Anne Baird

I grew up on the edge of a jungle in Trinidad during WW II. There, I amused myself by publishing a hand-written, illustrated weekly newspaper called The Daily Blah. I sold these for a penny a copy to friends of my family. This launched my career as an entrepreneurial author/illustrator.

I continued to write and draw throughout boarding school, high school and college. I married, raised three children, three dogs and two cats. I taught elementary school and was a school administrator in places as diverse as Panama, New York, London, Denver and Los Angeles. I still dreamed of being a full-time writer and artist. In the 1980's, I realized that dream, by publishing eleven books with traditional publishing houses William Morrow and Simon & Schuster.

In 2002, alarmed by the rise of eating disorders in women, including one of my own children, I shifted my focus from children to grownups. I created a line of paper greeting card affirmations called Goddess Cards. This prospered. I received accolades from women’s health professionals and devoted customers all over North America.

However, grappling with shipping and physical paper inventory was challenging to an artist. I finally converted my entire inventory of paper cards to a successful line of digital e-Cards (http://www.egoddesscards.com) so I could concentrate on creating again. For this, I won an award from the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce in 2011 for Best Home-Based Business.

A meeting with two gifted musicians from L.A. lured me back into books for the very young.

Cary Beare and Allison McCready had written a toilet training song to inspire their nephew to move on from his diapers. I agreed to create an illustrated picture book for POTTY PARTY. It was our first collaboration. We created four more musical e-books for toddlers: MOON MOON, TEENY GREEN, BLANKIE, and SUNFLOWER, and I launched the collection as Little Big Books.net (www.littlebigbooks.net.) All five books are available for purchase on iBooks (Apple) and Kindle (Amazon).

A recent Judge's review of TEENY GREEN, my 2015 entry in Writer's Digest's 3rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published eBook Awards, reads, in part: "I think the author’s voice is perfect for this genre. She has definitely found her home in writing and producing children’s books. I hope to read more from this author in the future. Thank you for sharing Teeny Green with us!"

This was encouraging to a lifelong artist and writer, but fledgling online publisher!

What next? I have just finished and submitted a proposal for a new 48- page children’s picture book (ZIP TAKES A TRIP) to Canadian publishers. ZIP tells the story of an intrepid little snail who makes the Hero’s Journey up the wall of a brownstone house. She is seeking food and shelter because her old home no longer supports life. Her story is the refugee story. It’s the story of everyone who needs a new beginning. It’s a story of courage and perseverance that triumphs in the end. It’s also huge fun. Children who have seen the dummy love it!

After that, who knows? The ideas for stories are endless. And I want to write and illustrate them all.