LI authors infuse books with life lessons for kids

Three years ago, when Theresa Siclari published her first children's book -- an illustrated tale of a rebellious little girl named Sammi Jo -- she had one special reader in mind.

Siclari was trying to reach her own equally rebellious daughter, Samantha.

"She was very precocious when she was little -- she didn't listen to anything I told her to do," said Siclari, 45, of Levittown. "I wrote the books so I could read them to her and see if she could catch the moral to the story."

In Siclari's first book, "The Pond Behind Grandmother's House" (PublishAmerica, 2007), Sammi Jo wanders into the woods and has encounters with animals. In its sequel, "The Case of the Missing Hairpin" (PublishAmerica, 2009), Sammi Jo gets into mischief again, trying to pick a lock with a hairpin. All of Siclari's stories are based on Samantha's exploits as a rambunctious toddler.

"It really happened -- they found me picking a lock," said Samantha, 14, a student at Jonas Salk Middle School in Levittown. In time, however, Samantha got the message her mom embedded in the exploits of her fictional alter-ego, Sammi Jo. "I am rebellious," Samantha said, admitting, "It gets me in trouble sometimes."

And although Samantha has been reading on her own for years (the "Twilight" series is one of her favorites), her exploits when she was a little girl are still providing inspiration for her mother's books.

Samantha's theft of a neighbor's cactus plant as a Mother's Day gift was the basis for Siclari's latest story, "Ouch! I Was Attacked by Mr. Wilson's Cactus Plant."

Siclari cracks: "The moral was she got what she deserved."

Do you have a message for younger generations? Instead of (or in addition to) giving the kids an earful, why not nestle the message in a story that could reach children everywhere? Some Long Island parents and grandparents do exactly that -- using wisdom garnered from a lifetime of experience to write a story for their kids, grandkids and, if it has wider appeal, other people's children. 

Fodder for stories
In some cases, as in Siclari's, the younger generation is the inspiration and an initial audience. Parent-authors often find that their children (or other kids) provide fodder for stories begging to be told. A lucky few authors, like Siclari, see their books in print in the competitive children's market, where they can influence thousands or even millions of readers with wisdom that's masked in amusing yarns.

Imparting life lessons on kids in an entertaining fashion has always been an object of children's books, publishing experts say. "The passing on of stories from one generation to the next" is "really important to our culture," says Kendra Levin, associate editor at Viking Children's Books in Manhattan. "I think that's been a part of life as long as people have been alive."

However, publishing a book for kids isn't as simple as ABC.

"Children's [literature] is the most difficult genre to be published in . . . because, unfortunately, there are so many people who think they can write a children's book," says P.J. Campbell, 57, of Huntington, author of "101 Author Tips: Creating a Successful Book Campaign" (LifeTips).

Campbell said that children's book authors needn't concentrate only on traditional publishers to get their stories out. "As an author, you want to get your book out there in as many outlets as you can," she said. "Anyone can load their book up onto Kindle. It doesn't cost them anything."

Find readers by promoting your work via social-networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, she advises.

Whether going paperless or the traditional hard- or softcover publishing route, your story needs more than just a moral or a message. A children's story is "only effective if it's done in a way that doesn't feel preachy or heavy-handed," Levin said.

One author who wanted to reach the younger generation and also had a story to tell is Jaki Jackson. A yoga teacher and grandmother who is 75-plus and lives in East Hampton, Jackson had a simple message in mind five years ago when she wrote "Groundhog Day: A Mid-Winter Tale."

The message she wanted to get across to kids: "I believe that we need to respect what we can learn from animals."

Although Jackson's children were grown when she wrote her book, she still felt the need to communicate with youngsters. Jackson found her opportunity when she was asked to conduct a service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork in Bridgehampton one Groundhog Day.

"Part of the service is to read a book to the children," Jackson explained. Because she couldn't find a book at nearby libraries that told the story from the groundhog's point of view, she decided to write one with her own take on the story. 

A good idea for novices
Jackson's book, which she also illustrated, explains both outcomes, with the groundhog seeing his shadow and the other when he doesn't. It was published two years ago by Xlibris, a print-on-demand publisher, and has sold about 200 copies. She is also working on a sequel about the rest of the year in a groundhog's life. "I'm trying to stay true to nature," she said.

In the opinion of one successful children's book author, writing a story based on fact, as Jackson did, is actually a good idea for novices. "When people ask me how do you get started with writing for children, I always think nonfiction is the way to get in," said veteran children's book author David A. Adler.

Adler, 63, of Woodmere, has published 218 books, fiction and nonfiction, since the 1970s. His 50 Cam Jansen books, about a girl who uses her photographic memory to solve mysteries, have sold at least 25 million copies.

Adler said that although the Cam Jansen character was based on a classmate, the idea for the first story came from his experiences taking his then-infant son out in a baby carriage. He wrote a nonfiction book titled "The Number on My Grandfather's Arm" (Urj Press) after one of his children asked him about the Holocaust.

Like other Long Island authors whose stories have made it into print, Adler takes pride in his potential influence on future generations.

"I've had many parents come to me and say my child learned to read because of my books," he says, "and I think maybe I did do something worthwhile."