Manhattan author loves sharing her story with children

MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) - A Manhattan author loves sharing her story with young children.

“I was raised in the Yucatán Jungle as a child which is very different than most American kids not raised in a jungle and so because of that I had to learn 2 different languages I had to learn how to communicate with people who necessarily didn’t speak or weren’t able to talk to me,” said Johnson.

Jean Johnson said her unorthodox upbringing inspired her Rynnie Roo Adventure series, cataloging Rynnie the kangaroo’s adventures as she embraces her imagination in new places and meets new friends. Johnson enjoys meeting new friends herself on book tours she does in Kansas and Texas.

“I love going to the preschools and reading to the kids. Kids really seem to get ahold of the characters and the ideas and they want to give me their input on the dinosaurs and everything that they learned about them and so I personally just love reading to the children they’re just like little sponges, they love it, they ask tons of questions and that’s really where my heart is with the kids and getting them excited about reading,” said Johnson.

Johnson hopes to get children reading and learning through vibrant colorful images and fun characters. She wants to incorporate different languages and cultures in her coming books.

“We’re going to kind of throw in some Spanish, we’re going to throw in some Mayan Indian and so that to me is just what life is all about is learning other cultures it’s getting ahold of the world and seeing it as a whole that it’s not just us here who speak English but there’s a whole other side that speaks other languages,” said Johnson.

Johnson encourages parents to grab a book and let their kids imagine what they want to be growing up.

“Really want to help inspire parents and families to sit down and read together and whether you’re a caregiver or whether you’re an aunt or uncle or whoever you are take that time because it really does enrich the life of a child and their little imagination are just wild and so I remember that a lot of adults don’t remember what its like to be a kid, I do.”

All the books can be found on Amazon as well as at Hy-Vee.

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