At my house, four people try to share the same computer. My two daughters enjoy playing on a few websites. My husband rarely gets a chance to use the computer, as I am usually using it for book work, when I am able to borrow it from my daughters. So, there is a constant battle for computer usage.
 
My older daughter became an avid story writer and illustrator last summer, when she wrote what seemed like hundreds of American Girl and Webkinz stories in notebooks.  Now, my older daughter is using the computer for her writing and has written a series about Halloween witches.  Her current project is a non-fiction piece featuring American presidents. Living in “The Land of Lincoln”, she is especially interested in President Abraham Lincoln.

 
While I began writing Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk books shortly after my older daughter was born in 2003, it is now apparent that my older daughter enjoys writing books for me! I am happy to see that she enjoys reading and writing so much, and her art skills are very good too. Both my daughters are interested in the books that I write. We eagerly awaited the receipt of new sketches and illustrations for the books. The girls are always contributing ideas for future books, and my daughters walked with me on several hikes to photograph woodland wildflowers for “Rachel and Sammy Visit the Forest” and tree photos for the upcoming “Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees”. They listened to drafts of “Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairie” and “Rachel and Sammy Visit the Forest” over and over, as I read them aloud after every re-write. So, my girls have been involved in the writing process and have accompanied me to several book related events and book errands. A great side effect of my daughters being so involved in the book production and marketing process is that they know how to identify the plants featured in the books. That is, after all, what the books are meant to do!

 
I love that my daughters are so interested in my books; it makes all the hard work worthwhile. When the print proofs arrived for both books, we were so excited that we could barely open the cardboard package. Not only were beautiful and educational books waiting inside the packages, but the books were particularly special, as they were truly a family production. When I hear about families taking my books on nature hikes in prairies and woods, I am thrilled that the books are being used as they are intended. But I know that within my own family, the books are also helping my girls to learn about the whole book writing, publishing, and marketing process. Even if my daughters do not grow up to be writers, they are still experiencing something very valuable.