Author: Heidi Vertrees
Located in: United States
Submitted: September 29, 2021
Tell us a little about yourself. Hi! I love helping children to learn and be inspired in their faith walk with Jesus. I have taught elementary school in private, charter, public, and homeschool settings, as well as authored national Sunday school lessons, and lead a Child Evangelism Good News Bible Club.
I grew up in a bilingual home in New York and as a young adult served in the US Peace Corps. Upon completion, I circled the globe from when I first left home. My travels included Hong Kong, Thailand, India, and Europe. I enjoy bicycling and gardening with my husband, and visiting friends and family.
What was your motivation behind this project? For a dozen years, I lived in an Hispanic community in Denver, Colorado, and was blessed by the graciousness of the Mexican culture. I have been very fond of all my students, and I wanted to share an inspirational story that springs out of my experience teaching fifth grade in an urban school where most of the students are Hispanic. In my writing, I have aimed to honor the Hispanic culture and to encourage all readers in their Christian growth.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? I believe Victor Survives Being a Kid is a wholesome story that can enrich the lives of boys and girls ages 8 and up. Children can enjoy the humor and suspense, while they, also, through the eyes of the main character examine how they want to walk in their faith, be brave, and bring joy to others. Because the story takes place over a school year, readers meet both boy and girl characters. As an educator with many years of experience in the classroom, I intentionally wrote this story to appeal to both boys and girls, and I can see it being used very nicely in classroom literature circles, church youth groups, and homeschool settings.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? Because I often thought of my former students as I created fictional characters for my story, I poured a lot of love into my work. I appreciate God giving me the blessing to teach children and then to create what I hope is a beautiful, uplifting story for children.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I love reading the Bible and being a part of Bible studies, as well as listening to Christian radio on a daily basis, reading good Christian books, and being active in my church. My all time favorite Christian author is C.S. Lewis for his writings for adults and children. As a writer for children, I will add that I so appreciate Christian books for children such as The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, McGee and Me! by Bill Myers, The Sugar Creek Gang series by Paul Hutchens, Adventure in Odyssey stories from Focus on the Family, and two long-standing favorites of mine are The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford and Heidi by Johanna Spyri.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: Parents, teachers, and youth leaders can go to newSongpress.net/victor to request the free downloadable Dig Deeper, an activity and discussion guide with in-depth topics and project ideas (including tasty Mexican recipes) to enhance children's reading experience. Reading comprehension questions and answers are included as well.
Victor Survives Being a Kid has been well received and has five star reviews on Amazon. If you or your children are blessed by this book, please be so kind as to tell others and consider writing a review. Thank you! God bless you all! Heidi Vertrees
