Book Title: Toddler Tootsies Take on the Day! by Marsha Nowakowski
Illustrator: Joan Coleman
Category: Children’s NonFiction, 34 pages
Genre: Education
Publisher: Lanier Press

Synopsis

Welcome to the wonderful world of Matt and Mattie, where every day is a learning adventure! Just as our ten toes help our bodies balance, Matt and Mattie’s ten daily habits help toddlers learn balanced behaviors that will guide them in leading happy, healthy childhoods.

Interview with Marsha

Where did you get the inspiration to write Toddler Tootsies Take on the Day?

As a grandma with a new outlook on parenting, I realized the need for teaching healthy habits to youngsters as early as possible to help them become successful and always be able to do their best! This needed to be fun and something they could relate to themselves! Learning their ABCs and numbers was hardwired in school, but I wanted to create a book with diversity that would make multiple everyday habits fun, balanced, and even adventuresome for toddlers. So it was my true conviction of healthy children and a healthy nation that inspired me to write Toddler Tootsies Take on the Day!

What inspired you to write Matt and Mattie as feet?

Characters in children’s books have been many things like sponges, princesses, animals, and superheroes, but there were no FEET! As a nurse spending many hours on hard floors, one of the pure pleasures in my life was having pedicures and leg/foot massages. Every time I had my nails painted, I had fun designs put on my large toe. During a trip to Florida with my husband, the radio was playing, and my feet started dancing on the dashboard where I had propped my legs. I knew then that children could really like a unique and different type of character such as feet that would take them on adventures.

Toddler Tootsies Take on the Day! is part of a series. What will the next book be about?

The next book I have in mind is about Matt, Mattie, and Murdock the Horse. Because of my love of horses, I would like to write ten safety tips for toddlers visiting a barn and being around horses for the first time. Murdock will be a sad, lonely soul looking for his lost barn when Matt and Mattie come upon him. They become fast friends, find Murdock’s home, and soon Murdock is the comic relief in teaching them about safety tips in the barn.

What is the last great children’s book you’ve read?

This is really hard to say because great makes me think of the books that have stood the test of time:

For creativity: I think Dr. Seuss books are the greatest, especially Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

For everyday lessons: Sesame Street books

For rhyming: the traditional Mother Goose books

My favorite book to read to my granddaughters at bedtime is simply about Grandma’s love and is called Grandma Wishes.

What advice would you give budding writers?

As a writer, you are vulnerable to criticism and rejection, so you should never give up and develop a thick skin.

Writing is the easy part, marketing is the challenge! You will need to put a lot of time and effort into the sales of your book.

Life is short, so follow your dreams! Your dreams can come true, but it will require patience, revisions, editing, and a good publishing team.

About the Author

Marsha K. Nowakowski is a loving wife, dedicated mother to three children, and a “grammie” to her grandchildren.

This is Marsha’s debut book for toddlers. She has spent forty years in the healthcare industry, primarily as a cardiac nurse. Her inspiration for writing Matt and Mattie’s Adventures developed from her own observations that patients who recovered more quickly exhibited healthy habits and good attitudes toward life. As a mother and grammie, Marsha recognized the need for books teaching healthy habits to help young ones develop into successful people who always do their best.

Matt and Mattie’s Adventures makes everyday habits fun, balanced, and adventuresome for toddlers. Marsha’s own adventures include travel, horseback riding, and reading. She also enjoys golf, baseball games, and sailing with her husband. According to Marsha, every day is an adventure!

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