Valerie -Welcome to Bookworthy. Today we're talking with the author and host of the five-minute parenting podcast, Sandra K Chambers. We are talking about her book, Maisy Discovers Her Fingerprints. Maisy is short, pudgy, and boring, hoping to find something unique about
herself. So, Maisy visits her friends at the zoo to see what makes Maisy special. I can't wait to hear more about Maisy and Sandra and her books. Welcome to Bookworthy Sandra.
Sandra - Thank you so much. I'm really happy to be here.
Valerie - It is a pleasure to have you. Know we've kind of had some hits and misses and we've been trying to get you on here for a while, so I'm glad to have you. Well, life still happens. Well, before we get into talking about Maisie and your books, our question of the week is, what is your favorite thing about spring?
Sandra - Well, I love the warm weather. I don't like the allergies in the pollen, but I love flowers. And so just seeing all, everything spring back to life, you know, it's amazing. You think about how God does that. It's just, they just come up, they grow. I mean, hopefully, I planted them first, but you know, just the beauty of spring, I think.
Valerie -I agree, it's kind of that rejuvenation, that hope that, okay, we've rested for a while and the world is alive again. Very neat. Well, Sandra, tell us a little bit about Maisie in discovering her fingerprints.
Sandra -Well, like the secret behind Maisie actually is that Maisie is my real grandpuppy. So my daughter and son-in-law have a Frenchie and she's adorable. And so I'll go back and tell kind of a little bit about the fingerprint theme that's carried through because I did fingerprint theme in my devotions, fingerprint devotions that launched last November 2023. And it was just during COVID, was like I started researching fingerprint facts just for fun. Mean, and then I started recording the research and sources, not intending to do anything with it. Was just I went down this rabbit hole and I just loved it. So I just kind of felt a nudge from God, you know, keep recording these things. And then when he said do a devotional for kids, it's like, what? I don't write for kids. I was a teacher, but I just hadn't written for kids. So I kept praying about it and I started putting it together, it's just amazing how the fingerprint facts about God and creation, just fit with a lot of truth about God. So, I started putting this together and had 40 devotions. I think I started
querying before the 40 devotions and I did get a publisher. So, it took a year and a half, almost two years to publish, but that was my theme. And so, That kind of carried over to Maisie discovers her fingerprint. So, I carried over the theme because kids need to know that they're special, that they have unique fingerprints, and unique qualities about them. So, Maisie, I just wrote as a fun picture book for my family because there's a real Maisie. And so, when I read it to them, they just said, that's such a great story, Mom. You just got to publish that. And I just didn't know if it was that good or not, you know, but I sent it to my old publisher, and they said yes. So Maisey came to be.
Valerie -I love that now Maisie goes to the zoo which usually has some very unique creatures. What does she kind of learn along the way?
Sandra -Well, you know, she knows that humans have fingerprints unique and she doesn't feel special. Just like you said, she's short and pudgy. Her doggy friends don't accept her. They don't invite her to sleepovers because she snores, and she can't swim with them. So she's feeling left out. And I think kids will also relate to that maybe. So she goes to the zoo to ask her animal friends if they have unique fingerprints and they tell her the ones she talks to tell her,
yes, we have fingerprints just like humans do. And then she asks them, do I have fingerprints? And they all say, no, no, no, no. You're just a dog. You just have paws. And so she's sad. But the book does take you on a scientific journey because I learned about which animals have fingerprints that are unique to humans. And then she also learns about certain animals like tigers and leopards who have unique spots and stripes and so kids will learn a lot about about the animals as she goes and then you know she leaves sad because they all tell her she doesn't have fingerprints but I'm not going to give it away but Maisie does discover that she has a unique fingerprint it's just not on her paws.
Valerie - very sweet. I love that. It's kind of one of those overarching messages that not just kids, but I need to hear from time to time too. Just to remind ourselves that we are special and unique and made with purpose. And even when everybody's saying one thing, God is saying something different usually. And I think kids, especially nowadays, really need that message because we get kind of...
Sandra - Yes. We all do. Yes.
Valerie - I don't know, my kids want to compare themselves to them and their classmates. And it just becomes this cycle of, let's remember how God made you. If he wanted everybody to be the same, we'd all be robots and it would be boring. And it's our differences that make us unique.
Sandra - Yes, and the culture doesn't help by telling kids, they don't tell them the truth. You know, we must build a biblical worldview for our kids because the culture doesn't.
