If you were to write a book, what would it be about and why? by Kia

If you were to write a book, what would it be about and why? by Kia - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

If you were to write a book, what would it be about and why?
By Kia Morning Flower

This is the million dollar question, right? No, not quite. It is more like the $1,000 question. If I were to write a book it would definitely be a children’s book. In working with a consultant (David Bevett) who suggested I write children’s books, that’s when I took interest.
The story I would tell, I’ve already told. Yes, I’ve told this story several times to several groups of children from the early pre-school group (Two year olds) to Elementary school-aged kids. I actually made up a story (a few days after a consulting session with Bevett) during group time in an after-school program. It’s the story of my search for purple hot chocolate and green whipped cream. That’s what it’s called,
“The Search for Purple Hot Chocolate and Green Whipped Cream.”

I speak of a cold, chilly, windy day (sometimes it is snowy day, depends on what part of country I tell my story) and how cold I am. I visit three restaurant/café’s trying to find it and behold, I don’t. I experience all types of emotions, throw a tantrum, scream, pout (emotions children express when frustrated) and later I apologize for it. So, what do I do? I get the ingredients and make it myself. I even talk about the primary colors mixing to make the colors of purple and green.
As with most story tellers, the story changes every time we tell a story. I have multiple versions, depending on my audience. I’ve told this story to kids in California, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. I have also performed it on stage at a College in Raleigh, NC. So, I’ve tested the story and its kid approved! Some kids have asked me if I really tried to make purple hot chocolate and green whipped cream, as I do in my story. I leave them guessing, as a good story teller would! With that in mind, at the end of the book, I would have two recipes on how to make the hot treat…a fruity healthy version and a real chocolate version.

I would write it down and have a child or young adult (teen) illustrate the book. After all, it’s a children’s book and children’s story. One of my former students in the after-school program I worked at actually (Isha Gupta) illustrated a children’s book about veterans. It was the author’s idea. He saw her drawings when he visited the program and asked her and her parents. They agreed and the book was published!

I would make a small change to my story, instead of the story being about me, I would change the character to a little girl who was in search of the special treat. The point of the story is to learn to make things instead of always buying it! Plus parents and teachers could do a cooking project together with the recipes at the end of book, complete with pictures!