Celebrated Christian Author Michelle Medlock Adams Teams with “October Baby” Co-Creator Cecil Stokes

New Children’s Storybook Prescribes Fun-Loving Parent-Child Game of One-Upmanship to Heal Pandemic Mental Health Misery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Gregg Wooding, I AM PR

972-567-7660 / gregg@iampronline.com

Bedford, Ind. -- A New York Times best-selling writer has teamed up with an Emmy-Award-winning producer to pen an uplifting children’s story at a time when many kids struggle with mental health issues and their emotional well-being is suffering because of the pandemic.

“I Love You to the Sun and Beyond ” -- the latest children’s book by Michelle Medlock Adams and co-writer Cecil Stokes (Sky Pony and Simon & Schuster Publishers, July 12, 2022) -- brings a new and creative twist to the fun-loving game of one-upmanship that parents, grandparents, and educators often play with children.

The book’s common thread is four powerful words – “I Love You More” – to describe love that is “longer than the Amazon,” “braver than Rosa Parks,'' “wealthier than King Solomon,” and “smarter than Nikola Tesla.”

At such a time as this, the book aims to inspire and reinforce love and affirmation as the greatest healers after more than 2 years of pandemic misery and uncertainty.

Research shows 1-in-5 children now has a mental health disorder such as anxiety or depression, but only a fraction of those children receive care and counseling from a mental health professional.

Reviewers say it’s destined to become a bedtime classic.

“When my daughters were little, we would play a game just like this. I would say, ‘I love you more than 100 pieces of the yummiest milk chocolate in all the world.’ And then, they would try to outdo me with their over-the-top declarations of love. Today, I find myself playing this same game with my grandkids—it’s still fun and meaningful,” said New York Times best-selling writer Adams, who dedicated the book – that contains 29 wonderful and wacky facts about our world – to her grandchildren.

“It’s my hope that this picture book will cause parents and children around the globe to make their own meaningful and unique declarations of love, all while learning wonderful facts about our amazing world,” said Adams, who has written 120 books and earned 80 industry awards. Most recently, Adams was named winner of the 2021 Christian Market Children’s Book of the Year for her book, “Cuddle-Up Prayers.”

“I Love You to the Sun and Beyond” is Stokes’ first collaboration on a children’s book. The Emmy Award winner and co-creator of the feature film “October Baby,” who has written more than 500 commercials, films and TV shows, recently became a dad after adopting his son, Boone, from foster care.

Stokes says becoming a single dad has transformed his life.

“My entire life changed when my son arrived,” said Stokes, who works for the Global Orphan Project and leads their CarePortal ministry in Houston Texas. “There is nothing that compares to the love a parent has for a child.”

“As Dad, I have learned weapons of spiritual warfare that I hand down to my son, and together we lock arms to claim Jesus’ victory over our lives and the lives of vulnerable children everywhere,” he said.

The book -- illustrated by Jonathan Bouw -- has already won praise from leading children’s authors Nancy I. Sanders and Jill Esbaum.

“I Love You to the Sun and Beyond is more than a picture book about the special love between a parent and child,” said Sanders, author of Bedtime with Mommy. “It’s a celebration of parents and children all around the world experiencing their special bond while exploring the amazing universe we live in. Destined to become a bedtime, morning time, naptime, reading time favorite!"

Esbaum, author of How to Grow a Dinosaur, said the book “ignites a child’s curiosity about the wider world.”

For more information and to purchase the book, visit https://www.amazon.com/I-Love-You-Sun-Beyond/dp/1510763708 and https://michellemedlockadams.com/books/to-the-sun-and-beyond/

To review a PDF of the book, "I Love You to the Sun and Beyond," download from below:

You can follow Michelle Medlock Adams on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest . You can follow Cecil Stokes on LinkedIn, and visit his website, https://www.booneandme.org/

NOTE: Media interested in coordinating interviews with Michelle Medlock Adams and Cecil Stokes can contact Gregg Wooding at I AM PR, (972) 567-7660 or gregg@iampronline.com.

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Author Biographies

Michelle Medlock Adams

Michelle Medlock Adams is a best-selling author and an award-winning journalist, earning top honors from the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Hoosier State Press Association to name a few.

