Characters. Crisis. Consequences.
People ask me why I wrote my two kids’ books. If I had to boil my inspiration down to its purest essence, it would be those three elements.
When our son was very young, he was mortally terrified of storms. At the first peal of thunder he would be in a screaming panic, convinced that a tornado would swoop out of the sky and carry him away to die in terror. No amount of rational explanation or reasoning could resolve it.
I decided to write “Christopher’s Tornado” as a way to soften the impact of storms: instead of a tornado that was coming after him, I presented a small whirlwind that was manageable. Mischievous but manageable. It was more than that, however–I created a crisis for Christopher, the main character. Little kids are faced with choices that have consequences, good, or bad. Don’t touch that stove, it’s hot. Make sure you brush your teeth well. You’re not a superhero and no, you can’t fly… so don’t try it by jumping off the roof.
The storyline forces Christopher to make a decision… and then face the consequences of that decision. Ever since I first read him the story, all those decades ago, he’s never again been terrified of storms.
The same principle goes for my other kids’ book. Our daughter was very young and going through the “puppy dog” phase. She pretended she was a dog. She had over a hundred stuffed doggies and bears, each with a name: and she could tell you all the relationships within her collection. She loved all things doggy… the one thing she couldn’t have at the time was a real dog.
Of course, since I had written a story for him, I had to write one for her. “A Puppy For Athena” follows a young girl who has always wanted a real dog of her own, but was never allowed one. When the opportunity arose for her to adopt a stray, she took great pains to be the best pet parent she could be. Just like Christopher, however, I threw the story into crisis with a dilemma she was forced to face, and a decision with which she would have to live.
Characters. Crisis. Consequences.
There’s a moral lesson in both books: the lesson that doing the right thing, even if it’s not the fun or most comfortable thing, is always the best decision. Doing so can have far-reaching consequences that exceed anything one could imagine.
More than ever, young kids these days need a book with relatable characters; a problem that forces a difficult decision; and a moral lesson in the importance of making the right decision. It’s also why I chose to publish both stories: I have never expected them to sell millions of copies, earn awards or make it to bestseller lists. My heart is that if it can help inspire ONE child to make sound moral decisions in the face of intense pressure to decide unwisely, then it was worth the trouble for me.
If there’s a young boy or girl in your life who could use that positive reinforcement, by reading how those decisions impacted someone else, consider giving them a copy. It may be the very thing that “clicks” in their mind and puts them on a positive trajectory for life. They’re available in Kindle and Print-on-demand at Amazon and most major retailers.
