This idea for a kid’s book goes back to when I was a child. Some people could say that my imagination was active; looking back, it was just my future self expressing early.

I told two main stories when I was six to seven years old. One was about me being the planet Pluto, who came to Earth to make friends and learn. This story was a lot of fun; I used to tell these twins about me being Pluto and that I shrank into a boy from being a planet. All the people on it made my body run via levers and pulleys. These twins loved the story and waited patiently for what I, Pluto, would do next.

The other story was about ghosts, and there were three types: Ones who like to have fun and play, ones who want to learn and teach, and Ones who play pranks on the children. These ghosts were invisible, and only from an injection of imagination could you see the ghosts. I also was the translator of said ghosts and led the children around the playground to interact with nice ghosts and wise ghosts to foil the tricks of the naughty ones.

The issue now is that I must remember how I talked when I was six; this is a little harder than I thought. Being 44 now and reflecting on those innocent times is challenging but will be worth it.