Sharon Suess | 
“Clean your room.” Three little words often followed by procrastination, resistance, frustration, or despair. For an artist like Sharon Suess there was also magnificent splendor, awe, humor and the spark of inspiration for writing, illustrating and self-publishing The Mean Green Cleaning Machine. Published in December of 2014, this children’s book offers a timely solution to this modern day predicament.
When visiting a good friend and neighbor about fifteen years ago she wandered into the daughter’s bedroom where she was astonished and rendered speechless, though not laughless, by this gigantic, most disparate and exquisite mess of clothes, toys, games, dolls, sports equipment, dishes, stuff and more stuff. She had raised two boys and was no stranger to messy rooms, but this room reigned supreme, unchallenged for years. Then she had granddaughters and saw both the child’s, as well as the parent’s, predicament, a task that needed doing but one that seemed overwhelming and discouraging. Two years ago an idea that had been simmering for years began to take shape; one that touches on a much broader message.
A little girl has the job of cleaning her room, which seems like an impossible task. Daydreaming leads to a wish for a machine to do the work for her. But with a little support and encouragement from her Mom, she gets started and keeps at it until the room is sparkling, clean and bright. She discovers that if she just keeps going, no matter how hard it seems, she can be successful. Her mother is proud of her and, even more importantly, she is proud of herself.
Recognizing the importance of encouragement and support, this 28-page book uses charming rhymes and amusing hidden images to engage both child and parent. Looking closely, a little mouse can be found in each of the beautiful illustrations and everything that Doreen, the book’s adorable character, is talking about in the pile can be found in the illustration.
The book’s key message, “I’m proud of myself, I actually did it. It took quite a while, but I never quit it” applies to everyone, whether that is a child facing a messy room, an artist giving form to decades old inspiration or anyone facing an insurmountable undertaking. The Mean Green Cleaning Machine is available at CreateSpace.com/5111627 or at Amazon.com.
AUTHOR BIO it’s Suess not Seuss
Sharon Suess (pronounced Cease) is an artist, designer and illustrator with a rhyming style of storytelling reminiscent of the famous Dr. by the similar and often confused last name. Sharon has designed and illustrated many books for others as well as herself, though this is her first children’s book, which she produced it from start to finish. She loves living in Halcottsville, in the Catskill Mountains of NY with her husband of 45 years, George. She can be reached at suess.sharon [at] yahoo [dot] com.
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