Mother and Son Share Adventure of Writing a Children’s Book
After her divorce, Crystal Lannaman reflected on her future. “I was searching for ideas that would help me navigate the rest of my life,” she says. “Writing a children’s book was one of them.”
Around the same time, her son, Kamil, now 8, took part in a Kwanzaa celebration at school where students shared their goals. Like his mom, his goal was to write a book.
Together, they co-wrote The Mystery of the Missing Gifts (2023: Lauren Simone Publishing House). Geared towards children in pre-K to 3rd grade, the book follows the adventures of a boy named Kamil, who is excited about his upcoming birthday and opening his gifts. He goes on a hunt for his “missing” birthday gifts and along the way, he develops positive character traits that enrich his life.
“Regardless of life changes, we can always pursue dreams and achieve our goals,” says Lannaman, a West Orange resident for 10 years who works in human resources.
Kamil says, “The best part about writing this book was coming up with activities and putting my friends in the story.”
As for future books in the pipeline, Lannaman says, “Kamil wants to write three more!”
www.amazon.com/Mystery-Missing-Gifts-Crystal-Lannaman/dp/1948071517
Book Geared Toward Teens Helps Dispel Myths About Epilepsy
Author Jenn Walkup loves working with teenagers and young adults, getting them interested in writing and reading. “The teen years are such a compelling time of life. It is all about coming of age and finding out about yourself,” says Walkup, an English professor and editor.
She recognizes that adolescence can also be a challenging time. “I deal with this in my book, The Ordinary Life (2015: Luminis Books), about a high school girl from a dysfunctional family who takes care of her younger brother who has epilepsy.” Coincidentally, the girl meets a boy who also has epilepsy who helps her through some of the rough parts of her life.
A West Orange resident for 18 years, Walkup has been a caregiver for someone with epilepsy for a long time and has lectured at several epilepsy awareness organizations. “Epilepsy is often misrepresented in the media,” she says. “In my book, I show that epilepsy is just one piece of the whole person.”
Walkup, who writes books for adults as well, has also penned an award-winning murder mystery for adolescents, Second Verse(2013: Luminis Books), featuring a group of friends investigating an unsolved murder of a young girl that took place many years ago.
https://jenniferwalkup.wixsite.com/web-idea-1/bio
Former Educator Shines Light on Contribution of Female Scientist
Author Lisa Gerin was disappointed with the lack of children’s books about female scientists, so she channeled that frustration and decided to write one.
Rosalind Looked Closer: An Unsung Hero of Molecular Science (2022: Beaming Books) focuses on Rosalind Franklin whose research in molecular biology transformed the world. A Jewish girl in England, Franklin grew up during World War II and became passionate about science when few women were recognized for their contributions. “I chose Rosalind Franklin because most kids—and even many adults—aren’t aware of her story,” Gerin says.
Franklin captured an image of DNA unlike any other image that had been seen before, one of the most important findings of the 20th century.
A former West Orange resident, Gerin worked as an elementary school librarian and high school teacher for more than 30 years and has written children's picture books for the last decade. Both of her daughters went through the West Orange school system and followed their mother’s footsteps into teaching.
Another book is in the making, Cats and Their People, which is about cats and their celebrity owners told from the viewpoint of the cats. “These are cats of famous artists, authors, fashion designers, even Taylor Swift.” Gerin is currently shopping for a publisher.
www.lisagerin.com/lisa-gerin
Husband and Wife Team Write Books Through the Eyes of Inventors
Karen and Byron Green share a fascination with inventors and their engineering marvels but were not able to find many books about inventors geared towards kids.
Together, the parents of two young sons decided to write a children’s books series about inventors, called The Young-Nobles, which features The Inventor of the Clock, The Inventor of Paper, The Inventor of the Lightbulb, and The Inventor of 3D. All are self-published.
“Our books teach kids about problem solving, creativity, exploration, and perseverance, all character traits of successful inventors,” says Byron, a videographer, who with Karen are the parents of Bryson, 4, and Apollo, 2.
For the past 10 years, Karen has been teaching biology, forensic science, animal behavior (a course she created 5 years ago) at West Orange High School. “While collaborating with my husband on writing books, I always try to think from the perspective of an engineer or inventor,” she says.
The couple aim to write additional books for the series and have created a GoFundMe site to raise funds for printing costs.
They both agree that book publishing, like a clock, has many moving parts. “We’re learning as we go,” says Karen.
https://www.young-nobles.com
https://www.gofundme.com/f/inspiring-the-next-generation-of-young-inventors
West Orange Public Library Children’s Department
The Children's Department serves children from pre-school through the 6th grade. In addition to books, the department offers many other services and materials, including pre-school story hours, class visits, movies, summer reading activities, help with homework assignments, audio-visual materials, book discussion groups, and family programming. Contact the Youth Services Department at 973.736.0198 ext. 216.
https://www.wopl.org
Walkup loves working with teenagers ..“The teen years are such a compelling time of life. It is all about coming of age and finding out about yourself,”
“Our books teach kids about problem solving, creativity, exploration, and perseverance, all character traits of successful inventors,”