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Introduction/Proposal

      Children are the future of our society; it is only fair that we give them everything they need to be successful. I am a firm believer that it all starts with books, which allow their minds to run free and imagine that anything is possible. With that being said, my goal is to write a children’s book about magic. 

This book would take the readers on a journey about self-discovery, all while believing in something bigger than oneself. The themes and ideals that this book would convey is trust, trusting in one another, seeing that magic may be closer than you think, and understanding the power of believing in yourself (self-love). I think these are very important themes that children need to be taught early on. Children are so impressionable; it only takes one bully, one mean or jealous peer to ruin a child’s experience or self-confidence and to alter their path. Books can provide a sense of joy and imagination for children of all ages.

      This book engages me because I feel that it is very relatable on many levels. Children are put in a difficult place: feeling so much pressure to do well and be so advanced in so many areas that they can never truly be carefree, happy children. It is important to write this book to encourage children to keep searching for magic. Additionally, it will show children the value in believing in oneself. Sometimes, children learn best by positive reinforcement. Hopefully, this book will show the children a story about loving themselves and not needing the validation from their peers. 

      This piece may not align with the norms of many parents. By encouraging children to be children, and allowing them to dream and imagine in real life, instead of through technology- hopefully it will teach them something about themselves. I think it is necessary to teach children that it is okay for others to disagree with you, but that does not mean you stop disagreeing with yourself.

 

Genre Research

      There are many different types of children’s literature. For my specific project, I will be completing a children’s picture book, specifically the genre of modern fantasy. The modern fantasy genre includes elements that must suspend the reader’s disbelief. Children have amazing imaginations, and therefore, this genre goes over very well with kids. Modern fantasy is based all upon fantastical elements that are not true to our world. 

      Although I am not the best artist, there are many forms that the images of the story can take on: hand drawings, photos, or even web images. My story will have a variety of images including hand-drawn electronic images and photos from the internet. 

      There are many children’s books that can be compared to the one I plan to write. Some popular modern fantasy children’s books include Kate Dicamillio’s Because of Winn-Dixie, and the Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan, and Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg. Specifically, my book will be aimed at elementary-level children, so it will be shorter and more simple than those two examples; but, the main thematic elements will still be very similar.

In general, children’s books are around thirty-two pages roughly, although that number is definitely not set in stone. Authors usually write in a way that has a constraint, but are able to work outside of this as well. 

      Many authors recommend that the author of the children’s book plans out the entire plot before delving into the writing portion. Therefore, the sketch will come in handy before I tackle the sample. Additionally, in children’s books (due to the page amount), the story should be started off quickly. There should not be a long introduction to the characters and plot as there is in a novel. This helps to get the book flowing easier and the audience more engaged. Therefore, the conflict of the story should be introduced much quicker than in novels or chapter books. Lastly, it is very important to develop the main character of the story. In my case, there will be two main characters: Gabbi and Olivia. But, I must think about who I want them to be- their background, personalities, appearances- before I start writing about them. In general, when writing a children’s book, it is very important to plan before the actual writing process begins.

 

References

Children's Genres, www.breitlinks.com/my_libmedia/children's_genres.htm. 

Hingston, Michael, and Alison Hughes. “Picture Books 101 (from Alison Hughes).” Medium, Medium, 25 Sept.      2017, medium.com/@michaelhingston/picture-books-101-from-alison-hughes-9b9eec235b19#:~:text=Length%3A%20Picture%20books%20are%20almost,industry%20standard%20of%2032%20pages. 

“How to Write a Children's Book in 12 Steps (From an Editor).” Bookfox, 1 Mar. 2021, thejohnfox.com/2019/02/how-to-write-a-childrens-book/. 

 

Sketch

      This book would focus on two main characters: Gabbi and Olivia who venture off to recess one day. They find two mysterious wands lying on the ground in front of Mr. Finch’s room. Being curious ten-year olds, they each pick one up and give it a wave as they learned from the movies and books. They open their eyes and see an entire new world. They look around and see things unimaginable: flying horses, endless containers of cotton candy, fields of sunflowers, and so much more. 

      They go through this journey and explore this new world they had been taken to- forgetting all about the old world they were a part of. It feels as though days go by, when suddenly- they hear a whoosh and open their eyes to be situated in the front of Mr. Finch’s room. The recess bell rings, and all the kids run back to the school building. Shocked, the girls look at each other and run back. When the girls try to explain what they saw, no one believes them. Determined to show their class what happened, the next day they go back to the spot and don’t see any sign of wands or any trace of magic. The other kids make fun of them, call them names, and pick on them for their “lies”. The girls were so saddened by this, but realize they only need to believe in themselves and one another to know what happened. As soon as they accept this, they are transported back and a magical wizard greets them. She explains that once they believed in themselves and in this magic, their dreams would come true. 

      From that day on, they were gifted the wands they found, and used them to do good for others. They inspired other children to believe in themselves and do good for others too. And one by one, they created a happier place. A school where children were all happy for one another. Where they could each bring their own uniqueness and not feel judged for any of it. A place where they helped each other succeed instead of competing against one another: and it all stemmed from that day where they found those two wands. It all started because two young girls had the courage to dream big and imagine. Because these two dreamers become doers. They took their dreams and turned it into reality by believing in themselves and the magic they saw. They used one type of magic and converted it into another type all around them.

