Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tenisha Bernal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Tenisha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

August 5, 2020 I sat on the floor of my son’s nursery. We had the floor covered in books. While reading a first 100 words board book I thought to myself, “there must be a first 100 words book for kitchen items.” So I did the obvious thing, I searched Google and Amazon. After a quick search I couldn’t find anything, which bothered me, but I put my phone down and continued reading to my son. After a few minutes it kept bugging me, so I searched again. It didn’t matter what I typed into my search box, nothing came up, not a single book close to what I was looking for. Out of nowhere, I somehow jumped up off the floor and stood on my feet (still not sure how with my tired Mom body, ha). But adrenaline kicked in! I then ran over to my son’s white board, erased what was on there, and started brainstorming…

First Words for Little Chef’s
Illustrate Photos
Bright Colors
Measurements
Baking Supplies
Cooking Supplies
Kitchen Items: Apron, Utensils
Look up children’s book publishers
English / Spanish Bilingual version
Learn InDesign
Self-Publish my own book

As I looked over my notes I realized, well I’m a graphic designer and an illustrator, so if I can’t find this book for my son I guess I can try and make it myself. From there the rest has been a whirlwind and the start of a career.

By January I had “finished” the layout and all 100 illustrations of items found in the kitchen. The next month I signed up for a SCBWI conference where I submitted my picture book dummy to be reviewed by over 200+ agents and editors. During my first seminar I received an email, which changed my life, it was from Random House Publishing.

By March I was offered a contract, and in October my illustrations were submitted to the printer. I feel as if I won the lotto in the children’s book publishing world. To not only have this happen but in such a short period of time doesn’t happen (often). I’m very grateful to say that the odds were in my favor in 2021 and I am proof that dreams really can come true. You have just got to believe and keep grinding at it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I wrote and illustrated Little Chef’s First 100 Words because of my love for being in the kitchen. I grew up learning how to bake with my Grandma at a really young age. In fact, instead of calling her Grandma I changed her name to Cookie Grandma. To this day, 30+ years later, the kitchen is my happy place. I love to cook and bake for my family and friends, and being in the kitchen is such a stress reliever for me. Baking makes me happy. Seeing people enjoy my food makes me happy.

There’s so much one can learn from physically being in the kitchen that my hope with this book is that more and more families let their little ones be a part of cooking, baking, and prepping food. There is so much to learn and memories to share, it doesn’t have to be a big, scary and dangerous place. Grab a boxed cake mix and even get on the floor with your little ones to mix the ingredients together. At least then the mess is already on the floor!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Even now, months after Little Chef’s First 100 Words has been published, I am constantly grinding. My “street team”, a.k.a. my husband and son place my business cards at random places wherever we go. We travel to local bookstores to see if they happen to be carrying my book, and if not I introduce myself and ask if they would consider stocking it.

I’m not famous, I don’t have a literary agent, and no one knows who Tenisha Bernal the author / illustrator is, so I have to market myself. This past year I’ve been buying my own books and paying to attend local craft and book fairs to get my name and book out there, I’ve been doing meet the author visits at some of my local libraries, as well as donating and/or giving away copies to local organizations, Little Free Libraries, and to stores around the country in hopes they consider buying Little Chef’s First 100 Words.

My family is on a single income, with my husband being an elementary school teacher, so I have literally been taking money from our savings and credit card to make this dream be successful and so that we can have two incomes. Books 2 & 3 in the series were originally going to be published in 2023, but because of my low sales Random House is pushing my publication dates to 2024.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes, for authors and illustrators, that people don’t know about. A lot of us are literally living book sale to book sale. So any time someone takes the time to: buy our book, spread the word about it, writes a positive review, follows us on social media, requests our book at a store and at a library; we are extremely grateful.

To everyone who has purchased Little Chef’s First 100 Words, thank you. I really appreciate it. – Thanks, Tenisha

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TenishaBernal.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tbernal.books/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tenishabernalauthor/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tenisha-bernal-259830243/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@littleartistsstudio