Hercule the Hippo

In 2023, my little baby had started getting his first sharp, white baby teeth. Caring for those little pearly whites was a main theme on my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about a storybook character who was also learning about taking care of his teeth, and that's how Hercule, the sweet little hippo, came to life (look at him, isn't he the most precious thing?). Creative projects in those early days of infancy were easier for me to work on than the are now; my time is spent divided between my toddler and my newborn. Old projects have started sifting through the hustle of every day life and Hercule, once again, came into focus. I realized that he’s been suspended as a work in progress for two years - a long time for a little hippo. I’ve put so much time, work, and love into creating Hercule that it wasn’t fair to me or to him to keep him hidden away. 

I remember being so afraid to publish my own books. In the past, there hasn't been the same level of legitimacy with self-publishing as there is today. The world of book publishing is a complex one: the big houses get thousands of manuscripts and pitches, there are huge support groups for self-publishing authors, and there are predatory publishing houses that want you to pay thousands of dollars for formatting, illustrations, and expect you to self-promote. The complex options of publishing kept my Hercule project shelved, along with life events, for a while. 

I decided that my goals were more important than the internal noise surrounding publishing and publishing options. I remembered advice that I’d seen online: if you write, you are a writer. I am a writer. I have the luxury of focusing on my own creative projects and bringing to life stories that delight me and bring me joy (with limited deadlines). So many of my creative ideas are inspired by my wonderful children and I am excited to see how my kids continue to guide my creative endeavors. 
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Hercule is one of these projects that aligns with my personal goal of sharing my creativity while seeing moments of my life with my kids reflected in the pages (and I'm sure that it will resonate with other parents too). As the parent to a toddler, teeth have become a main focus in our bedtime routine. Every night, my son stands

on a little blue stool in front of his bathroom sink and we brush his teeth. He’s started talking about the colors of his tooth brush or seeing the new electric tooth brush that he’s still adjusting to (it looks like a dinosaur!). This bedtime ritual is reflected in Hercule’s little story, as he stands before his own sink and brushes his teeth with his blue tooth brush.

Hercule’s story is a short children's book - just 32 total pages in length. As the parent to a busy kid, hardback books tend to last longer in our household, and personal experience influenced my binding choice (we’ll see if it changes). The little story describes Hercule's excitement over new teeth, the care that he takes brushing his chompers, and encouragement for the young reader to build good dental hygiene practices! I’ve included a tooth chart in the back of the book for adults to fill out to track the movement of teeth - loss and new eruptions. I hope that you find Hercule’s story to be as darling as I do. 

This little book has been hanging out in the "coming soon" section of my books page for quite a while, and I'm very pleased that he'll soon move to the "available now" section!