It all started with five simple words at the end of a phone call. This is why I love sister authors Judy Snider and Joan Dickow´s recent book, I love You, Be Careful—a picture book that is also designed to be a gift book for adults and children alike—shares these words that follow us our entire lives and sometimes we may not say often enough.
With this thought in mind, I started thinking about my children and how fast they are growing up. They inspire me to write funny children´s stories and keep me motivated to share the love of reading with others. I asked Judy if her children have also inspired her writing. "Oh, yes, they have throughout their lives. They are in their 20´s now, but I remember driving them in the car with their friends and asking their opinion, reading stories to them on a daily basis, and they are zany and fun."
Joan also has kids and grandkids, so they have definitely had a positive effect on inspiring her to write this book (I Love You, Be Careful) and the one she is working on, The Porch Fairy. "My goal in getting a book published was to read it to my kids and groups of kids and have them smile and laugh…it worked," stated Joan.
Even though these two sisters live 700 miles apart, their love of writing is always blooming. "There are days you may want to put blinders on our eyes, so as you look around you are not suddenly filled with idea after idea." This is how author Judy Snider feels sometimes. "I love to write and it seems odd to me if a day goes by that I don´t write something. Yet, the ideas floating around me sometimes make it hard to select the one I want to use."
Judy Snider lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her husband, Gil and two silly cats. She is the author of the CWA award-winning children´s picture book, Goldy´s Baby Socks and one of a team of authors who wrote, The Scared Purse.
Okay, maybe you´re not like Judy Snider, but I´m sure you understand having too many things going on at once. Joan Dickow shared, "Everyday moments in my life inspire me!" Joan is a 20-year breast cancer survivor, a mother, grandmother, wife, friend and sister. She finds there is beauty all around her and all her good moments and stressful moments inspire her.
Read the full article at American Chronicle | Meet Sisters Judy Snider and Joan Dickow, Authors of "I Love You, Be Careful"
There’s something happening in animation right now that’s worth paying attention to—not because it’s simply nostalgic, but because it’s deeply human. As someone who works in the mental health and creative storytelling space, I can’t help but see these conversations about art, AI, and hand-drawn storytelling as part of a bigger theme: our collective hunger for authenticity. We live in a time where AI-generated content is everywhere—convenient, efficient, and often soulless. It’s not surprising that artists and audiences alike are looking back toward something that feels more tactile, more imperfect, more human. That brings us to 2D animation, an art form that has shaped generations and now, it seems, might just be making a comeback. Here’s what Language of the Soul podcast host, Dominick Domingo, had to say on this trend: There’s been a lot of industry talk lately speculating about 2D/traditional ANIMATION making a comeback. Recent articles confirm that although Disney has not greenlit...