Maine mom honors daughter with new children’s book series

BREWER, Maine (WABI) - A local mom is keeping her daughter’s memory alive by writing about what she loved doing more than anything - adventuring.

We tagged along for author Kelley Spencer’s launch party and children’s book reading of Adventuring Savy Learns to Be Kind to Herself.

“It’s hard to explain losing a child,” Spencer said. “I was worried, I guess, about the world forgetting her, and I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to keep introducing her to children forever. And, here we are!”

Kelley Spencer’s daughter, Savannah, died in a hiking accident at Zion National Park in 2019. Today, Kelley is taking Savannah on new journeys through her “Adventuring Savy” series of books.

“She was an old soul, and she was a kind soul,” Spencer said. “She was just good to people, no matter what. I wanted to be able to keep her memory alive and introduce her to people and talk about her without making people sad.”

There’s plenty in common between Savannah and Savy the Fox.

“Her spirit animal, she always felt, was a fox,” Spencer said. “Fox are smart and savvy. Her name was Savannah. That’s where Adventuring Savy came from.”

Savy learns plenty of life lessons from her mom, and through her travels.

“I want to create tools for parents to teach their kids how to be kind in different ways,” Spencer said. “This book is about being kind to yourself, taking good care of yourself and making sure that you are not going to put yourself on a shelf down the road.”

There were plenty of smiles at the Brewer Children’s Learning Center for Spencer’s reading.

“The kids are literally just so kind when they’re so young!” Spencer said. “I’ve been writing in all the books, ‘Don’t forget to always be planning your next big adventure.’”

The first Adventuring Savy book is available on Amazon.

Future installments focus on being kind to others and to the earth.

You can find coloring pages and more information here.

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