Downers Grove author releases ‘Show Me Love’ children’s book

“Show Me Love” is a newly published children’s book by Sophia Papageorge-Karvelas of Downers Grove.

It’s the first book for the licensed clinical professional counselor, and was inspired by the approaching birth of her first child, a son named Christos, who’s now 3 years old.

“I used to write growing up … and at college; [it was] always a part of my life,” she recalled. “I know how therapeutic writing is. … The book was created based on the intense love I felt for my unborn baby boy,” Papageorge-Karvelas said. “I was seven months pregnant … very happy and … feeling so much love.”

The new work’s theme is unconditional love, and the characters in the picture book are based on the author, her son, and husband Nonda Karvelas, who grew up in Downers Grove.

“It came out like a waterfall on paper,” she said of the writing process. “I just grabbed a pen and started writing away on my notepad. The words and the phrases and the rhymes were coming to me because of the intense love I felt for the baby.”

She said she put the early draft aside and focused on being present with Christos for his first year, before deciding she wanted to turn it into a book for her son. Her intentions became her January 2018 new year’s resolution.

She decided to pitch the manuscript to all the publishers in the area, and said she did extensive research into the companies to determine exactly what they look for in a book. That April, she received a contract from Austin Macauley Publishers.

“We’re religious – the fact that we received [the news] on Palm Sunday was huge, a godsend,” she said.

“I‘m really excited about it,” she said. “One of my dreams [was] to publish a book. He can grow up and say my mother wrote a book for me. [It will] be there forever.”

The publisher selected an illustrator for the book, and the artist collaborated with Papageorge-Karvelas on creating just what the author envisioned during the one-year process of completing the project. The book is for ages 0 to 8, and features large, colorful illustrations that are eye-catching for babies, she said, noting the art is based on a spring palette of pastels and primary colors.

The book highlights loving words that rhyme, and depicts how a child wants to be loved by a parent through unconditional love, she said. The story and illustrations express the parent-child relationship and all the ways a parent can show their love to a child.

“It encourages story time for parents … and introduces rhyming,” she said.

Before settling in Downers Grove, she lived in Oak Brook, Glendale Heights, Westchester and Berwyn.

In her profession, she works with all ages, noting that child and family studies is one area she specialized in.

The book is written “from the heart and from my knowledge of what a child and parent relationship should look like from a therapist’s perspective,” she said. “Children want to be loved, to see, hear and feel love – in the best of times and the worst of times.”

They will grow up to see the hard realities of the world, but if brought up with unconditional love, they are going to feel safe and are going to be happy, she said.

The book is available in both hardcover and paperback through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Goodreads and the publishing house. It’s also carried at Anderson’s Bookshop in Downers Grove (andersonsbookshop.com).

Papageorge-Karvelas is now also mother to an 8-month-old baby girl, adding, “Of course, I’m planning on writing her a book, as well.”