School counsellor, mom to 3, and author of her first children’s book, Your Heart’s Voice, is teaching our kids about intuition.
Born and raised in New York, Renée Greene Murphy, MS ED, is a mom, a wife, a daughter, and a sister. She is also a school counsellor and the author of her first children’s book, Your Heart’s Voice. Renée worked as a School Counsellor for ten years before having three beautiful children – ages 3, 6, and 9 – all of whom she is thrilled to be at home raising. And during this time at home with her children is also where books have become an integral part of their days, Renee explains.
INTERVIEW WITH RENEE GREENE MURPHY, MS ED
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Creating a children’s book about intuition is such a unique endeavour, and a valuable one, but not one that many of us can do well. Can you please explain how you approached this ambitious and profound subject. Please share what your goal was and how you feel about the outcome.
RENEE: While working as a certified NYS School Counsellor for 10 yrs, I relied on children’s books to help guide my students in session – whether it was conflict resolution, peer relationships, academic performance or self esteem. This is when I noticed there were no children’s books written on intuition for young children. In 2018 after I had my second child and became a full time stay-at-home Mom, I decided to begin writing my own children’s book about intuition. This is when the concept was originally born and after much research, I developed the main character and the story line. As life took over, I tucked my manuscript away for awhile.
Then in 2022, we had a tragedy in my family. My little brother, Robert, died in a car accident in my town, at the age of 33. Our lives were completely shattered, and I naturally gravitated toward writing as a form of therapy. That’s when I remembered my manuscript tucked in my closet and my intuition told me to take it out and continue making it into a book. So I did, and this is when I also added my little brother to the story, and dedicated it to him.
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Taking a tragedy like this and finding meaning in it and sharing that meaning with kids is a beautiful thing. Can you tell us how adding your little brother to the story changed it, and even gave it more meaning.
RENEE: My story has many spiritual and subliminal messages intertwined into it as a way for me to honour my brother.
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: I definitely picked up on that. Can you tell us how you teach intuition to children as it seems very complex, but you’ve done this so beautifully and simplified it for kids in this book, which I’m pretty excited to share in this story.
RENEE: I wanted to create a visual story for children to better comprehend this subject which is why I developed Your Heart’s Voice – so children could understand that their intuition is a voice in their hearts that you can hear when your body and mind are calm. Once you listen to it, you realize (like Jade) when you make the right choices.
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: I love the cause and effect aspect to this book as well which is very powerful to teach kids through the actions of the story characters and in this case, Jade’s decision to be honest even when it’s hard. Can you comment on your this as a school counsellor.
RENEE: Yes, when we make the right choices, it boosts our self esteem and your independent thoughts which are both very important for anybody’s well being.
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Absolutely and Amazing! Can you tell us who this book is for?
RENEE: The concept of intuition is written for any aged child to understand throughout this story. I also love that my book can help people of any age and any demographic, understand that intuition is a gift we are all born with. No matter where you are in the world – a 6 yr old girl in India, a 16 boy in Louisiana, or even a Grandma or a father – when you read my book, you learn about and are reminded of the important gift of intuition. We all have it to guide us throughout life, and to help make good choices so we can become more fulfilled.
KiDS NEWS & REViEWS: Your main story character Jade, has a very strong awareness of right and wrong for a young girl. Do you find that her ability to be so clear about this has made a strong impression on young children who read this story or for those who have this story read to them? Can you share any stories about how this has impacted on children and as a school counsellor, how you have chosen to create this dynamic in your first book. Are you planning to have your story characters model this sort of behaviour in future books as well?
RENEE: Yes, when children are intuitively aware, they make better choices. Whether it’s choosing to study for a test or cleaning their room, and it’s simply because their intuition tells them it’s the right thing to do. This boosts self esteem, like when they start seeing afterwards that they got a good grade, or that their newly organized and clean space resulted in a clear mind as well. Even sharing the last piece of dessert with a sibling can help a child see the new connection they so easily made, just by making such a simple decision which resulted in a much greater outcome. So the take-away here is that when we listen to our intuition it helps create positive environments in our home lives, our social lives, and also at school.
