Jul 15, 2022Santa’s Christmas Elves: Their Names, History and More About ThemI am in the process of writing a personalized book about Christmas. It should be out by October and in time for this Christmas. It’s a PhotoStory personalized adventure book and I am quite excited about it (excuse the over-enthusiasm). Anyway…the book features Santa and Santa’s elves. In writing the…Christmas7 min readChristmas7 min read
Mar 12, 2021The Story Behind Your Baby’s StoryThe first personalized book I ever wrote was “Your Baby’s Story”. Here’s the story behind the book, which is an ode to the entire process of giving birth! Having my first child was a transformative experience for me, and not just because I had this literal piece of me come…Baby Gifts3 min readBaby Gifts3 min read
Mar 5, 202110 Inspirational Quotes from Manimal TalesThere’s no feeling like curling up on your couch to re-read your favorite children’s books. I used to think it was their familiarity that lent itself to the warm, fuzzy feeling I got from them. I’ve only recently realized that what I love about them is the author’s way of…Quotables5 min readQuotables5 min read
Feb 19, 2021Allie and the ZooKeeperOur latest title, a rollicking adventure story about how your child manages to get Dandylion out of the Zoo and escape to freedom! The full text is below. Enjoy! Book is available at https://manimaltales.com/products/the-zookeeper It was a dark and chilly autumn day, Everyone was glum, everything was gray. This was not a…Zoo8 min readZoo8 min read
Jan 20, 2021A Timeline of The Trump Presidency, as told by Orangey-Tan PostsSince Trump’s ruinous reign is at an end, we thought it might be a good time to look back at some of the bigliest moments through the eyes of our very own Orangey-Tan posts! April 2020: The Orangey-Tan was born on Earth Day, 2020, which is apt since the world…Dumptrump4 min readDumptrump4 min read
Dec 4, 2020The 5 Things Kids Can Learn By Reading the Orangey-TanThese are especially challenging times — and for parents of young children, it can be hard to watch the news (or browse social media!) and have the gut-punch realization that we’re going to have to explain to our kids just how the world got so turned around: that they really…Personalized Gifts4 min readPersonalized Gifts4 min read
Nov 23, 20205 of the Most Popular Personalized Children’s BooksWe read some of the most popular personalized children’s books out there, so you don’t have to! Here’s a list of 5 books that are perfect for giving your little one some extra confidence, teaching them to be kinder, and encouraging them to let their imagination run wild. #1 The…Personalized Gifts5 min readPersonalized Gifts5 min read
Nov 3, 2020Facebook Advertising Has Totally Sucked for Small eCommerce Companies During the US ElectionsAs a small business owner, I am used to getting periodically shafted, especially by the big monopolistic tech companies that are the gatekeepers to my customers (try contacting customer service for any of them on the business side, and you’ll instantly know what I mean). …Facebook5 min readFacebook5 min read
Nov 1, 2020Should Kids Be Exposed To Politics?My book, the Orangey-Tan parodies a certain current U.S. President in the storyline. Probably the most hotly debated topic on the Manimal Tales social media threads is whether kids should be exposed to politics or not. My original plan was to write an essay expounding on my point of view…Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Published inThe Creative Cafe·Jun 10, 2020The Orangey-Tan[The Director’s (Un)Cut Version] — Author’s Note: I publish a series of personalized children’s books at manimaltales.com. Its a universe of punny, funny animal characters that interact with a child. One of the books is The Orangey-Tan, whose eponymous main character bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain current politician. The earlier drafts of the…Humor12 min readHumor12 min read
