Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                       
My First Book: 
 Series Includes FRUITS, SKY WONDERS, SHAPES and MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
 by Sophie Helenek
  

NEW BABY BOOK SERIES CONCEIVED FROM INFANTS

PERSPECTIVE SUPPORTS SENSES AND BONDING

          Imagine the wonder as a mother’s face becomes clear to a baby who has only heard her voice before? At birth, a newborn’s vision is between 20/200 and 20/400; by eight months their acuity improves to 20/30.  Therefore, infants reflexively prefer to look at high-contrast edges and patterns. So, imagine their ongoing propensity to learn as their senses develop each day.

           New to bookshelves, the My First Book series, by Sophie Helenek, includes four delightful board books, specially dedicated to infant’s developmental growth milestones.  Each of the four books, FRUITS, SKY WONDERS, SHAPES and MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS include high contrast, black and white and bold color illustrations which promote visual and speech stimulation. Each picture is accompanied by a simple word that your bundle of joy will love repeating and which will help their speech development. They are not just picture books or bedtime stories but rather activity books conceived to stimulate a baby’s senses.  

           “These books are not for parents, they are for their beautiful babies—to learn and to grow,” says Helenek.  “I wanted to provide parents a way to captivate, interact and bond with their baby that also aids in the child’s developmental growth.” 


           When award-winning adventurer, elite athlete and former NYC banker Sophie Helenek became a new mom in 2013 she also embarked on the new journey of writing a baby book series.   The My First Book series seems simple at first glance but each one in the series was developed based on the ultra-complex and rapid development of newborns, babies, and toddlers. For instance, reading aloud to a baby stimulates developing senses, and builds listening and memory skills that can help a baby grow up to be a reader. A few benefits of reading aloud to a child are that it:
  • Promotes listening skills
  • Increases the number of vocabulary words babies hear
  • Develops attention span and memory
  • Help babies learn to understand the meanings of words
  • Promotes bonding and calmness for both baby and parent
  • Instills the love of books and learning
          Confidence, doubt, resilience and faith were emotions Helenek faced when she prepared to write the My First Book series. These feelings were familiar to her, as she also felt these same emotions as she embarked on her climb of Mount Everest. Helenek, who has achieved significant successes on multiple levels in her life, adds, “I hope that my endeavors instill in women and men an awareness of the endless possibilities of realizing their dreams. My goal is to inspire children and adults to think beyond themselves and achieve excellence in whatever they choose to do.”

          In May 2008, she succeeded in scaling Mount Everest (29,000+ feet) and becoming only the fourth and youngest French woman to accomplish the feat. In 2010, she resigned from her high level banking position in New York City to pursue climbing full time. In addition to her athletic and professional accomplishments, she is a sought after motivational speaker and panelist around the world. Her great challenge now is to educate people in a counterintuitive way—to get back to basics, turn off the noise and adapt to a baby’s perspective. An energetic and engaging speaker, Helenek can also discuss the following:
  • That the book is a great English-as-a-second-language tool
  • Reading as a wonderful way for grandparents and dads to bond with baby
  • The successes gained from failure --- from writing to climbing to banking
  • Breaking barriers of comfort zone to embrace challenges
  • Seeing life from baby’s perspective and from top of world
          Born in Guyancourt, France, Sophie Helenek was an avid athlete and scholar.  She competed in tennis, judo and fencing while studying for business degrees at the university level.  She received a master’s degree in Business from La Sorbonne Business School and a Master’s degree in Risk at L’Ecole Superieure de Management en Alternance. Although Helenek relocated to New York City in 2004 to work as a portfolio manager for Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank she continued her passion for sports.  While in the U.S. she excelled at rugby.  She has been featured by Rugby magazine and her Village Lions team finished third (2006) and sixth (2008) in the Division II American National Rugby Championships. However, she still had new heights to scale.  Since 2008, Helenek has climbed Mount Everest, as well as four other Himalayan mountain peaks higher than 8000m, earned honorable mentions in American Alpine Journal and has become one of the best female mountaineers in the world.  A sought after speaker, her motto is “Everything is Possible.” Helenek currently resides in Connecticut with her daughter and husband. 

The My First Book series is available at Amazon.com, as well as other fine booksellers. 

REVIEW COPIES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST  

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