As soon as my oldest daughter became old enough to listen to chapter books, it became clear that old chapter books and new chapter books were written quite differently. Older ones – such as Winnie the Pooh, Paddington the Bear, and Frog & Toad – had delightfully incompetent characters whose personality flaws more or less drove the entire plot. Newer books, on the other hand, were more moralizing, and always had nice, pat endings. The older ones had humor for the grown-up readers. The newer ones? Not so much.
In my mind, the older books were better.
This is my attempt to create a new kids book in an older style. The characters I’ve taken from my father-in-law’s improvised stories, which he’s now told for two generations. However, I’ve tried to modify them to be so ineffectual that merely dropping them into any normal scene and pressing play is enough to let the story write itself. When given the choice, I’ve always opted for chaos, confusion, and petty status-jockeying. Is that enough to create a decent kids book?
Your kids – and you – will have to decide. Enjoy!
Details
- Publication Date
- Nov 26, 2021
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9781387839537
- Category
- Children's
- Copyright
- All Rights Reserved - Standard Copyright License
- Contributors
- By (author): Erik Kennedy
Specifications
- Pages
- 73
- Binding
- Perfect Bound
- Interior Color
- Black & White
- Dimensions
- Digest (5.5 x 8.5 in / 140 x 216 mm)