Q&A with Author Caitlin Friedman

 Caitlin Friedman is a marketing professional, author and illustrator. She is the co-author with Kimberly Yorio of The Girl's Guide series. The four titles guiding a women to professional success include the bestseller The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business, which was inspired by her experience as the co-owner of YC Media, a lifestyle public relations agency. She has appeared on the Today show and has been featured in Time, Newsweek, Parade, and Shape. Her writing has appeared in The New York Post, Women's Day, the Huffington Post and Publishers Weekly. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and seven-year-old twins.

In October, she released a children's book, How to Feed a Hungry Giant. This picture book has interactive surprises like a pull-tab draining a pool full of chocolate milk, an open cabinet door revealing Oscar's dog, Cowgirl, and several colossal pop-ups fit for a giant! Read our review here.

Here is a Q&A with Friedman regarding How to Feed a Hungry Giant:

Q: What was the inspiration behind the story?

A: Well...I would have to say my kids. They were six when I wrote this story...the age of the priceless questions. Do you know what I’m talking about? Do your toes ever stop growing? Why do chickens have wings if they don’t fly?  I am sure that there was some Saturday morning that Declan (Oscar in the book) asked me how much food a giant would eat.

Q: How can parents use Hungry Giant to talk to their children about the importance of charity?

A: The story is about a little boy helping to feed a lonely, hungry giant he finds sitting in his backyard. Oscar has a big heart and so does his mother...and at no point are they scared by the giant’s size. I used this story and Oscar’s instinct to help to talk to my kids about the opportunities they have in their day to help those around them. I also talked to them about thinking a little bigger...yes, you can help the boy in your class pour his milk AND you can help a boy you have never met by donating a can of food. If you are lucky enough to have what you need then you have a responsibility to help those that don’t.

Q: In what ways can families incorporate philanthropy into their Thanksgiving traditions?

A: Take a moment to talk to your children about the issue of hunger, take a moment to teach your children to be grateful for the food in front of them and the family around them. If you are lucky enough to have what you need then you have a responsibility to help those that don’t. You could even have your children start their own food drive. Little kids LOVE looking through cabinets and finding things to donate. If they feel a part of it and like what they are doing is making a difference they will experience the joy of helping others.

Q: How can parents involve children while preparing these recipes?

A: None of the recipes are particularly difficult. If you have small children then pick the tasks that don’t require being near the stove or any sharp objects. Pouring flour, mixing ingredients, breaking eggs...are all great tasks for kids.

Q: Have you tested the recipes on your own children? Which dishes are their favorites?

A: I have to say that the giant chocolate chip cookie was a big hit. 1.) It’s tasty. 2.) It’s big.

Q: As a busy working parent, how do you maximize kitchen time with your children?

A: We try to find a task for the kids to take on during every meal. It could be something small like tossing the salad or something bigger, like rolling out dough. Believe me, our meals are nothing fancy during the week, but we do think it’s a nice thing to get the kids involved.

Caitlin Friedman

Girls Guide is always on Caitlin's mind. She's constantly coming up with new ways to make the Girls Guide more relevant and helpful to women who work. The evolution of the Girls Guide from one book to four, and now this web-site has been under her creative direction for the past three years. Not that she figures out complicated mathematical problems on her way to sleep. But rather, she can't seem to turn it off and will find herself lying there thinking about where they can take Girls Guide next, another children's book she should write or the dialog from some guilty pleasure movie.

In the daylight hours Caitlin and Kim run a food-focused PR business called YC Media and have written four books to help women achieve professional success:

The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business

The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss without Being a Bitch

The Girl's Guide to Kicking Your Career Into Gear

Happy at Work, Happy at Home (coming out September 2009).

Whenever possible, Caitlin and Kim speak to women about the importance of building self-confidence at work by being yourself and have appeared on national television, including the Today Show multiple times, and in magazines, including Time and Real Simple.

Caitlin is married to writer Andrew Friedman and the mother of twins. She loves chick-lit, most everything on television, great BBQ, and an uninterrupted bath that lasts at least an hour.