A little over a month ago (November 24th, 2022) we released our first singable picture book, Where do you Sleep? It is a beautifully illustrated book explores the sleeping habits of animals while targeting expressive and receptive language skills and beginning literacy.
For years this idea rolled around my head. I've always been passionate about creating multisensory learning experiences for the students I support. When I write a song to target the developmental goals of the students work with, I add visuals, props and movements to increase participation and engagement and enhance learning. I love creating the visuals for each song and had long envisioned turning them into picture books (I am a HUGE fan of singable books).
Where do you Sleep? has always been a favorite song amongst the students I support (and the staff!) and it was one I felt would make a beautiful and cozy picture book. I wanted the animals to appear as realistic as possible and I quickly found the perfect artist to do this. I came across Erika Parker Rogers in an illustrator search on Etsy and immediately knew she was the perfect artist to bring these animals to life.
The entire process - from concept and drawing it all out first, to Erika completing the illustrations, followed by my wonderful and talented friend Elise Weeks of Pixels & Pulp designing and formatting it, took just over a year. Then the manuscript headed off to McNaughton & Gunn for printing. This women-owned printing company is FSC certified and practices Green Printing and EarthCare initiatives. It was very important to me to print as sustainably as possible, as well as within the US to reduce its travel footprint.
It has been an amazing first month! To see this book on the shelves of several local shops, to be able to pull it up on Amazon, and to receive pictures and video clips of children enjoying this song and book, has been absolutely incredible.
For more information about Where do you Sleep? visit www.rhythmandstrings.com/book where you can hear the song and peek inside. The book is available in softcover and also as an ebook/pdf. You can buy the book here on our website (linked above), on Amazon.com .