Does writing a book with a single copy in its first edition make me an author? Um, I like to think so. But that could just be wishful thinking. Not counting all those books I wrote in second grade about a poor eagle without any "frends," this is the first kid book I've written. I spent time playing with different ideas to come up with something that would be fun for a toddler to hear, but also fun for me to read. After brainstorming a few story lines (and scrapping most of them), I settled on a book about bicycles. My little man and I have logged many hours on my bicycle, so they have a special meaning for me. The text is full of wordplay related to bicycles, so I think it's a story that he can grow with.
I finished the book a few weeks ago, just in time for Christmas. The most time-consuming part was the illustrations. I tried to just let the pictures flow out without letting my perfectionist side take over. I'm happy with the way it turned out, even with the many little "mistakes." Whenever I show it to someone, the first thing they want to do is read it out loud. And, I gotta say, it's pretty cool to listen to someone reading a book I wrote. The first day he had it, right after pulling it out of its muslin bag, he wanted me to read it a couple times in a row. I think it has a better chance of staying fresh and interesting than most of the other board books on the shelf, but then, I'm sorta partial.
Here are a few of my favorite pages from the book. And come on back in a couple days to see my tutorial on connecting two board books to make one with enough pages to tell your story without rushing it (or running into multiple volumes. Eek!).
I finished the book a few weeks ago, just in time for Christmas. The most time-consuming part was the illustrations. I tried to just let the pictures flow out without letting my perfectionist side take over. I'm happy with the way it turned out, even with the many little "mistakes." Whenever I show it to someone, the first thing they want to do is read it out loud. And, I gotta say, it's pretty cool to listen to someone reading a book I wrote. The first day he had it, right after pulling it out of its muslin bag, he wanted me to read it a couple times in a row. I think it has a better chance of staying fresh and interesting than most of the other board books on the shelf, but then, I'm sorta partial.
Here are a few of my favorite pages from the book. And come on back in a couple days to see my tutorial on connecting two board books to make one with enough pages to tell your story without rushing it (or running into multiple volumes. Eek!).
