Children's book cover titled 'Cartwheeling Through Life: A Story of Living with the Joy of Jesus' by Madi Ann Bakker, with colorful illustrations of a girl doing cartwheels, confetti, a unicorn, cupcake, ice cream, a pink balloon, sunglasses, a rainbow, a bee, a butterfly, and fireworks.

Cartwheel Anyway: A Story of Living with the Joy of Jesus

Written by: Madi Ann Bakker, https://www.cartwheelanyway.com

Published by: Self-published/ Keebler House Press

Book Design: Monica Thomas/TLC Book Design

Release date: February 12, 2026

Madi wanted bright color and she loves pink! She was looking for pages full of details, especially my ability to add patterns to the illustrations. I suggested the main characters look similar to her four children, for fun, since there are no named characters in the book. She also came up with the idea to do a hidden cross on each page for added interest. We worked together to come up with the most imaginative scenes to entertain the reader as well as pictures that have personal meanings to her family. The result was a book that many young children love to read again and again!

Various children-- cartwheeling, at the beach, in the sand, and in the water, with umbrellas, a rainbow, clouds, a camel, and a person in the background. Little boy dropped his ice cream off of his cone! Stormy weather pictured at the bottom.

Colorful cartoon illustration of a jungle scene with animals, including giraffes, hippos, elephants, lions, monkeys, and an inset picture of sheep, on a sunny day with Jesus holding a sheep .

I actually recreated her daughter’s artwork for this slumber party scene!…

The image shows a colorful split scene. On the left side, children are playing and relaxing in a bedroom with pink walls, making a mess with toys, makeup, and slippers, and a girl with a dog. On the right side, a girl lies on the grass in a garden with bright flowers, butterflies, and a rainbow in the sky.

This page was full of pattern (depicting the four seasons)! I also like to add fun unexpected elements like the cartwheeling frog and the cute oversized sunglasses on the little girl in the float… it makes me giggle!

Collage of four colorful illustrations of children engaging in various outdoor activities. Top left shows a girl doing a handstand near a windmill in a field of pink tulips; top right features kids building snowmen and a sleigh; bottom left depicts children swimming and relaxing by a pool with a pink flamingo; bottom right shows cheerleaders practicing on a field with trees and autumn leaves.

I designed and illustrated the front and back covers, with TLC designing the title texts. I also provided illustrations for the extra pages like the copyright page, title page, author bio and the extra pages. I created coloring pages from the illustrations for Madi to use when she goes to book signings and author visits. And extra illustration files to use in her own marketing!

If you are interested in working with me, just click the link below and let’s talk about your project!

Cartwheel Anyway can be found online wherever books are sold, in hardcover, paperback and eBook versions!

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“The most precious children’s book. My girls 2, 8, and 11… all were captivated by the message and illustration.”

“This book was absolutely delightful to read! It is perfect for every nine-year-old girl who we all know moves to the world doing cartwheels! The message of the book is so positive and the illustrations were magnificent! I absolutely would recommend this book and buy it for a gift! It was just absolutely lovely!”