By Mike Greife,
March 15, 2017
WARRENSBURG, MO - SeedStar Books, a new children’s literature imprint from the University
of Central Missouri, will be celebrating the launch of two new books at 7 p.m. Saturday,
March 18, in Café Rouge at the Elliott Student Union on the UCM Campus.
SeedStar Books will release And We Shall Share the Sky by UCM students Allina Robie
and Brady Stoehr, along with Sophia and the Boy Who Fell by Traci Brimhall and Sarah
Nyguen. These beautifully illustrated and told stories explore common themes of friendship,
loss, and growth, as well as use colorful imagery and language to bring their world’s
to light for children all over
The event also is the launch of the SeedStar Books publishing imprint. A reflection
of UCM’s commitment to learning to a greater degree, SeedStar Books encourages students
to challenge themselves and share their talents through editing and publication.
SeedStar Books is an imprint of Pleiades Press, which has been publishing works of
literature for adults for nearly 20 years. After the enormous success of Pleiades
Press in the 2016 publication of its first children’s book, Gust, the UCM College
of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences decided to make a long-term commitment to
literature for children.
Gust, written and illustrated by Georgianna Smith and Louise Garbs, was inspired by
the choreography of UCM professors Julie Rae Mollenkamp and Ashley Miller in a the
award-winning children’s play produced by the UCM Department of Theatre and Dance.
This modern choreography explored the devastating tragedy of the Joplin tornado through
the application of theatre and dance.
The goal of SeedStars Books is to nurture young UCM readers, writers, and illustrators,
as well as provide them with authentic learning experiences in the publishing industry.
SeedStar will publish two titles per year, one by an emerging writer/illustrator team
and the other by previously established writers and illustrators who can support our
mission of nurturing young artists.