Valerie -That's very true. And not just look at, you know, Maisie's physical features, like, she doesn't have fingerprints or she doesn't have, you know, stripes like the tiger or certain qualities that make her unique, but it's something special about her and how God made her and who she influences that makes her special. And I think we can, this, I mean, This world does a good job of wanting us to focus on how we look and how we compare to everybody else, but there's so much more to us than just how we look. And I love that Maisie kind of goes on that discovery and animals have a way of communicating better than humans do sometimes. Do fun. Well, what about Maisie made you want to have her as the main character?
Sandra -Like I said, you know, I grew up and had some dogs, but they were outside dogs so there wasn't that bonding. And when our daughter got it, she said, I'm getting a French bulldog. And you know, my knowledge of bulldogs was like great, big, big, scary bulldogs. And
when she brought Maisie home, this little thing that you could hold in your hands, she was adorable. And I mean, she just captured our hearts. She did. So like I said, it was just kind of a fun experiment with the picture book. That I didn't think was gonna go anywhere. And it surprised me and surprised them. And I'm just really excited that it is here. And I love the artwork. I was fortunate to have my input with the illustrator. And so I sent her lots of pictures of the real Maisie and she made the Maisie in the book look just like the real Maisie.
Valerie- How sweet. Now what's one of the most unique fingerprint facts that you kind of discovered in this little deep dive?
Sandra -Well, besides the one about Maisie and dogs, which I won't reveal here, I think that, of course, I go into how fingerprints are used and how they developed, but I also talk about other things like fingerprints. You leave a fingerprint because of the oils and sweat on your fingers. And so it was so much fun because I compared that to how we leave, you know, we influence and we leave our fingerprint in life. And so we, you know, kids need to know that they're important, what they're doing, what they're saying, because of those fingerprints, you know, they can affect people.
Valerie -very true and very sweet to just kind of compare that to our fingerprints because I think kids are very good at putting their fingerprints all over the place physically, at least on my coffee table for sure. And so it's neat to make that comparison to how we affect the people in our world as well. I think that's such a concept for kids to get at a young age in a picture book just to kind of think about, It's not all about me because that me lens that kids have is hard to break through, and kind of the sooner we help them understand how they influence one another, the better they understand the world that they're in. And I love that. Now, Sandra, what do you hope kids walk away from Maisie discovering her fingerprints with?
Sandra -Well, I don't know if you have the front of the book, but it says, it's kind of like the kids can put their name in it and it says, you are special just like Maisie. And so, you know, I want them, I mean, at an early age, I mean, my fingerprint devotions are more for kids eight to 12. Maisie is for kids three to eight. And we need to start so much earlier with our kids to show them about God and teach them about God. So now, Maisie will help them if they have these emotions of not feeling accepted, you know, feeling different. I think that they will identify with Maisie. In fact, when I read the book and see the tears in her eyes, it's like I get teared up every time too. And I think kids will relate to the tears in Maisie's eyes because she
doesn't think she's special. And so, you know, I want kids to, and in the back of the book, there's 10 extra facts about fingerprints. And then there are the discussion questions. So parents can talk to kids about, you know, have you ever felt like Maisie? Have you ever felt left out and not special? So I want kids to, first of all, know that God created them and that he created them uniquely to be who they are. You know, they may not be good at math. They may not look like somebody else, but like you said, They are unique and God has a purpose and a plan for them. I think so many kids don't think they have a purpose and a plan these days as they get into their teenage years, know, and I think we need to build that in kids at the very beginning.
Valerie -I agree, kind of starting young and helping to build that worldview and put their identity in the truth of God's Word rather than what this world will say about them because that just gets so confusing as so many different cultures and so many different ideas get thrown at them but having that firm foundation of your child of God made with purpose and your love for who you are is so important. Well, when did your writing journey begin, Sandra?
Sandra -Well, you know, I've been asked that question before. When I think about it, I remember winning some kind of contest in elementary school for an essay. I have no idea what it was, but I just have that slight recommendation, that memory. And then I would say, I mean, I loved English and I majored in English in college. So I always loved to write. And I began doing some freelance writing when I got out of college and I was a teacher, but I began some freelance writing. Then I wrote stories for Charisma, news stories, and features. I just
wrote about a lot of things happening in the DC area where I live. So Christian events there and Charisma and Christian life, I wrote for them for many years. And then I started doing travel writing, which I enjoyed too. But, you and it wasn't until 10 years ago that I wrote my book on prayer. So I just thought, you know, if I write more books it'll be for adults on prayer. You know, I've just done a lot of different types of writing. So it's been fun. It's been a great journey.
Valerie -It's challenging to kind of put yourself in different positions. Because I love writing for children, but then I also do some freelance writing in the non-fiction space. I'm like, just triggers a different part of my brain. And it's just fun. Well, did you always want to be an author singer, or is it just kind of what fell on your plate?
