These memories stay with the children throughout their lives.
VANCOUVER, Canada (PRWEB) – When it comes to building parent-child and grandparent-child connections, two activities are integral: reading books and sharing meals. Lucky for everyone, “The Yummy Adventures of Celia and Cedric,” a first-of-its-kind children’s “read and bake” book series launching May 1, 2015 combines both of these enjoyable pursuits for building happy lifelong bonds.
Written by the mother-daughter team of authors Laara Exsnar and Erin Kurt, “The Yummy Adventures of Celia and Cedric” leverages Kurt’s experiences as a former elementary school teacher and Exsnar’s expertise in food and holistic nutrition. Together the women set out to develop a children’s book series to enhance the enjoyment factor by incorporating real recipes that youngsters and adults can follow together, culminating in a fun, delicious and “Nutrilicious©” experience.
The seeds to write the first book were planted in 2007, when mother and daughter were chatting casually over Kurt’s then newborn son. Enthused by the lifetime of bonding and relationship building activities in store with her new grandson, Exsnar began discussing her own dream to create nutrition-centric children’s books. Her passion triggered Kurt’s own lifelong desire to write children’s books that teach compassion, integrity, generosity, inquisitiveness and other important qualities.
The two women found common ground when Kurt drew on classroom experiences with her students to bring their vision to life. If her class was reading a book that featured a favorite food or drink, for instance, she would find a recipe they could use together and extend the learning experience.
“This is how memories are built, skills are learned and character is built in their early years,” Kurt says. “These memories stay with the children throughout their lives too.”
Exsnar spent years testing her recipes with children of all ages in the school system and also while teaching community workshops for youngsters. She also created her own online program for parents who struggle with picky eaters.
Together the women worked to develop the personalities, likes and dislikes of each character in their book series and compiled a list of story ideas with recipes to go with each. Years of planning, research, writing and experimenting led to the first book, “The Yummy Adventures of Celia and Cedric: Amazing Apples!”
After working with parents and children all over the world, Kurt and Exsnar discovered that moms, dads, grandparents and kids loved the experiences and felt that the activities brought them closer together.
“We found that certain experiences like reading and baking together were at the top of their lists as being ‘the most enjoyable’ activities they do together,” Exsnar says. “The time seemed right for Celia and Cedric to come alive and be shared with busy families who can benefit from the book’s healthy activities.”
There are three books in the Celia and Cedric series available in both print and digital (Kindle) formats: The Yummy Adventures of Celia and Cedric: Amazing Apples!” “Celia and Cedric: Eat Dirt Balls!,” and “Celia and Cedric: Little Green Dragon,” also available for Kindle and iTunes downloads.
The authors plan to continue writing books for the series, plan to create a “Celia and Cedric” app for children to engage with, and hopefully see a TV show based on the books created.
To order the first three books in the Celia and Cedric series, visit the celiaandcedric.com website or visit the Celia and Cedric page on Amazon.com.