Fresh Helen: And the Mashed Up, Smashed Up, Messed Up Plane

by Leslie Conway, Alexandra Zappier (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet mischievous, and often misunderstood Helen as she makes her way through many misadventures. Why do the kids call her Fresh Helen?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781735889009
Publisher:	Leslie Conway
Publication date:	11/23/2020
Series:	Fresh Helen , #1
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.12(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Leslie first heard Fresh Helen stories from her grandmother, Helen Irving, a masterful storyteller, when she was four and her family moved to Guam for a few years. Her grandmother would send them reel to reel tapes that conveyed her voice overthousands of miles telling stories of a precocious and silly, always in trouble, and always misunderstood little girl. Writing about Helen herself and transforming her into the character she is today, has been a dream of Leslie’s since
childhood, and she is thrilled to finally be able to introduce her to all of you. It is her hope that her readers can try to understand who Helen is, and why she does the things she does. Hopefully, Helen can teach us to be better friends, and that through kindness and empathy, we can learn to support others who have been bullied or are bullies themselves. Leslie has three adult children, who all learned about Helen when they were young, and now that she is a grandmother, she cannot wait to introduce her grandchildren to “Fresh Helen” as well and in print.

Inspired by her mother who painted and her father who drew, Alexandra Zappier was born to be an artist. Growing up, she filled endless notebooks with doodles and spent hours drawing with her father.
Alex knows what it's like to be the new kid in school too, having moved three times to new schools before reaching the 5th grade. Much like Helen’s friend Cora, she remembers how hard it can be to find supportive friends who allow you to stay true to yourself and also how wonderful it feels when you discover those friends. She is grateful to have the opportunity to illustrate this story and to help other kids learn the value of friendship.
Today, Alex is a full time User Experience designer and works on photorealistic portraits as well as commissions. Some of her drawings have won awards.