Childhood Leominster friends co-author childrens’ book
More projects planned for former classmates
LROmINStRR » Childhood friends Nick Bode and Danielle Saintard Valiente recently released a book they co-authored and self-published together, “Smunchkin Learns Bravery,” the tale of a timid puppy who embarks across the globe on the adventure of a lifetime.
And along the way, Smunchkin makes many new animal friends, discovers different cultures, and learns about world geography — all while conquering common childhood fears.
“Danielle started the Smunchkin series on her own as a life goal of publishing a children’s series,” Bode said. “After reading the first book, ‘Smunchkin Learns Loyalty,’ I came up with the idea of teaching lessons of bravery through my own travels.”
The two authors have known each other
since middle school. Because of their last names (Saintard Valiente’s maiden name is Boisse) they were seated next to each other at their eighth grade National Honor Society ceremony.
“I can still remember that day,” Saintard Valiente said. “We were sitting a few rows back in the high school auditorium in the row of B last names. I was very outgoing and loved making new friends, so poor Nick, who was sitting to my left, cute, quiet and innocent with his thick glasses, didn’t realize that this once forced friendship would lead him to two more decades of being good friends and writing a book together.”
They graduated in the Leominster High School Class of 2006 and are Sentinel & Enterprise paper route alumni.
“We both take pride in our first childhood job, which included walking neighborhoods with a heavy bag on one shoulder and waking up extra early on the weekends,” Bode said.
They both have a sense of adventure, which lends itself well to writing about Smunchkin’s own escapades. Since graduating from UMass Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in business in operations management, Bode has lived “more of a nomadic lifestyle,” taking him coast to coast from California to Washington, D.C. He currently resides in Vermont.
“Before the pandemic, I was working as a tour guide leading camping trips across the U.S.,” he said. “Since then, I have been learning how to build a log cabin in Vermont and I’m also a children’s book author now.”
Saintard Valiente earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Endicott College and is an interior designer as well as an author.
“The day I graduated college, I had my car packed with only summer clothes and I drove down to Wilmington, N.C., sight unseen, where I have now lived for almost 12 years,” she said.
The Smunchkin books are loosely based on a true story. When Saintard Valiente moved to North Carolina, she rescued a dog and named him Cooper.
“One day I accidentally mixed the words sweetie and munchkin and came up with the nickname Smunchkin, which stuck,” she said.
Saintard Valiente wrote “Smunchkin Learns Loyalty” while spending an afternoon with Cooper. She reached out to her friend Kevin Thomas Ward to illustrate it.
“Kevin can replicate any animal or human with a doodle, so I had the book written and the illustrations done, but I hadn’t done anything with it,” she said.
“A few months later, Cooper unexpectedly passed away and the next week I was getting my books printed. I feel like these stories are part of his legacy.”
Saintard Valiente said she has always loved writing and children.
“I felt that children needed to be taught about these topics that weren’t being taught in school such as loyalty, friendship and bravery,” she said. “I wanted kids to learn about what really matters and what isn’t talked about enough, so I started using my dog as a character to teach children the things that I felt were important.”
Bode said he enjoyed the writing process and being a part of sharing Smunchkin’s story.
“We wanted to teach kids what it means to be brave, and how stepping out of your comfort zone often makes you stronger in the end,” he said.
They also wrote “Smunchkin Teaches Friendship” together. The reaction from friends, family and their ever growing fan base to their endeavor has been nothing short of positive.
“Everyone has been extremely supportive, but now my mom is wondering when I will have kids to read it to,” Bode said.
Saintard Valiente said they are at an age where a lot of their friends have children or are starting families.
“It’s fun to be a part of that by sharing our stories through the books,” she said.
The authors said that the self-publishing process has come with its share of learning curves.
“We debated approaching a publisher, but both of us have a ‘ bet on yourselves’ mentality, and decided on finishing everything ourselves,” Bode said.
They started selling the book not too long ago and have been busy filling holiday orders.
Saintard Valiente said they “absolutely” plan on writing more books together.
“It’s fun when an idea hits you and then you get to write about it,” she said. “It is a lot more fun getting excited about an idea together and collaborating on the animal characters, from what they should look like to what they should sound like and how we can incorporate the message, but also humor. We laugh a lot, probably more than the kids do when reading it.”
Bode added that it feels great to be a published author.
“I may need to take a trip to reward myself.” The authors will be doing a free, live Christmas themed reading via Zoom on Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. EST. To join visit zoom.us/ j/ 92353329798? pwd= OFBTd0xQdVRkcnNLN UhkUUJZWGx6QT09, meeting ID 923 5332 9798, passcode iNmV1C.