“Adventure to the Top of the Mountain” is a story about a brave girl named Zoey that had a dream to go to the very top of the mountain. The journey to get to the top of the mountain goes through the wilderness and requires a lot of effort, planning and bringing all necessary gear, food and clothes. Zoey and her little friend Tulip start their journey but, as adventures often go, a lot of unexpected things happen to them along the way. They face many challenges but also have many beautiful experiences in nature throughout their journey. Will they make it to the top? You will need to pack your own backpack and go on this adventure with them.
“Adventure to the Top of the Mountain” is for kids ages 0-8. This hardcover picture book is 8.5X11 inches, and has a removable dust cover. All of the beautiful illustrations in the book are done by hand in watercolor by Iryna Rogozhko. I wanted to have many full page illustrations in the book because I think it gives an opportunity for more immagination, making the story your own, and “reading between the lines”.
“Adventure to the Top of the Mountain” was inspired by our adventures with my daughter Zoey. Since she was 3 weeks old we took her car camping and hiking. When she was two months old we took her on her first backpacking trip. It was an amazing experience to have all these adventures with her. Seeing her observe little detales in nature such as flowers, leaves, insects etc. deeppened our experience with nature. Adventuring with a child is not easy and you have to be flexible and embrace all the unexpected things that might happen during the adventure. But even with all the ups and downs our daughter taught us to enjoy the journey along the way in every step. To see pictures from our adventures check out our Instagram account @moonmountainlife.
I hope that this book will inspire little kids along with their parents to get outside and go camping and hiking together. I strongly believe that going on these kind of adventures will have many benefits and possitive impact in our lives.
10% of all the profits from this Kickstarter campaign will be donateed to Big City Mountaneers. Big City Mountaineers is a non-profit organization that takes youth from under-resourced communities into the outdoors. Their programs focus on improving the self-esteem, sense of responsibility, group communication and decision-making skills. $100 gives a teen a full day of programming in the backcountry.
I grew up in Ukraine and my mom had to work long days to provide for our family and put bread on the table. I didn’t have a chance to get out and experience the outdoors until I was in my 20s. I believe it’s very important for kids and especially teens to get out into the wild where they can get away from all the “noise” of the world and figure out who they really are, learn other important skills, and develop qualities that are important in everyday life.
Here are a few things that I included as a part of the rewards in addition to the book itself.
Adventure Sticker
This sticker was designed and hand painted by me with watercolors. I hope that it will remind you to get outside to seek a new adventure.
Prints by Jacob Moon
You will get six beautiful square (12X12) prints by my husband Jacob Moon to arrange on your wall or to gift to someone special. Each print is from a different country: USA, New Zealand, Italy, Peru, Canada and Patagonia. Frames are not included.
Adventure Experience
Come on an ADVENTURE! Spend three days and two nights with us in southern Utah desert in April (specific dates and location TBD) where we will show you our favorite spots and share many stories from our adventures. You would need to bring with you essential camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, pad). Traveling costs are not included. Only 8 sports are available.
The book is 98% ready. There will be couple of design changes to make it even better, and after that it will be ready to be sent off for the final proofing. It wouldn’t be possible for me at this time to get “Adventure to the Top of the Mountain” into your hands without this Kickstarter campaign and your support. This book is, of course, very special for me and my daughter, but I think it can also be a very special book for you and your kids.
While the book is launching before the Holidays it will NOT be ready in time for Christmas unfortunately. I estimate that it will take two and a half months after the end of this Kickstarter campaign to get everything finalized, printed and shipped to your doorstep. I will be moving things along as fast as I can but I also want to get it right. So be patient, and the book will arrive just in time to start getting excited about all the summer adventures in the outdoors.