Joyce Perry Miller's Blog
November 19, 2015
Origins of the “After the Happily Ever Afters” series
Once Upon A Time there was yet another book project from my sons’ Montessori school. The children were asked to re-image a classic fairy tale. The assignment became a family discussion, over-flowing out to friends and neighbors and ultimately, blossoming into a series of sequels to fairy tales.
After the success of Trevor’s project, I asked my other two children to pick their favorite fairytale and tell me what they thought “happened” in their story’s “happily ever after”?
Each child had a personal, unique vision, while embodying universal themes of hopes, fears and dreams; Interestingly, they each used their favorite sport as a vehicle to tell their tale and relate their message.
As a mother who has been reading to her children since they were in the womb – I have experienced the pure joy of bonding with them and their favorite stories, as they use their imagination to explore and be enchanted into a world of endless possibilities. I’ve seen when the subject or characters “speak” to them, how they absorbed the soul of the story seamlessly. That’s why my favorite children’s books not only carry their imaginations but also convey positive, compassionate “lessons” as we capture their attention.
The books are meant for the 5-10 year old range, however younger siblings will enjoy the engaging imagery along with a supplementary, fun visual story of the pigs’ pet squirrel mascot and a fugitive chicken from the farm who partner-up and venture on their own quest throughout the series.
Essentially, in the end, the school assignment became a blessing in disguise - I wrote a book series that I would be proud to read to my children and for others to enjoy for generations to come in the magical land of books where we can all live Happily Ever After … however we so desire.
After the success of Trevor’s project, I asked my other two children to pick their favorite fairytale and tell me what they thought “happened” in their story’s “happily ever after”?
Each child had a personal, unique vision, while embodying universal themes of hopes, fears and dreams; Interestingly, they each used their favorite sport as a vehicle to tell their tale and relate their message.
As a mother who has been reading to her children since they were in the womb – I have experienced the pure joy of bonding with them and their favorite stories, as they use their imagination to explore and be enchanted into a world of endless possibilities. I’ve seen when the subject or characters “speak” to them, how they absorbed the soul of the story seamlessly. That’s why my favorite children’s books not only carry their imaginations but also convey positive, compassionate “lessons” as we capture their attention.
The books are meant for the 5-10 year old range, however younger siblings will enjoy the engaging imagery along with a supplementary, fun visual story of the pigs’ pet squirrel mascot and a fugitive chicken from the farm who partner-up and venture on their own quest throughout the series.
Essentially, in the end, the school assignment became a blessing in disguise - I wrote a book series that I would be proud to read to my children and for others to enjoy for generations to come in the magical land of books where we can all live Happily Ever After … however we so desire.
