On Children's Books...

“O Little Elliott”
I am currently writing a book for my son. It is called “O Little Elliott” because the two are anagrams. If we had only used one ‘L’ in Elliott, the anagram would have been ‘TOILET’ (Thanks, Uncle Ron). Here’s an excerpt:

On the day he was born
The doctors and nurses all said,
“Oh, He’s so very little…
From his toes to his head.”

Mom and dad also said,
“He’s really quite small…
He may be the smallest,
The smallest of ALL!”

Even grandmas and grandpas
Agreed he was little.
He was small in his arms and his legs,
And all through his middle!

[That’s it so far. I just see it being a cute picture book that he can enjoy later on. In the story, he will of course go on to accomplish great and wonderful goals]

“Maggie and the Magpie”
I actually started writing this story years ago when I was living in Virginia City. It’s a story about a little girl with a small physical flaw [a white streak in her black hair] that her siblings and schoolmates ridicule her for. It upsets her so much she decides to run away. On her journey, she befriends a Magpie [chosen because a Magpie’s markings are similar to Maggie’s flaw. The bird eventually teaches her that she is unique and special-- the beauty of kids lit—something that could never actually take place becomes perfectly plausible] and eventually returns home and lives happily ever after.

“Not All Bad Things Happen In Basements”
This is a sleepover story. Two boys spend the night in the basement (on their insistence) and are scared by the noises a house makes (confabulating ghosts and goblins and scary creatures when they hear the noises). Scared, they wake up the dad of the house, who ends up spending the night with them in the basement and is able to assuage their fears by explaining all of the noises. All is happy in the morning.