Q: First tell us something about yourself.
Hello! My name is Rebecca Almeida. I am a Certified Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher, Pre-k Teacher, Children’s Book Author and the owner of the brand and publishing company Mindful Nook. I have practiced both Meditation and Mindfulness in my personal life for the past decade and have brought mindfulness into my classroom for the past 9 years.
Q: How and when did your journey start as a writer?
During my time at New Jersey City University (NJCU), I was working on my Masters Degree for Early Childhood Education. I had a homework assignment to write a children’s book. When I read it in front of the class, a classmate told me I should publish it. I held on to this story for years, lost it, then rewrote it. And here I am today publishing it almost a decade later. Before this, I was always into psychology and education but didn’t think of becoming a children’s book author. Now, it’s the thing I’m most excited about. It’s the best place my early childhood career could have landed me.
Q: When did you write your first story? Is it published or not?
I originally wrote, “Being Kind is Cool” in college around 9 years ago. I rewrote it sometime around COVID. I just published it on Amazon November 1, 2024. I am currently working on getting it on Ingram so bookstores, libraries, schools, etc. can have better access to purchase my book.
Q: Tell us something more about your books.
What makes my book unique is that it has bonus material at the end. After the story, there are four ‘Reflection/ Drawing Prompts’ for parents and/ or educators to discuss the lesson further with the little ones. After that, the book ends with five coloring pages that they can color directly in the book or that are easy to photocopy. My Children’s Book, “Being Kind is Cool” has been awarded the Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion and is a National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) Finalist. It is the first book of The Cool Series. This series focuses on helping young children develop skills of empathy, kindness and mindfulness. Look out for my next release, “Being Mindful is Cool.”
Q: How did these stories and characters come to your mind?
For the homework assignment, we had to pick two subjects to focus on within our book. I picked Math and Social Studies. I incorporated some basic math concepts for toddlers in the book. For the social aspect, I thought about bullying. I thought, “Maybe I can have shapes (math) represent people who look different from one another (social aspect). A square looks different than a circle, etc. A girl with red, straight hair looks different than a girl with brown, curly hair, etc. I can take this simple concept of shapes which is engaging for the little ones and make it into a much deeper lesson about bullying and kindness.” I had all the characters, down to what they were going to wear, in my mind. I told my illustrator the details, sketched some ideas for her, and she brought them to life. Andreea Hompoth-Voicu, you could not have been more perfect!
Q: Do you want to leave any message for your readers?
BEING KIND IS COOL!
