SELINSGROVE — All of 80-year-old Selinsgrove resident Mariam Pineno’s illustrated children’s books have been written, published, illustrated and printed in Pennsylvania.
It’s a fact she takes pride in, and it’s something for which she can thank her daughter, Marti, a professional artist who provides both the drawing and printing for the books.
Self-publishing books is expensive, particularly picture books, she said, and she does not take her daughter for granted — she pays her for her work.
“I want kids to read my stories,” she said. “We (she and Hess) will never make a dollar, because when you do it your way, you do it because you just want your work out there.”
Pineno said she never concerned herself much with rejection letters from publishing companies over the years.
“It’s subjective,” she said. Many times, they already have it mind what they are looking for, or something just doesn’t intrigue their personal tastes.
Pineno and her daughter began working together in 2002, when Hess offered to illustrate Pineno’s first book, using watercolors.
More than 2,000 copies of that book, “Talented Tabby,” have been sold.
“We are not afraid of making suggestions to each other,” Pineno said of her working relationship with her daughter. “Both of us are okay with that. We can differ, which we don’t do very often, but it’s more cooperation than differing.”
“We have a lot of laughs,” she added. “We get along very well. It’s called respect. She respects my part of it, and I respect hers.”
Pineno’s fourth picture book, “A Box of Bears,” debuted Nov. 13 at Cygnet Studios in Elizabethtown, founded in 1987 by Hess.
“It’s a book about giving,” Pineno said.
Every book, she said, has a meaning, but it’s subtle. And they are based on true life stories.
In “A Hat for Hannah,” for example, each character was created after a family member, Pineno said.
A retired music educator with the Shikellamy School District, she said her junior chapter book, “It Doesn’t Grow on Trees,” is based on a music student she had in 1988.
Pineno has been writing for children since 1993.
“Contrary to what people believe, writing for kids is not easy — it’s the hardest,” she said. “You have to go way back in your vocabulary and thinking and feeling to get it, so it rings a bell for little ones.
“And I love to do it,” she added.
An avid reader, she loves children’s books the most, and does readings to smaller kids whenever she has the opportunity.
“I can get on their level very easily,” she laughed.
But writing is more than just good storytelling. Providing advice for aspiring children’s book authors, she said, “I can’t emphasize enough that they need to study the craft.”
Aside from her degrees in music education, Pineno has also earned a diploma in Writing for Children and Teenagers from the Institute of Children’s Literature. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and her work has appeared in poetry anthologies and national magazines.
Her chapter book is available at Waldenbooks, in the Susquehanna Valley Mall. All books are available at bookstores upon request, and signed copies may be ordered online at www.writingmystories.com, where information is also available on how to purchase special “A Box of Bears” gift baskets, designed by her son, Jonathan.
Pineno said one of her grandsons is planning to deliver a basket and read the story to kids at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.
Book signing
Mariam Pineno will hold a book signing during Selinsgrove’s Late Shoppers Night Tuesday at the Villager Real Estate office, 23 S. Market St., beginning at 6 p.m.
Entertainment
Related Photos
Discussion
Children’s writer takes pride in self-publishing
- Entertainment
-
-
Improvised jazz program salutes civil rights movement
LEWISBURG — Local jazz musicians will present "Moving Pictures: Civil Rights Imagery and Improvisation," at 8 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg. The event is free and open to the public.
-
Clarence Clemons' nephew to play sax on Bruce Springsteen tour
NEW YORK — It takes two men to replace The Big Man. Bruce Springsteen announced Thursday that two musicians — Jersey Shore sidekick Eddie Manion and Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake — will "share the saxophone role" during the E Street Band's "Wrecking Ball" world tour, which begins March 18 in Atlanta.
-
Forget the Happy Meal. 'Lorax' gets green tie-ins
LOS ANGELES -- The Lorax, perhaps the most famous anti-industrial crusader from children's literature, is about to become a big-time corporate spokesman. With a host of comercial tie-ins -- albeit for eco-friendly products -- Universal Pictures will begin promoting "Dr. Suess' the Lorax" This month.
-
The Valley Players to present 'Roses in December'
SUNBURY — The Valley Players will celebrate this Valentine’s Day season with Victor L. Cahn’s “Roses in December,” a play that illustrates the beauty of the written word. In a script crafted exclusively from a series of letters, a young official in a college alumni office, played by Carrie Gilbert of Selinsgrove, invites a celebrated but reclusive author, played by Fred Hooper of Selinsgrove, to his 35th class reunion.
-
'Halftime in America' ad creates political debate
DETROIT — People rarely pick a fight with Dirty Harry. But Chrysler's "Halftime in America" ad featuring quintessential tough guy Clint Eastwood has generated fierce debate about whether it accurately portrays the country's most economically distressed city or amounts to a campaign ad for President Barack Obama and the auto bailouts.
-
Verizon to set up streaming service with Redbox
NEW YORK — Phone company Verizon Communications Inc. will challenge Netflix and start a video streaming service this year with Redbox and its DVD rental kiosks. Verizon and Coinstar Inc., Redbox's parent company, said Monday that the service will be national and available to non-Verizon customers as well.
-
Super Bowl ads battle for championship
NEW YORK — The pressure was on. The tension was thick. And then, there were yawns in between. The Super Bowl may have been a nail biter, but the ads were a snooze. Actor Clint Eastwood waxed for two minutes about Detroit and Chrysler. An M&M candy stripped "naked" at a party. And stars from the 90s were everywhere, as were dogs and babies, of course.
-
Sneak peek at this year's hottest Super Bowl ads
The Super Bowl is a must-watch TV event, if not for the outcome of the biggest football game of the year, then at least for the multi-million dollar commercials that run throughout. And this year’s buzzworthy spots include celebrity appearances, homages to movies and lots of humor.
-
Takeru Kobayashi downs record 337 wings at Wing Bowl
PHILADELPHIA — Competitive-eating champ Takeru Kobayashi conquered Philadelphia's annual gustatory gorge-fest by eating 337 chicken wings in a half-hour before a crowd of nearly 20,000 at Wing Bowl XX. The Japanese phenom demolished the record of 255 set last year by Jonathan "Super" Squibb.
-
Roseanne Barr seeks Green Party presidential nod
WASHINGTON — Roseanne Barr said Thursday she's running for the Green Party's presidential nomination — and it's no joke. The actress-comedian said in a statement that she's a longtime supporter of the party and looks forward to working with people who share her values. She said the two major parties aren't serving the American people.
- More Entertainment Headlines
-
Improvised jazz program salutes civil rights movement
