Why I write:
By Whitney Beatty
To keep magical thinking alive in the face of mere mortal parenting
My very favorite thing about being a mother, hands down, is my children’s magical thinking. I love when they tell me everything that happened over the course of their days and I get to follow along as their tales begin firmly rooted in the factual and concrete (“We had green eggs and ham for Dr. Seuss Day,”) before spinning farther and farther into the fantastical (“The eggs came from a green bird that has magic powers and soon I’m going to be 100 feet tall.”). The way kids connect the dots to explain the world to themselves is just the best.
Magical Beings
So, naturally, I also love the many traditions and stories that centuries of adults have created to infuse childhood with even more magic. Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy – they’re all fun…in theory.
But here’s the thing about magical beings – they’re sort of supposed to be infallible. It doesn’t quite follow that a fairy can track the dental status of every child in the world, slip into their rooms undetected, and leave money in exchange for the tooth…but also forgets to carry cash sometimes. Or that Santa can make it down the chimneys of 2.2 billion children in one night, delivering coveted items that only Santa knows they want, but sometimes gets really frustrated while wrapping said items and just sort of balls up a bunch of paper and tape around them.
I, on the other hand, am not magic. I am a mere mortal…and I am also very tired. I don’t know about you guys, but between the insanely early and energetic way my children get out of bed to the laundry to my actual job to thinking up things to make for dinner Every. Single. Night., this whole “raising humans” thing is exhausting.
So, inspired by my own mistakes, I started telling magical stories of my own. My first book, Ham Hands the Christmas Elf, is about an elf with big hands and even bigger dreams to wrap Christmas presents. It doesn’t go well, but because he wraps them with love, it doesn’t really matter how they look. And the fact that these ugly presents happen to include a candy cane means my kids get more excited about their “Ham Hands presents” (which in our household are most of them) than anything else. And I get to phone in the wrapping a bit on Christmas Eve because, let’s face it, by Christmas Eve I am typically a little over the, “every detail must be magical” aspect of Christmas.
My books
At first, that was the only book I planned to write. I mostly did it for my own kids and because I thought it would be funny for them to get to college and mention “Ham Hands the Christmas Elf” to a college roommate as thought it was an established thing.
But I had such fun doing it, and I made a few more parenting mistakes, so I wrote a second – Larry Skadarry the Forgetful Tooth Fairy. I love this one because it’s an easy excuse – and it’s fun to say. “Oh no, what do you mean the tooth fairy forgot? Must’ve been Larry Skadarry…”
Self-publishing
This whole experience has been both more fun and more challenging than I ever imagined. I chose the self-publishing route because I liked the idea of being involved in every step – from illustrations to marketing, and I thought it would be fun to learn about each aspect. Of course, the downside of that is that you need to be involved in every step – from illustrations to marketing, and there’s a lot to learn about each aspect. I’ve run into challenges with timelines, printers, the insane labyrinth that is Amazon, the U.S. postal service, bubble mailers, and misprints (please don’t ask me about the 1,000 misprinted books currently in my basement, I’m not emotionally ready to talk about them).
I keep going because I love these goofy little books, and when I hear from people who tell me, “Thank God, my kid thinks Larry Skadarry is her assigned tooth fairy” or “My son woke me up by going “Ham Haaaaaaands!” at me,” it’s all worth it. Because I want kids to know that NO ONE is perfect, even magical beings whose whole brand is perfection (I’m looking at you, Santa and Gwynth Paltrow). And if we can find joy and laughter in our mistakes, then we can keep the magic going.
What's next
Now, shameless plug time: I’ve got one more book in the works now, called Hugo von Hector the Kids’ Art Collector – which is meant to explain why my prolific little artists’ work sometimes disappears from our cluttered fridge in the night. And I need your help! I want to use real kids’ artwork for the pictures that Hugo steals. If you want to submit your child’s artwork, please follow me on Instagram (@ALittleSlackPublshing) where I’ll be sharing details on how to do that.
And finally, if any of this has inspired you to read my books, you can find them at ALittleSlack.com. To thank Sarah for giving me this space to tell my story, and to give back to other little warriors going through challenges like Alice, I’ll be donating 10% of all sales through April 30 to the Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada.
May you have a magical day filled with mistakes, joy, and laughter!
Please subscribe below to receive new post updates!
18 thoughts on “Why I write: By Whitney Beatty”
My daughter loves the Larry Skadarry book! Definitely recommend buying it especially since proceeds go to a great cause!
Thank you! I’m so glad your daughter likes it!
children stories are love,
They really are. Rediscovering them has been a very fun part of raising tiny humans. 🙂
Oh, I love telling children’s stories…and see their faces…so rewarding. Well done!
You’re so right, seeing their faces as they take it all in and watching their minds and imaginations expand…so much joy! Thank you!
this is so nice and a great way to help, thanks for sharing your talent and doing it for a good cause.
Aww thank you! I’m so happy to do it, this is a great cause!
Wow, what a nice interview! I am always amazed how people reach their dreams (the small ones also) and never stop going, growing, and doing! Very inspirational post! Thank you a lot!
Thank you! That is so nice of you to say. But now I have made the mistake of clicking on your site and will not be going, growing, OR doing today because I’m going to spend the rest of the day staring wistfully at your posts and remembering what it was like to travel!
These books all look like great ones for kids. I will definitely have to check them out. I love that some of the proceeds go to a good cause as well!
Thanks, I do hope you like them. They’re pretty fun, if I do say so myself. 🙂
This was such a great read! I have an idea for a children’s series, but I haven’t explored it very much. Very encouraging!
Go for it! This has been super challenging, but also a ton of fun. If you have questions or need resources as you get started, send me a message on Instagram or through my site and I’d be happy to point you in (what I hope is) the right direction!
Super cute books! That’s amazing hearing others talking about your book’s impact on their children
Thank you!
How exciting! I’ve always wanted to write a book, but it just never gets finished! 😉
Keep going! And if you have any questions, message me through my site or on Instagram and I’d be happy to point you towards resources as you hone your story or take the plunge and put it out there!
Comments are closed.