A day home sick from Kindergarten didn’t involve cartoons or a Gameboy rabbit hole for Katie Foster. Instead, she sat down with pens and paper to create the first few frames of a future children’s book, Follow a Butterfly… Where Does It Take You?  Katie’s imagination and insight at age five developed into an innovative book helping early readers enhance their reading skills and emotional vocabulary.   

 

Her mom, Kimberly, is a writer and educator who realized early on that the concept Katie had created had merit. But time passed and it wasn’t until Katie returned home post-graduation from UCSB, where she majored in Sociology and minored in Business and Women’s Studies, that Kimberly pulled out the original effort suggesting they embark on a mother-daughter project. With just a few pages from the musings of her five-year-old self, they recreated the whimsical adventure into a relatable story.

 

Katie’s inspiration was her sick self imagining being not home sick but longing to go out and explore her favorite places in and around the Pacific Northwest. With delightful illustrations, the main character, a five-year-old girl, embarks on a day trip guided by her new friend, a butterfly.  

Her butterfly tour guide takes her to the park, the lake, and her mom’s workplace, among other locations. The copy is repetitive so the emerging reader/listener can follow the pattern. Each place elicits a specific emotion for the little girl; thereby tying the location to a feeling. Beyond offering exercises in emotional intelligence, the story is crafted to meet many essential learning requirements in both reading and the arts. In a world full of big emotions, having a comprehensive vocabulary is a valuable and necessary way for kids to learn to express externally what’s going on inside.

 

Katie envisions her book being used interactively, sparking the imagination of her readers. With that in mind, included with the book are activity pages encouraging kids to describe and draw their own favorite places. And, like her character, students follow their butterfly to their favorite places and end up at HOME. 

Growing up a big fan of Goodnight Moon, Katie has included “easter eggs” inside the pages - kids can also find the hidden ladybug featured in each scene. Katie and Kimberly hope that Follow a Butterfly becomes a joyful staple reading experience for young kids, strengthening bonds between kids and the adults in their lives while furthering the positive emotional development of the next generation.

 

Katie Foster grew up in West Bellevue, going through the Bellevue School District. Although her life has taken her elsewhere, Katie still considers the Pacific Northwest home. Her love of this unique area is expressed in the artwork of her children’s book. Lakes are featured prominently in the pages, as well as an interpretation of the Seattle skyline. Katie is currently based in New York City, working as a Junior Analyst/Project Manager for a consulting firm. 

Follow a Butterfly is her first book and is available through Amazon, your favorite retailer, or www.followingabutterfly.com.