My Nine-Year Old Daughter, the Author

That’s right. Talk about living with the competition!

Guardian Angel Publishing, a company specializing in children’s picture ebooks and paperbacks, has started an imprint of books written and illustrated by children under twelve years of age. These books will be given the same amount of attention as those written by their adult counterparts, distributed to schools and libraries by Follett, Inc. (the largest distributor of children’s ebooks to schools and libraries), and sold through all the major online retailers as well as on order at any brick and mortar bookstore. The low expense of electronic and print-on-demand publishing has made this innovation possible.

Of course my daughter is thrilled… how can she not be? Already all her classmates have asked for her autograph and her school librarian bought a copy of her book. There’s no question a thing like this can do wonders for a child’s confidence and self esteem, not to mention the way it also encourages and nurtures a child’s artistic talents. She’s already planning a sequel and I can’t blame her. Take a look at her book. 

How did I find out about this publisher? How did my daughter come to write and illustrate a book?

Actually, I didn’t even know there were publishers who were doing this, and I stumbled upon this company while searching a publisher for myself. As to how did my daughter write and illustrate the book, it happened last summer… yes, on those long, hot, and often boring summer days when you have nothing to do and wish school would start soon. We turned the kitchen into an atelier — papers, paints, brushes, pencils, crayons everywhere. I wanted to teach her the whole process of how a picture book is made. She worked and I supervised. Sometimes I helped, too. When she faltered, I kept encouraging her. After five days (we worked about 3-4 hours a day) we had what is called a dummy!

When, a few months later, I stumbled upon Guardian Angel Publishing, I knew I had to give it a try. Lynda Burch, the publisher, answered the same day. She said she loved the book and would like to encourage my daughter’s talent. The rest is history. My daughter is the first author under this imprint, “Angel to Angel,” but there are books by other young authors in line as well.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children, teens and adults. She also offers online workshops on the art of reviewing and picture book writing at SavvyAuthors.com.

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