Author and actress Holly Britt recently presented a check for $650 to SERV International as part of the launch campaign for her delightful new children’s picture book, The Incredible Little Happy: Affirmations for Children. “I wrote The Incredible Little Happy with the goal of providing hope and encouragement to children, and a portion of the sale of every copy of the book is donated directly to SERV International,” Holly explains. “This check is a kick start for our connection with SERV. It will provide over 8000 meals – feeding so many children, most of whom are orphans. SERV is an organization that works with people who are desperate for the basic necessities of life; meals, shelter, clothing. I can’t think of a better way of giving back to those in need.”
Come along as Little Happy takes a trip to the zoo, to discover wonderful things about the animals, and wonderful things about you. This delightful, illustrated story book is filled with positive affirmations that parents can speak over their children.
“My daughter is four years old, and the first book she read was Give Please A Chance, by Bill O’Reilly and James Patterson,” Holly says. “The words were simple, and the illustrations were beautiful, and I just envision parents reading it to their children at first, but then the children starting to read the book for themselves. That’s the same vision I have for The Incredible Little Happy, that parents will share those special moments reading it to their little ones, speaking these simple, yet powerful, affirmations over them. Then, in time, I would love for Little Happy to be the first book those precious children read for themselves.”
Affirmations are a simple, yet powerful means of nurturing a positive mindset with children, allowing them to develop a happier, more authentic self and helping them to enjoy the magic of childhood.
“There is nothing particularly complicated about speaking positive affirmations to your child, or to yourself,” Holly notes. “An affirmation is simply words that are absorbed by the mind which help to establish your view of yourself. Positive affirmations can help shield us from harsh, unthinking comments. For example, if your affirmation is “I am wonderful just the way I am,” and someone tells you that you are homely or dumb, your affirmation will remind you of your belief. You will think, “I’m wonderful just the way I am! I’m not homely or dumb.” Without a positive affirmation to help guard your heart, you may accept what that other person says about you as the truth. And that would be sad.”
Little Happy is an adorable little basset hound, with long, floppy ears, big eyes, and a wonderful curiosity about the animals who live in the zoo. “I chose to make Little Happy a basset hound because he reminds me of a toddler,” Holly laughs, “curious, energetic, sometimes falling over his own feet, but always bright eyed and inquisitive. Toby Mikle did the art work for the book, and he did an amazing job capturing the whimsical nature of the story. I’m particularly thrilled about the bright colors that permeate each page. As an experienced children’s book artist, he was really able to help bring my vision for the story to life.”
While Holly’s primary goal for The Incredible Little Happy is for parents and children to enjoy quality snuggle time together, she has a broader objective: to help people who may have no means to help themselves.
“I love helping people,” she muses. “I’ve watched my parents help others my whole life, and I think that desire to help others was instilled in me while I was still a child. But I can only help so many people on my own. I wanted something, a project or a product, that could impact thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people. I think The Incredible Little Happy can be that resource.”
Holly and her publisher, WordCrafts Press, have partnered together to contribute a portion of every sale of The Incredible Little Happy to help feed, cloth, and sustain families and individuals in need, locally and globally through SERV International.
The Incredible Little Happy Affirmations for Children released August 22, 2018, from WordCrafts Press in hardback for $20.99 and in trade paperback for $13.99.