About Cousins Coloring

First cousins, Margaret and Susanne, have been coloring, writing, and otherwise exercising their creative talents for most of their lives – often together. Cousins Coloring is a collaboration that started with working toward publishing “Eureka, Paprika!”

Meet the Cousins

Margaret Smith Marston

Margaret Smith Marston was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and raised in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Back then, children played without grownups around. “Let’s play like,” started dress up fun and outdoor adventures with first cousin, Susanne, other cousins, and friends. Acting out make-believe was the beginning of storytelling. While raising her three children, Margaret took up playing make-believe again!

Margaret began writing when poems and essays came to her mind, and her thoughts could not rest until she wrote them down. Joining writing groups, she started her writing practice which continues today. Through Javacia Harris Bowser’s See Jane Write Collective and coaching, Margaret became serious about getting her story about Paprika out into the world. A children’s story needs illustrations, of course, and Susanne agreed to do the drawing. They decided to color together as they had as children. Susanne said, “We’ll be Cousins Coloring.” Margaret is looking forward to bringing you the children’s stories that Cousins Coloring has underway.

Susanne St. Clair Hebden

Susanne St. Clair Hebden spent the early years of her childhood in south Alabama. Her father’s job assignments resulted in her moving with her family seven times during the years from 6th to 12th grade. Her parents put down roots again in Middle Tennessee. Susanne currently still resides in Murfreesboro, TN, where she raised her four children and enjoys being “Grandmama” to grandchildren of the two-legged and four-legged kind.

Susanne is a retired teacher, avid reader, and talented artist in multiple mediums. Her creativity has always been a way to feed her soul, and in retirement she has been able to devote much of her time to artistic endeavors, including illustrating the cover of a book of poetry and now an entire children’s book—with more on the horizon.

Collaborating with her first cousin, Margaret, to create Cousins Coloring has brought back many memories of childhood days spent playing and coloring with her siblings and cousins. Susanne is excited to continue bringing characters and stories to life through their collaborations.

Our Philosophy

“Parents are a child’s first and most important teachers.” Susanne remembers this wisdom from her time as a salesperson for World Book Encyclopedia.

“Children are much more intelligent and much less experienced than we realize. We should treat them as strangers we are showing through our land.” Margaret remembers this teaching from an education conference she attended during her college years.

Real wisdom stays with us, doesn’t it, and we pass it down to new generations for the benefit of children and their people.

Eureka, Paprika!

Set in the night kitchen, “Eureka, Paprika!” tells and shows the make-believe story of herbs, spices, and kitchen appliances coming alive to tell a very real story about relationships and choices. A contemporary fable, Paprika offers opportunities to talk with children about welcoming new friends, kindness, risks of going along with the crowd when the crowd is being hurtful, feelings about teasing, feeling sorry, apologizing when you’re wrong, forgiving others, and celebrating together when conflict is resolved. Paprika includes a parent and teacher guide to help readers talk with children about the story itself and the topics within the story.

Paprika sparks imagination and invites reflection and learning about universal standards. Written by a human, illustrated by a human, and colored by humans and using humor, some plays-on-words, rich yet accessible vocabulary, and beautiful, lively illustrations, Paprika offers both readers and listeners joyful experiences and opportunities to learn about navigating through life.

“Eureka, Paprika!” includes a parent-teacher guide with ideas for conversations with children.