About
The Velveteen Rabbit - A New Adaptation - for TODAY's kids
$4,031
80
Wanna Read Classic Children's Stories to Your Kid?
You Probably Got Issues.
There are tons of spellbinding classic children's books out there. Many of them have timeless themes, powerful plots, and unexpected characters. So, if you're like me, you'd love to share these stories with your kids.
BUT
You may have noticed that these stories often have one or two problems.
ONE - they just don't connect with modern kids. Maybe the language is dense, maybe the stories use words that we don't use anymore, or maybe the narrative style just isn't engaging,
or
TWO - they were written with values that aren't our values. Many of the stories were written 70, 80, 100 years ago (pre-civil rights, pre-women’s lib, etc.).
They were written at a time (usually late 1800s and early 1900s) when expectations for little girls, for instance, were very different than expectations for little boys. Assumptions about people of one skin color or nationality were different than assumptions about other people.
SO WHAT IF … we could hold on to the parts of the old stories that are amazing, while letting go of the parts that simply don’t fit anymore? What if we could re-write them in language that's engaging to modern Kindergarteners, modern first graders, and modern second graders?
What if we can reclaim these old stories as Our stories?
Imagine sitting in bed with your child, and they are begging you to read them a story that's a century old, because it’s the best book they know.
Let's update some stories! And let's start with...
THE VELVETEEN RABBIT!
WHAT!?! Not The Velveteen Rabbit - That's Sacrilege!
I agree. LET'S TOTALLY DO IT!!
I'll just say it - kids get bored when they read The Velveteen Rabbit.
I think they get bored because it wasn't written for them - it was written for upper class British kids of the 1920s. There's nothing offensive in the book - there's no outright bigotry for example - but kids tune out when it's read. I haven't spoken to a single parent whose little kids love this book - they simply stop listening.
One mother told me that her son stopped listening, wandered around the room, then started playing with his toys while singing, and at the same time, she was sitting on the bed, reading the story aloud, and crying to herself.
Kids are bored, and parents cry - that’s the Velveteen Rabbit.
It has become a kids’ book that’s quoted by adults, but almost never read by kids.
It's too bad, because, at its center, the book reverberates with powerful questions like "How do I become most fully me?" and "Do I have worth?" I believe that kids grapple with these questions most when the questions show up in exciting and engaging stories. So, let's transform this classic story (which kids seem to be ignoring these days) into a book they love.
Here's what we’re going to do:
(1) Lovingly adapt the text so it's an exciting ride for modern kids,
(2) Re-illustrate the book, and
(3) Publish print, ebook, and audiobook editions.
The Adapted Text
If you're curious about what we've done to the words, just CLICK HERE to read a section from the end of the book.
We've adapted it so that it's fun, engaging, and speaks with a contemporary voice. This is not your grandmother's Velveteen Rabbit - I think you'll love it.
If you want to hear the same text being read, just click the black rectangle below.
The cost for completing the illustrations, plus various publishing fees and expenses, will run us about $4,000.
The budget includes:
- Remaining illustration fees
- Editor fees
- ISBN and barcode
- Copyright registration
- Website and promotion expenses
- Costs of fulfilling shipped rewards to backers
- Kickstarter and payment processing fees
With your support, The Velveteen Rabbit will be ready by May!
Who are we? We’re artists who get things DONE!
Author and Founder: My name's John Jimerson, and I've been a theatre producer, an actor, a teacher, a paralegal, and a dad. I love reading books to kids, and I especially love reading with my daughter Rose. I run a website and a YouTube channel devoted to cultivating a love of reading. “The Velveteen Rabbit" will be my first foray into adapting classic children's books for today’s kids (with several more stories waiting for their turn).
Illustrator: Juls Sosa is a graphic artist and concept designer whose work has graced the covers of several books already. Her work has an undeniably magical quality. Like me, she is hungry to make her mark in the world of children's books. (She also happens to be an amazing singer, but don’t tell her I told you.)
Your support will help us publish The Velveteen Rabbit by May 2018!
About the book itself:
- 8x10 paperback, digital, and audiobook formats.
- Full color pages.
- Books will be self-published on Amazon - we feel this is the most cost-effective way to get The Velveteen Rabbit into the hands of little kids everywhere. The print-on-demand model eliminates the cost of carrying inventory and upfront printing costs.
- I will continue exploring additional distribution networks, along with the possibility of introducing a hardcover option.
- Planned publication date: The Velveteen Rabbit to be completed, published, and available for purchase on Amazon by May 2018.
The Velveteen Rabbit is just the beginning
This is the beginning of a series… a series of classic children’s books adapted for today’s kids, and sometimes outrageously adapted - because kids love crazy. We want to keep the heart and soul of these powerful stories alive, while helping them appeal to our kids.
Your help will enable us to get this first book published. Then, hopefully, story after story will follow. Our sights are currently set on "The Book of Dragons" next.
Risks and challenges
Our goal is to have the book completed, published, and available on Amazon by April or, at the latest, early May 2018.
We don't anticipate issues with scheduling or preparing the book for publication, but unexpected problems sometimes arise. Such is life.
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Funding period
- (30 days)