Little Star Books Publishing
About
Us
Deborah Garrett
Deborah is a Smith College graduate in Developmental Psychology, a classical singer and entreprenuer. She has been an "Ambassador of Joy" to Seniors in Eldercare facilities with her voice and interactive activity games for the past 15 years, helping them feel better about themselves despite physical and/or mental decline and now is coming back to her passion for helping children feel better about themselves...especially those who feel different from their peers.
Deborah knows about feeling different...growing up she was hyper-sensitive to noises, smells, and bright lights. She didn't like being in crowds, couldn't tolerate loud or grating noises, and didn't like strong foods or smells. She thought there was something really wrong with her until she was 35 years old and discovered the book "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elain Aron. That book changed her life and she learned to manage her sensitivities and live a more balanced life.
Books can have a powerful influence and when she started noticing some behaviors of her new adopted dog Astro that were common to many children, she was inspired to write a series of children's books to address some common differences that are often looked at as being something "wrong" and helping to shine a new perspective on them.
Astro
Astro lived in at least 3 homes with 2 other owners before he and Deborah were brought together. He is 4 years old and mostly Shih-Tzu but has very long legs and big floppy front feet and his coloring is different from other Shih-Tzus. Many people commented on his long legs as if there was something wrong with him. That attribute inspired the idea for a book about how he learns that his differences are really gifts.
Astro also has a very curious nature...so much that it's hard for him to focus. And he has LOTS of energy! These attributes will be topics of future books with some tips that we've learned help him manage these special gifts of his. We are excited to bring Astro's books to kids everywhere!
Bethanie Knieser-Russell
Bethanie is an actor, singer, teacher and mom to 3 amazing boys. She and Deborah have collaborated on scripts for their 1940's trio The Girls Next Door and they are now working together to create fun and engaging books that teach, inform and help kids to grow up with tools to create a positive outlook and allow themselves to shine.