      Throughout my sample, I will be using paragraphs to separate what would be equivalent to one page in my book. I will write a couple of the pages that I would include starting with the beginning of the story, and working to the end. The pictures at the end are sample pictures that I would include for my book. The pictures are meant to look like children drew them, while still representing important details of the story using images such as the sparkly wands and the words of the other children. The pictures drawn do not necessarily represent each page (in no specific order). However, they are meant to serve as pieces to represent parts of the whole that will end up in my book.

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Sample

 

      Gabbi stared off into the distance outside the large window of Mr. Finch’s classroom. All of the sudden, she saw something start to glow. Sparkles danced across the blacktop where all of the kids would line up to play basketball and tag for recess in about five minutes. Gabbi rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She shot a glance at her best friend,                Olivia, who was in the middle of going over answers to a question from their math homework for the class. Olivia was so smart and Gabbi was so proud of her for it. They each had their own things that set them apart from one another and made them unique. All of the sudden, the recess bell rang, and the whole class bolted outside. Mr. Finch reminded the children that they would be having their cursive lesson once they got back.

      Immediately Gabbi turned to Olivia and said “I saw something! Something BIG!”

      “What was it?” Olivia questioned.

      “I don’t know but it was…” All of the sudden Olivia ran and screamed “Gabbi come look I found two magical wands”. The girls screamed. Gabbi dashed her wand and pretended to be a champion of the wizarding world. Olivia stared at it and questioned the nature of it. Immediately, everything turned upside down. The girls were spinning and spinning and screaming. 

      “Gabbi, where are you?”

      “Olivia, Olivia, I am right here!”

      Olivia looked up and saw the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed.

      The girls held hands and took a deep breath in. The air smelled of rose perfume and sweet lemons. They looked out into a world they could only have dreamed of. Rows and rows of tall sunflowers smiled at them. Flying horses that seemed to be a relative of the unicorn greeted them and neighed. There were trails of fluffy cotton candy: blue for Gabbi and pink for Olivia. The wands were in their hands, and the girls waved them only to be greeted by exactly what they wished for at that moment: puppies and kittens ran to their feet and brought joy to the girls’ eyes. This was what they imagined  heaven to be- it was magical.

      They frolicked in the fields of sunflowers, the puppies running after them. They looked up at the clouds and imagined what each one was. They saw visions of happiness: children around the world during different parts of their day. A young girl ran to the door to greet her mother after she arrived home from her time in the service. Twin boys hugged each other after they won the basketball game for their team. A mother kissed her baby’s head and thought that her baby was the most perfect being. It felt as if hours and hours passed. The girls were truly mystified.

All of the sudden, a bell rang, and they were transported back to their old world as they had known. Their magic was gone. They looked at each other with shock and ran inside to tell their classmates what they had seen.

      “There were puppies and cotton candy and sunflowers and magic. REAL magical wands that granted us wishes and happiness” the girls chimed in one after another. 

      Then Cassy stood up and said “you two are liars”.

      “What does that word mean?” Asked Thomas.

      Cassy filled him in, “they are not being honest with us. They pretended to see that world. It doesn’t exist.”

      “Yeah, you two are liars!” The whole class chimed in.

      “I promise we saw it! We are not lying!” Gabbi bellowed with tears in her eyes, standing next to Olivia, also with tears streaming down her cheeks.

      Mr. Finch walked in and the students all took their seats as if nothing had happened.

 

To be continued…. 

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Reflection:

 

      I had a lot of fun writing this and coming up with this storyline. Gabbi and Olivia were inspired after my best friend and I. My best friend, Cayley, is adventurous and brave; I am much more inquisitive and scientific. Yet, our personalities together match so well and our friendship is balanced by our uniqueness. Coming up with the storyline was challenging because there were so many different routes I could have taken with this children’s book. Magic is such a prevalent theme within the modern fantasy genre; however, it leaves a lot of room for the imagination of the writer.

      In general, writing children’s books are so much more challenging than I thought at first. I think it is so difficult to keep sentences simplistic without overcomplicating them with arduous words or clauses. My writing style is very unique, as I use many different sentence structures that can complicate the wording. Sometimes, it makes my writing sound advanced. However, when writing children’s books the goal is not to sound advanced- it is to tell a story that they can understand. I also realized how important it is to use direct quotations from characters because the children reading the story can better understand what is going on if it is coming from the characters themselves. 

      My whole attempt with this story is to make children feel happy within themselves and not from the validation of others. While I hadn’t arrived at the main point of that in the sample, the first issue was presented when the disbelief from their peers made them upset. This is a natural response, especially with children. Knowing our peers believe us, or think we are “right” is a priority to many: adults, teens, and children. It is important that we teach children that seeking validation and praise from others is not where happiness truly lies. This is something that I am still working to fix for myself. It is very hard when others disagree with you, or make you feel small for thinking a certain way. If we can instill the lesson within children that beauty and happiness comes from within, then the world will be a much better place. There would be more happiness to go around if individuals are not always seeking approval from others.

      All in all, I enjoyed writing this children’s book sample, and I hope that I will be able to try this again soon. I think it is important to think about the perspectives of children sometimes. As young adults, we forget the simple lessons we learned from a young age. By writing this sample, I was brought back to being a kid again. I really enjoyed this process, and I hope that others can get a sense of their own childhood joy by reading this.