About
On the tallest of mountains, near the top, nestled tight,Stood a tower with a prism, made for carving sunlight.
When the sun rose each dawn, popping up in the East,
Its beams would rush in to be sliced, then released.
What if the colors of the world disappeared and everything became black and white? What would you do to bring the colors back?
Welcome to The Rainbow Knight, a children's book written by me, Matt Robison, and illustrated by Darlene Segura. Its an adventure written in rhyme, about a knight who guards a magic prism. When the prism is broken, this same knight must venture out on a quest to collect all the items that still retain their color, and do his part to restore the rainbow.
Taking place in the same fantastical, fairy tale universe as our previous book, The Rainbow Knight also includes a cameo of a main character from Princess Hiccup.
You can download the full text of the book here, all 56 couplets. I only ask you to do three things:
- Read it
- Share it
- Think about how awesome it will be to have it fully illustrated, with a quality hardback copy in your hands after you back this project.
Why was this Book Written?
Like my last book, The Rainbow Knight was inspired by my children. They love seeing rainbows and have loved reciting the colors of the rainbow. I wanted to give them another way to "find a rainbow," and have another way for my youngest son, who just had his first birthday, to learn those colors.
The book starts and ends as full color, but the middle will be mostly black and white, with only splashes of color to highlight the special items that must be found. Children will be able to point out them out from page to page, and participate with the knight in his search.
I also enjoy working with talented people, and Darlene Segura is very, very talented. Her pencil-work for Princess Hiccup, pre-coloring, was extraordinary, and I saw an opportunity to showcase this part of Darlene's art. This book was written specifically with her artwork in mind, and there will be over 30 of her illustrations involved in telling the story. And stylistically, it will look like the pages have splashes of watercolor. They are going to look great.
I also wanted to do my small part to enhance our wonder of the world itself. The story features a magic prism, but here's the crazy thing: prisms actually exist! There are formations of clear material that can bend and carve sunlight, turning it into a rainbow. You can make rainbows in your very own home. And so, the final pages of the book will be dedicated to describing how prisms actually work, and how they are related to rainbows in the sky.
The book is fully written, and initial concepts and illustrations (including the cover) have been completed. That's where you come in.
Pick Your Rewards
We need your help to finish the illustrations and pay for the first print run. We can't do this without you. By helping us reach our funding goal, you not only become part of something unique, but you also have the opportunity to get some exclusive, limited edition rewards.
You'll notice that most reward tiers comes with multiple copies of the book. We plan on getting these rewards to you before Christmas of this year, and these books will make a great gift.
Bookmark
A 2"x7" bookmark on premium 16pt card stock. Custom drawn and designed by Darlene and exclusive to this Kickstarter. Every reward tier gets this!
E-Book
This is a DRM-free PDF version of the book.
Exclusive 8x8 Prints
Darlene will be doing three (3) different compositions, illustrations based on the book, and all exclusive to this Kickstarter. These will be fine art reproductions, and suitable for framing.
With the $25 reward tier, you get to pick one of these beautiful prints to included in your shipment. Higher tiers get ALL THREE prints.
The Physical Book
The main reward is, of course, a physical copy of the book itself. We want to ship the highest quality book possible. It will start off as an 8.5"x8.5" premium hardcover book, printed in full color on heavy (105#) paper. It starts out at a high quality, but there are stretch goals to make it even better. The first stretch goal is a spot gloss upgrade.
Your Name in the Book
The $75+ reward tiers not only give you more books at a better price, but your name will also appear in the back of the book in our special thank you section. There will be no more than 75 names in this section, so get your spot while they last.
Unique Pre-production Sketch
All of the scenes in the book, including what you have seen so far, are hand-drawn pieces of art. You have have the chance to own one of the originals. These have been cleaned up for digital scanning for the book production and remain unique and authentic. Only ten (10) of these are available. If you want your pick, choose this reward level early.
Your Likeness in the Book
Your likeness will be drawn into a scene of the book, a stylized representation of...well...you. In the Thank You section in the back, your name will be listed along with the page where you appear. Only two (2) spots are available.
Original Commissioned Print
Darlene will create custom artwork based on a likeness of your choice. You, a loved one, or even a pet. This will be in the style of the book. You'll get an 8x8 fine art print of the artwork, plus the digital PDF to do whatever else you want with it.
Original Watercolor
Darlene will be commissioned to create a original piece of art, inspired by the book. This will be a 16x20 watercolor, signed by the artist. 100% unique, and shipped right to you. Only two (2) spots are available.
Classroom or Library Visit
I will come to give a live reading of the book for your library, classroom, or homeschool group. I'll also bring 25 copies of the book with me so each child can have one to take home. Limited to certain geographical areas.
Book Dedication
The book will be dedicated to you, someone who truly believed in the project. There will be thank you blurb near the front of the book with a prominent place, on the same page as the names of my children. THANK YOU!
