Mom’s Choice Awards is excited to announce another post in our interview series where we chat with the inventors, designers, publishers, and others behind some of our favorite family-friendly products.

Hello, Mom’s Choice readers! Thanks for joining us for another installment of our MCA Interview Series! For this interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with the Mom’s Choice Award-winning author Madelyn Hornstein! Madelyn wrote the MCA award-winning book, Positive Me!. Positive Me! was written to help children, as well as adults, establish positive self-talk through repeating simple and effective sentences on colorful, inclusive, and engaging illustrated pages. Keep reading to learn more about Madelyn and her journey to becoming an award-winning author!

MCA: Hi Madelyn! Congratulations on your Mom’s Choice Award and your first interview relating to Positive Me!. Positive Me! has such powerful messages for both children and adults alike. It is so important, especially in the digital age, for children to have a strong self-image and self-worth. Can we start this interview by getting to know some information about your background?

Madelyn Hornstein with her MCA award-winning book, “Positive Me!”

Madelyn: I was born and raised in Portland Oregon in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. After attending one year at the University of Oregon, I realized that a large University setting wasn’t a good fit for my personality. Learning in a smaller group environment was important for my success. After taking a short time off of schooling, I identified what I wanted to do with my college education. I pursued FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) in Los Angeles, as I was originally interested in costume design. I quickly realized that costume designers are exceptionally creative and while I am creative, I wasn’t effortlessly innovative. I redirected my degree to Merchandise & Marketing and felt that I would benefit from learning the marketing and business aspect of the industry.

After graduating from FIDM in 2000 and working in various roles in the fashion industry, I wanted to experience working in a non-profit setting. As I was finishing my degree at Cal State San Marcos in Human Development with a Health Emphasis, I started to volunteer at the Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Volunteering quickly led to a full-time position in 2007.

In 2010, my husband Adam and I welcomed our only daughter Isla, into our lives. It was our goal to raise a well-rounded, kind, and confident child. As a new mom, I reflected on my life skills and identified a lack of self-love. As days, months, and years passed, my research, mindfulness, and practice, transformed my non-existent and erratic self-love attitude into a daily devotion to loving myself through positive self-talk. Some of the most inspirational people have helped my growth through this time including; Dr. Brené Brown, Gary Zukav, Louise Hay, Iyanla Vanzant, Mel Robbins, Dr. Phil, Dr. Shefali Tsabary and Oprah Winfrey.

I am an extroverted-introvert, I love people but prefer my alone time to reset! I socialize a lot during my day at work, so when I get home, I like to hunker down. My husband and I are considered a lite version of foodies and enjoy great food with delicious libations. I am an empath and when I become drained or want to recalibrate, I am a BIG believer in the healing powers of a nap. I am very spiritual and I find solace in learning about energy, connectedness, and contemplating life. My hobbies can be simple, I like organizing and cleaning my home, listening to Audible books or podcasts, and enjoying the little joys in life. I love to travel to places that have an abundance of evergreen trees, mountains, and rivers so I can soak up the beauty. My other hobbies include; promoting Positive Me!, encouraging people to grow and celebrating their successes, and motivating myself to inwardly grow.

MCA: What was the path to becoming a writer like for you? What inspired you to write Positive Me!?

Madelyn: Giving the gift of positive self-talk became an essential part of our parenting. It takes time to swing the pendulum the other way from self-negativity, but once it does, the feeling is liberating. The habit of positive self-talk can be introduced at a young age in the home, school, or a variety of capacities. One doesn’t have to wait for decades to discover this free and easy tool offered in life. I created Positive Me! through identifying a need when my eldest niece was struggling with self-esteem at the age of 14. I asked her to say or do one nice thing for herself every day but each day, she couldn’t even utter the words, “I love me.” Once my daughter understood the crucial concept of speaking kindly to oneself, we continued to celebrate the loving words she spoke daily to herself. I have always had a passion to inspire others to speak kindly to and about themselves, this book became a way to provide an uplifting guide for children of all ages. Positive Me! has already one the Mom’s Choice Award and is Story Monsters Certificate of Excellence in Literature in “Health and Wellness” and “School Life.”

MCA: As I have said before, speaking kindly to oneself is so important especially these days, so the fact that you were able to promote that within your book is so special. If there was one message you hope children take away from Positive Me!, what would that be?

