by Johanna Peyton

In my family, I’ve been dubbed the Director of Champagne because I love finding big and small moments to celebrate.

When my son with a speech-delay said his name for the first time, we made a special trip for ice cream cones. When my daughter completed her dyslexia reading intervention, we surprised her with confetti cannons and sparklers. When it’s been a long week but it’s only Tuesday, we blast music and have a dance party. And if it’s your birthday, you better believe there are celebration candles in whatever you’re eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert!

Celebrations make life more fun, but they also encourage gratitude, spark appreciation of others, and recognize growth. But maybe most importantly, they give us all a chance to slow down and take notice of the moment.

It will probably come as no surprise that my debut nonfiction picture book is about a celebration. ALL BRAINS WELCOME: Embracing ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and More is a celebratory look at neurodivergence through a classroom brain party. It is illustrated by Olga Popova and comes out in October with Sourcebooks eXplore. You can help me start the celebration now by preordering a copy wherever books are sold!

The spark for this book came from my own family’s brain parties. This was our way of celebrating our children’s brains as they each received different neurodivergent diagnoses. For us, this looked like going out to my kids’ favorite restaurants, ordering dessert first, and telling the servers we were celebrating our brains! We got some funny looks, but it gave us a dedicated time and space to talk about feelings and next steps, all while surrounding our kids in positivity and support.

Taking inspiration from my family’s celebrations, in ALL BRAINS WELCOME we meet a class full of children who show readers how their brains work in different ways: creative and colorful, careful and focused, or fast and full of ideas. Together, they’re throwing a class brain party and celebrating what makes each of them unique. It’s joyful, informative, and with a clear message that no matter what kind of brain you have, there is a place for you at this party, because the world needs every kind of thinker.

I’m excited to be able to share an early glimpse of a few of the internal spreads, which are so new they are still in process!

What about you? What things do you or your kids celebrate? Or what unique celebrations did your family have growing up? I encourage you to think outside of holiday festivities to celebrations that have become family lore. The odder, the better.

Maybe it’s growth milestones, like giving away a pacifier to the paci-fairy? Or when a child is finally able to land a full cartwheel or flip? (Actually, this just reminded me of the water watch-party my older daughter hosted with neighbors to show off the younger two kids mastering their swim team flip turns. Ridiculous–and so fun! Hmmm… maybe there is a story there?)

  • Or a celebration of imagination, like finding a fairy house or a witch’s lair?
  • Or maybe it’s celebrating a failure because that means you or a child tried and grew?
  • Or maybe it’s something you wish was celebrated but was overlooked? How did that make you feel?

Now, how could you expand that celebratory moment to make sure it appeals to children of today?

Although not technically a brainstorming exercise, I would be a lousy Director of Champagne if I didn’t encourage everyone to celebrate a writing win today…

You have made it all the way to DAY 29 of this challenge–Congratulations!! You now have 29 sparkly new story ideas!

Cue cheers and confetti! Yay you!

Johanna Peyton is a proudly neurodivergent author who writes with playfulness and poignancy. She holds a BBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management and an MPH in Health Promotion and Behavioral Science. When she isn’t writing, Johanna works as a literacy and dyslexia advocate with local nonprofits. She lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, their three kids, and their dog, cat, horse, and bees! To learn more about Johanna and her work, visit JohannaPeyton.com or connect with her on Instagram @JohannaPeytonAuthor or Bluesky @johannapeyton.bsky.social.