Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jamye Curry Savage.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have always had the dream to write a children’s book – dating back to when I was a young college student in undergrad. Although I’ve always wanted to write a book, I didn’t exactly know what I wanted the topic, message, or concept of the book to be. Furthermore, I had the slightest idea of how to get started, nor knew the many details behind writing a book. And, needless to say, I had no idea how to get a book published.
By day, I am a Mathematics and Statistics Professor at Georgia Gwinnett College, which is where most of my focus lies. However, due to the pandemic, I was fortunate to find time to focus on my dream of writing a children’s book. During that time, I had two young daughters who both share a great love of reading books (I now have three daughters), and I began thinking I should write a book for them. Naturally, due to my professional background, I thought it would be great to write a book with a math concept. I then thought it would be great to write about the fascinating number pi, as it is rare to find children’s books centered around math. I thought why not write a book related to math to engage with children, to encourage math-related discussions, and to also show that learning math can be fun. Therefore, the idea came to mind to write a book that would introduce children to the unique number pi, filled with fun facts about the number, such as how it is measured and calculated, and that there is even a special day each year in which the number is celebrated.
Once I had the book concept, I immediately began writing the book. A few months went by, and after I completed the writing stage, I began to research the details of how to get a book published. Fast forward to early 2022, I had my first children’s book published, called “It’s Pi(e) Day”. The book is titled as such, as the characters in the book are on a journey believing they will spend the special day eating all kinds of pie. However, they will soon learn the day is actually about the number pi and not about the delicious dessert. And this is where/how my journey of becoming a children’s book author began.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth process. Anytime you start something new or something you have never done before, there will always be something new to learn, which will bring new challenges. Starting this journey, I first had to research publishing companies – learn about self-publishing versus traditional publishing to gain an understanding of the publishing world of books. And given that I have a children’s book, it was imperative to be mindful about the illustrations that would accompany the book to help bring the book to life which would essentially help tell the story. In addition to that, I wanted to be sure the math concept within the book was written so that a broad range of children (children of various ages) would be able to grasp the significance of the number pi and understand why and how such a number exists. But I also wanted to write the book in such a way that children would still have joy and fun when reading the book without thinking they were actually learning math at the same time. This indeed was a challenge in itself, but a welcomed challenge.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Georgia Gwinnett College, one of the most diverse colleges in the southern region. I specialize in Statistics and enjoy teaching various statistics courses with the goal of demystifying statistical and numerical concepts and making them understandable to my students. I now have the opportunity to merge my background in mathematics and statistics with my dream of writing a children’s book. I am now most proud to be known as a children’s book author as not only do I get the opportunity to connect with children through my book, but I also can connect with children with mathematics and share with them at an early age that math can be fun.
Literacy is an essential tool in one’s life and can have a great impact on their success. Having access to literacy changes one’s life through learning, providing exposure and having the opportunity to explore the world around them. It is vital for children to have access to literacy at an early age to develop literacy skills which lead to communicating and interacting with those around us. And not only will reading books at an early age promote literacy skills, it can also help with developing mathematical skills such as counting and learning patterns. This is why I am so delighted to have written a children’s book to help contribute to this as reading books with math embedded into them helps to promote lifelong learning. Therefore, writing a children’s book on a mathematical theme and concept is what sets my book apart from others. I find joy in visiting with and sharing my book with children to introduce them to the number pi, and I am pleased to provide hands-on activities for children to learn about pi on a broader spectrum to learn even more about pi and its uniqueness.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite memories from reading books at an early age was making a book float about the books I read. This activity was so much fun as I was able to bring the book alive – as if the story came right off the pages into a cool 3D physical storybook. It also helped with developing a deeper understanding of the books I read, and it provided a great escape alongside reading books. I would encourage teachers (and parents) to provide activities and outlets such as this to promote creativity and to motivate their students and children to be creative in this way, whether it’s through reading a book or simply using their imaginations; and as we know, the sky is always the limit for creativity.
Pricing:
- It’s Pi(e) Day (Hardcover): $18.95
- It’s Pi(e) Day (Kindle): $9.95
- It’s Pi(e) Day (eBook): $8.49
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jamyecurrysavage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamyecurrysavage/
