Empathy Airlines: Jelly Beans Cheetah and Hope - Book 2 (screengrab)
Amid COVID-19 and Civil Unrest, award-winning Minnesota book author, educator, and scholar, Wendy Muhlhauser, a.k.a. SissyMarySue writes books that help children understand empathy while promoting inclusion is a perfect foil in today's world—a world that is frightening for most adults, let alone children. Her Jelly Beans the Cheetah and Hope book series, promotes empathy and caring, and is published by Beaver's Pond Press."The characters of our latest book Empathy Airlines: Jelly Beans Cheetah and Hope - Book 2, with the help of illustrators Sarah Williams and Jacob Peterson, come to life and is relevant during COVID-19 and civic conflict!" says its author SissyMarySue. "The book explains how we are one world, and offers beautiful lessons about friendship, acceptance, kindness, and compassion--and how to care for each other when confronted with life's difficulties."SissyMarySue's books – are lovingly written primarily for children aged 5-11 years old – but older children and adults enjoy the multicultural messaging of diversity and inclusion. In addition to books, there are accompanying multimedia platforms of songs, plays, and interactive videos, which are stress-relieving as they beautifully showcase people of different cultures and racial backgrounds working, playing, and solving problems together to benefit all.
Empathy Airlines, like SissyMarySue's first book, is entertaining to its readers. The concepts are presented in a rhyming format that is easy to read, memorize, and fun for all ages. Surprisingly, there are very few children books that feature people of different races and cultures playing and working together—with empathy, inclusion, and for the betterment of all. Here are some eye-opening facts about diversity in publishing:
- Only 11% of children's books in 23 years contain multicultural content
- 79% of people working in traditional publishing are White
- Out of 3600 children's books published in 2012, only 3% were about African American, and 1.5 were about Latinos
With SissyMarySue books, we are hoping to change these statistics with great storytelling and relevant inclusive educational messaging for children, through the introduction of other cultures that highlight the importance of the "one-world" philosophy of people working and problem-solving together, which is especially crucial during a global pandemic and worldwide grief.
SissyMarySue, a.k.a. Wendy Muhlhauser
About the Author:
SissyMarySue is the pen name for Wendy Muhlhauser, an award-winning author, educator, champion of children, and scholar (she was awarded a Fielder Graduate Fellowship through the Marie Fielder Center of Democracy, Leadership, and Education).SissyMarySue/ Wendy Muhlhauser Book Awards:
Jelly Beans the Cheetah and Hope (John E. Weaver – Excellent Reads, Globally Mindful, The Montaigne Medal, Eric Hoffer Book Award, Finalist 2020 and Mom's Choice Award)Empathy Airlines – Book 2 (Mom's Choice Award, Honoring Excellence)
Tristy Sparkles – Launching Soon! Single- Sparkle, Sparkle, Available Now!
- Her books are sold online and in stores at Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Amazon, and Target.