Welcome to
Susie Alter Books for Kids
Helping young readers to learn the power of friendship, forgiveness, kindness, and acceptance
Why You Should Choose Susie Alter Books for Kids
Susie Alter crafts heartfelt stories and creative activities that promote communication between parents, teachers, caregivers and with the children they interact with on a daily basis. The books celebrate diversity with understanding thoughts that show kindness is so necessary in the world we now live in.
The Sally Sea Star series (Book 1 and 2) explores friendship and helping those that are in difficult situations. The Feelings of the Heart coloring and activity book utilizes “Feelings stars” that open up talks about how anyone might feel at any given moment.
Francisco The Foolish Frog tells the tale of a Frog that feels entitled to not change but thinks everyone else needs to. Lesson learned is unless you change you will end up right where you started.
Petunia My Mom’s Cat speaks about the problem of the lack of critical thinking that clouds decisions and tends to lead to unhappy consequences because of it. Petunia is a cat and we all know that cats never think before they do anything!
The books touch on bullying, selfishness, the value of family, rejection, adoption and other situations everyone might come across with every day.
Susie’s books inspire readers to choose empathy, to be courageous and being kind whenever you can. The books have discussion starters in the back to encourage communication and connection.
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What They Say...
Meet the author and illustrator
Frequently Asked Questions
What advice do you have for parents and educators who read your books with children?
Please read the stories first so you are prepared for the children to ask questions during and after you finish the books. It’s ok to stop all during the reading time for them to process what they are seeing and feeling about it as well. I have found that kids will let you know by the looks on their faces. This is a good time to let them know if they want to ask any questions or if they have any input themselves about someone they might know that is going through a similar situation.
How do you come up with the stories and characters in your books?
Honestly they just pop into my head. Sometimes in pieces but the basic idea sometimes comes in all at once. They are often inspired by situations and those around me. Then comes the hard work of writing these ideas down so they make sense to me and others. The pictures of the characters follow a similar trend but take hours and hours to get them to the point of matching the stories. Doing the illustrations require working on facial expressions that are very challenging but always are worth the many hours of hard work!!!
What message do you hope children take away after reading your stories?
Everyone is a superstar! Everyone has the potential to do great and honorable attributes beyond their natural abilities and talents! Life can be difficult but you can choose to change your course at any time. Choose to live your dreams into reality! Do what is right and treat others with respect and kindness whenever you possibly can.
What is the recommended age of the readers of your books?
I have found that people have purchased the books for their babies. Children 6 to 12 might have been the original target audience but even young adults with learning issues, the elderly, and those in the neurodiverse community embrace the stories due to the large print, colorful pictures and touching storylines. So it’s now birth to infinity!
Which of your books is your favorite, and why?
Petunia, because my mom actually had a cat named Petunia when she was a very young girl which inspired me to write this story book. The book is a posthumous gift to my mom and her kitty. Their picture is fondly placed at the beginning of the book along with the dedication.
Why is it important for you to address topics like diversity, feelings, and friendship in your stories?
During the terrible Covid period, people were being mean and hateful towards each other. Folks destroyed homes, businesses and lives because of their lack of respecting and honoring those all around them. Fear ran rampant and caused many to pull away and judge the motives of others without even knowing them personally.
My husband was sick with Cancer and passed away during this time. This caused me to reflect on my own issues and on those of the people all around me. I realized that the world and the people in it were tearing each other apart and it hurt me deeply. I wrote the stories out of this tumultuous time and wanted to replace the sadness, grief and distrust with respect and kindness towards others in hope it would mend the hurts with love that must be unconditional and true. The books helped me find healing for my soul.
What inspired you to start writing children’s books?
I was asked to write some children’s stories and then the company didn’t need them anymore. I became invested with time and work so I just finished the first drafts of each story. I fell in love with the characters and discovered that I was given the gift to draw them as well.