When Erin Stevenson released her latest illustrated children’s book, “I am Kind,” it quickly became a hit on Amazon, taking over the top spot on the online retailer’s Hot New Release list within 48 hours of its release in early November.
“We beat out books like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and ‘Miss Rachel!’” Stevenson gushed. “It was pretty wild. We were No. 1 for about 48 hours. We’ve definitely fallen off (since then), but I’ll take that No. 1.”
But she’s even more proud of the message behind the book, the latest in a series of kids’ books prompted by the Do Good Movement, an initiative she founded nearly a decade ago.
The Palos Park resident attributed part of the book’s popularity to a friend who died this autumn of cancer, Tommy DeLorenzo, a successful Chicago area balloon entrepreneur who launched Balloons by Tommy at age 14.
“His group of friends and family … really rallied behind the book and helped it be such a success,” Stevenson said.
She dedicated the book to DeLorenzo, and all proceeds from its sales in November and December will go to Northwestern Medicine for its cancer treatment center.
“At least it’s helping create awareness and providing some support for the treatment center, and the book has a picture and write-up of Tommy, so everybody can learn about him and his business,” Stevenson said. “And friends and family have something to hold onto to spread his kindness because that’s what he did for everybody else.”
Scott DeLorenzo described Tommy, his husband of eight years, as the “life of the party … the person who would bring everyone together,” adding that having a book dedicated to him is special. “He was always a kind person. Also, I love that not only do they share a much-needed lesson for kids to learn about the value of virtues, but it also is a great tool for kids who are learning to read.”
Scott bought copies of “I Am Kind” for his sister, who is a teacher, and his mom, who is a reading recovery specialist. “They can’t stop raving about how great it is for the classroom!” he shared.
“I think that Tommy would be so proud to have such a great message connected to his name,” he said. “I think he would also be so proud of Erin for following her heart and pursuing something so needed. Thank you, Erin, for honoring my husband in this extraordinary way.”
Scott DeLorenzo said Tommy was “touched” when he received a copy of Stevenson’s first book, “I Am Strong,” which was published in late 2023. Her second book, “I Am Smart,” was published this spring.
“It came at just the right time when he needed to find strength to keep fighting to live,” he explained. “He knew that she was writing another book but unfortunately wasn’t with us when he was completed. He felt a connection to Erin because they both walked a path that wasn’t carved out for them.”
The path Scott referenced includes Stevenson discovering in 2009 that she had multiple sclerosis, which her mother also had, although she died in 2012 from lung cancer. In fact, it was hearing her mother’s admission the last week of her life that she wished she had dedicated herself to her family instead of to her high-powered career that led to Stevenson transforming her life.
“She said family matters. That really shifted everything, because I was ready to be the CEO of the nonprofit I was working with,” Stevenson said. “I wanted to be like my mom.”
After Stevenson married her husband, Matt, and became a mother a few years later, she stepped away from her job at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and began a new career teaching yoga at fitness centers. Schools began contacting her to teach yoga to children. Since she founded the Do Good Movement, it’s impacted more than 10,000 students, staff, faculty and community members around the Chicago area.
“The Do Good Movement is an organization focused on supporting the whole-child/whole-student education program promoting self-awareness, self-regulation, philanthropic stewardship, and social-emotional learning through a yoga foundation,” according to its website, thedogoodmovement.com. “Students benefit from this program by learning tools to help relieve stress and anxiety in and out of the classroom as well as create strong minds and bodies through movement and meditation.”
Stevenson said creating a series of books has been on her bucket list for at least five years, and the titles arose thanks to a mantra she designed after listening to a lot of self-help podcasts and reading a lot of self-help books.
“The positive mindset has always been at the forefront of what I do and what I am,” she said. “In the Do Good Movement, we have a mantra so we blend that into all of our teachings, and all the trainings we do for children and adults and the books came from that mantra. Each book has a specific message or specific theme that goes with it.”
Each of her children has influenced the books in a different way.
“I fell into children’s yoga because I had (oldest daughter) Leslie. I got into the public schools when I had (son) Charlie, and with (youngest son) Ronnie, I started the books,” she explained. “I’m done having kids, so I think this is it. Charlie is the heart and soul. For being a young boy, he’s very empathetic and caring and kind and really embodies a lot of this most recent book. All three of them do, but Charlie definitely does.”
Stevenson wrote the books and illustrated them with the help of artificial intelligence. “’I Am Kind’ is about self-care. All three are, but this one is the focus of being kind to ourselves and that when we have that in play, we have the ability to share kindness with others. I think that message is important for children and adults,” she shared.
“I use the analogy of putting a mask on in an airplane: You do it first and then do the person next to you. That is the focus of this book – teaching kindness to you. And then we can step off and do kindness for others.”
Some acts of kindness to ourselves are having a positive mindset and the quality of rest, and teaching children “that it’s OK to stop and slow down,” she said. “The message of kindness to ourselves has lacked a lot, so to teach kids at a young age what that means is setting them up to be better in the future.”
Friends and family have been “super supportive and impressed” with the latest book, she said. “It’s the support of friends and family and Tommy’s community and the schools we’ve partnered with to spread the word. We’ve worked heavily in the Chicago school system. We also have partnered with several school districts outside of Chicago to Orland Park, Hometown, Evergreen Park. We’ve been all over.”
One of the friends who’s supported the book is neighbor Debi Pope. “I found it extremely well-written, focusing on different ways to be kind to ourselves, our bodies, the environment, other friends, our family, and the world,” she shared. “The illustrations are beautiful and the message is clear and important, it seems, in our world today.”
Stevenson clearly cares deeply about the work she does.
“My goal in all of this is teaching the self-care component but making the community a happier, more brought-together place,” she said.
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
This post was originally published on here
