Interview with 2009 Honoree Jeanette Ramnarine

I had the honor of interviewing author Jeanette Ramnarine who has a fabulous children's picture book called “The 4 Little Pigs,” a financial values book for children (where was this when I was younger :o)

Jeanette and her husband own the company Four Piggies Publishing and they reside in Belleville, Ontario which is a city located halfway between Toronto and Ottawa (love both cities!) Jeanette and her husband have been married for 10 years and they have a 6 year old son named Caleb and a 5 year old daughter named Maya. Here are some of the questions I asked Jeanette about her book.

Tara: What was the inspiration for your product?

Jeanette: My book was inspired by my children Caleb and Maya. Teaching them financial responsibility from a young age was something that my husband and I had always planned to do. When we started giving my son an allowance we divided it between four piggy banks named Spending (pocket money), Saving (for a bigger purchase), Sharing (to be used to help society) and Schooling (savings for post-secondary education) we thought the information could be useful to other families and the result is “The 4 Little Pigs” (a financial values book for children).

Tara: Jeanette, what an incredible concept! I have one child who loves to save his money, but another one who spends it faster than he can hold onto it. What a great way to teach children financial discipline (especially with the way things are today!)

When did you first come up with your idea?

Jeanette: I came up with the idea of giving my children an allowance divided between four piggy banks before they were even born. I remember seeing an Oprah show talking about the Save, Spend, Share concept and being a teacher and knowing the high cost of post-secondary education added Schooling as a way to have children start saving and thinking about what they want to be when they grow up.

Tara: Did you have an aha moment; was it inspired by something you were doing or someplace you were visiting; a person in your life?

Jeanette: The idea to write the story as a children’s book came from a conversation with our financial planner. I told her that we had started giving Caleb an allowance and how we were dividing it between four piggy banks. I wanted to share the idea with other parents and was looking into having the four piggy banks created. Our financial planner suggested that I write the story as a children’s book and later add the four piggy banks for sale along with the book which is the path we decided to take.

Tara: What a great idea and unique in an impactful way.

Who would you say has been your greatest source of support; why?

Jeanette: My greatest source of support is my husband Richards. He has always given me the freedom to explore new ideas and encouraged my creativity even if he doesn’t always fully understand the “big picture” that I see. He has always believed in me and allowed me the opportunity to explore my dreams.

Tara: I have said this before, but I will say it again. How wonderful it is to have the support of our husbands.. it is truly a great time we are living in!

If you could offer one piece of advice to someone who is thinking of venturing into this line of work, what would it be?

Jeanette: My one piece of advice would be to follow the dreams of your childhood and go after what you believe in. That’s where you truly find success.

Tara: You bet!

What has it meant to you personally or to the success of your product to have been honored with a Mom’s Choice Award?

Jeanette: We were ecstatic when we found out that we won a Mom’s Choice Award. To be recognized as one of the best in family friendly products has opened doors to allow us to explore opportunities in expanding our company Four Piggies Publishing and the financial education of children through “the 4 piggies concept”.

Tara: Jeanette, this is wonderful. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your concept and the inspiration you offer to parents and their children. Such a neat idea!

What are your future plans; what’s next for you as an author?

Jeanette: I am currently working on the next book in “the four piggies” series which is due out in Spring 2010. The book will be geared towards children ages 6 – 10 and is a chapter book. I have been in contact with some philanthropic organizations in terms of the “sharing” piggy bank and looking at ideas where children can help in making the world a better place. I also would like to get more involved in talking about “the 4 piggies concept” with the media so that we can reach a wider audience across North America. I plan on giving more presentations of “The 4 Little Pigs” in its digital format on the big screen to children within the school system. I have been exploring the idea of having “The 4 Little Pigs” created into a children’s cartoon series to give children the opportunity to think about how they would use money to Spend, Save, Share, and put some away for School so they could follow their dreams when they get older. Now that we sell the four piggy banks named Spending, Saving, Sharing and Schooling on our website along with the book we would also like to look into marketing them as a package in retail stores.

Tara: Great ideas.. keep them coming. I have no doubt this will be a huge success. Your passion is undeniable!

Will you be attending Book Expo in NYC this year?

Jeanette: Yes, I am very excited about attending Book Expo in NYC this year. I am scheduled for an author signing and looking forward to my interview with MCA founder Tara Paterson. My husband and I will be volunteering some time to help out at the Mom’s Choice Awards booth and will be looking for opportunities to expand Four Piggies Publishing further into the North American market.

Oh hey, that's me! Yes I look forward to my interview with you as well. Great job and can't wait to see you later this week.

Stay tuned for our next interview with author Rosemary Serluca.