Mandy Gammenthaler is a former elementary school teacher and the proud mother to four bookworm kids. Alongside her husband, who is a professor of business and philanthropy, she works to pass on strong values to her children. As a family, they love learning about non-profits and the best ways to support them. Mandy wants to encourage a new generation of children to be generous with their time, talents, and treasures. She strives to instill a love and care for the community and helping others, always following her family motto: Be Kind. Do Good. Stay True.
Q: What inspired the idea behind your book?
A: Our family motto is “Be kind. Do good. Stay true.” A way we seek to apply our motto in our community is by teaching our kids about local nonprofits. Over the years, we’ve introduced our kids to a wide variety of needs in our community and people who are seeking to meet those needs. Our oldest daughter also LOVES dogs, as my book explains. A natural segue was to connect her and our family to our local animal shelter. At the time, she wasn’t old enough to volunteer on site, so we wanted to find ways to still support them. We helped her create enrichment dog treats to take up each week and then did Doggie Day Outs as a family. Now that she’s old enough to volunteer on site, we go weekly to walk dogs and help in other ways! My hope with this book is to encourage other kids and their families to find ways to get involved with their local animal shelters!
Q: As an author, what tips would you give anyone who wants to get into writing?
A: Pick something you’re interested in and start there! What do you already know a lot about and want to learn even more about? If it’s something that interests you, your passion and excitement will shine through the pages to the reader!
Q: What is your favorite book?
A: This is a hard one! It needs categories!
Favorite book as a kid: The Harry Potter series. These books grew with my generation as we aged, and that was so special!
Favorite adult book now: Remarkably Bright Creatures or The Giver of Stars
Favorite kids’ book now to read to our kids: Anything by Katherine Applegate. We LOVED her books Odder and Wishtree. It’s hard to pick a favorite of hers!
Favorite kids’ book to tell other people about: Let’s Go Play by Shelby McCarthy. This book introduces accessibility tools for kids with disabilities and is a great resource for adults to help kids understand and respect disabilities, ultimately leading to inclusion, kindness, and friendship. We’ve given away SO many copies of this book to friends and strangers in hopes of spreading its message.
Q: Was your main character modeled after anyone in your life?
A: Yes! Ella is modeled after our oldest daughter, who loves volunteering at our local animal shelter!
Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process?
A: The beginning, when you don’t quite know where it’s going, but you do that first “brain dump” of getting any and all ideas just written down on paper or typed out on the screen! Your brain feels lighter, so now there’s space to start creating a structure. It’s like when you’re doing a puzzle and you finally flip over all the pieces and spread them all out. You can see everything and you’re ready to start putting all the pieces together to make a beautiful, cohesive picture.
Q: Do you believe that being a “good writer” is a developed skill or a natural talent?
A: Being a “good writer” can be both a developed skill and a natural talent! Anyone can be a writer! As a former first-grade teacher, this was a sentiment I wanted all my students to know and come to believe. Yes, some people may be more predisposed to being writers, but that simply means they’re starting from a different place. But everyone can reach the finish line no matter where they start from. Some people/kids may just need more practice and time to figure out what kind of writer they are.
Q: Do you have a favorite book, poem, TV, or movie quote?
A: “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” —Mr. Rogers
Q: Would you write another book (or are you already writing another book)?
A: Yes, definitely! I’d love to create a series of books with the same idea of “You can be a . . .” I have an idea already of what a second book in the series could be and have started the beginning stages of brainstorming and dreaming. Stay tuned!
Q: Is there an author you look up to, and why?
A: Sharon McMahon. She wrote a book called The Small and the Mighty for adults, and just recently in May, she came out with a kids’ picture book version. She highlights and elevates the stories of “unsung” American heroes who have shaped and changed history. Stories like this need to be told, read, and celebrated, which hopefully will inspire us to make a difference where we are right now with what we have!
Q: If there were an apocalypse and you could only take five books into your doomsday bunker, what would they be?
A: Does a Kindle count as a book!? Just kidding! (But not really. That would solve a lot of problems!)
- Remarkably Bright Creatures
- The Giver of Stars
- Fourth Wing
- Project Hail Mary
- The Giver
Learn More about Mandy Gammenthaler and her new children's book, You Can Be a Shelter Helper, here. Coming soon August 11, 2026!