December 10, 2013

Alumna embarks on new career as children’s author

School counselor, teacher, and administrator-turned-children’s author Stephanie Shaw (MA in Counseling Psychology, School Counseling ’86) has just released her first children’s book for very young readers, Bedtime in the Meadow.

School counselor, teacher, and administrator-turned-children’s author Stephanie Shaw (MA in Counseling Psychology, School Counseling ’86) has just released her first children’s book for very young readers, Bedtime in the Meadow. The story features butterflies, foxes, ducks, and other wetland creatures as they make their way to sleep. “Rhyming text and soft, inviting illustrations,” the publisher writes about the board book, “make this an ideal bedtime read.”

Shaw’s love of reading has served as a constant from her childhood through her college career. She got her first library card at the age of five. Of her teacher training graduate school courses, her favorite was Children’s Literature. She is drawn to animal characters because they allow her to represent personality quirks and lend distance to more serious issues. Her upcoming titles, A Cookie for Santa (Sleeping Bear Press, 2014), Owlet Falls Asleep (Tiger Tales Press, 2014), and The Legend of Beaver’s Tail (Sleeping Bear Press, 2015), all feature animals as protagonists.  

“It seems in the world of picture book creation there is no end to the joyful surprises,” Shaw said in an interview with children’s writer Summer Edward. “I know an idea for a story will come to me at the most unlikely time. I also know my learning will continue, my friendships will increase and the love I have always had for books will be with me forever.”