Children's Book
Date Published: 2025
Publisher: Serapis Bey Publishing
Illustrator: Brian Dumm
The Wheels on the Stroller, a fresh adaptation of the well-known song
and book, The Wheels on the Bus, invites parents and children on a stroller
journey of song, motion, and colorful illustrations. Roll through a variety of
neighborhoods meeting delightful creatures and various neighbors in action as
the seasons change. Experience being fully present in the moment with your
child as you sing and act out each verse. The Stroller kids show readers how
to perform each motion! In addition, a picture clue in each illustration
signals the next action. The Wheels on the Stroller aims to reawaken the joy
and wonder of simple, everyday happenings as seen through the eyes of young
children. It seeks to inspire readers to make up verses of their own based on
adventurous stroller walks (or wagon walks!) through their neighborhoods.
Ready…Set…Let’s Roll!
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
The hardest part of developing/writing The Wheels on the Stroller (an adaptation of the well-known The Wheels on the Bus), was successfully conveying my deep intentions behind this early childhood book which consists of a repetitive, simple sentence structure and basic vocabulary throughout. I worked closely with my talented illustrator who captured my varied thoughtful intentions with his animated, colorful and heartwarming illustrations.
The messages/intentions I wished to convey:
-Enjoying the beauty of nature/the outdoors for purposes of well-being and stress reduction by taking a simple walk is a wonderful gift to share with children early in their lives, hopefully extending throughout their adulthood. The Wheels on the Stroller features the change of seasons, squirrel antics, birds building a nest, the joy of boots stomping in puddles from a Spring rainfall, etc. This book was inspired by the many stroller walks I have enjoyed over the past 4 years with my grandsons as soon as possible after their births. The Wheels on the Stroller is heavily researched!
-Singing and acting out the book connects child and adult to “being fully present in the moment” together. Going on an actual “quality” stroller walk together adds to these attentive moments that help build strong emotional bonds in early childhood.
-As a person who has lived most of her adult life in several locations/neighborhoods apart from my close-knit family, my neighbors have always been special to me. They often have become cherished friends that I can count on and I am there for them as well. I have taken daily walks (weather permitting!) around my neighborhoods for decades so I practice what I preach!
-I wanted young children to meet people of many abilities, ages and backgrounds as they make up the communities in which we live, hopefully in harmony.
-As a former speech-language pathologist, I wanted to encourage parents/caregivers to verbally describe what kids are experiencing in their world and to answer kids’ curious questions on a typical stroller walk. Along with Stroller’s visually bright and interesting illustrations, the use of song and actions (performed by the stroller kids in the book!) facilitate speech-language learning in a fun, multisensory manner.
What are your most played songs?
I babysit for my grandchildren a few days a week, so I listen to a lot of children’s songs these days. The songs are happy, fun and energetic and raise my spirits. I often drive home in silence, however, due to my grandkids being equally fun and energetic (and childishly noisy!) throughout the whole day.
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
No
What book are you reading now?
A very adult book by Cheryl Strayed called tiny beautiful things.
“Advice from Dear Sugar.” As the reviewers have said, it is “soulful,” “empathetic,” “revelatory storytelling.”
How did you start your writing career?
The Wheels on the Stroller is my first and only book at this point.
Ever since my mom helped me write a 2-line rhyming poem in 1st grade which got published in the school newspaper, I have always liked to write. As a speech-language pathologist, I wrote countless technical student evaluation reports but especially enjoyed the more creative part of describing students’ behavior and their positive attributes. I also made up many stories and rhymes to enhance learning when teaching language concepts especially to special education students.
After taking an online children’s poetry writing course, I had several rhyming poems published in “Highlights High Five” and “Highlights” magazines and in children/adult poetry anthologies.
For many years, I transformed answers on questionnaires/from interviews into personalized rhyming poems given as gifts to loved ones from loved ones. It was very rewarding to go beyond those factual responses and capture the “essence” of the person receiving the poem.
Tell us about your next release.
The Wheels on the Stroller was launched only a month ago so I have nothing in the works now. I may revisit a couple of children’s books I worked diligently on many years ago.
About the Author
Claudia Kramer Kohlbrenner earned a B.S and an M.Ed. degree in the field
of speech-language pathology and she also received extensive training in the
teaching of reading. She maintained her American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association (ASHA) certification during her 35+ years of teaching and for many
years after retirement. Claudia taught mainly in the public schools with
students of all ages but primarily with special education and general
education students at the preschool and elementary levels.
When teaching at the preschool level, Claudia encouraged busy parents to
utilize the time spent carrying out daily routines as language-rich
opportunities. Parents were counseled to talk about what was happening in a
child’s “here and now” - while getting dressed, brushing
teeth, taking a stroller walk! Claudia used available and self-generated
rhymes and songs and involved as many bodily senses and movements as possible
to facilitate developmental skills in preschoolers. She considers the
repetition used in The Wheels on the Bus book and now in The Wheels on the
Stroller to be a valuable learning tool for young children. According to early
childhood research, repetition reinforces language processing, pattern
recognition and a sense of predictability. It also provides children with
opportunities to rehearse new sound and word sequences.
After retirement, Claudia’s love of rhyme inspired her to take a few
children’s poetry writing classes. She was pleased to have several poems
published in “Highlights High Five” and “Highlights”
magazines, with two poems also published in children’s anthologies. The
joy of reading to her sons long ago and now her grandchildren sparked her
desire to write a children’s book as well. One day, after she and her
young grandson enthusiastically sang and motioned along with The Wheels on the
Bus book, grandma and grandson set out for one of their many adventure-seeking
neighborhood stroller walks. As the wheels on his stroller went round and
round, they greeted neighbors with tail-wagging dogs, watched squirrels scurry
up trees and delighted in the “ding! ding! ding!” of an
approaching bicycle along with other encounters- The Wheels on the Stroller
was spontaneously born!
Contact Links
Website
Instagram
Illustrator on Facebook
Illustrator on "X"
No comments:
Post a Comment