Braver than Brave

26 Days of Facing the Chicken Exit: DAY 1

My next Picture Book, BRAVER THAN BRAVE, comes out in 26 days!!! (August 1, 2022) It’s illustrated by the amazing Eunji Jung, and published by Capstone Editions, a Capstone Imprint. Woo hoo!!!!

I’m counting down with 26 days of Facing The Chicken Exit, and today is DAY 1. Here we go!

DAY 1: The Legend of the Chicken Exit

When my kids were young, we went to an amusement park that had some amazing rollercoasters. My kids were little, but middle child was determined to go on the smallest of them. We waited in line, but the closer he got, the less certain he was about riding it.

We got to the front, and lo and behold, we found this “Chicken Exit.” That moment became a key moment for him as he had to decide what to do.

It also became the inspiration for my upcoming book BRAVER THAN BRAVE! So of course we had to take a trip back to that very amusement park to visit the inspirational Chicken Exit and get some pictures.

Here he is, standing in that exit now that he’s grown and more experienced. Oh how I wish I had a picture of him back then. It was an easy decision to march past it this time, but little him really struggled. Little him HATED the idea of going through that chicken exit, but the roller coaster was big & scary. 

I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be Brave. Sometimes it’s Brave to ride the coaster. Sometimes it’s Brave to take the chicken exit. It’s different for everyone, because WE are all different.  We all have different needs. Different talents. Different fears.

We all face figurative chicken exits as we go through life, and I’m so excited to share a new story each day this month of how people and picture book characters have faced down their own chicken exits!

Also, in celebration of the upcoming release of BRAVER THAN BRAVE, I’ve got two giveaways going on right now. One on Twitter, which you can enter HERE. And one on Instagram, which you can enter HERE. They both open through July 23rd, and they are both open to wherever Book Depository delivers. Good luck!

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Book News and Bits and Bobs

Hello! Now that it is 2022, I feel like I’m speeding towards the release date of BRAVER THAN BRAVE! There is so much going on. And I have news for you!

Upcoming Posts:

Next Monday (3/7), I will have the fabulous children’s author Dee Romito here on the blog, talking about her chapter book series, FORT BUILDER’S INC. Trust me, you don’t want to miss that!

On March 21st, I will have picture book author Cindy Williams Schrauben here to talk about her debut book THIS COULD BE YOU. And no worries, I promise to remind you as it gets closer.

Where to find me:

Today, even though I am here telling you about all these fun upcoming posts, I am actually over on the brand new blog of children’s author Mary Boone! She has a fun new series called “Six Questions.” So you can read all about my writing process, what I was like as a kid, and get some insider information on BRAVER THAN BRAVE which releases on August 1st of this year. I hope you check it out (link is above)!

Finally, in case you missed it and are extra curious about my upcoming book, I was also recently on Tara Lazar’s blog Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) for a cover reveal. On that post, I share the genesis for the story idea for BRAVER THAN BRAVE.

Connect with me:

And okay, one last thing. I’ve discovered a love of making humorous Reels on Instagram about family life and being an author. If you want to see what I’m up to, come find me! I’d love to connect over there. My username is @janetsumnerjohnson. 🙂

And that’s it for the news! Though I’ll definitely be talking about my upcoming book here on my blog over the next several months, I also plan to tell you about other great books releasing into the world, and their amazing authors. Thanks for hanging around, and if there’s anything particular you’d love for me to post about, let me know!

P.S. If you missed the author interview with Zeena Pliska, check it out HERE.

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