Learning with Children's Books

I’ve always loved writing. I remember working on “books” at home - drawing out characters or a story line and stapling together pieces of paper (I think one of my first stories was about the horrors of a younger sibling). As a teen, I would spend hours typing out story lines and developing characters. I gave up, for a while, on the dream of books until after I had my son. I began to think about Texas animals and wanted to share them in a colorful way. I discovered that I loved illustrating little stories. 

I’ve been making art for decades, but changing the presentation and focusing on characters in illustration was new for me. After writing Animal Friends of West Texas, I worked with an author out of Maryland to bring her story, Daddy Makes Pizza, to life - and it was so much fun! Bats! An Illustrated Fact Book came next, and that was dedicated to my dad, who always adored bats and made sure that we had such a healthy respect for them. I began working on Hercule and his story not long after that and then just sat on it. 

I have a friend who is an educator. She said that the book would be so helpful for children and teaching them about an aspect of personal hygiene. Why? Children’s books are a wonderful, neutral way, to introduce a topic to children. They’re fun! Through illustrations and story line, young readers engage a topic in a way that connects deeply to their imagination and allows them to enjoy learning about new themes. The story is relatable to them: they may also do the same things a character does or feel the same way a character feels - it gives the a reference point to build from. 
Hercule educates young readers by sharing his dental hygiene routine. When he gets a new tooth, he’s excited about it (something relatable to younger elementary school children who are losing baby teeth and getting new, grown up teeth!). Before he goes to bed he makes sure that he bushes up and down and side to side. 

​He shares different tools of his hygiene routine (his toothbrush, his toothpaste, his mouthwash) and his steps in that routine. Then, he goes to bed. It’s the same routine so many of us do before bedtime, and it’s a wonderful way to help elementary aged children have a reference point as they’re building their own routines and working on tooth care. 

I hope that you enjoy reading this darling story as much as I enjoyed creating it.