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: I would imagine that being a school counsellor has provided you with so much reference as a children’s author to vicariously guide our children to making healthy choices and also, to having context to help them navigate challenges that come up in their young lives.
RENEE: Yes, my 3 Masters in Education have definitely prepared me for this new endeavour of being a published children’s book author. I have 2 Masters in Counselling and 1 in School Leadership, and that education and experience has helped give me these resources and knowledge – not only on this topic of intuition, but also on how to teach children to use it. I also saw first-hand, the void in schools by not having books on intuition to help teach children such a complex topic. It’s a vital tool that can be developed at a young age in school, so kids can feel compelled to be helpful to their parents in the home, and this powerful practice only strengthens throughout life with consistency and trust.
I also saw first-hand, the void in schools by not having books on intuition to help teach children such a complex topic.
Renee Greene Murphy, MS ED
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: What a beautiful idea to name your main story character Jade in dedication to your brother? What sort of an impact did your brother have on your life?
RENEE: Jade means the gem of the heart. The jewel of Heaven. This was another spiritual subliminal message that I integrated into my book after the tragic passing of my little brother, Robert. Jade is also 11 years old which is an angel number. When you see 11, or 111 or 1111, it means your guardian angels are with you. Many believe your intuition is also your conscience; your God given gift. Jade is also a combination of all 3 of my children. She has long brown hair like my oldest, Avery, green-blue eyes like my middle child, Eden, and she wears green throughout the story, like my youngest, Sage, who is my son. On the cover, there is a cardinal which is spirit, a turtle which means ‘keep moving forward in life no matter how hard it gets’, a dragon fly which symbolizes living life to the fullest (which was my little brother’s motto), along with seagulls you would typically see at the beach. I also included the beach which is my place of solace as I always immediately feel calm there. I frequent the beach as often as I can to connect with Robert spiritually, and it’s also where I completed this book!
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Would you like to talk specifically about how you incorporated Robert into this story?
RENEE: I added Robert as a main character. He’s Jade’s uncle in the story, and the person who ties it all together for her. She learns 3 life lessons throughout the story including drawing an angel (in pen) – Robert always said you’re a true artist if you can draw in pen, which is what he could do. Jade listened to her heart’s voice that her uncle would love this picture drawn by her. So by the end of the story, she gives it to him, and says, “My heart’s voice told me you would love for me to draw you a picture of an angel, and I listened to it.” Robert laughs and says, “Your heart’s voice? You mean your intuition?” Through these lessons, we soon learn that this is what guides us all throughout life to help make good choices.
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Are you currently working on any other books?
RENEE: Yes, my life usually works in 3’s, so there will most likely be 2 more on the way! Once I feel this one has been shared with the world, I will move on to the second book, which will probably be a sequel.
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Do you have any favourite children’s authors and/or books and what are they and why are they your favs?
RENEE: I love inspirational books, and books with a strong message and with humour as well. I Am Love by Susan Verde is a great title, and we also like Ross Burach as well as Mo Willems.
BOOK REVIEW BY LORRIE HOLMES
What a beautiful story. With so much intention, Renee masterfully weaves the value of each of us listening to our intuition – our Heart’s Voice. Through the choices that her main character, Jade makes, Renee has very successfully provided us with visual cause & effect scenarios that so thoughtfully illustrate the benefits to listening to this special voice that we have each been given. The face that celebrated the love her her late brother, Robert, through making him a support character in this book is very special, and another profound example that can be shared with the readers about the gift of intuition that we have all been given to be able to communicate with the deeper parts of us all.
Thank you again Renee for sharing this beautiful story with us and for inspiring us with the way you incorporated your little brother, Robert, into these meaningful life lessons.
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