By Swallehe Msuya
Freelance Contributing Writer

M. Ann Pritchard combines many attributes. She is author, actress, model, singer, stage make up artist and a powerhouse of authoring children’s books with a positive message.

She is to-date credited for authoring masterpieces of children’s books with illustrations. Her books contain musical songs and carry such fabulous titles as Phil the Pill, Friends Making Positive Choices and Val’s World featuring “The Family Unity Roundtable”.

“My mission is to help encourage children to learn how to read, stay in school to get their education and make positive choices in life. More importantly, I want them to learn positive communication skills,” she says authoritatively.

Speaking to this reporter at the Center for Independent Artists in South Minneapolis recently where she was seen taking part in an Artist/Author display, she sounded upbeat when it was suggested to her that the books that our children read lay a foundation for what kind of individuals they will be when they grow up.

She adds optimistically: “If we learn to make positive choices at an early age, we can learn to get through more difficult challenges now and later in life.”

The charming, vivacious and eloquent Ann was born in East Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountains. She is the daughter of a Baptist Minister who had 16 children. He traveled across the Southern States with his daughter Ann exposing her to singing on Radio and TV shows from early childhood.

She is from a family of artists. “My little sister Ida wrote a very interesting and inspirational song entitled Hope in God and is an accomplished music director. My baby sister Denise is a professional baker who helped make the Pope’s birthday cake and several other cake projects that has won national recognition.”

Other family members include, “my brother Mathew who is a contractor building houses. My sister Pearl is a Music/Voice Teacher and Music Director. My sister Dorcas plays the Bassoon in an orchestra. My brothers Lee, Joel and David play the guitar….”

Her philosophy about life is explicit:  “We all have ups and downs in life but we should not dwell on the negative things. We should try to turn those negative things into a positive. As the conventional wisdom decrees, when one door closes in your life, it is just a new time for a new door to open for you.”

As a spiritual person, Ann does not like our children being taught the theory of evolution. She thinks it is absurd for our kids to hear the weak theory that suggests that we human beings evolved from fish or monkeys.

On everyday street language, she is “old school” and detests the use of “four letter words, and other forms of abusive language that can be very offensive to others.” As a parent, she advocates teaching our children common decency.

Commenting on teenage pregnancies in our communities which are on the rise, she says our children who become victims of this problem must continue to receive our love and be given a second chance to complete their education and build a career.

“Teenagers should feel free and comfortable to talk to their parents about anything and parents should listen to them.”

She notes unhappily that “many children that I have spoken to across the country complain that they cannot talk to their parents because they feel that they are not listened to.”

Ann’s general advice to teenagers: “I would like them to have a positive attitude, focus more on what they really want to be when they grow up. I would like them not to be afraid to ask for help when they need it.”

Then she ventured into treacherous territory: “The youth should know that it is not cool to wear their pants half way down their knees. I think that it is ok to wear their Hip Hop gear if they want but the pants don’t need to be worn down from their waist. It is not only un-cool but can be unsafe at times.”

On a friendlier concluding note, she asserts: “I would like to see all families be families again like back in the day as they say when we all sat at the dinner table and communicated with each other in a positive manner. That is one reason why I wrote my second children’s book, Val’s World featuring the Family Unity Roundtable.”

“Our youth have become rebellious and engage in criminal acts as they feel lonely, rejected and un-loved. We have to show love to them and invite them to our friendly roundtable dinner chats.”

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