walk for Hunger" (another Boston based event started out of Quincy, MA) and "The American Red Cross" which I am a member of their Disaster Action Team division.
You can find out more about Suzie Canales and The Bean Town Tales by visiting www.beantowntales.net.
I was raised in a family owned wholesale flower shop in the Back Bay of Boston where I was surrounded by beautiful blooms imported from around the world. One early Saturday morning, I opened a box from the delivered shipment and smelled an incredible waft of chocolate. Inside, I found bunches of merlot colored petals that I came to find out was named "chocolate cosmos" which from there on in became my favorite. I remember thinking to myself how wonderful and magical that flower was and that someone should write a storybook about it. Twenty years later, after having children of my own, I picked up a pen and pencil and wrote a poem that soon afterwards became the book, "The Land of Chocolate Cosmos".
What was your favorite book as a child?
My favorite books were the Snipp, Snapp and Snurr series written by Maj Lindman. All of the books were wonderful but I particularly loved the Gingerbread story. Well written with lovely messages as well as interesting adventures, I really enjoy the gift of re-reading them to my own kids now.
How did you come up with the idea for The Bean Town Tales?
I knew after writing my first book that it would be impossible to stop there and I needed to name the series. Being a true Bostonian at heart, I thought it was the perfect name for my books which were not only written about enchantment and adventure but also the underlying theme of loving and caring for the environment, people and animals within our homes, Boston being mine. The city's nickname, "Bean Town", also played well as a title for the book series which all contain fun foods such as chocolate, poppcorn, candy, grapes, brownies and many more!
How many books have you written in The Bean Town Tales series so far?
I have had two books published within The Bean Town series, The Land of Chocolate Cosmos and The Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom with a third release coming early this summer called The Candy Roses of Cape Care. The third book will complete the "Green" portion of the series. I am excited about the upcoming publication, I think it's the most fun so far.
Your books, The Land of Chocolate Cosmos and The Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom have won the Green Book of 2011 Award and were Honorable mention in the 2011 New England Book Festival. What does that mean to you as an author?
It's been a huge honor to have received these awards and a huge inspiration to keep working on creating fun and educational stories for young readers.
What do you hope children will learn from your books?
I hope children will learn that they themselves have remarkable power within themselves to make changes within key concerns of our society. In each story, I have purposefully made the hero a child and written their characters as the leader and teacher to others. Kids are amazing with the ideas they have for finding solutions. The Beantown Tales is all about encouraging and nourishing that attitude!
Are you working on any other books in The Bean Town Tales series?
There are three more books that have been completed but not submitted which will become the "Do Good" segment of the series if published. Their titles are The Gourmet Garden of Good Will, The Voyage to the Five Flavors of Fortune and The Tunnel of the Seven Tricky Treasures. The books again work to empower children to problem solve but this time focus on humanitarianism. The themes are respectfully derived from "Meals on Wheels", "The Walk for Hunger" (another Boston based event started out of Quincy, MA) and "The American Red Cross" which I am a member of their Disaster Action Team division.
You can find out more about Suzie Canales and The Bean Town Tales by visiting www.beantowntales.net.
Stacie Theis / beachboundbooks@yahoo.com / copyright 2012