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Mom, daughter team up with second book
By Monique Oaks, Allen American
Carly Johnson likes to draw. She also likes the bedtime stories her mother shares with her.
She enjoys the two so much she and her mother have formed a partnership and are producing books. Mom, Tammy Johnson, writes her bedtime stories and Carly provides the illustrations. Their first published book, "The Tangle Fairy," was inspired by night after night of mom brushing the tangles from her daughter's hair.
"Carly had really long hair. [While brushing her hair] I made up stories about the 'Tangle Fairy' - it kind of grew from there. Carly said, 'Please write the book, I'll do the illustrations.'"
"I sent it to Scholastic," she said. "The director of acquisitions there loved it."
However, as big as the hook was - that a kindergartener illustrated the book - it was also a drawback: [Scholastic] traditionally doesn't take chances on unknown authors or artists.
They read the story at Lovejoy Elementary, and the kids were charmed. "They were fascinated that a kindergartener could be an illustrator," Johnson said. While some students were interested in the publishing process, she said, "The neat part to them was actually creating it."
"The teachers were impressed by that," she said.
The inspiration continues with another book that involves a third member of the Johnson family.
The idea for "Who Ripped the Moon?" came from the youngest daughter's comment about a partially full moon.
Tammy said the then 3-year-old Kaitlyn provided the inspiration for the second book when she saw the incomplete orb and pointed, eyes wide, and asked, "Who ripped the moon?"
"Brady, our oldest, explained to her while we all laughed," Tammy said. "We agreed that if there ever was to be another book, that would be the title."
Tammy went on to explain how she had an epiphany about the importance of their project.
"After sharing "The Tangle Fairy" in local classrooms, I realized how inspired the children were," she said. "Not only did they love the story - they giggled about the fairy and they couldn't wait to see what she'd do next - but they were truly amazed that a kindergartener was a 'real' illustrator. They wanted to do it too. It was Carly's illustrations that inspired them and in turn, it inspired us to create another."
Carly, now 9 and in the fourth grade, is the illustrator for "Who Ripped the Moon," only this time the story is about Aleena, Lola's little sister, who has the "biggest, hugest problem in the whole entire world." After all, discovering who ripped the moon is not an easy task.
"We were a little more experienced this time around and we are very pleased that we were able to find a publisher who is able to offer a much better selling price for our newest book. In fact, we were also able to regain the rights to "The Tangle Fairy," and our new publisher will be handling this book as well. Both books are available through barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com. They will also be listed with the major warehouses, which will enable the bookstores to stock or order them as well.
"We are also looking forward to sharing our newest book in classrooms throughout our community. We would love the opportunity to inspire more children to realize that if they have an idea or if they want to create, they can."
Tammy Johnson is a stay-at-home mother of three and a former educator. Her husband, Dave, supports their endeavors completely. Brady Johnson, 11, is a sixth grade student at Sloan Creek Middle School in the Lovejoy Independent School District. Carly is a competitive gymnast who trains at WOGA in Plano. Kaitlyn Johnson, 8, is a second grader at Lovejoy Elementary.
"We have truly enjoyed sharing our first book in local classrooms," Tammy said. "I was continually amazed by how inspired the children were that a kindergartener was a 'real' illustrator. So many kids commented about having their own mom write a book so they could be the illustrator, or suggested that they be the illustrator of our next story, or even better yet, they want to create their own. I never imagined that her illustrations could spark such motivation."
The Johnsons are in the process of scheduling reading assemblies in local schools for the release of the second book.
"We would love the opportunity to share our newest release with more children in our community, and show them that they too can do anything."
Contact Monique Oaks at moaks@acnpapers.com
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