Ned Visits Food Land
GSDA member—and former board treasurer—Debora Robinett has published her first book, “Ned Visits Food Land.” Here’s the premise: On a trip to Aunt Milly’s Farm, young Ned discovers a vibrant, fruit-and-vegetable-filled countryside that brightens his life. Enjoy this Q&A interview with the author!
Q: What inspired you to write the book?
A: I’ve always wanted to write a nutrition book but didn’t really relish the thought of writing a second thesis 😉 and because my three children are my greatest champions, encouraged me to publish, I decided to bring a character from my nutrition internship to life in “Ned Visits Food Land.” I completed my clinical internship in 1978 at Lutheran General Hospital, in Chicago and one of our rotations included teaching Head Start Preschoolers about nutrition. I developed “Nutra Ned” to help teach nutrition in a fun and interactive way to young children. The children loved Ned and his cute whirlybird beanie hat.
Q: Who are the main characters?
A: Young Ned lives in the city with his mom and dad and believes all food comes from the grocery store. The story begins in greyscale as Ned ponders cans, packages and jars as his source of food. One day, his Aunt Milly invites Ned to her farm. He and his cousin Amanda milk cows, pick fruit and vegetables from the garden, gather eggs and see the bees making honey. Ned begins to change color, feel more energy, and come to life as he enjoys the farm, eating fresh whole food and more fruit and vegetables. He also learns from his Aunt Milly how to prepare fresh vegetables and that nothing is wasted. The soup pot, compost and animals get the leftovers. When Ned returns home to mom and dad, he shows them where fresh fruits and vegetables are in their store and that there is a local farmers market near their neighborhood He shows his parents what Aunt Milly taught him.
Q: What do you hope children will take away?
A: I want children to eat whole-unprocessed food and more fresh fruit and vegetables, understand where their food comes from, help educate their parents/caregivers through Ned’s journey. There is also a message to recycle and be respectful of our planet. Additionally, all of the illustrations were hand-painted with fresh fruit and vegetable pigments. The back of the book includes the color palette.
Q: What was the writing process like?
A: Writing the story was fairly easy as I already had Ned in mind as the star of the book. Creating a story board was the most helpful to my illustrator (and I had to find a second illustrator when the first one couldn’t complete the work). Self publishing through lulu.com was sometimes stressful because there is a specific process that I went through in manuscript and illustration review, graphics, layout, approval, revision, etc. before final publication. I am currently in the marketing phase of the project and that will take an additional 6-8 weeks before the social media marketing campaign launches.
Q: Any tips you can give to aspiring childhood nutrition authors?
A: I would encourage everyone to write a book if that is something they are considering. The expenses involved with my book include the initial Lulu publishing contract, illustrator fees and Lulu marketing contract. Additionally, I am buying my book in bulk and marketing directly to retailers as well as to my clients. Pricing varies from wholesale to direct sales. Royalties also vary by vendor so selling on lulu.com provides me the greatest royalty and on Amazon, the least profit. Hopefully, I can make up the difference in volume!
Read more about the book in this review in The Suburban Times.
About Debora
Debora Robinett, M.A., R.D., C.D., is the President of the Health Enhancement Corporation and has spent more than 30 years in her nutrition practice teaching useful strategies and practical skills for happy, healthy eating and living.
Her mantra is functional health. Habits integrate with your lifestyle for improved everything.
Feathers in her cap include television appearances on New Day Northwest, and interviews with The Wall Street Journal, Bicycling, Fitness and Therapy Times. She has taught college nutrition courses as well as served on the board of the Greater Seattle Dietetic Association.
A Pacific Northwest native, Debora is also an avid golfer, skier, traveler, involved community leader, aspiring beekeeper-owner of Eden’s Honey, and mother of three. Her daughter has gone on to work in wellness too, inspired by Debora’s way of teaching nutrition which is inspiring, accessible, full of color, and endlessly fascinating. Perhaps she was also inspired by Ned, who Debora dreamed up during her nutrition internship as a way to teach healthy eating habits to children.