Ruth Maille Interview Published on: 02, Jun 2022

Every Friday night, I would wait patiently to watch my favorite show, The Brady Bunch. I never missed an episode until my parent adopted my little brother and brought him home one Friday night. I was so excited to have a baby brother that I forgot to watch The Brady Bunch!

My passion for writing books stems from my life-long love for reading which grew even more profound as I helped children develop a love for reading. Books can provide valuable lessons and exciting adventures, expand your imaginations, enhance vocabulary, and help you grow both mentally and emotionally—reading has always played an essential part in my children's lives and my preschool. During the pandemic, I wanted to find a way to help children successfully navigate the impact of Covid in their lives. Writing became my instrument for doing that. 

I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a Mom. After getting married, my husband relocated to Washington State from the east coast. Once my first son, Evan, was born, I could not imagine leaving him with a stranger, so I chose to become a licensed daycare provider and preschool teacher. This career allowed me to stay home, raise my children—Evan, Scott, and Kendra—supplement my income, and do something I love to do—teach. Thirty-one years later, I still love what I do. I have the best job ever. I teach and inspire children every day while giving and receiving unconditional love. 

I loved music and hanging out with my friends. I was also a girl scout. Being a Girl Scout gave me many learning opportunities while completing badges, traveling, and camping. Later in life, I enjoyed being a leader in my daughter's troop, where we shared many incredible adventures. I credit a lot of who I am today to the things I learned and the special friendships I made along the way while being a girl scout.  

One of my favorite books was, Are you my mother? By P.D. Eastman. A baby bird hatches while his mom is off finding food. The little bird searches for his mom, but because he has no idea what she looks like, he begins to ask everyone and everything he meets. Eventually, a crane called a "snort" picks him up and brings him back to his nest, where he finally meets his mother. This story is funny, written with curiosity, and it has a great message about the bond between a mother and child. It's a classic.

During the pandemic, my business was closed during phase one. I wanted my preschool children to continue to feel connected to one another so that we would do daily Zoom calls. We would read books, exercise, have show and tell, circle time, and share ideas to keep them busy. We would post on our Facebook group, sharing our creations. I found this to not only help them but me as well. One day on our Zoom call, one of my children looked sad and lost. He was missing his routine and his friends. The children began sharing what they were feeling. I discovered that most of them felt the same way—sad, lonely and confused. I am a very positive person, not to say I have not had my ups and downs and challenging times, but I always try to look at the glass half full. I started to brainstorm about all the good that has come out of this difficult time. I found nuggets of kindness, love, and compassion for others everywhere I looked. That is when The Power of Positivity, The ABCs of a Pandemic, was born.

I am proud of all the awards I have received. Anytime an author receives an award, it is an honor. It means that others believe in our work as much as we do. My book, The Power of Kindness Through the Eyes of Children, received the Feathered Quill Gold Award for the story and book cover design. I love the way that cover came out. It was a collaboration between my illustrator and me. The story is sweet and has unique kindness examples from my preschool children, hence the sub-title. 

I love helping people, especially parents. My license and certifications have allowed me to share my knowledge, training, and years of experience to assist others in understanding how our instincts play a considerable role in how we react to everyday situations. I am able to equip parents and children with many valuable tools to help them understand themselves and the part they are playing in the results they are experiencing in their lives. Once we understand ourselves, then we can work toward understanding others to create enriching partnerships with one another. 

One of the most fun things about working with children is every day is different. Each child is unique and special. It's fun to look at life through their eyes. That is one of the reasons why The Power of Kindness subtitle is "through the eyes of children." Children tend to be honest. If you give them opportunities to share what's important to them, you can learn a lot just by listening.

They were very excited. Since we launched The Power of Positivity during the pandemic, we had an outdoor celebration, and the children were a big part of it. The children represented in the book were so proud to be a part of this experience. Many of them had already progressed from preschool to elementary school, and their teachers used The Power of Positivity to help overcome the anxiety of the pandemic. 

I hope that my books inspire children to be the best version of themselves by embracing the qualities they hold in their hearts. When they read my stories, I hope they can see how positivity, kindness, and gratitude are being or could be expressed in their own lives. I also hope they know they have the power to change our world for the better, one small step at a time.  

Believe in yourself. 

Currently, I am working on research for a new book, The Power of Empathy. Empathy is an important character trait that is a learned behavior, so children need to be taught to be empathic. It begins by helping children recognize and label their own emotions. That empowers them to recognize similar emotions expressed by others around them. As parents, we can ask them frequently how they are feeling, talk about their feelings, and point out where they see someone being empathetic. Eventually, as they practice this over and over, it becomes natural. 

The more I explore the website, the more treasures I find. I recently discovered the GIF Banners for social media promotions through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and email marketing. These are easy to navigate, and you can make great GIFs that are colorful, creative, and fun. It is definitely a tool that helps books stand out.