St. Louis Native, Thomas Dear, Publishes His First Children's Book 'Teddy Makes Cents'
Thomas Dear III, known as Teddy, publishes his first children’s book 'Teddy Makes Cents'. The book teaches children about the importance of financial literacy, something Dear wished he was taught when he was younger.
Publishing this book isn’t the first time Teddy has discussed financial literacy with the youth. As stated in his biography on Amazon, during his profession in banking, he volunteered to discuss the importance of financial literacy with the youth. The University City, Missouri native says his life experiences are what inspired the story 'Teddy Makes Cents'.
April 4th was Dear’s book release date, and his book signing was on April 16th.
Teddy has received tremendous support from his St. Louis community in the launching of his book. He has made many appearances at elementary schools and radio shows discussing not only his newly published book, but about his story, passion, and purpose.
Below is a timeline of some of Teddy's big appearances as a new author of his book 'Teddy Makes Cents'.
April 1st —Pattonville Parkwood Elementary:
From Thomas Dear's Instagram:
Dear teaches the children a chant “No Dream is ever too small. DREAM BIG!”
Elaborating on the chant, Dear says in an Instagram caption “This chant is so important to me because even in my adult life I have to constantly remind myself, “I can do anything I put my mind to.” Advice I received from my grandfathers’ at a very young age. As children, we believe this wholeheartedly but as we get older, the world has us believe otherwise. So, when I spoke to the students the other day about my children’s book titled, ‘Teddy Makes Cents’, I wanted to inspire them to always DREAM BIG because the world needs them to.”
April 16th — Book signing at EyeSeeMe Bookstore and interview with D2THAC, the biggest radio station in St. Louis
April 30th — Dear’s first Money Smart Month at the St. Louis Public Library
May 6th — Invited on the Michael Colyar Morning Show
Michael Colyar is known as ‘The Comic King’ from the South-Side of Chicago. He is a comedian, actor, producer, director, motivational speaker, and author.
June 18th — A second book signing at the Grass Rootz Book Store in Phoenix, AZ
Teddy states after making the announcement of the second book signing, “Also, what a better way to celebrate Juneteenth than at a Black Owned Bookstore that uses proceeds from their sales to fund activism, education, and economic development efforts for their community.”
With so many great appearances, community support, and positive influence from Teddy, he is off to a great start in his career as an author! He has already made an impact in his community and with the youth, and this is just the beginning for him. He already has another big event lined up this upcoming Saturday at Al Nicolai Park in Dellwood, MO. See flyer below for more details.
July 9th — Storytime in the Park: The Finale presented by Refuge and Restoration Non-Profit Organization and St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature
Thomas Dear’s book ‘Teddy Makes Cents’ is available for purchase on Amazon. You can purchase the kindle copy or the paperback copy.
