Amanda Schaumburg's One Weird Wednesday Honored as Book Excellence Award Winner
Amanda Schaumburg M.S., CCC-SLP
One Weird Wednesday
One Weird Wednesday recognized for outstanding writing and design from thousands of books submitted into the Book Excellence Awards.
AMARILLO, TX, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Amanda Schaumburg M.S., CCC-SLP, is an award-winning children’s book author, nationally recognized speaker, pediatric speech-language pathologist, and founder of Panda Speech Educational Consultants and Panda Speech Publishing. Recognized for her impact in education, literacy, and child development, Amanda has dedicated her career to helping children build confidence, communication skills, and a love of learning through both clinical practice and storytelling. Drawing on extensive experience working with families in schools, early intervention programs, and healthcare settings, she creates imaginative children’s books and educational resources that inspire creativity, literacy, and meaningful connection. She is the author of 13 children’s titles, including the multi-award-winning One Weird Wednesday.
Amanda is also a highly sought-after speaker who travels nationwide training educators and professionals on special education services, advocacy, and workplace development. Her accomplishments have earned widespread recognition, including being named one of the Top 100 Speech-Language Pathologists Impacting the Field. Passionate about inclusion and community outreach, Amanda has also served as a Special Olympics coach, Kids Inclusion softball coach, and board member of Smiles for Speech, supporting children with disabilities and underserved families through access to critical therapy and intervention services.
This one-on-one interview shares Amanda Schaumburg’s background and experience writing One Weird Wednesday.
Tell us about One Weird Wednesday.
Willow woke up on Wednesday morning expecting an ordinary day, but everything quickly got WEIRD! Willow’s house turned wacky with unexpected surprises around every corner. Each room brings something stranger than the last, and Willow can’t figure out what’s going on.
Is she dreaming?
Has her world gone bonkers?
Join Willow on this hilarious, whimsical adventure as she tries to make sense of the wildest Wednesday ever!
Perfect for young readers who love funny and imaginative stories, One Weird Wednesday will leave you giggling and guessing until the very end.
What inspired you to write One Weird Wednesday?
One Weird Wednesday was inspired by the wonderfully imaginative and unpredictable way children experience the world, where the ordinary can suddenly become extraordinary. I wanted to create a whimsical, laugh-out-loud adventure filled with unexpected surprises that keeps readers guessing alongside Willow as each strange discovery becomes more outrageous than the last.
As both a mother and a school-based speech-language pathologist, I’m passionate about stories that do more than entertain. I love books that encourage children to think creatively, make predictions, and strengthen inferencing skills while still being completely immersed in fun and laughter. I was also drawn to the idea of blending humor with a subtle “was it all a dream?” mystery that keeps children engaged until the very end. Ultimately, my goal was to create a story children would want to read again and again, while sparking imagination, conversation, and curiosity.
How did you feel when you found out you received a Book Excellence Award?
What stood out to me most about the Book Excellence Awards was its strong focus on celebrating creativity, storytelling, and excellence across a wide variety of genres and authors. The program felt genuinely supportive of independent authors and creators, which was especially meaningful to me as a self-published children’s author.
When I found out that One Weird Wednesday had received a Book Excellence Award, I was incredibly excited and honored. It was such a rewarding feeling to see my whimsical, imagination-filled story recognized in this way, especially because the book was created to inspire laughter, creativity, and playful thinking in young readers.
The awards program has helped bring additional credibility and exposure to my work, allowing me to connect with more readers, educators, parents, and professionals who value high-quality children’s literature. Receiving recognition through the program has also opened new opportunities for marketing, speaking, and sharing my books with wider audiences.
How did your background and experience influence your writing?
My background as a pediatric speech-language pathologist has had a profound influence on my writing. Through years of working closely with children and families, I’ve seen firsthand how powerfully kids connect with stories that are playful, interactive, imaginative, and filled with humor. That experience inspired me to create books that not only entertain, but also naturally encourage important early literacy and language skills such as predicting, inferencing, vocabulary development, and conversation in a way that feels fun and engaging for children.
Being a mother has shaped my storytelling just as deeply. Reading with my own children reminded me how meaningful shared storytime can be and how much kids gravitate toward books that make them laugh, wonder, and participate in the story. Combining my professional expertise with my personal experiences as a parent naturally led me to writing children’s books that families can enjoy together again and again.
What is one message you would like readers to remember?
I hope readers come away from One Weird Wednesday remembering that imagination is something to embrace and celebrate. Children have an incredible ability to naturally see the world through a lens of curiosity, humor, and wonder, and I wanted the story to encourage readers to lean into curiosity, wonder, and silliness rather than feeling like everything always needs a logical explanation.
I also hope the book inspires children to think critically while they are having fun by making predictions, noticing clues, and asking themselves what might happen next. Above all, I want readers to laugh, stay fully engaged in Willow’s adventure, and close the book with their imaginations still running wild.
Purchasing the Book
One Weird Wednesday has received positive reviews from well-known literary organizations, authors, and reviewers around the world. Book Excellence writes, “Amanda Schaumburg delivers a delightfully interactive story bursting with playful surprises, laugh-out-loud moments, and whimsical twists that ignite curiosity and inspire young imaginations.”
The book is available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the Panda Speech Publishing Shop website. Readers are encouraged to purchase their copy today: https://shoppandaspeech.com/products/one-weird-wednesday-picture-story-book-limited-quantities
To connect with Amanda and learn more about her work, visit: https://shoppandaspeech.com and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
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