A Sweet Solution


Children - Educational
46 Pages
Reviewed on 09/16/2015
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Author Biography

I'm in love with writing. I'm in love with words. I'm in love with art.

In high school I started composing poetry. I was inspired by the poetry and prose in my senior-year English Literature tome. Sonnets, couplets, metaphor, alliteration ... I was totally hooked. I "published" my first poem in the high school chap book of student writing.

Throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies (in psychology and counseling, respectively), I continued to compose poetry -- some formal, some informal. During my one year off in-between undergraduate and graduate college, I worked as a Freelance Writer and Associate Editor for a weekly newspaper.

After graduating with a Master's degree and spending some time as a counselor in the mental-health field, I became increasingly aware that my true love rested with writing. During my free time I'd dive headlong into classic literature and poetry, allowing these great works to spark works of my own. By this time, I was dabbling in personal essays and short stories. I also was discovering how very much I enjoyed making visual art. The two endeavors, writing and art, transported me beyond Ego and ordinary cares of daily life. True freedom. The creative life, it must be.

In the ensuing years until now, I married and became the mother of two wonderful children. My dedication to family and home put full-time writing and creativity in the background, but not away. I spent one full ice-hockey season, in fact, crafting haiku after each game played by the PIttsburgh Penguins (hockeyhaiku.wordpress.com). That was a blast! Now that the kids are getting older, it has become easier to devote more and more time to writing and art -- so much so that I have published two children's books: The Marshmallow Test and A Sweet Solution.

The inspiration for A Sweet Solution comes from a reality contest show called Project Runway. In one of the episodes of Project Runway, fashion designers are challenged to design a dress using candy. I relish this idea and so I incorporated it into a story about a girl who cleverly transforms an ordinary dress into an extraordinary gown for a Princess Dress-up Party. This story encourages creative problem solving in readers and celebrates the imaginative spirit in all of us.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

A Sweet Solution by Michelle Claus is a delightful story for children, especially girls. Teresa has invited Julie for her dress-up birthday party and Julie is very excited. She wants to buy a new dress but Julie's mother refuses to get her a new dress for the party. Julie goes to her grandmother's shop, Starlight Candy Castle, and tells her about the upcoming dress-up birthday party. The two of them team up together and come up with a colorful dress for the party. The underlying message in the story that many problems in life can be solved creatively is indeed very refreshing.

Children, especially girls, will love the book. The illustrations are bright and colorful and give the characters and scenes life and movement. Julie's idea of doing up her dress is very inspiring and creative. The story is a good bedtime story book and is also good for read aloud sessions in classrooms and school libraries. The story encourages readers to think, imagine, and be creative. How Julie handles the problem in her life in a positive manner is very inspirational and Julie's dress wins a lot of appreciation from the other girls at the party.

Books that inspire and convey a positive message are good for children when they first get into reading as it is helpful in making them understand a concept easily. This book does just that and will captivate and enchant readers with the story and its colors.