IWSG : A Children's Book?
Posted on October 6, 2016
Over the summer, I participated in a small poetry compilation on Facebook. Initially, my poem was included, but the tone of my poem didn't quite mix in with the tone of the other submissions, so I withdrew it from the collection. As a result of working with those folks, I made a couple of new poetry buddies (Dawn Marie DiMartino & Steven Woods) that inspired me to write more children's poetry. They are both artists as well, and they both kept pushing me to try and draw images to accompany my pieces.

It just so happened my husband gave me a cool set of drawing pens for my birthday over the summer, which I wrote about in this blog post. So, I started drawing some line art for a few of my poems and several other random pieces that inspired more poetry writing. It's an addictive cycle, so much so that it's been hard to get back to my novels.

Then, one day, I showed one of my pieces to my daughter along with the poem. She said, "Mom, I can totally see this as it's own kid's book!"

Call it serendipity, perfect timing, cosmic alignment of the planets -- the universe was trying to tell me something. After several attempts at drawing monsters and beds and scenery that would match the kookiness of the poem, I am close to finishing it. Here is the almost-finalized cover, still working on colors and design.



It's a kids poem with silly drawings, along the lines of Shel Silverstein. I loved reading his poetry when I was a kid. Now, if anyone hasn't heard of Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, then you should run out and BUY a copy right now. It's not only for kids, grownups will enjoy it as well. Seriously. This should be on your bookshelf.

So, all this time I had always thought, "Nah, I can't create a kids poetry book, or a children's book for that matter. I can't draw images that kids will like, that will make sense, and a poem to go with it."

I guess you never know until you really give it a shot, and have the right people supporting you. If you find such people, hold on to them tightly. They. Are. Priceless.



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Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh
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7 comments:

  1. That's so neat how things came together for you like that. Love the cover. And it's so true — supporters like that are priceless. Good luck with your new book and new direction!

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  2. Awe shucks..I'm very glad that we've met and became friends. Thank you for the kind words...you are one heck of a woman, mother, poetess,and illustrator! Rock on!

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  3. Good for you! Might as well go for it.

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    Replies
    1. That's what I'm saying, Tamara! I'm taking the leap...

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  4. Taking a chance is hard, but can be worth it. Best of luck.

    ReplyDelete


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