We’ve had the pleasure of having Chelsea Tornetto chat with us at the Write2Ignite blog in the past. If you missed our interview, you can read it here. Today, Chelsea is celebrating the recent launch of her sweet board book, The Thankful Little Tractor: Finding God’s Blessings on the Farm (illustrated by Jeff Harter and published by Little Shepherd, 2026). With its emphasis on gratitude, this book makes an ideal choice to enjoy with children this harvest and Thanksgiving season. Congrats, Chelsea, on the release of The Thankful Little Tractor, and welcome back to Write2Ignite!
Interview
Sue: Please tell us how the story of The Thankful Little Tractor came to be.
Chelsea: The Thankful Little Tractor was my first work-for-hire project, meaning the publisher came up with the idea and reached out to me to write it for them. The publisher is Little Shepherd, which is an imprint of Scholastic, and they wanted to try to replicate the success of the Little Blue Truck books, but for a Christian audience. My agent had submitted one of my stories to them, and while that particular story wasn’t a fit, they loved my writing and thought I would be a great person to write this series. It’s a great example of how a rejection can turn into something positive!
Sue: How might parents and educators use this book with their children?
Chelsea: I think Little Tractor does a great job of modeling gratitude for little ones. I really drew on my childhood growing up in the rural midwest, and tried to show him celebrating the simple joys all around us that are often taken for granted. Parents can use the book to encourage kids to do the same!
Sue: Would you please share a favorite question from a reader (and your answer!)?
Chelsea: The most common question is always, “How did you find your illustrator?” Lucky for me, the publisher does that for me…and they always choose such talented artists! In this case, Jeff Harter did an AMAZING job! (He used to work for Disney, so no surprise!). I love how he was able to make a machine look so expressive and the animals so playful. This spread is my absolute favorite!
Sue: What can we look forward to seeing from you next?
Chelsea: I am blessed to have a LOT of new projects in the works, but I’ll just share two. The Thankful Little Tractor: Easter Blessings will release in early 2027. (It’s already available for preorder if you want to reserve your copy!), And my very first novelty board book Let’s BBQ will be released shortly after that. It’s super special to me because my husband and I co-wrote it together!
Sue: Please finish these thoughts:
My favorite season… SUMMER! You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can’t take the love of summer out of the teacher!
My favorite writer in the Bible… John. I love how he flexes about how he ran the fastest to the empty tomb.
I’m thankful…for our dog, Mocha, who keeps me company when I’m working from home.
I was hoping you’d ask… about my work at At Home Author. I love helping other authors with manuscript critiques and coaching. I help run our online course and our annual Picture Book Creator Conference every January! Come check us out!
It was fun chatting with you today, Chelsea. Thanks again for joining us!
Giveaway!
Readers, Chelsea is giving away a copy of The Thankful Little Tractor. For your chance to win, leave a comment below by November 18th.
Children’s author and educator Sue Irwin is thrilled about the recent release of her debut board book, Hey There, Blue Bird, Why Do You Chirp? (B&H Publishing, 2026) – and more kids’ books on the way. Her middle grade books for the general market have won several awards, and she’s a frequent contributor to Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines. Sue hosts W2I’s monthly Time2Write sessions, and she invites you to connect with her here.