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I have been in a lot of different writing workshops lately. Just this week I’ve been in 13 writing workshops and have met with 13 different teachers in either reflective practice meetings or planning meetings. Therefore, I have SO MUCH I want to record. Which leads me to my current dilemma: what do I not [...]

Can’t convince your little one that reading is worth their time?  I’d be willing to bet that they still think comics are cool and don’t even realize that when reading them, they are in fact READING.  I won’t “nerd out” on you and tell you that comics deserve every bit as much literary criticism as novels (you must admire my self control) and simply state that the pictures provide a very effective “carrot” for your reluctant reader.

Bitstrips is a site that allows users to make their own comic strips with customizable characters.  Customization… what a good idea, right?  Now, they’ve rolled out a kiddie version for schools called, well, Bitstrips for Schools. 

Bitstrips for Schools from Bitstrips on Vimeo.

By making their own comics, kids are empowered, and yes, tricked, into creating literature.

I must brag that I have been a Bitstripper since just after the site’s launch and have even had a comic featured on the “front page”.  You’ll see my lovely wife in a cameo in the second panel.

Su Chin at ParentReviewers.com gave us a glowing review the other day that made us very proud.  What is most important for us is not that parents think the book is cute and that using recycled paper is neat; it is whether the kids find magic in their books and whether we are “Making Reading Fun”.

The concept behind personalized children’s books is not a new one.  Kids are just crazy about themselves.  They think they are just awesome, which is why a book about someone else (like Cinderella or Jack and Jill) is simply not as interesting as one that is about THEM.

When we go one step further and add illustrations of the child, they are “hooked” and suddenly kids who can’t sit still or think that books aren’t as interesting as TV get excited about the wonderful world of reading. 

Most touching to us have been testimonials about children who are just learning to read finding the motivation to learn and to be able to “read it all by myself” because of their importance to the story.

So why choose a Personalized Kids Book?  Children can relate more readily to them and that can help you convince your budding reader that there are amazing things to be found in books.  Sure it’s bit of a trick, like adding chickpeas to your muffin recipe, but it’s good for them!!!

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We are quite proud of the fact that we offer personalized images inside of our custom kids books.  It is extremely important to us that the children receiving our books see THEMSELVES inside, not just their name.

But how did our artists create characters that could be customized to become every child in America (and some very far away countries, too)?  A fantastic book called “Making Comics” by Scott McCloud illuminates how, as a default, a reader envisions a character as him or herself.  I’ll try to explain with my own horrible drawings.

Imagine a stick figure.  We recognize it as an icon signifying a human.  Any human. It could be you!

 <— You.

You identify with the stickman.  Feel his pain.  But when we give him a monocle, top hat, and cane, it is no longer you (unless you are Mr. Peanut).

 <— Some jerk.

So it is through each new detail that you begin to differentiate a character on a page as “not you”.

“Okay,” you say, “so you were too lazy to create all the different face shapes, noses, and brows to more accurately match each character to an individual child, so you went generic.”

Not quite.  Have you ever seen this piece of art?

If not, I’ll relate how nearly everyone learns about it.  The French script underneath the pipe says, “This is not a pipe.” 

“Silly French Artist,” you say with a bit of disdain for all people who were berets, “of course it is.  Look at it, it looks just like a pipe.”  

“But can you smoke it?” asks some snooty art person who’s already in on the joke, to which you sheepishly hang your head, roll your eyes and admit, “Fine.  It’s not a pipe.  It’s a PAINTING of a pipe.”  And then you wait anxiously for the moment you can look smart by explaining it to someone else.

Back to our “laziness”. We realize that anything we put on a page can only be a visual REPRESENTATION of any particular child.  Photorealistic detail only underlines this fact, which is why it’s a lot easier to believe that this…

 <— Jeff

is ME, and this…

<— Some jerk.

is just plain creepy.

I suggest everyone who has ANY interest at all in comics (funny papers count) to go out and buy or check out from the library “Making Comics” by Scott McCloud.  It’ll change the way you see not just comics, but art itself!   Check out his amazing lecture on Ted.com.

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This past March my plan book fell apart. Therefore, I created a new one on Winkflash, which had a special ($19.99 for a 100 pg. hardcover book). I don’t think Winkflash has that special any more, but the idea of creating my own plan book again, so that it’s customized to my tastes, [...]