Clothilde Ewing
Storyteller, Mother, Advocate, Optimist
Stella and the Mystery of the Missing Tooth
Stella, her bestie Roger, and her second-best friend Owen are excited to go see Sue the T-rex at the museum, but when Owen has to leave early because he lost a tooth, Stella becomes determined to find it for him. How did he manage to lose a tooth? Was it stolen? Could the tooth fairy be responsible? Could Owen be…a dinosaur boy?
Nothing will keep Stella from her investigation, even if she and Roger fear their own teeth could be stolen too. But the more Stella investigates, the more she realizes that perhaps this case is not as complicated as she thought.
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Available now!
Stella Keeps the Sun Up
In this incandescently fun, hijinks-filled picture book, a young girl schemes to keep the sun up in the sky so she never has to go to bed.
If Stella had her way, she would stop sleeping on her sixth birthday. Because sleep is boring. And there are so many better things you could be doing. And Stella is tired of being tired. So she comes up with a plan. People only have to go to bed when it gets dark, and it only gets dark because the sun goes down. If she can keep the sun in the sky, she and her best friend, Roger, can stay up for a hundred years!
They enact their magnificent, wonderful, genius plan, offering the sun a cup of coffee, shining a light at it so it will shine back, and jumping on a trampoline to reach the sun and push it higher. But before long, Stella begins to wonder…are there downsides to keeping the sun up forever?
“The first time I read Clothilde Ewing’s Stella Keeps the Sun Up, I belly-laughed—big and round. Stella is so adorable—quirky and clever, spirited, determined and funny. A character. The kind of little girl who’s long lived in my mind and heart not just as an editor searching for this kind of story, but also as the mother of two Black girls, who, loving characters like Eloise, Fancy Nancy and Olivia, craved to see a similar kind of energy from a book character that looked like them. Stella is that girl. Stella Keeps the Sun Up is that book.”
—DENENE MILLNER, publisher, editorial director, Denene Millner Books
Author Visits
Reading to and engaging with young readers and future writers and illustrators is my favorite part of being an author. If you are interested in a school, library or bookstore visit, please email me at stellaandroger@gmail.com.
Testimonials:
SO much more than a book reading! Clothilde delivered unique presentations for two different age groups (grades K-2 and grades 3 & 4) at our elementary school and successfully engaged each audience of 200-300 students with a slideshow and interactive questions. She used her personal story and books to inspire the students (and staff!) and made them laugh, think, and dream. Clothilde set the standard high for author visits and we highly recommend her! - PTA President at Roxbury Elementary School
I've had the privilege of working with Clo during two school events, one at a Chicago Public School and one at my independent bookstore. Both events were absolutely wonderful, informative, and FUN! Clo connects with and engages young readers on important topics like race and inclusion in ways that are direct, impactful, and age appropriate. I've learned new info during all of her literacy events myself. Clo's wonderful, and you'll be happy you connected with her! - Jordan Felkey, Three Avenues Bookshop
In the News
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When This Mom Couldn't Find Enough Children's Books Celebrating Black Joy, She Wrote Her Own
When Clothilde Ewing was pregnant with her first baby eight years ago, like most moms-to-be, she had a checklist to complete: “Get the crib, get the car seat, decorate the nursery, get books.”
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Voice of Change
Clothilde Ewing on the importance of representation for the development of young children
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CLOTHILDE EWING'S NEWEST CHILDREN’S BOOK TAKES US ON A TOOTHLESS ADVENTURE
After the success of her first children’s book, Stella Keeps the Sun Up, Clothilde Ewing has released a second book featuring the ever-adventurous Stella, who is on the search for a missing tooth. And once again, Ewing wraps in an educational moment, this time about the prehistoric age, as this new book centers around a dinosaur.
About Clothilde Ewing
Clothilde Ewing has spent her career communicating through journalism as an assignment editor and producer at CBS News, in entertainment as a producer at The Oprah Winfrey Show, through politics as a member of the press team for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, and with nonprofits, where she currently serves as Vice President of Strategic Communications at The Chicago Community Trust. She was inspired to start writing after reading a New York Times opinion piece by her now-editor, Denene Millner, titled: “Black Kids Don’t Want to Read About Harriet Tubman All the Time.” Her goal is for people to see more children of color in books that are not defined primarily by race or struggle, but belonging and joy. A graduate of Syracuse University’s SI Newhouse School of Communications, she currently lives in Chicago with her husband and two young children.
Follow Clothilde on Instagram.
Q&A With Stella
What’s your favorite color?
Blue. It used to be purple and before that it was orange.
What’s your favorite food?
Chocolate. I would eat it all day everyday if I could. I also like cheese pizza, but I take off the cheese.
What do you want to do when you grow up?
Work at a chocolate factory as the taste tester - then I could get paid for eating chocolate. Best job ever!
What’s your superhero name?
Captain Unicorn.
Which superhero power would you choose?
I want to be the fastest person in the universe. I even want to be faster than a cheetah.
If you had a pet fish, what would you name it?
Serena the Greatest of All Time.
How does it feel to see yourself in a book?
Kind of weird. Kind of cool. I’m practicing how to do my signature.
Questions for Stella?
Click here to submit yours, and she may decide to answer.
Now that I’ve answered your questions. I have a few...
If people take off their glasses when they go to sleep how can they see in their dreams?
Who invented the word “no?”
Ice cream is made from milk so why can’t I use that in my cereal instead?
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Headshot #1
Photo Credit: Martine Severin
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Headshot #2
Photo Credit: Martine Severin
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Book Cover
Stella Keeps the Sun Up Book Cover
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Book Interior
Stella Keeps the Sun Up Book Page