06/07/2018
Our Story:
How Color Me Fit: Nutrition and Fitness for Kids came to be!
Everyone and everything has a story!
And like all good stories, the story of our book, Color Me Fit: Nutrition and Fitness for Kids,
began on a dark, stormy night, long, long ago!
Eighteen years ago, my friend Susan Stein a registered dietitian, called me while she was driving
home, in a pouring rain, from a nutrition conference she’d attended that night. The program’s topic was
“You Can Write a Book”.
As I picked up the phone, Susan said emphatically, “Vivien, we’re going to co-author a nutrition
book for kids together.” Apparently, during the program, Susan had been so inspired by the presentation, that the idea for this book germinated in her mind. She jotted down an outline for a
10-chapter activity book for children focusing on key topics in nutrition and featuring original cartoon characters. An idea was born!!
During the call, she continued on to say, “We’ll call it Color Me Fit: Nutrition and Fitness for Kids,
She told me that I would do the illustrations and the whole book would be a collaborative effort. “Ok?”
She finished with, “And I won’t take no for an answer!”
Well, always on the lookout for an artistic challenge, I agreed.
Color Me Fit was started with tremendous enthusiasm. We found every opportunity to work on the
book, and as it began to take shape, despite sometimes long intervals between edits due to family and
other professional responsibilities, our commitment to this project only grew as our original cartoon
characters came to life helping us provide hands-on nutrition information to children and their families.
Through myriad milestones, from family weddings, births and even the event of one of us moving
half-way around the world, all of which posed challenges for us, we persevered regardless of sometimes
pauses that lasted for weeks or months at a time.
When, after one of these lengthy pauses, we were invited to implement our book into the
curriculum of a community fitness camp, over three summers, our project was reborn.
With the overwhelming enthusiasm that Color Me Fit received from both campers and staff,
we realized that we were really on to something! Our original vision had been realized! By integrating games, activities and original cartoon characters, Color Me Fit reaches out to children, enabling
them to make healthier, more informed choices.
Through our many advisors and friends, our book grew from the original 10 chapters and 36 pages to its current format of 50 pages. We added a table of contents, glossary, games, and geometric coloring pages. We also included a section for adults titled “Nutrition and Fitness for Grown-ups” which features objectives for each chapter, nutrition information and cross-curricular activities. This enhances its
adaptability for home, school and community settings while providing a vehicle for adults and children to
share ideas and perspectives about nutrition and fitness.
Visit us on our website, www.colormefit4kids.com
Contact us at info@colormefit4kids.com
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