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Behind Their Stories: Early childhood experts to entrepreneurs and now authors

Behind Their Stories: Early childhood experts to entrepreneurs and now authors

Gwynne Teass, Associate Director, Brand Content

July 08, 2024

When life-long best friends Kelly Oriard, a family therapist, and Callie Christensen, a special education teacher, founded Slumberkins, their vision was clear: they wanted to help parents raise caring, confident, and resilient kids. That mission has catapulted Slumberkins to become one of the most beloved emotional learning brands for children. Now, Kelly and Callie are bringing the ideas and concepts integral to the Slumberkins brand together in their new book, All Feelings Welcome, to help parents everywhere.

The Bedtime Routine Revolution

From the outset, Kelly and Callie envisioned transforming the way emotional health and wellness are supported from the earliest ages. Their goal was to empower parents during bedtime routines, recognizing it as a prime opportunity for meaningful connection with their children.  Slumberkins is centered around 15 core characters, each representing a different emotional skill.  Each Slumberkin comes with board books and a plush that facilitates these connections. The board books include positive affirmations that are interactive, paired with their adorable companions, creating moments of meaningful connection.

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Humble Beginnings to Major Milestones

Initially, Slumberkins was a side hustle. For the first 18 months, Kelly and Callie were sewing the plushes at home and selling them at local craft fairs in Portland, Oregon. Despite starting small, their creations quickly gained popularity once parents experienced the impact they had on their children. With their backgrounds in education and therapy, they knew they were creating valuable tools for parents to take the lead in their child’s emotional health and development.

Taking the Leap

Fueled by the positive response, Kelly and Callie decided to leave their jobs in education and fully commit to Slumberkins. This leap of faith took them from the world of craft fairs to an appearance on Shark Tank to debuting an original show on Apple TV+ focusing on emotions for kids.  Their mission now extends to reaching more families with impactful messages about emotional health and wellness.

Collaborative Success to create “All Feelings Welcome.” 

When it came time for Kelly and Callie to take the next step in their journey and bring everything they’d learned about kids’ emotional development and write a book specifically for parents, Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley, became a natural home for the project. Aptly titled All Feelings Welcome. Wiley’s wealth of publishing experience and extensive expertise supported the authors through the development, publication, and marketing of the book, which gave Kelly and Callie the freedom to focus on their strengths—giving parents the tools and confidence they need to foster emotional resiliency in their kids.

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The Future of Emotional Learning

Slumberkins is more than just a brand; it is a movement towards supporting children's emotional health. The journey from family therapist and special education teacher to executive producers of a TV show and authors of a book with Wiley  is a testament to Kelly and Callie’s dedication and passion. They have built an incredible and thriving business, centered on a world of characters designed to foster emotional wellness and connection in families, and Wiley is honored to play a part in bringing their message to parents around the world.

As Slumberkins continues to grow, the focus remains on creating tools that make emotional learning approachable and impactful. Slumberkins stands as a beacon for parents seeking to connect with their children on a deeper level, nurturing the next generation of emotionally intelligent and empathetic individuals.

A big thank you to Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen, who shared their story with us and allowed Wiley to be their publishing partner in their first parent-centric book, All Feelings Welcome.  We also want to thank the Slumberkins team and community for all their help in bringing their story to life.

All Feelings Welcome is available wherever books and eBooks are sold

Learn more about thier story by clicking here

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