your own books

The Curved House Kids series hit the stores

in November 2013. Our books aim to
empower and inspire children by allowing
them to produce their very own book.
Our fun, tactile, dynamic method allows
kids to use their own ingenuity to develop
three crucial elements of literacy:
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension
Visual Literacy
Our books are for children of all ages, all
abilities and all learning styles.
We are here!
There are two types
of books in our series.
The WRITE books have
illustrations but no words,
so children can create
their own story based on
how they interpret the
illustrations.
We work with talented, creative
illustrators and call upon a
panel of teachers, parents and
experts to ensure the books have
a logical ow and lots of visual
clues for the kids to pick up on.
This is visual literacy at its best!
Write
The second type of book,
ILLUSTRATE, has a story but no
pictures so kids can illustrate their
own book.
The stories are carefully crafted
by talented childrens authors
and editors to ensure they contain
suitable language, lots of learning
tools, and plots and characters
that the kids can associate with.
By allowing kids to write their
world into a book we encourage a
direct interaction with books and
a way in to the stories for all kids.
Illustrate
B
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P
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Use this page to plan how you are
going to illustrate your book
All our books come with...
a book planner, so the kids
can plan their great book!
Phew! So glad this book has landed in YOUR hands because
we really need a kid who LOVES to draw thats you, isnt it?
Weve got this great story that our friend Chester wrote but we
need you to add some pictures and make this your very own
book. Now, maybe you just want to jump right in, in which case,
go for it! Or maybe you want a helping hand, in which case,
here are a few tips from some really awesome illustrators...
1
MAKE A PLAN, STAN! Ask an adult to help you get started with planning your book. The
rst thing to do is tear out this middle part of the book, then you can
use the BOOK PLANNER on the other side to work out what youre
going to draw. Maybe an adult or a brother or sister can help you
work out what to draw. Dont worry if you make mistakes thats
what the book planner is for!
2
GET I NSPI RED!
Good illustrators draw what appears in the story
but they also use their own special style. Theyre
usually inspired by the world around them. You can
get inspiration EVERYWHERE. Look around you
right now what do you see? Maybe your friend is
wearing a baseball cap? Perhaps theres a woman
with a huge umbrella? Or a bird ying in the sky?
All of these things can inspire your drawings!
3
SKETCH
Its time to start drawing your illustrations.
Lots of illustrators use pencil rst so they dont
have to worry about making mistakes. You can
do this too and if you make a mistake, just rub it
out. And dont forget to draw from your heart every
drawing is a good drawing if it comes from the heart!
4
ADD COLOUR
When youre happy with your sketch you can go over it with
coloured pens, pencils or crayons. This is where it gets really
exciting! Dont forget to look around you for inspiration. What
colours can you see? Are there patterns and shapes that you can
use to decorate your snowman?
5
SHARE
Wow, well done! Youve just nished illustrating
your rst book. What now? Read it to your
friends, give it to someone you love or upload a
photo to our Curved House Kids online gallery at
www.curvedhousekids.com. Youre a publisher
now, so its time to share your awesome book with
the world!
Tips from authors and illustrators
on how to write and draw
I, the illustrator,
dedicate this book to:
My Summer
Snowman
WRI TTEN BY CHESTER TRAVI S
I LLUSTRATED BY:
Lots of places for kids to personalise their books.
Guidance notes to help teachers, parents and
carers get the most out of our books.
And kids can upload their nished books
to our online gallery!
Empowering kids to publish
their own books!
INCLUSIVE Some kids are good with
words and numbers and others learn
visually. These books offer a way for
all kids to learn to read, no matter how
their brain works, what their level of
learning is or how condent they are.
EMPOWERING Books can be scary,
especially for less condent children.
Taking ownership of a book can help
those kids overcome their fears.
CREATIVE Literacy is a priority in
mainstream education, but creative
literacy (encouraging kids to imagine,
express themselves freely and
explore their artistic talents) is often
undervalued. We want to give creative
kids a way in to books
FUN AND INTERACTIVE Books
now compete with a huge range of
devices and distractions. Our books
are interesting, interactive and fun,
encouraging kids to read for pleasure.
PERSONAL The statistics on reading are
frightening: only 40% of Englands
10-year-olds having a positive attitude
toward reading. Giving kids the chance
to draw or write themselves into a
real book is a great way to unlock the
pleasure of reading.
ACCESSIBLE 14% of children in lower
income homes rarely or never read
books for pleasure. We want to change
that by making our books accessible for
all children.
Books with benets
These books are a fantastic tool
for running events for children.
All of our authors and illustrators
are creative, vibrant individuals
who have lots of experience
working with children and we have
designed and tested some great
event ideas, like this one
We covered a whole room in
chalkboard paint and wrote a story
on the wall that the kids then had to
illustrate! It was a huge success.
Wed love to hear from schools,
galleries, shops, festivals and
anyone else who would like to run
one of our events.
Events, Workshops
and Festivals
Accessibility is at the core of this series
and we strive to produce books that
make books and reading accessible to
all children. The Curved House Kids is
proud to support Booktrusts Childrens
Reading Fund, specically the work they
do with children with additional needs.
Kids love our books!
...and so will you!
Contact the Publisher
Publisher
Kristen Harrison
The Curved House
kristen@thecurvedhouse.com
Phone +49 17687602770
Distribution (UK/Ireland)
Central Books
orders@centralbooks.com
Fax: 0845 458 9912
Phone: 0845 458 9911
Mailorders: mo@centralbooks.com