San Diego Author Pens Holiday Children’s Book About a Tiny Tree with a Big Message

San Diego-based author Derek Danziger has released his latest children’s book “Teddy the Tiny Tree,” just in time for the holiday season.

The story follows the journey of a small but determined tree with big dreams, delivering heartwarming messages of resilience, kindness and holiday magic. With its inspiring themes, the book reminds readers of the importance of treating everyone with fairness and respect, a message that resonates year-round but feels especially poignant during the holidays.

In this Q&A, Danziger — a seasoned public relations professional and author of “I’m Autistic…and I’m Awesome!” — shares the story behind bringing “Teddy the Tiny Tree” to life.

What sparked the idea for a holiday book centered around a small tree like Teddy?

My kids. I have two boys and I’m always telling them crazy stories or making up stories when they have inquisitive questions. More so when they were younger, but they fuel my imagination. I have always enjoyed stories about the underdog overcoming obstacles. I was walking through a tree yard a few years ago, and thought about all the trees that were still left there at Christmas and was inspired to tell a story about one of those trees. For me, while the story is a holiday tale, Teddy represents anyone who has felt they weren’t good enough, but will eventually realize that no matter what, there’s always someone that loves you.

How do you hope children and families connect with Teddy’s journey of self-discovery?

I really hope that this story resonates with anyone who has had feelings of self-doubt and knows that you can still achieve your dreams. In Teddy’s case, he thinks he has no chance of being picked by a family for Christmas due to his small size. I hope children and families will see that even a small tree with big dreams can succeed. Anything is possible! 

The story highlights “the smallest trees can truly make the biggest difference.” What message do you want young readers to take away from this theme?

The biggest athlete on the sports team isn’t always the best, the loudest voice in the choir may not always sing in-tune. For me, there is something special about everyone, and the labels we tend to put on people based on appearance or first impressions are often so terribly wrong. It’s truly the notion of not judging a book by it’s cover. Although, I do hope readers like my cover. ????

Can you share any behind-the-scenes insight into your creative process?

I generally write in bursts. I’ll get a few good ideas and then I have to let them marinate for a while before moving on. Rarely does it all come at once. This started as a short story that kept growing a little bit at a time. Then when I realized I thought I had enough for a book, I pulled it all together. My wife is a professional editor and I really trust her input on what sounds good or how to change things. For a children’s book, I think you can have a great story, but the illustrations are so important to bring the vision of the story to life. I was fortunate to connect with an illustrator who understood my ideas and she brought them to life. 

How did you collaborate with the illustrator to bring Teddy’s world to life?

I have never met my illustrator in person. She lives on the other side of the world (the country of Georgia) and all our communication has been online. I actually found her on the website Fiverr where artists and designers from around the world are seeking to connect with projects. She studied art in her country and has a young son, so I felt she could relate. She illustrated my first book and I loved her work and wanted to work with her again. I would send her pencil sketches of ideas and then I’d let her run with it. 

What inspired you to become a children’s book author? 

I grew up acting as a kid and always loved movies. I wanted to be like Steven Spielberg. To me storytelling is magic. From childhood, we are told stories that stick with us throughout our lives. Storytelling is the foundation of how we learn. While I didn’t pursue acting or directing, in my professional life as a public relations practioner, I’m always thinking about how to best tell the stories of my clients, in the most compelling ways. Having two young boys has led me to see the world more through their eyes and try to create stories that I believe will resonate with them. I have many ideas, but it’s always a question of whether the story will have a broad appeal to others. People would often say to me, that would be a great children’s book. So, I took their advice! 

What advice would you give aspiring book authors? 

The publishing world is an interesting place today. Because of all the tools and technologies we have at our fingertips, it’s never been easier to try to amplify your voice as a storyteller. The challenge is that everyone has that access and how do we get people to see us and care. I was fortunate to have a publishing team at Road to Awesome take a chance on me and my first book in 2023 and they liked this story as well. My biggest piece of advice is to dream big. Don’t get discouraged, and know that if the story is important to you it will be important to others. Just keep pushing. If you don’t find a publisher you connect with, try the self-publishing route as there are so many options now.

For more information about the book and where to purchase, go to teddythetinytree.com.