Karin will be interviewed on Multicultural Children’s Book Day’s Instagram Live next Wednesday, November 17 at noon PT/3pm ET. The focus of the chat will be My Amazing Day and family habits of gratitude. Tune in at https://www.instagram.com/readyourworldmcbd/.

Find Karin’s new author/editor Instagram account here: https://www.instagram.com/karinkidlit/

The interview will be posted on YouTube after the event, and we’ll post the link in this spot.

[Here’s the update a video link. The highlights about gratitude science and rituals can be found at https://tinyurl.com/gratitudeforfamilies.]

Happy November!

Coming off the Thanksgiving weekend, it feels like a new time of year. Happy holiday time!

The winter holidays can be full of joyful, cherished experiences and good cheer, and for lots of us this time can also be stressful due to overscheduling, or sad for a variety of reasons. Even before I was part of creating My Amazing Day, I had experienced that gratitude was a gift in both those kinds of states. In fact, those experiences were a big part of why I was so excited when Elizabeth and Lori asked if I would work with them on the project that became My Amazing Day.

If you are having a joyful holiday time, a wish I have for you is to remember about expressing gratitude. That could be expressing it to others or expressing it to yourself, by speaking, writing. or creating art. I have found those expressions help me connect more deeply to sweet times.

And if you are having a hard time this year or have some difficult moments, I also have a wish for you to remember about expressing gratitude. For me, when I am feeling blue, identifying what I’m grateful for is the way I can cheer myself with the most ease. Often in those times, I find gratitude for the simplest things to be the most heartening—the feel of soft cotton, being able to see a color I love, appreciation for a painting or song.

If you have young children in your life, showing them your expressions of gratitude can help them connect this time to delights beyond the material parts, which can be so dazzling.

To spread some thoughts of wonder and gratitude in the winter holiday season, I’m giving away two copies of My Amazing Day at Goodreads. I invite you to enter and spread the word, if you’re on Goodreads.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

My Amazing Day

by Karin Fisher-Golton

Giveaway ends December 04, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

And if you’re looking for copies of My Amazing Day for gifts, ways to find the book are listed here.

Wishing you a holiday season full of wonder and gratitude!

I am thoroughly delighted to announce that My Amazing Day was presented with the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA) Book Award for Fiction: Children’s Picture Book on December 12, 2015.

BAIPA President, Becky Parker Geist presents Karin Fisher-Golton with the BAIPA Book Award—Fiction: Children’s Picture Book Category. (photo by Judy Baker, detail)

BAIPA is a highly regarded organization devoted to elevating the art of publishing. Its membership draws from the wider San Francisco Bay Area and ranges from novices to well-established professionals. Karin has found her membership in this organization both highly beneficial and enjoyable.

The BAIPA awards had not been given since 2013, so My Amazing Day was considered among a group of children’s books published between mid-2013 and mid-2015. A panel of judges evaluated the books for writing style, editorial standards, cover design, interior design, and marketability. A complete list of 2015 BAIPA Book Award winners is here.

As may go without saying, I am definitely a “gratitude every day” type person, but as the days darken, the nights and mornings get chilly, and the Thanksgiving and December holidays approach, I find this time of year feels like a season of gratitude. In the honor of the season and the two-year anniversary of the book’s release, I am giving away two signed copies of My Amazing Day at Goodreads. The giveaway starts today and ends November 30. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/161555-my-amazing-day-a-celebration-of-wonder-and-gratitude

Goodreads Book Giveaway

My Amazing Day

by Karin Fisher-Golton

Giveaway ends November 30, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

In addition, I am pleased that My Amazing Day is among many compelling books with multiracial connections that will be given away at a Facebook event celebrating the release of Sharon Chang’s well-researched book, Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children in a Post-Racial World. The virtual release party is taking place December 11, here: https://www.facebook.com/events/637306289742765/642046252602102/

In April 2014, Sharon Chang posted an in-depth review of My Amazing Day which includes a very thoughtful discussion of the role of race and identity in children’s books. In addition, I loved how she noticed and appreciated so many of the details of our intentions in creating the book. All that, plus the post ends with an adorable photo of her son, at age four, reading the book to their dog! That review (which I love to revisit on occasion) is here: http://multiasianfamilies.blogspot.com/2014/04/book-review-my-amazing-day-celebration.html

Everyone is invited to enter our Goodreads giveaway and attend the Raising Mixed Race release party. Enjoy all the coziness and gratitude of this time of year!

I am very pleased to announce that My Amazing Day is now available to wholesale customers via the New Leaf Distributing Company. This is a great step for further getting My Amazing Day out into the world. The book does well in bookstores and gift shops, but many store owners do not purchase directly from a publisher because they want to minimize their transactions. Now they can purchase My Amazing Day along with other mind/body/spirit-themed books and products, New Leaf’s specialty.

Here is the list of Amazing Stores where My Amazing Day is available right now. Every store that has carried My Amazing Day has been a place with a thoughtful owner or buyer who loves what they do. I have enjoyed and learned from this time of working with them directly. I am grateful for where My Amazing Day‘s path to stores has been, and excited about where it is going.

Note that the arrangement with New Leaf is non-exclusive, and wholesale customers can still purchase My Amazing Day directly from the publisher. (Use this contact form to get terms.)

A big part of the magic of this time of year, with Thanksgiving and the December holidays, is wonder and gratitude. Last year I was too busy getting started for author events, but thought I’d love to do them at this time of year in the future. I’m glad to say they are happening this year.

If you are in or near Oakland, El Cerrito, or San Rafael, California, please check out our new Events page, and spread the word to friends, especially those with small children. All the events are in wonderful stores. On Saturday, November 8, I’ll be in Oakland at Kelly’s Corner–a new and consignment store for ages 0-8, with a gift annex featuring locally-made crafts. On Saturday, November 15, I’ll be at the excellent indie bookstore, Laurel Book Store, in its brand new downtown Oakland location. On Sunday, November 23 I’ll be at JennyK, a place where I consistently find perfect gifts for adults and kids in my old neighborhood in El Cerrito. And on Saturday, December 13 Elizabeth and I will be at another excellent indie bookstore, Copperfield’s, in San Rafael.

More info on our Events page: http://ouramazingdays.com/events/