More About the Artwork
Each scene is hand-drawn to deliver a truly unique piece of art for every single page. This process is labor intensive, but will ultimately be worth it.
What is Your Money Going Toward?
Creating, printing, and shipping a book is an expensive endeavor. The style of artwork Darlene is undertaking is also labor intensive, and almost half of this money is going straight to her. That's why I am so grateful for your help, and want to be as transparent as possible. Here is the cost breakdown:
- Complete Book Illustrations: $3960
- Book Design, Layout, and Sketch Post-Production: $2100
- First Print Run of Hardcover Books (500 Copies): $4219
- Rewards: $2290
- Shipping Supplies and Postage: $1810
- Kickstarter and Payment Transaction Fees: ~$1300
TOTAL: $15,700
As you can see, this is a labor of love, and I'd love to have you be a part of it.
What More Can You Do to Help?
This is all or nothing. If I don't reach the required amount, I get nothing, and the book doesn't get made. I need your help to make something special.
Besides choosing a reward tier and helping fund our efforts, you can also share this project anywhere else you frequent online. Post on Facebook, reblog on Tumblr, send a few Snapchats....anything! Shout it from the rooftops if you have too.
Bottom line: the more people who see and hear about the project, the more likely it is to succeed.
Add-ons
If you would like to customize your rewards a bit, we have some add-ons available. Just add this amount to your pledge, and when we send you the survey after the campaign, there will be a place to indicate which add-ons you purchased.
- +$15 - An extra copy of The Rainbow Knight for all reward tiers below $75.
- +$12 - An extra copy of The Rainbow Knight for all reward tiers $75 and up.
- +$15 - A copy of Princess Hiccup, our first book. Save on shipping, and get almost $3 off the retail price.
- +$10 - An extra 8x8 print of your choice.
Stretch Goals
If we hit the goal, great! Thank you! Your are amazing and I love you! That will be enough to print a limited run of a premium hardcover version of the book, plus all of the great rewards.
But I don't want to stop there. I want to make the best book possible, and I want to reward you, my backers, in the best way possible. So there are some lucrative stretch goals to shoot for once we hit the funding goal. Keep talking about and sharing this project, and we can make these things happen.
Reviews of Previous Work
While we don't have any reviews yet for The Rainbow Knight (it hasn't been fully illustrated yet!), our previous book, Princess Hiccup, has been very well received.
"Wonderful story and great illustrations. The rhyming is very clever and easy to read. We have read it to our children the last few nights and they are mesmerized by the story and graphics. We have a 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter - of course the beautiful princess appeals to our daughter but our son loves the dragon and the brave young boy. This is going to be one of our favorite books for a long time to come - we love Princess Hiccup!" - Elizabeth
"This is a VERY high quality book! The materials and illustrations are beautiful, the story is clever (love the rhyming) and the message is wonderful. There is so much to look at on every page, my kids (ages 3, 7, 8) love reading and rereading this story. A family favorite already, we've read it every night since we got it a week ago." - Esther
Check out the other 5-star reviews on Amazon.com.
Is this Book for You?
Do you like great artwork and illustration? Then this book is for you.
I am a father of three children, and love reading to them every night. I only write books that I would like to read 17+ times in three days, because that's what can happen when a child loves a book. If you want a fun adventure to add to your rotation, then this book is for you.
If you want to give your children another fun way to discover the colors of the rainbow, then this book is for you.
If you enjoyed Princess Hiccup, then this book is for you.
Basically, if you or anyone you know has children, then this book is for you :)
More Excerpts from the Book
They went out as a rainbow and painted the world, An old promise that swirled, twirled, and unfurled.
Red, orange, and yellow. Green followed by blue. Indigo, then violet, side by side, all on cue.
-------------------------
For the first time in ages, the knight left his post. He came down from the mountains and hiked toward the coast.
He dug deep in the sand, and dove under the waves.
He trekked up steep cliffsides, and searched rough, salted caves.
At last he found a shell with a warm violet glow,
The lost home of a sea snail, abandoned long ago.
-------------------------
The Chief Mistress of Witches had a colored mushroom,
But she lived in a fortress - damp and dark, deep with doom.
The knight snuck past her minions - ogres, goblins, and imps.
And in the middle of night, he caught a brief, distant glimpse.
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He raced back to the tower, through many a sunrise.
He raced to the top, and laid out each colored prize.
He put them in order, started counting them quick,
But when the sum came to six, his heart sank like a brick.
He then saw what was missing, and smacked his own head.
In his haste, in his rush, he forgot about red!
Risks and challenges
Darlene and I have done this before with our previous book, and learned a lot along the way. Unavoidable mishaps can happen (sickness, accidents, shipping delays and the like), but we will follow through, and keep all Kickstarter backers updated if anything comes up.
With the books being printed and shipped from China, the most likely risk is a delay in the proposed schedule. It takes a long time for things to ship across the ocean and get through customs.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterQuestions about this project? Check out the FAQ
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Funding period
- (25 days)