De Pere author releases debut children’s book

De Pere author Carissa Morin is celebrating the launch of Milo and the Meltdown on the Ice, her debut picture book and the first in her series, Milo’s Magic Mop: Adventures in Big Feelings.

The series is inspired by Morin’s work as a former elementary school and experiences with her own children, where she noticed a gap in the materials available to teach kids how to navigate big emotions in a way that resonated with them.

“As a former school counselor and a mom of two young boys, I really saw firsthand how much kids benefit from relatable, fun tools that help them understand their emotions,” Morin said. “Knowing how to manage those big feelings doesn’t just come naturally. It’s something that we have to make an effort in teaching. When I was in the field and teaching these skills, I noticed that there just weren’t enough resources that blended real life feelings with playful storytelling in a way that truly connects with kids. I really wanted a character who reflects the emotional world children live in today — someone who looks like them, feels like them and navigates the same ups and downs.”

Although the need for a resource like the Milo’s Magic Mop series was evident to Morin years ago, it was Morin’s mom and her approach to a terminal diagnosis that gave her the push to start writing.

“My mother and I shared this desire to create meaningful stories that really foster emotional growth and resilience in children…” Morin said. “My mom passed away two years ago from breast cancer. When she received her terminal diagnosis, she created her bucket list and she checked off every single thing on her bucket list — from skydiving, to riding along in a cop car, to going in a hot air balloon, to seeing Hamlet. Her motto was to love every moment — don’t wait for tomorrow, do something today. I felt like I needed this passion project to follow in her footsteps, to make her proud and to give me that creative outlet. It was a really healing aspect for me. My mom and I had talked about doing this series 11 years ago and I just felt like, ‘Why wait?’ I watched her live out her dream and check everything off her bucket list… I don’t want to wait until it’s too late.”

With Milo and the Meltdown on the Ice now available, Morin hopes the story will provide a relatable way for parents, teachers and other caregivers to approach topics of frustration. disappointment and resilience in an imaginative, relatable way.

“Milo and the Meltdown on the Ice is a fun and inspiring children’s book that really works to blend the excitement of sports with the important life lesson of managing big feelings,” Morin said. “Milo is at his first hockey practice and he steps onto the ice for the very first time and he keeps falling down, so he’s really working on discovering perseverance and taking deep breaths.”

And with this first book out now, Morin already has plans in the works for a second and even third book in the series.

“This is the first book, and the second book I have written… That one is going to be called Milo and the Big Golf Giggle and that one is going to be focused on grounding techniques and mindfulness…” she said. “My hope is that each book in this series really focuses on one social/emotional skill to help kids learn how to manage those big emotions. For the third one, I’d like to focus on empathy and kindness.”

Milo and the Meltdown on the Ice is available now from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.