It Takes A Village
As a single dad, Chad Hanstedt spent a lot of time reading to his daughter, which likely influenced him even thinking about writing for children. Yet, he knew he couldn’t do it alone.
This African proverb – “It takes a village to raise a child – rings true for the Stanky & Cece Adventures Project. Maria Montessori also referred to this saying in her theory about educating children.
Chad takes it a step further. It takes a village and a team to create anything – a business, a piece of music, a children’s book, or an aerospace project. “We can never accomplish great things without others. We need the synergy of a community and the expression of different perspectives. We also need to hold each other accountable. Left alone, we could procrastinate, and nothing would ever get done,” he says.
“I would never have been able to complete the publishing of my two children’s books, Stanky & Cece: Break the Rules and Stanky & Cece: Out of Control, without embracing this philosophy,” he adds.
Community is important no matter where you are – in Corporate America, in a band, raising a family, or writing children’s books. You’ve got to do the work, but you can’t accomplish great things in isolation. It takes a team.
Our original team consists of the Co-Creators Chad Hanstedt and Kathy Sparrow, Illustrators Jacob Grey and James Koenig, and Translator Claudio Lopez. And we’re growing and expanding with our new products (more on that later!). Kathy is out and about Toluca Lake and San Diego doing school visits and often accompanied by her partner, the Voice of Flatbed Fred!
As time goes on, we know others will join us in this incredible journey.
Together, we’re committed to creating fun stories that teach children about life experiences that they will encounter and provide them with the tools they need to navigate life successfully.
