We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Melton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.

Kelly , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I have been in the childcare industry for 10’years and I’ve been in business for myself for 5 years. During the pandemic, I was in an imposter syndrome. I felt that I needed to be doing more to feel successful. I went back to school and received my bachelor’s degree and I enrolled in the Masters degree program which I’m currently finishing. I wrote a children’s book because I don’t have biological children and I wanted to leave something behind that could not only remind loved ones of me, but be beneficial to families. I wrote a new book, but I decided to self publish a book that I wrote in high school first, to see the feedback I would get from the community and families. Did you say baby? Is a book that parents can read to their child/children if they are expecting a new kiddo. This book encourages conversations with families.
It gives children the opportunity to talk about their emotions and feelings about having a new sibling and what the new family dynamics will look like. It’s great for early literacy. It also builds a connection between families. I believe all prenatal coordinators and doulas should have a copy. I believe doctors should recommend it to families that are expecting. All families should have these conversations with their children and their emotions should be validated.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been told that I should be a childcare provider since I was young. I loved holding babies, making them laugh, singing to them, and being nurturing overall. Neighborhood friends would even refer to me as Grandma Kelly. One of my neighborhood friends told me that I should open a daycare and call it Kelly cares, because Kelly cares. I got experience working for two group childcare centers and when my mother retired, she offered to assist me in my endeavors to open a family childcare center. We believe play is the way that children learn. We believe in building social skills and we also believe in helping get children ready for school. We pride ourselves in preparing scholars and being a safe environment. We believe in community and any time our parents need resources or guidance with anything, we aim to assist them. I’m proud to have a new children’s book to show our scholars. They enjoy reading it.
They call it Ms. Kelly’s book and are
Excited to talk to their family about babies.
Our families go on to school and still reach out to say how thankful they are to The Itsy Bitsy Scholars for being the beginning to their child’s educational journey. They also reach out with any questions or concerns that they may have regarding their child’s development. They look to us as family.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Our Instagram page is @theitsybitsyscholars and my Instagram page is @authorkellym. I post content about different things we do in the classroom, songs that we sing. Outside activities, and birthdays! Parents love to see their kiddo on my IG story or post. On my author page, I post content to encourage families to purchase the book. I also post content about the importance of early literacy, representation in books, and black authors. I don’t have a large following,
But I suggest that people that are just starting to post regularly regardless of interactions. People may not like it but they see the content and that is important.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell Did you say baby? On Amazon and on Barnes and Noble’s website. The pros to making my book available on these platforms are that they are huge platforms. When people see that a local author is on Amazon, they trust the author more. They believe that the author is credible. The cons to using a larger platform is that they take a portion of profits.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.AuthorKellyM.com
• Instagram: @authorkellym @theitsybitsyscholars
• Facebook: Kelly Melton
• Linkedin: Kelly Melton
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/pelvTbTv-_E

Image Credits
Amanda Evans Photography