"Planet AMAZING is TREMENDOUS! Amazingly tremendous, most would agree. But something’s happening here that’s been bugging me." This is a quirky and whimsical story with a Dr. Seuss-inspired rhythm about a flaming orange bully. . . .

It makes bedtime an opportunity to encourage kindness and bravery in your preschooler. But it’s also a cathartic read for the adult, with hidden puns and messages that only you will pick up on. A book you both will enjoy! 

Once costs are covered all remaining funds (roughly 20%) will be donated to a nonprofit that inspires women and girls to run for elected office in the U.S.

The story ends with a brave, young blueberry challenging Ole Tangerine Man for his crown, as the future Miss Captain AMAZING. She rallies the other fruit and veg to stand together: 

It seemed fitting to donate to an organization that is empowering women and girls to focus on their leadership potential. A more compassionate world will be realized with more women on the political stage!

Don't you just love her boots?! They're made for walking.

Here is it: Ole Tangerine Man and Planet AMAZING. Enjoy! (Some of the hidden messages will only come to life through the illustrations, but you get the gist...)

Or check out the story in written form here on Medium

Sharing is caring. Help build momentum, which means more money donated!

Since the Women's March, I have been inspired to make change and do my part. This story was a way to channel my anger into something more light-hearted with a positive message and outcome. 

I am deeply concerned, as a global citizen and as a mom, so much so, I can hardly sleep at night. And I don’t have anything to lose, at the moment, like so many people do. . . .

Creating a campaign like this, sharing a story like this, and raising money for organizations that are doing good are all things I can and will do.  

Regardless of your political views, whether you supported Ole Tangerine Man in the past or still do, I don’t think anyone can deny he is a bully. And that is not the type of behavior we encourage in our kids, nor do we want to legitimize. As parents, we try our best to raise empathetic little humans. This story also explains what might be going on inside Ole Tangerine Man in order to make sense of his antics.

Here is one of the very colourful spreads with our veggies showing him way: "We don’t need to breathe fire—instead, we spray rainbows!"

My name is Carol Steuri. I am Canadian (a Winnipegger to be exact!) who lives in Switzerland with my Swiss hubby, tireless two-year old and goofy, brown lab. My background is in brand marketing and innovation, and as of late, I teach at the bachelor level. Creative writing has been a passion project in the last few years and often times helping me work through difficult times or emotions. 

Ole Tangerine Man and Planet AMAZING has been an awesome little journey thus far and I am eager to bring it all to life!

**Photoshoots with toddlers are fun! This was the best of a few dozen shots.

A group of nasty women, sharing the same views, connected virtually…

Illustrator: Sandra Dumais

Sandra is an illustrator and self-proclaimed silly person who lives in Montreal with husband and two children. Her work is inspired by the funny and tender world around her (she’s also pretty awesome to work with). I love how she has brought Ole Tangerine Man to life, in a way that is both ugly and amusing, yet simple for the little ones. Check out her website.

Editor: Alice York

Alice currently lives in Chicago. An editor, writer, and poet with her M.S. in Early Childhood Education, Alice was keen to lend her skills to this project. Thank goodness because who knows how to properly use a dash?! I don’t. She also made sure our bullying messages were on point.

Art Direction: Tracy Skibo

If this project gets funded, Tracy will be doing the graphical layout. Residing in San Francisco, she's a creative storyteller and loves to connect dots. She spent 20 years as an Art Director in the retail industry. Check out her cool resistance doodles here.

A couple shout-outs: Alberto Hernández Mérida, a stop-motion animator, who brought the illustrations to life in my video. And to my niece, Abby, who provided the enthusiastic narration.

CLICK ON THE PERK YOU WANT VS. DONATING AT THE TOP

The book will be a 10"x10" hardcover with a dust jacket of high quality paper and matte finishing. So this book can be passed down, passed along, and read over and over.  I am using a printing company based in my home province of Manitoba. They created the blank book you see featured in my video with the same specifications. 

All perks with the book itself will be accompanied by an Ole Tangerine Man Bullying Workbook. It will act as a conversation starter for you and your kids to work through and make sense of Ole Tangerine Man's behaviour. I know we are all struggling how best to discuss this man and his agenda with our kids. This is a tool for just that!

Other perks include: the ebook, posters, a colouring book, custom portraits and the opportunity to get drawn in as one of the resistance veggies!

++NEW PERK ADDED++Framable Poster of Planet AMAZING! in all its glory. Have your kids commit to being kind, brave and AMAZING!

Instead of unlocking stretch goal rewards, any additional profit made if the goal is over-exceeded will be donated to other organizations fighting the good fight against this bully! I will be asking my backers for their input and suggestions.

The financial goal of 45K USD was set in order to create 1500 limited edition copies of the book while amassing a sizable donation of 20% of the funds raised (roughly 6K USD). The donation will be directed to an organization that is inspiring women and girls to consider a future political run in the U.S.

All suppliers are lined up. Here is how the funds will be utilized:

And here is the estimated timeline: perks delivered by end of October!

To be honest, not many. The biggest hurdle was deciding what platform to launch with. Indiegogo allows campaigns to donate profits, so that was that. Then finding an organization that aligned with our message and that would allow the use of their name/logo associated with something viewed as 'anti-Ole Tangerine Man' was also a challenge. In the end, the nonprofit I chose didn't allow the use of their name either, but they have supported and encouraged me on this quest. If this project gets funded, I will be very happy to hand over a donation to help support their initiatives in encouraging a more gender balanced, effective government.

This campaign is only 30 days long. I do not plan on making more copies or selling more copies than get backed here. It’s a limited edition folks! As is Ole Tangerine Man! Thank you and please support and share this campaign!