How to Teach Children to Regulate Big Feelings Through Calm, Connection & Routine
Learn simple, research-backed ways to help children regulate overwhelming emotions through calming routines, connection, and gentle emotional coaching.
A Thanksgiving Reflection: One Year After My Mother’s Passing, and the Story She Inspired
This Thanksgiving marks one year since my mother’s passing. After months of grief, mythology research, and creative rebuilding, I finally wrote The Rabbit in the Moon, the story she always believed I could create.
Understanding Avoidance Behaviors in Children: How Nighttime Shapes Fear & Courage
Nighttime often magnifies children’s fears and avoidance behaviors. In this blog, I share why hesitation increases after sunset and how The Rabbit in the Moon uses color, emotion, and storytelling to help children build courage.
The Hardest Part of My Alzheimer’s Journey. And How It Shaped Yabbit the Rabbit
The hardest part of creating Yabbit the Rabbit wasn’t writing the book, it was moving my mother into memory care. This emotional story reflects on Alzheimer’s, caregiving, guilt, and how that moment shaped the legacy behind The Rabbit in the Moon.
How Our Color Palette Helps Children Navigate Nighttime Fears
Nighttime often heightens children’s fears and avoidance behaviors. Here’s how the color palette in The Rabbit in the Moon guides young readers through those emotions and helps them feel safer in the dark.
Treating Color as a Character: Final Color Palette Reveal for The Rabbit in the Moon
Rod delivered the final color palette for The Rabbit in the Moon, and it’s a major milestone. In our book, color isn’t just visual, it’s emotional, helping children work through nighttime fears, hesitation, and avoidance behaviors.
Bringing The Rabbit in the Moon to Life Through Color: Early Illustration Tests
Rod shared the first color tests for The Rabbit in the Moon, and seeing the illustrations shift from outlines to atmospheric palettes is transforming the story. Here’s how color brings Yabbit the Rabbit’s world to life.
Nearly Finished! Reviewing 32 Page Illustrations for The Rabbit in the Moon
Rod and I are nearly finished outlining the 32 illustrations for The Rabbit in the Moon. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at our collaborative process, what we’ve learned, and our ongoing journey to finalize Yabbit the Rabbit’s design.
How We’re Designing a Unique Yabbit the Rabbit: Behind the Scenes of Our Creative Collaboration
Rod and I are refining our collaboration as we bring Yabbit the Rabbit to life. Here’s how we balance creativity, illustration, and character design to build a memorable hero for The Rabbit in the Moon.
Second Round of Page Illustrations for The Rabbit in the Moon
Rod just sent over the second round of page illustrations for The Rabbit in the Moon, and the artwork is stunning. Here’s how we collaborate, review, and refine each page while keeping creativity at the heart of the process.
Help Us Choose the New Yabbit the Rabbit! First Color Character Sketches
We’re sharing the first color sketches of the redesigned Yabbit the Rabbit! Watch the video, compare the options, and tell us which version you love most as we bring our picture-book character to life.
Six Months Without My Mother: Honoring Her Through Yabbit the Rabbit
Six months after my mother’s passing from Alzheimer’s, I share how writing seven versions of Yabbit the Rabbit, including The Rabbit in the Moon, helped me honor her original idea, remember her final night, and create a story rooted in memory, culture, and love.
How I Review Illustrations for The Rabbit in the Moon
A behind-the-scenes look at how I review new illustrations for The Rabbit in the Moon, using Google Slides mockups, text-image balance, scene accuracy, and “show, don’t tell” collaboration with illustrator Rod.
Redesigning Yabbit the Rabbit: Evolving from Anthropomorphic to Animal Character
The latest Yabbit the Rabbit sketches mark a major design evolution! Learn how illustrator Rod Lazo reimagined Yabbit and introduced new mythological characters for The Rabbit in the Moon.
Evolving the Yabbit the Rabbit Brand: From Storybook to Emotional Connection
As The Rabbit in the Moon evolves, so does the Yabbit the Rabbit brand. Learn how this new story refines Yabbit’s personality, introduces supporting characters with purpose, and strengthens the emotional connection behind the brand’s core message: “Trying is Brave.”
Launching the Yabbit Rabbit Website: Laying the Foundation for The Rabbit in the Moon
The first version of our website for Yabbit the Rabbit is finally live! Even without finished artwork, launching early ensures our readers and followers can verify our project and follow along. Here’s how I built the foundation and why I’m now focused on building an email list before the release of The Rabbit in the Moon.
Planning the Illustrations: Building a Picture-Book Mockup for The Rabbit in the Moon
With the text finished, I’m creating a Google Slides mockup to decide how many illustrations The Rabbit in the Moon needs, trimming words, planning full-bleed spreads vs. single images, and syncing the visual storytelling with my illustrator.
Finding Inspiration in the Park: My Writing Process for Yabbit the Rabbit and The Rabbit in the Moon
Creativity can’t be scheduled, it has to flow naturally. After my mother’s passing, I stopped forcing ideas and began writing only when inspired. Each morning, I find my best ideas for Yabbit the Rabbit and The Rabbit in the Moon while walking my dog in the park, observing life as it unfolds.
Translating The Rabbit in the Moon into Spanish: Balancing Accuracy and Creativity
Translating The Rabbit in the Moon into Spanish requires both structure and soul. My translator, Sandy, and I are blending two techniques, verse-to-prose and interpretive translation, to preserve the heart of the story while making it resonate with Spanish-speaking readers.
Global Reviews Are In: The Rabbit in the Moon Moves to Illustration!
Big news, The Rabbit in the Moon has received its final reviews and edits! After feedback from educators in Los Angeles and Barcelona, and an anthropologist in Copenhagen, I’m thrilled to say that readers from around the world fell in love with Yabbit the Rabbit. The story now moves into the illustration stage!