{"id":673,"date":"2022-07-11T09:48:17","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T09:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bigissuesforlittlepeople.co.uk\/?p=673"},"modified":"2022-09-12T13:33:07","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T13:33:07","slug":"breaking-top-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/2022\/07\/11\/breaking-top-soil\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking top soil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So, Ivy and the Mole<\/a><\/em> has finally broken the soil and emerged into the light of day, following its publication in June. It\u2019s a children\u2019s book written to help little ones with their self-esteem and believe in themselves, and their own individuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also the second title I\u2019ve managed to get into print, and it means I really did turn the Big Issues for Little People concept into a literary series just as I (rather recklessly, in hindsight) claimed I was about to do upon the release of my first picture book, Ivy and the Rock<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time Ivy and the Rock<\/em>, as my debut novel, was published I wrote about its release in comparison to the birthing of a first child \u2013 the joy, the pain, the anxiety, the pure elation at having created something so special and unique to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now my next picture book is out there it is, indeed, very much like a second sibling has arrived. The day Ivy and Mole<\/em> finally dropped on to my doorstep after what again felt like an age in the making was just as awe inspiring, just as joyous, and just as emotional as the first time it happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now I\u2019m a mother of two under two, I\u2019m also finding it hard to divide my attentions between them both as equally as I\u2019d like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning I nurtured the Mole<\/em> as much as I could, I gazed at it with love, and I didn\u2019t feel half as daunted or anxious as I did the first-time round. Meanwhile, Ivy and the Rock<\/em> is out there, it has established its own life and – in the beginning – it also gained all the attention one would expect of a first-born people knew you\u2019d been waiting to meet for a very long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, this time around I\u2019ve not only got a newborn to think of, but an older sibling too \u2013 and one who has just started at school. I\u2019ve had a run of sessions in primary schools across Caerphilly County this summer term which I\u2019m looking forward to taking out to foundation phase kids more fully in the autumn and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But alongside this I\u2019ve now also got the Mole<\/em> to look after, who, as you would expect, hasn\u2019t had anywhere near enough attention as its older sibling since it emerged into the world. We’ve had some great coverage and support from local press outlets, including the Caerphilly Observer, South Wales Argus, Wales247.co.uk, County Times and more, for which I am truly grateful. But there is also a lot more to do this time, and the push to get people’s attention was always going to be a harder one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already I can\u2019t wait for this little seedling to start becoming its own person though. I can\u2019t wait to find out what kind of a journey Ivy and the Mole<\/em> is going to take me on, just as I had no idea Ivy and the Rock<\/em> would take me to the national press, television interviews, virtual grief sessions, a reading by Fergie and Friends<\/a>, and so much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, I suppose, here lies the rub. Impatience is not a quality best suited to the writing\/publishing world. So, I\u2019m making lists, I\u2019m marking the little wins, I\u2019m learning to appreciate and admire the differences between my two babies \u2013 and I\u2019m reminding myself of the real-world experience that tells me you can\u2019t expect to parent the second one in exactly the same way as the first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s hard though, when you\u2019ve given over all of your earthly energies to bringing something into the world which you cannot help but feel protective of, and that you are just desperate to see fulfil itself to its fullest potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, as ever, if Ivy and the Mole<\/em> can make just one little reader feel better about themselves, and understand this world of ours a little more fully in the process, then already it will have done what it came here to do anyway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t wait to find out what kind of a journey Ivy and the Mole is going to take me on, just as I had no idea Ivy and the Rock would take me to the national press, television interviews, virtual grief sessions, a reading by the Duchess of York, and so much more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[57,32,33,29,40,60,39,59,38,58],"class_list":["post-673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-big-issue-for-little-people","tag-ivy-and-the-mole","tag-jess-childs","tag-picture-book-new-releases","tag-picture-books-about-death","tag-picture-books-emotional-wellbeing","tag-picture-books-on-loss","tag-picture-books-on-self-esteem","tag-picture-books-to-deal-with-grief","tag-picture-books-wales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":681,"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions\/681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samchilds.co.uk\/jesschildsbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}