Bad Choices vs. Honest Mistakes I was very excited when my daughters finally had the attention span for chapter books. I always liked reading to them, but quite honestly, picture books put me to sleep. For whatever reason, that didn’t happen when I read chapter books aloud—and I’m pretty sure my girls were as excited as I was since they no longer had to wake me up.
The only problem was many of the chapter books recommended for five- and six-year-olds had characters with really bad behavior. They made bad decisions, and although my daughters thought it was funny, I was uncomfortable. Sure, characters need to have flaws. No one is perfect. But why did bad behavior have to drive the stories? Why couldn’t the characters make honest mistakes—and why couldn’t fixing those mistakes drive the stories? |
One day, my family was on a road trip, and I was reading a book aloud to the girls. My husband couldn’t escape listening as he drove, and at one point, he interrupted.
“What are you reading?” he asked. I told him. “That main character is a real brat,” he said. I had to agree. “She is,” I said. “I’m just having a hard time finding a series of books where the main characters don’t make bad choices. Either they’re mean or they’re reckless.” I thought he would tell me that there had to be better books out there. After all, that’s what I kept telling myself when I searched Amazon for new books. But instead, he said, “Maybe you should just write some books with characters who don’t make bad choices.” I had written for older audiences before but never thought about writing for kids. And while I also knew that writing for kids would be different and challenging, I immediately loved the idea of writing something fun and positive for my daughters. |
Thus, Sarafina was born.
I read the Sarafina stories to my daughters as I wrote them, one chapter at a time. They giggled, acted out the scenes as I read aloud, and pleaded for more. By the time I finished reading them the first couple books, they started asking if they could give the stories to their friends. At that point, my husband chimed in again. “You really should do that,” he said. “Why not? You’re not the only mom who likes positive characters more than brats.” And I figured he had a point. Why not? What did I have to lose? So here it is. |
This is my Sarafina series: eight-books about what happens when Mother Nature gets sick and her far-less-talented sister has to take over to keep the plants and animals safe and happy. Yes, Sarafina makes a lot of mistakes—like mixing up the colors of a rainbow and making a volcano erupt bubbles—but she learns along the way that mistakes can be okay if we take responsibility for them and fix them.
I hope that your children join Sarafina and her friends on these adventures. Whether you read these books with your children or they read the books on their own, you can know that the main character is not a brat.
I hope that your children join Sarafina and her friends on these adventures. Whether you read these books with your children or they read the books on their own, you can know that the main character is not a brat.