Why I'm writing a Children's Book

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Both of our grandsons actively engage their imaginations in their play, whether one-on-one with me or when both visit us. What would happen if their imaginings came to life?

When one of them yells, "Look out grandpa, a train," a whistle would suddenly blow, smoke billowing through the sky. How would a mystified grandfather respond to such a mind-blowing turn of events? How would you?

Both our grandsons are whirlwinds of energy: running, jumping, shouting, each fighting to control the play. Whether frolicking in our pool in the summer or on the trampoline throughout the rest of the year, it is not enough for them to simply swim and splash or jump up and down like maniacs. After all, there's adventure to be had.

I'm no slouch in the imagination department. Theoretically, I can cleverly and rationally tame the deadliest imagining. Campbell shouts "A shark!" and points at the empty grass behind the trampoline.

I shout back - "Sharks need water! No water, no sharks."

But he quickly parries, shouting - "The trampoline is filling with water," and points again in terror at the grass.

It doesn't matter how clever I am. I throw a harpoon at the shark, he declares that I missed. The game cannot continue until the shark attacks and we swim for our lives. That is after all the point of the game. We have to face the crisis, whatever it is.

Although I have toyed for years with the idea of illustrating and writing a children's book, I never really had a story concept interesting enough to put in the energy and effort of such a project. Creating the artwork alone can consume hundreds and even thousands of hours.

When my wife suggested creating one based my interactions with my grandsons Campbell (age 7) and Hunter (age 6), the idea of creating a story using their imaginings began to take shape in my mind.

But in order to create the book, I had to determine how best to create the illustrations. I started drawing caricatures in the eighth grade and cartoons even earlier. The political cartoon below shows the style that I developed while I worked as a guest cartoonist at the Columbus Ledger Enquirer in the late 1980's.

But after preparing a few test drawings of our eldest grandson that my wife said looked nothing like him, I knew I needed to create a completely new style for the book.

This ultimately led to investing in a high-quality art program (Rebelle 5) and computer drawing tablet (Gaomon). After several months of learning how to best to use Rebelle 5 to achieve the vision that I had for the book, I started preparing illustrations using a new style that I describe as comic realism. The illustration below was taken from the throwaway page prior to the beginning of the story.

I loved the Dr. Suess story books as a child. His rhyme schemes create a lilting rhythm that is soothing for children and fun to read aloud. For the storytelling in my book, my goal is to create a similar rhythm while complementing the illustrations.

On the facing page, I begin to foreshadow what will happen in the story when their imaginations come to life.

The story builds slowly to the first crisis. But once it arrives, all heck breaks loose.

I play the action out in the next two panels.

Hunter's turn is next and soon I find myself in space with a helmet that does not fit.

Of course, much more awaits me since the boys have barely begun. The completed book will have thirty-four illustrations. With twenty-three completed only eleven remain. I have shared a few of them to give you a sense of what the finished book will look like and look forward to sharing the completed story on Vocal. I hope to finish it sometime in March.

In the meantime, those of you who are parents, cherish your children's early years. They pass all too quickly. I know the grandparents reading my essay will not need this encouragement. Grandchildren are the best thing about growing old!