My Debut Children’s Book is Here!

(CHICAGO) – Ivan Levi’s debut children’s book, Ivan the Greatful, was introduced at the Publisher’s Row LitFest in Downtown Chicago on September 6th & 7th. With whimsical illustrations from Alona Miller, Ivan the Greatful highlights the combination of gratitude and self-belief that Levi has promoted in the jewelry world with multiple design lines, publications, and sales trainings for over a decade.

Much of Levi’s career as a jeweler has focused on gratitude and its transformative power in both business and life. His Forever Thank You line of pendants, and the accompanying book, Forever Thank You: The Unique Way to Thank Great People (2014), were designed to make it easier to say thank you to the people who guide us in life. In the decade since, he has expanded his range of jewelry to include the BeGreatful pendant, and now hosts Grateful to Great training seminars for jewelry stores across the country, providing insight on how to harness sales team’s greatness through gratitude.

For Levi, the publication of his first children’s book is a full-circle moment. “When I first started the Forever Thank You book and jewelry line, I dedicated them to my mother,” said Levi. “Growing up, I earned the playground nickname ‘Ivan the Terrible’ and, when I told her, all she had to say was, ‘There was also an Ivan the Great.’ That’s a moment I’m grateful for every day. It was the perfect way to deliver the message that we all have a greatness, but we have to recognize it in ourselves, and choose it with our actions.”

This idea of recognizing our unique talents, and relying on gratitude towards oneself and others, is at the heart of Levi’s jewelry lines, Forever Thank You, and especially the Grateful to Great sales training. “I’ve found that ‘you can be great at this, here’s how to choose that path’ is what people most need to hear when they’re struggling with confidence, team cohesion, and results in the jewelry business. Now Ivan the Greatful will help that message reach kids when they’re the same age I was when I first heard it, and I hope they’ll carry it with them in their lives and careers the way I have,” said Levi.