Diary of a 6th Grade “C” Cup
This is the somewhat fictionalized, but mostly biographical tale of a part of my own puberty. In the 6 th grade, as I was going through the teasing and ridicule of being an “early bloomer,” I had the idea to write the book and the title. I have been writing bits and pieces of the book for decades and finally realized something when my children were going through that stage. What I experienced was I designed this bookbullying, plain and simple. When I was a kid, there was no public conciseness about bullies. Kids were told just to suck it up and adults and schools did absolutely nothing to stop it. It’s out there now, which is good. Schools have policies and people are more aware, but it still goes on in every school and every playground, every day. I wanted this book to peel back the curtain and give people the view from this girl’s unique perspective. There are more books in this “Growing Up Is Hard” series that will tackle different aspects of adolescence from my experiences and some from other people I knew. Times, places, and certainly style and fashions have changed, but I find that at the core of growing up, a lot of same things happen to each generation. This book is designed for YA, youth audience, but I think many women may find it’s a blast of the past remembrances of their own puberty experiences.
The One and Only Skizitz
I am not Skizitz and I didn’t know anyone like that, but I wish there was. Growing up I always wanted people to see what I saw. I thought if they knew how much their words affected others, maybe they would stop? What better way for them to see but in black and white print? Many times teachers, other kids, friends and even parents don’t realize that their actions can create deep ideas in a kid’s mind that are hard to forget and easy to use as obstacles. Many adults can tell you their growing up horror stories and few can say it was easy, but they learned things, often too late. Skizitz’s non-reaction to others is how every kid wishes they could be. Do want you want and be yourself without a care as to what anyone else says. I always wanted to do this and I didn’t a lot of the time. I hope my readers take this to heart and adult and kid alike examine what they say to others and even more, what they listen to. Words do matter, but how we let those words affect us is more important.
How Does and Angel Get It’s Wings
One of my favorite holiday movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. I watch it every year and have read many books about the making of the movie. One year, when my sons were small, one said to me “Mommy, don’t all angels have wings?” I explained that he needed to help people to get his wings. At the end of the movie, my son said “Mommy, he did good. Now he’s a REAL angel.” That resonated with me for years and made me envision angels getting their wings by performing acts of kindness…and Sydney was born. The problem is, I can’t draw. I really can’t even draw a straight line with a ruler. I looked for an illustrator who could collaborate and finally found someone who shared my dream and believe it or not, it was someone in my own family. My brother-in-law is an Art teacher and incredibly talented artist, but I didn’t think he would be interested in collaborating on children’s books. At a Christmas family vacation last year, we talked about it in line at Disney World and then started working. Isn’t that funny, you just never know. Now we have decided to write more Christmas Books.
Growing UP Books by Suzanne Rudd 