Sandra - It's just kind of, you know, I always loved journalism. So I enjoyed that and travel writing. And then it was actually when I wrote my prayer book, Lord is Born in My Prayer Closet. And that just came about because my pastor at church asked me to pull some things together for a Lent fast that our church was doing on prayer. You know, I pulled some of those things together and I don't know, I think the book was in my drawer for years. And finally, I just, you know, I thought, what do I have to say to people? You know, what do I have to say? I had to get over that. I had to say, okay, God, if you want me to write that, I will write the book. And I did and I self-published it. But You know, besides that, didn't know where I was going from there. So I thought that maybe that was my only until COVID when I just started with the children's stuff.
Valerie -I love that. It's one of those 2020 and COVID is definitely a defining moment in a lot of lives, especially in my two and my writing journey. I think it was an amazing reset for us to focus on, wait, what does matter? What is important? What does obedience to God look like in the crazy world we live in I'm thankful for that year, that season because it did kind of reset my heart and my faith. And I know it did the same for a lot of people too. Okay, cool. Well, what is a book that's been the most impactful to you other than the Bible?
Sandra - Well, actually, it's Richard Foster's book. It's just called Prayer, Finding Your Heart's
Home. And it's just an amazing book on prayer. And you can read different chapters at different times. I mean, I've read the book several times. I just go back and read a chapter. It
just encourages me. And when my prayer life gets dry, I can go read that again. It's just a really good book.
Valerie -Very neat. I like a lot of Foster's books on just kind of all the disciplines of Christianity and it's always challenging to kind of rethink things. Very deep. You have to take his stuff in pieces, I think.
Sandra - Yes, she is good. Yes, He's really deep, so it's just, yeah. Let's go like this book because you can go to any chapter, look at the title, and decide what you want to, what you need that day.
Valerie -Very fun. Well, what is one of your favorite books, Sandra?
Sandra -As far as children's books, yeah. Well, you know, with my daughter growing up, you know, my favorite books tend to go back to the time that I was reading to her. You know, like
Dr. Seuss books and Good Night Moon. You know, I just, think they're still in the attic. So I'm going to be a grandmother in February. So I'm so excited. So I need to go dig those books out so she can have those. Where the wild things are. Think that's just a fun book. You know, the newest edition of that. And, you know, I like Michelle Adams. She was kind of a mentor with her puppy dog devotions and You know, there are just so many fun books out there by authors that I've come to know. So it's just great. But here's a funny little story. When my daughter was growing up, we had a Christmas book
and it was a scratch-and-sniff book. It's like smell the tree, smell the coco, you know, and there was a little square that you could scratch a sniff and she loved that book. We wore out the smells. There were no smells left in the book. And a few years ago, she was already an adult out of college. I found that book online and I reordered it for her. And it was just, you know, it was just fun to have that book again and then she'll have it for her child. So that was just one of our favorites.
Valerie - so sweet. I love how books come with memories. Yeah, they say that sometimes food, you know, a smell of certain food can trigger a memory, but I love how books do that too. Way fun. Now, what can we expect next from you, Sandra?
Sandra -Well, you know, I've launched a book for the last two years around the holidays and I'm tired. So I have decided I'm taking probably it from November through February when my grandchild will be born. I mean, I'll still do marketing on my two books, some events and maybe go into some Christian schools, but I'm just stepping back from really all the marketing and of course with marketing, you never have time to write anyway. So maybe I'll just do some fun writing. But yeah, I'm just kind of taking a step back. I do have a couple more picture books. One is finished in critique, but I don't know. I'm just praying about what God wants me to do. So I'm not sure at this point.
Valerie - Sometimes a hard but good place to be and I am sure when you're cuddling that little grandbaby that God's gonna show you what you want him to communicate to her. I love that we get to speak to our children and grandchildren.
Sandra - Yes, it's so great. You can start praying for them even while they're in the womb.
Valerie - Exactly, just I'm praying for right now just like the future wives of my sons. They're going to need some special women in their lives. Well, where can people find out more about you and your books?
Sandra -Well, I have an author website, which I think you'll put in the show notes, correct? Then I have the five-minute parenting podcast. I'm on a couple of Instagrams, a couple of Facebook, LinkedIn, and a Twitter, I mean a Pinterest account that has a lot to do with kids, activities, some of my posts, blogs on kids, and you know, more about my books and stuff.
Valerie - Very neat. We will have all those links in the description so people can find you easily for sure. Thank you so much for being with me today, Sandra.
Sandra -Thank you for having me. This was great.
Valerie -It was fun to have you. And thank you for joining Sandra and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed and let us know in the comments what is your favorite thing about spring. Be sure to like and subscribe to discover more great books together.
Happy reading.
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