Creating 'Sounds of the Farm': a book for babies

First off, thank you for reading! I’m Samantha Whitton. I’m a mother to two under two and an emerging indie author. I also work full-time and have the constant fear that I am poorly managing my time. Can anyone relate? Is it just me? That’s a story for another time. 

As we step into 2024, I'm thrilled to share a special project that's been close to my heart. Drumroll, please! 🥁

I'm overjoyed to announce the upcoming release of my very own children's book for babies: "Sounds of the Farm" 🐓🦆🐄 This book is a labor of love inspired by my two little ones and, in particular, my son's journey with speech development. When he still wasn’t saying “mama” or “dada” after he was a year old we decided to start taking him to speech therapy. That’s where I learned so many tools! Thank you, Ms. Heather!

Motivated by the desire to encourage my son to speak, I started drawing animals and mimicking their sounds. I loved it when he would see the duck I drew and yell "QUACK, QUACK, QUACK"! 🦆✨ This became the foundation for "Sounds of the Farm" – a simple, delightful book designed to help babies find their voices through the joy of animal sounds.

Over time, after working with my son on these animals and their noises for months, he now even says the names of most of the animals. I know that this exercise worked for him. I hope to pass on the same joy of learning to other new parents and their babies. 

Our household is bilingual. We work on Spanish and English words with our babies and you can too! I’ve created a copy of Sounds of the Farm in Spanish (Sonidas de la Granja) that will be available at the launch as well. 

I've poured my heart into the creation of this book, and I'm beyond excited to share it. I plan to launch the book on Amazon on January 4th. Your love and support mean the world to me! 🌟 To make this journey even more special, I kindly ask for your encouragement and positive reviews. Early reviews are crucial for a successful launch, and I truly appreciate every bit of support.

Stay tuned for updates on the book launch day! 🚀 I'm already working on more exciting ideas for future books, and I can't wait to share those with you too. Please, follow me on social media, and share your journey with your little one and the book! Here's to a year filled with creativity, joy, and the magic of storytelling! 📖💕

Thank you for being a part of this wonderful journey! 🙏🏼

These are a few sketches I created with the intention of helping my children learn about animals and their sounds, months before the book's creation.