A Children’s Author’s Mission and What That Really Means

A children’s author’s mission is simple yet profound: to create a connection. It’s much more than just telling a story. Sure, children’s books spark imagination, open the door to reading, encourage cultural awareness, and share important life lessons. But how does that happen? That’s where the magic of a children’s author comes in. Our true task is to build a relationship between the reader and the story.

“Relationship” is key to everything—whether it’s the relationship with your thoughts and emotions or with the world around you. As children, we’re just beginning to learn how to navigate these connections. And as adults? Well, we’re still learning! That’s why sharing a meaningful children’s book with a grown-up friend, full of lessons they might have forgotten, is a brilliant idea. (I do that all the time!)

In my life, I’ve lived countless experiences, and they all help shape the stories I write. To write honestly for children, I need to live and learn from those experiences. My time as an actor was a perfect training ground for becoming a children’s writer. Acting, as my professor Elaine Vaan Hogue once said, is “serious play,” which is a magical relationship that establishes the thing we call “Creativity” as something that strikes a balance between focus and freedom. That same blend of serious play applies to writing for children, for the best stories for young readers have to have a foundation of truth. Whether that truth stems from personal experiences or from studies such as history, science, or even the principles of yoga as found in my Mula and Friends series. And in order for those stories to work, they need to be balanced by their relationship to humor and magic. 

That balance is the special sauce that captivates young and curious minds. 

Being a children’s writer is about creating multiple relationships: between the child and the grown-up reader, between the story and the emotions it stirs up inside, between the child and the world outside, and between humor and the deeper lessons hidden within the story. When these relationships are established, they become the stories that children will remember as they grow older, and that they’ll want to share with the next generation. 

The relationship-building stemmed from picture books are the building blocks that help us navigate life. 

So now let me ask you: what picture books helped you explore the world as a child? Which ones do you turn to now for comfort and inspiration? Share your thoughts in the comments below!