BUFFALO, N.Y. — Former teacher turned author Hailey Glynn recently came out with an activity book which features squiggles — random lines which you're encouraged to add to and use your creativity to come up with your own unique drawing.
You could say life handed her a bit of a squiggle during the pandemic when schools switched to remote learning and she had to alter her lesson plans to connect with students outside the classroom. Glynn was trying to explain coronavirus to her students, and her mom suggested she write a children's book to talk about the topic in a kid-friendly way.
Her first book, "When Virona the Corona Came to Town," became a best-seller on Amazon. Then came "Cornelia Spunk Can Learn Next to a Skunk" and "The Squiggle Book." She's written and is currently illustrating her third children's book. Glynn hopes to release it in early 2024. She's not ready to give away the title but hinted at the topic.
"It's so great to stand in your pride and love who you are, so that's the underlying theme of the book," said Glynn.
Glynn never imagined her success as an author, especially since she was teaching elementary school full time, but recently she decided she would shift her focus from the classroom to writing, illustrating, publishing — and now mentoring other aspiring authors. This back-to-school week is the first in six years that she's not welcoming back students.
"I loved teaching so incredibly much. I poured so much of myself into it, could not love my students more. So part of me is so sad that I am not going back and doing that, but the other part of me is excited for everything that is up ahead," said Glynn.
Glynn posts writing and publishing tips on her social media pages and has started her own business where she does one-on-one consulting for people who want to write children's books.
"I've taken everything I know and packaged it in ways I can now help other aspiring authors," said Glynn. "It is a shock to me how many people have incredible children's book ideas, and they have just been sitting on them because it can be a very daunting process."
Glynn said she wants to focus on collaboration and not competition and says there's room for many more children's book authors. She shouted out fellow educators for their creativity and ideas.
"Teachers have the best children's book ideas because they're around kids every day. They know what the kids need. They know what's missing in the classroom. They know how to engage young minds," said Glynn.
Glynn still posts teacher-related content, like lesson plans and classroom tips on Instagram and TikTok, but she's excited to explore this growing passion.
"That's the crazy thing about life. You never know the journey it's going to take you on. It's fun to see what's next," said Glynn.