The cover of the MCA award-winning book, “Positive Me!”

Madelyn: I wanted the message of my book to be simple. To teach children that loving themselves is a valuable lesson to embody. I chose to write in “I am” sentences followed by the defined keyword on the next page. I learned that when we reinforce “I am” it creates an individual’s reality, for example; I am mindful or I am self-loving.

I felt it was important for Positive Me! to show a variety of cultures, identities, abilities, skin colors, and body shapes within the 61 vibrant pages. Children need to see a representation of themselves in a book when we are such a diverse group of humans. Positive Me! is a timeless book for all ages and the illustrations are easy to understand and are relevant to different stages of childhood. The beautiful drawings were created by Phillipa Clark from Australia. Many of the characters/settings were created to focus on the relationships and interactions of people not on material items or superficialities.

Besides my goal of positive self-talk for the younger generation, I hope to inspire more parents, adults, teachers, grandparents, and siblings to speak kinder to themselves. My wish is for family members and friends to become “Compassion Ambassadors” in each other’s lives. My daughter and I have memorized the Positive Me! “I am” sentences in their alphabetical order. When we are struggling with saying something nice to ourselves, we start from A. It’s extraordinary how quickly we can redirect your negative thinking to positive thinking within a few minutes.

MCA: I love that phrase, “Compassion Ambassadors!” That is also a great way to remember the “I am” sentences within the story. What are some of the key lessons found in Positive Me!?

Madelyn: The key lessons found in Positive Me! would be:

1. Depend on self-love rather than validation from others.
2. This book provides an easy and fun way to remember positive affirmations (in ABC form) which can replace children’s negative thought patterns.
3. Positive Me! helps establish a core belief of self-worth and can be a preventative measure as kids grow in our fast-paced and sometimes unforgiving world.
4. “I am” sentences are powerful tools to speak into existence what a person desires.
5. Kids are overwhelmed by daily news, images, and social media once they have full access to the internet. Positive Me! helps prepare developing minds by laying a solid foundation of self-acceptance, integrity, and identity through positive self-talk.
6. Research shows that positive language, both verbal and body, has a beneficial effect not only on how you feel but on how others see you and respond to you.
7. Positive Me! gives children tools to speak kindly to themselves in moments of challenge or emotional demands.
8. Words can be automatic and unconscious and we often speak without intent.
9. Many children have a lack of guidance and reassurance from their environment which leads to poor choices in friends, decisions, and erratic behavior. Offering this book to a loved one as a supportive guide to their life could have a profound effect on their response to life.

MCA: This book definitely offers great support for children who may be struggling with their self-esteem or a lack of guidance in their lives. What has the response been like from your readers?

Madelyn: Some of the Amazon reviews have been such a joy to read! I have added some of my favorites:

“This book is a great (and fun!) resource for children and parents alike to promote positive self-talk and allow children to grow in their own unique way. The tools in Positive Me! help children and their parents navigate a world that can be challenging and harsh at times, using self-compassion and self-awareness. The writing is imaginative, easy to understand, and creative, and the illustrations are bright and colorful and coordinate perfectly with the text. Positive Me! is a fantastic addition to your child’s at-home library — you’ll go back and read it together again and again!”

“Positive Me is a new must-have for your kids’ bookshelf! Considering the current climate of the world we live in today and the alarming rise of depression in children, this book is a much-needed addition to all libraries. One of the ways to recognize, promote, and sustain optimism, hope, and joy is to intentionally fill our thoughts with positive self-talk! It’s something most of us recognize to implement as adults, but even more important to practice with our children.”

“I purchased this book as an addition to my elementary classroom toolbox, and have loved sharing the content with my students. The pictures and text are relatable and informative for young minds, and contribute to wonderful classroom discussion! I look forward to incorporating this text throughout the year for continued positive social-emotional growth and community building connection.”

MCA: I have to agree with those reviews! Positive Me! is a great book and we are very excited you were able to share with us all of your insight! We look forward to seeing more from you.

You can learn more about Madelyn Hornstein and her award-winning book, Positive Me!, by visiting her MCA Shop pages. You can also check out a reading of “Positive Me!” by Madelyn by clicking here.