By Lori Calabrese
I recently discovered an awesome website that allows young writers to become published authors! You can create books online at Tikatok.com, a web site where kids can channel their imagination into stories, and publish them into books for you to share and treasure with friends and family. What better gift for a grandparent or parent? (hint, hint!) Young authors can start a book from scratch, or get help from StorySparks, a selection of preset themes with gentle nudges about what might happen next. Of course they need to illustrate their story, so parents help scan and upload their artwork, or you can mail it to Tikatok and have the staff add the images for you. They’ll even the send the originals back, so don’t fret about turning in that prized artwork! The site also has sharing features which allows your young authors to invite their friends to check out their work online. They can also e-mail their stories for free (to Grandma and Grandpa, perhaps?), and even collaborate on books together.
If you’re a teacher or librarian, Tikatok also offers an education page with the opportunity to get in touch with an educational programs coordinator for help or more information, and a library program that will help attract more children to your library.
The fact that your son can turn his own stories into real printed books, just like the ones on the shelves at a bookstore, is a great way to reinforce a sense of pride and confidence in his writing abilities, and drive him to continue writing and creating!
There is no cost to join the site and printed copies of books can be purchased in hardcover or paperback for about $20.
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About the Author: Lori Calabrese is the award-winning children’s author of The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade. To learn more about Lori, and sign up for the FREE Book Bugz Newsletter, please visit www.loricalabrese.com
