Kid Authors Seeking Support for Their Latest Book

As Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Game of Thrones fans can tell you, there just aren’t many sci-fi or fantasy books written for younger kids.  So, what’s a geek parent to do?  Well, how about writing a sci-fi picture book for all those young future geeks? And that’s just what a Carmel Valley dad has done!

Finstin is a 32-page science fiction picture book.  The story takes place on a distant planet, where the alien boy Finstin gets lost.  As he navigates his way home, he meets some amazing creatures with incredible talents.  Shhh, don’t tell the kids, but the book also encourages interest in animals right here on Earth.  Wanna’ know what else is cool about this project?  The author’s 11- and 13-year old sons helped write the book!

These young entrepreneurial are using Kickstarter to crowdsource the publication of this book.  Kickstarter is an online funding platform for creative projects.  Kickstarter is full of innovative and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others.  Since Kickstarter’s launch in 2009, over $500 million has been pledged by more than 3 million people, funding more than 35,000 creative projects!  Every project creator sets their project’s funding goal and deadline.  If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen.  If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers’ credit cards are charged when time expires.  If the project falls short, no one is charged.

Finstin is the young authors’ SECOND book, by the way!  Their first was the popular and stunningly-illustrated fantasy early chapter book, Nimpentoad.  Nimpentoad  has earned glowing reviews from Midwest Book Review, and well-known authors and illustrators including: David Brin (Uplift Trilogy), Saladin Ahmed (Throne of the Crescent Moon), Larry Bond (Red Storm Rising), Chris Ryall (IDW Publishing), Ron Noble (Rugrats, Rocket Power & The Wild Thornberries), Stephen Silver (Kim Possible), and Grant Gould (Star Wars).

Nimpentoad has earned 81 Amazon 5-star ratings, and has been featured in Young Entrepreneur Magazine, Wired Geekdad, TheOneRing.net, Fictional Frontiers, and elsewhere.  The book has reached as high as 8th on Amazon Best Sellers large print > sci-fi & fantasy, and 1st on Kindle Best Sellers children’s > social situations > bullies.

The Kickstarter campaign will pay for the illustration of Finstin by the talented Ken Meyer, Jr.  Ken’s work has appeared in a range of books, DVDs, card games (Magic the Gathering, Vampire the Eternal Struggle, Dune, Dragonstorm), roleplaying game books (White Wolf Games, Wizards of the Coast), magazines (Heavy Metal), and comic books (Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, and Revolutionary).

Author’s Note:

By helping publish a book by kids and for kids, you will be promote reading, writing, and entrepreneurship.  I’d like to tell you that the young authors’ profits from book sales will go toward their college education.  In all likelihood, however, they will fund the purchase of LEGOs, designer vinyl toys, and consumer electronics.  While that doesn’t sound especially laudable, it does offer the advantage of distracting them from their diabolical Stewie Griffinesque plans of world domination.

In all seriousness, thanks for giving our project a look.  We hope you will help make this sci-fi book for kids a reality!  To contribute, please see our Kickstarter campaign at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/henryherz/finstin-science-fiction-picture-book-for-little-ge

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Josh & Harrison Herz are the elementary school-aged serial entrepreneurs and first-time children’s book authors. Josh enjoys Parkour and LEGO. Harrison loves basketball and animals.

Along with their father, the boys co-wrote and promote the popular and beautifully illustrated high fantasy early chapter book, Nimpentoad.

We are (distant) relatives of Madeleine L’Engle, whose book “A Wrinkle in Time” was ranked #3 on the top 100 children’s books of all time by Scholastic’s Parent & Child Magazine. Writing must be in the DNA!