Greenlawn Author Publishes ‘Hopeful’ Children’s Book

Early in the pandemic, Greenlawn resident Theresa Trinder was struggling to help her two young sons cope with social distancing.

“They weren’t seeing grandparents, teachers or the other people we have come to depend on, and it was tough,” she says. “I was trying to come up with ways to be hopeful.”

Around the same time, Trinder spied rainbows on doors and windows around town. “Children started creating these beautiful rainbows reminding everyone that even though we’re apart, we’re in this together,” she says.

This sparked an idea, which became “There Is a Rainbow,” a hopeful picture book penned by Trinder and published by Chronicle Books on January 26.

Rainbows are used as a metaphor for the pandemic and tough times in general, and the book demonstrates that there are joyful and unexpected things on the other side of a rainbow – or a difficult situation. “On the other side of town, there is a voice,” one line reads, with separate illustrations showing a child and grandparent figure holding telephones. While many of the sentiments are applicable to the pandemic, they are not specific to this period of time. For instance, one line reads, “On the other side of sadness there are hugs.”

“I hope that my book can help people get through different types of tough times,” Trinder says, noting that the publisher is “hopeful the book will be perennial” and have a shelf life long after the pandemic has passed.

Trinder previously worked in the books division of Hallmark Cards, where she wrote and edited gift books, most notably “All The Ways I Love You,” a recordable storybook for children in which parents or others could record their voice reading the book so that it could be replayed over and over. But this was the first time Trinder sought to publish a book on her own.

“It took time and research, but I found an agent, who connected me to the publisher,” Trinder says. The publisher brought in veteran illustrator Grant Snider, who created colorful, whimsical scenes to bring Trinder’s words to life. “There Is a Rainbow” received prestigious accolades, including starred reviews from the School Library Journal and Booklist.

However, it’s a difficult time to launch a children’s book because of the limited opportunities to do live readings and signings.

“Typically, much of the promotion of children’s books is done in-person, in libraries and book stores, which are not open to events right now,” Trinder says.

However, the author has done virtual readings to school groups and on Thursday, February 18 at 4 p.m., she will read her book virtually as part of a special launch event hosted by BookHampton, an East Hampton bookseller. Visit https://www.bookhampton.com/event/virtual-theresa-trinder-grant-snider-there-rainbow to register.

“There Is a Rainbow” is available in both online and brick-and-mortar bookstores.

 

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