Author of over 100 books with more than 4 million books sold, Michelle is also a New York Times Bestselling ghostwriter and has won more than 90 industry awards for her own journalistic endeavors, including the prestigious Golden Scroll for Best Children’s Book in 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018 for “Cuddle-Up Prayers” “How Much Does God Love You?” “Dinosaur Devotions” and “My First Day of School”. And, over the past three years, she has added several first-place honors from the Christian Market Book Awards, the Selah Book Awards, the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, and the Illumination Book Awards in multiple categories.

Since graduating with a journalism degree from Indiana University, Michelle has written more than 1,700 articles for newspapers, magazines, and websites; acted as a stringer for the Associated Press; written for a worldwide ministry; hosted “Joy In Our Town” for the Trinity Broadcasting Network; blogged twice weekly for Guideposts; written a weekly column for a Midwest newspaper; founded and served as president of Platinum Literary Services; and served as an adjunct professor at Taylor University three different years. Today, she is Chairman of the Board of Advisors for Serious Writer, Inc.; an online instructor for the Serious Writer Academy; owner and editor of her very own children’s book imprint “Wren & Bear Books”—a division of End Game Press; and a much sought-after speaker at professional writing conferences and women’s retreats all over the United States.

When not working on her own assignments, Michelle ghostwrites articles, blog posts, and books for celebrities, politicians, and some of today’s most effective and popular ministers.

Michelle is celebrating her 2022 releases which include: Springtime For Your Spirit with Andy Clapp, Our God is Bigger Than That! with Eva Marie Everson, and Fly High! with Janet K. Johnson.

Michelle is married to her high school sweetheart, Jeff, and they have two daughters, Abby and Allyson, two sons-in-law, three granddaughters and two grandsons with another grandbaby on the way. She and Jeff share their home in Southern Indiana with a miniature dachshund, a rescue Greyhound/Lab mix, and two kitties.

When not writing or teaching writing, Michelle enjoys bass fishing, cheering on Indiana University sports teams, watching Doris Day movies, and all things leopard print.

Cecil Stokes

Cecil Stokes is an award-winning writer, producer, and director of more than 500 commercials, films, and tv shows. Cecil has won every award in the television industry including an Emmy. This is his first children’s book.

Cecil is the founder of Tentmakers Entertainment. He has executive produced and/or produced television shows for major networks including A&E, ESPN, and HGTV. He has also directed and produced commercial spots for Cadillac, BMW, Kohler, Lowe’s, Disney Parks, and many more corporations. Cecil’s most acclaimed works are his films A Man Named Pearl and the Christian hit October Baby, which earned more than $5 million with a production budget of $1 million.

After adopting his amazing son Boone at age 8 from foster care in 2015, Cecil became a single dad, and both his life and career changed. Cecil and his son travel as “Boone and Me” to churches and groups throughout the country, educating and encouraging Christians to adopt. The video featuring the “Boone and Me” story was viewed over 20,000 times in its first week on Facebook. He now works for the Global Orphan Project and leads their Care Portal ministry in Houston, Texas.

Your Interview with Michelle Medlock Adams & Cecil Stokes

Co-Authors of “I Love You to the Sun and Beyond”

Suggested Interview Questions:

Why did you write the book “I Love You to the Sun and Beyond?”
Tell me about your backgrounds as media professionals? How did you two meet?
Where did you get the book’s central concept of “I Love You more?”
Why is it timely for a book that emphasizes a parent, grandparent, or educator’s love as an ultimate healer? How has the COVID pandemic affected our children?
What interesting facts can children, parents, homeschoolers, and educators learn while reading “I Love You to the Sun and Beyond?"
Michelle, tell us about playing this game of “one-upmanship” with children and now grandchildren?
Cecil, tell us about how adopting your son Boone transformed your life?
Michelle, how do you feel about the recent SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? (Please note:Cecil cannot answer this questions.)
Why do you think one reviewer wrote, “I Love You to the Sun and Beyond” is “destined to be a bedtime, morning time, naptime, or reading time favorite!”
Where can the public follow you on social media, at an upcoming book-signing and/or purchase a copy of the book?