Angelina Gauthier is an educator and elementary school principal with over 20 years of experience teaching and coaching children and youth. She has been writing since she was three, when she would narrate and her Dad would type her stories on his state of the art Royal portable typewriter. Her mother furthered her love of literature with rhymes and songs.
Angelina values, teaches, and encourages kindness on a daily basis in her school. Her social media posts and website, www.kindnessandstories.com, offer many kindness ideas, quotes, and projects that she has completed with the staff and students at her school. She believes that we all have the power to let kindness shine.
Angelina lives in beautiful central British Columbia, and enjoys spending school holidays and summers traveling or enjoying the outdoors with her husband and family.
What Kind of World Would It Be?
I Love You to the Treetops
Where available: Amazon
Links:
What Kind of World
www.amazon.ca/dp/1999110404 – Canada
www.amazon.com/dp/1999110404 – USA
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999110404 – UK
www.amazon.com.au/dp/1999110404 – Australia
I Love You to the Treetops
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1999110412 – Canada
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1999110412 – USA
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999110412 – UK
https://www.amazon.au/dp/1999110412 – Australia
Website: www.kindnessandstories.com
What sets your books apart from all others?
“What Kind of World Would It Be?” is a reflective book, that has a recurring question, “If everyone acted just like me, what kind of world would it be?” I believe that makes it unique as the reader reflects on how their actions impact others. It also provides a great conversation starter with children. I hope that my books can help teachers and families build those valuable character traits, and develop our future citizens and leaders through stories.
“I Love You to the Treetops” is a cozy bedtime story. I believe it is unique as it shows diverse families and locations around the world, and celebrates the love of family in its many forms.
Who is your target market, who should be reading your books?
My target audience for What Kind of World is ages 3-10. It is a great book to teach social-emotional learning, empathy, and kindness in the home and classroom.
My target audience for I Love You to the Treetops is ages newborn to 9. I think new parents would enjoy reading this to their new babies. Teachers could also use this book for a theme on families.
What authors inspired you most and how so?
I was inspired by every book I read when I was young. I especially loved historical fiction. I find I am more inspired by lyrics of songs as I get older. I love it when I hear a song with a lyric that literally makes me cry.
What advice do you have to offer in support of other authors?
If you plan to self-publish, I strongly recommend taking a course from a best-selling author who provides the full details on how to do it properly. I also recommend that you hire an artist that will provide professional illustrations.
What is your genre of choice and why?
My genre is children’s picture books. I am surrounded by children on a daily basis, so I am inspired by them and their kindness. Books had a big impact on me as a child, so I guess I am trying to give back and provide that to the next generation.
How did you come to write in that particular genre or niche?
As an educator, I spend a lot of time encouraging students to be helpful, respectful, kind, and responsible. I hope that my books can help teachers and families build those valuable character traits, and develop our future citizens and leaders through stories. Today’s parents and educators are looking for books on character education to help them teach children the important values they need to live in this world, and I believe celebrating kindness and love is the way to do that.
How’d you come about discovery of your writing talent, gift or ability?
I have had a love of literature all my life, writing stories since the age of 3, when I would recite them out loud, and my Dad would type them on his classic Royal portable typewriter.
There is a black and white photo of me sitting at the typewriter at the age of 3, typing one finger at a time. That is my first memory of physically writing. I am certain that I wasn’t forming any words, but was creating my own kind of story.
My mom furthered my love of words through songs and stories. She was always singing songs or nursery rhymes. It is a very fond memory I have of my childhood.
I continued to put pen to paper throughout my elementary and high school years, and upon graduation, I decided to not go into teaching like all my friends, but entered the field of journalism, as a sports reporter.
Despite the love of writing, photography, and sports, my calling as an educator pulled me away from my career as a reporter. I returned to university and received my degree in Elementary Education.
I still continued to write. I wrote articles for college newspapers, and magazines. I created my own fictional books as gifts to family members, and always had the goal and dream to have a book published.
What are your future writing endeavors? What’s next on your authorship agenda?
I hope to publish another children’s book next year and am currently working on the manuscript. My passion is kindness and social emotional learning, so I know that will continue to guide me as inspiration for future books.
Is writing for you synonymous with living and breathing, or just something you do as a hobby, and how so and why?
Writing is a hobby, but something I love to do on a daily basis. It is happiness.
What do you feel we need to hear or read more of, that is rare today in a book?
With the increasing number of self-published authors, I think that we are getting a more wide array of book themes. I still love to see books that celebrate diversity, gender identity, family, or social-emotional learning.
Indie/Self-Published Author and/or Traditionally Published? What do you favor more and why?
I have only received rejection letters from traditional publishers, so self-publishing was the way to go in order to get my books into homes, libraries, and schools.
How is your writing controversial, profound or mind boggling, or how would you describe it?
I think my writing is emotional, relational, and a positive way to encourage strong connections.
What do you hope to accomplish with your literary creation? What change or enlightenment do you want to bring about in your reader if any?
With “What Kind of World Would It Be?”, I just want to see it in more classrooms and libraries. I feel it has the potential for meaningful conversations and can spark some impactful acts of kindness.
With “I Love You to the Treetops”, I simply want families to enjoy time together, and create a bedtime routine that is calm, connected, and offers time to value one another.
What’s the greatest compliment that you ever received regarding your literary accomplishments and what did this remark do for you, how did it transform your life or your writing?
I received a five star review from Reader’s Favorite, and the reviewer said “This is a book to be treasured, much like Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever.” That was the biggest compliment I could have ever received. It has encouraged me to continue to write more, and live up to that comment.
What’s the most memorable criticism you received regarding your literary works and how did this remark transform you as a writer or influence your writing if at all?
I haven’t received any specific criticism regarding my literary works, but if someone would like to share some constructive criticism, I would listen, reflect, and use it to make my future work better. I have actually already edited my own books, since there are things that I needed to change.
What have you sacrificed, if anything, to be a writer, or to write as you do? What have you gained from writing, how has it rewarded you personally?
I have always enjoyed writing. It is a part of my being, and I have never sacrificed to do it. It has always been a positive way to express my values, share my memories, and hopefully, bring a little more love and kindness to the world through my stories.
