Originally, I just brushed it off as an unfortunate reality. I just thought of the children's books and their movie counterparts as being different versions, and one was better for a book while the other was better as a movie. But as time went on, I wondered if I couldn't just go ahead and make a children's book without those limits. Surely some children out there would appreciate them, I thought.

And then one day at the store, I came across these books that kind of looked like a half-way between children's books and adolescent books. They had pictures, but they looked like short novels. While they weren't exactly the kind of book I had in mind, it was my first piece of evidence showing me that maybe some children would like a longer and more complex version of my children's stories.

But one thing still bothered me. If I was to make these longer and more complex versions of my children's stories, I still needed to make the standard more kid-friendly versions, and I couldn't help but think of the standard stories as not being the "real" story since they were "lacking" much of the story. I didn't want to think of the new stories as being "real" while the other ones were "fake". And I thought, if I was reading an original standard version of a story, should I be disappointed? But then I thought, just because a story is longer and more complex, that doesn't mean that a story is any better. In fact, maybe using "fuller story" to describe these stories is wrong because I'm not even sure they count as being more complete. They're just different ways to tell the story, and while some persons will enjoy one type of stories, others will enjoy the other type.

After some time thinking, I decided to go ahead and do it. I'm not going to wait to make movies of my stories to make the stories that I want to make. I would make "novel" versions of my children's stories, something that I think a lot of children, not every child of course, but a lot of children might like. And while they're not quite real novels, they're like a child's version of a novel, and I think that many children will enjoy them. I imagine children reading a My First Novels book, and feeling special for having a more mature book, and even feeling cool for reading a "big person's" book. Well, that's my thinking anyway. I hope children like them. I think they will.

-Phillip Keenan,
Author

Originally, I just brushed it off as an unfortunate reality. I just thought of the children's books and their movie counterparts as being different versions, and one was better for a book while the other was better as a movie. But as time went on, I wondered if I couldn't just go ahead and make a children's book without those limits. Surely some children out there would appreciate them, I thought.

And then one day at the store, I came across these books that kind of looked like a half-way between children's books and adolescent books. They had pictures, but they looked like short novels. While they weren't exactly the kind of book I had in mind, it was my first piece of evidence showing me that maybe some children would like a longer and more complex version of my children's stories.

But one thing still bothered me. If I was to make these longer and more complex versions of my children's stories, I still needed to make the standard more kid-friendly versions, and I couldn't help but think of the standard stories as not being the "real" story since they were "lacking" much of the story. I didn't want to think of the new stories as being "real" while the other ones were "fake". And I thought, if I was reading an original standard version of a story, should I be disappointed? But then I thought, just because a story is longer and more complex, that doesn't mean that a story is any better. In fact, maybe using "fuller story" to describe these stories is wrong because I'm not even sure they count as being more complete. They're just different ways to tell the story, and while some persons will enjoy one type of stories, others will enjoy the other type.

After some time thinking, I decided to go ahead and do it. I'm not going to wait to make movies of my stories to make the stories that I want to make. I would make "novel" versions of my children's stories, something that I think a lot of children, not every child of course, but a lot of children might like. And while they're not quite real novels, they're like a child's version of a novel, and I think that many children will enjoy them. I imagine children reading a My First Novels book, and feeling special for having a more mature book, and even feeling cool for reading a "big person's" book. Well, that's my thinking anyway. I hope children like them. I think they will.

-Phillip Keenan,
Author

Originally, I just brushed it off as an unfortunate reality. I just thought of the children's books and their movie counterparts as being different versions, and one was better for a book while the other was better as a movie. But as time went on, I wondered if I couldn't just go ahead and make a children's book without those limits. Surely some children out there would appreciate them, I thought.

And then one day at the store, I came across these books that kind of looked like a half-way between children's books and adolescent books. They had pictures, but they looked like short novels. While they weren't exactly the kind of book I had in mind, it was my first piece of evidence showing me that maybe some children would like a longer and more complex version of my children's stories.

But one thing still bothered me. If I was to make these longer and more complex versions of my children's stories, I still needed to make the standard more kid-friendly versions, and I couldn't help but think of the standard stories as not being the "real" story since they were "lacking" much of the story. I didn't want to think of the new stories as being "real" while the other ones were "fake". And I thought, if I was reading an original standard version of a story, should I be disappointed? But then I thought, just because a story is longer and more complex, that doesn't mean that a story is any better. In fact, maybe using "fuller story" to describe these stories is wrong because I'm not even sure they count as being more complete. They're just different ways to tell the story, and while some persons will enjoy one type of stories, others will enjoy the other type.

After some time thinking, I decided to go ahead and do it. I'm not going to wait to make movies of my stories to make the stories that I want to make. I would make "novel" versions of my children's stories, something that I think a lot of children, not every child of course, but a lot of children might like. And while they're not quite real novels, they're like a child's version of a novel, and I think that many children will enjoy them. I imagine children reading a My First Novels book, and feeling special for having a more mature book, and even feeling cool for reading a "big person's" book. Well, that's my thinking anyway. I hope children like them. I think they will.

-Phillip Keenan, Author

Originally, I just brushed it off as an unfortunate reality. I just thought of the children's books and their movie counterparts as being different versions, and one was better for a book while the other was better as a movie. But as time went on, I wondered if I couldn't just go ahead and make a children's book without those limits. Surely some children out there would appreciate them, I thought.

And then one day at the store, I came across these books that kind of looked like a half-way between children's books and adolescent books. They had pictures, but they looked like short novels. While they weren't exactly the kind of book I had in mind, it was my first piece of evidence showing me that maybe some children would like a longer and more complex version of my children's stories.

But one thing still bothered me. If I was to make these longer and more complex versions of my children's stories, I still needed to make the standard more kid-friendly versions, and I couldn't help but think of the standard stories as not being the "real" story since they were "lacking" much of the story. I didn't want to think of the new stories as being "real" while the other ones were "fake". And I thought, if I was reading an original standard version of a story, should I be disappointed? But then I thought, just because a story is longer and more complex, that doesn't mean that a story is any better. In fact, maybe using "fuller story" to describe these stories is wrong because I'm not even sure they count as being more complete. They're just different ways to tell the story, and while some persons will enjoy one type of stories, others will enjoy the other type.

After some time thinking, I decided to go ahead and do it. I'm not going to wait to make movies of my stories to make the stories that I want to make. I would make "novel" versions of my children's stories, something that I think a lot of children, not every child of course, but a lot of children might like. And while they're not quite real novels, they're like a child's version of a novel, and I think that many children will enjoy them. I imagine children reading a My First Novels book, and feeling special for having a more mature book, and even feeling cool for reading a "big person's" book. Well, that's my thinking anyway. I hope children like them. I think they will.

-Phillip Keenan,
Author