I write books for kids. I thought I might want to write books for grown-ups, but that’s not where my creative passion leads me. Instead, I am led to explore the worlds and events that take place in childhood.

Some may say that childhood is simple or easy, but honestly, I didn’t find things to be very simple or easy as a kid. And after working as a teacher for a couple of decades, I’ve noticed that children’s emotions and the things that happen in their lives can be just as complex as those of adults. Perhaps even more so because they have less experience and knowledge to pull from as they try to handle challenges that come their way.

In this week’s quote, Albert Einstein says that one can create art to express profound thoughts in a simple way. The term “profound” means to have deep insight or understanding, and children have quite a few profound thoughts.

In my debut novel, “The Secrets of Shadywoods,” eleven-year-old Maggie expresses her profound thoughts through her artwork. She’s an artist and carries her sketchbook with her everywhere she goes. Drawing is her way of making sense of her world, and she compares her sketchbook to a diary. Her drawings range from magical creatures to imaginings of herself and her friend as queens to real-life events and everyday items. She processes her emotions through her art.

While writing this book, I could imagine her pictures so easily because it was similar to the things I drew as a child… simple pictures that expressed my deep insight or understanding of the world around eleven-year-old me.

I’m excited to share Maggie’s story and her pictures soon, and my hope is that it will reach a child somewhere that needs to hear her story. That needs to know they aren’t alone in dealing with challenges. That needs to know that art, even in its simplest forms, can express big thoughts and emotions.

This is why I write books for kids.