Norman North counselor signs contract to publish children's books

Apr. 18—Norman resident Yves Saintelo is a father, son, husband, counselor and basketball coach, and soon, he'll be adding "published children's book author" to his list of accomplishments.

With his wife Raenisha and their son Brayden and daughter Naomi looking on, Saintelo recently signed a contract for four children's books to be published by Roadrunner Press.

As he continues his role as coach of an AAU basketball team, Norman North counselor and grief counselor with Kaleidoscope Grief Support, he will now begin working on a memoir about growing up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and his life up to now.

Saintelo said grief is not only a process he helps youth work through in his capacity as a counselor, but something that he went through at age 14 when his father passed away. His own grief process is one of the reasons he started volunteering with Kaleidoscope.

"I needed the practicum hours to finish my master's program, and I also suffered grief from when I lost my dad," Saintelo said. "I was a sophomore in high school dealing with it on my own, and looking back, I don't think anyone adult or child should have to go through grief on their own."

Saintelo said navigating through his grief alone inspired him to write "The Elephant in the Room," a children's story about grief and one of the four books he'll have published.

"I can't imagine what it would be like for a young kid to go through grief on their own, so that's kind of how that book came about," Saintelo said. "Even though I am done with my practicum, I stay with Kaleidoscope because I felt like I couldn't turn around and leave after going through it myself."

"Prince with a Face Like Mine," a children's story that talks about achieving one's dreams, will also be published under his new deal. While Saintelo said getting a master's degree, a publishing deal and starting a family is a fulfillment of his own dreams, the book is inspired by his 7-year-old son, Brayden.

"I call him my mini me, and he was four at the time I wrote the [story] — you look at your own kids and want the best for them," Saintelo said. "He had a racist encounter at school and I've dealt with that before, but my son dealing with it for the first time kind of broke me."

Saintelo said he wanted his son to know that he is special, with the power to accomplish many things.

"It's also for other kids of color that can't see themselves as somebody else because maybe they don't have that adult in their life that's achieving something," Saintelo said. "I made it past my situation to where I should have ended up, and I want other kids of color to know that they can do it too."

Saintelo has recently started doing speaking engagements at schools around Norman to talk about following one's dreams, and said the publishing company will likely send him for similar talks at schools in the state.

"Everything is coming full circle and happening at the right time, so my family is excited, and my son read the manuscript a bunch of times and I've already had it illustrated," Saintelo said. "Now my daughter is wanting her own book, so I'll have to work on that."

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at Jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.