Everest Mom Wins Awards For Baby Book Series

by Sarah Cody

In March, I featured Sophie Helenek in my Mommy Minute segment on Fox CT.  This Haddam mother, the youngest French woman to climb Mount Everest, had recently embarked on a new adventure as the author of four board books, with high-contrast patterns, dedicated to a baby's growth milestones.  ....We love to profile unique, local moms with innovative ideas.

http://www.ctnow.com/lifestyle/parenting/mommy-minute/ctn-everest-mom-wins-awards-for-baby-book-series-20140708,0,1678465.column

Smile, Bond, Read, Grow

Parents play a key role in their child development by supporting their healthy physical, emotional and developmental growth. First time mom, my motherhood instincts were to love, bond, nurture my child as well as to feed her active brain. I played and read a lot to her and she loved it since day one. It is never too early to read to your baby, despite their seemingly passive demeanor, their brain at work is absorbing information, generating new connections among brain cells to reach by age of two around 1,000 trillion or roughly the number of stars in the universe. Reading to baby appears to be an excellent nourishment to complete their brain development, a “brain food” as mentioned in Baby Read-Aloud Basics book.

http://todaysparentusa.com/sites/?cat=3&paged=5

This Mom Says Parenthood Is A Lot Like Climbing A Mountain
By Sarah Cody

... "When she was really, really young, I showed her the M.C. Escher book," says Helenek, explaining that her daughter was more drawn to the Dutch artist's graphic images than the illustrations in a typical baby book. "I tried to understand what was appealing." After research, she learned that babies are near-sighted at birth and respond to bold pictures. So, she created a series of four board books, with high-contrast patterns, dedicated to growth milestones: Fruits, Sky Wonders, Shapes and Musical Instruments. Helenek considers reading to be an activity, not just a bedtime tradition: "It is really about putting books amongst all of the toys and then just being playful." ...

http://articles.courant.com/2014-03-10/features/hc-mommy-minute-0310-20140310_1_mount-everest-new-everest-gabrielle

By Whitney Dreier and Stephen Kasica

You can call Sophie Helenek many things: a recovering investment banker, the youngest French woman to climb Mount Everest, and—as of 2013—a mother. But having her daughter wasn't going to terminate Helenek's six-year love affair with climbing. We caught up with Helenek via email to talk about staying active during pregnancy, exploring with babies, and her book series written for infants.

  -  How did you make the decision to start a family?
  -  How did you stay active and fit during your pregnancy?
  -  Has it been difficult to get back into shape since having the baby?
  -  Describe the process of writing your books.
  -  How do you incorporate books into parenting?
  -  As an adult, what books do you enjoy?
  -  Do you encourage your daughter to lead an active, adventurous life?

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/the-current/the-stream/Mountaineer-Sophie-Helenek.html

Haddam resident who hiked Mount Everest now pursues writing

 By Michael T. Lyle Jr., The Middletown Press

Haddam resident and author Sophie Helenek recently released four early-child development books under the “My First Book” series. The books help parents interact with their newborn babies through visual and speech stimulation.

http://www.middletownpress.com/general-news/20140214/haddam-resident-who-hiked-mount-everest-now-pursues-writing