BIG IDEA: A little inspiration from his 3-year-old daughter went a long way for Paul Czajak, whose ‘Monster & Me’ series of childrens books are
getting nationwide distribution next month.
It’s perhaps only natural that the idea for Paul Czajak’s first children’s book came from his young daughter.
“She was 3 when she gave me the first idea,” said Czajak, 43, an analytical chemist for Pfizer. “It was on the way to day care and she was just playing with her dolls and said, ‘My monster needs a haircut.’ I thought that was the greatest line. By the time I got to work, I had half the story written in my head.”
That was four years ago, and the Danvers resident’s “Monster & Me” series, illustrated by Wendy Grieb, will be distributed nationwide at Target stores starting next month.
His adventures, “Monster Needs a Costume” (Scarletta; $16.95), “Monster Needs His Sleep” and “Monster Needs a Christmas Tree,” featuring a child and his happy yet mischievous monster friend, took shape.
“It’s funny. If my wife had driven my daughter to day care that day I never would have gotten the idea,” said Czajak. “There is a little luck involved.”
Czajak is not alone in his creative quest. His writing skills were ridiculed in college — a professor marked one of his papers with an F and the words “get a tutor” — but the father of two credits his growth to Writers’ Rumpus, a group for aspiring children’s writers that meets at Memorial Hall Library in Andover. It is one of several area resources helping guide scribes interested in the genre.
“We’ve seen a huge boom in the last couple of years for these kinds of classes,” said Alison Murphy, senior program manager at Grub Street, which runs a variety of writing classes in Boston.
This fall, the center will offer young-adult writing, writing for picture books and writing middle grade novels for children. Due to demand, Murphy said Grub Street averages two multiweek workshops each term dedicated to children’s or young-adult literature.
“I think people are seeing that there is a real creative outlet there where they can be successful,” said Murphy. “People think children’s books are simple, but there are a lot of themes you can explore.”
Louisa Stephens, executive director of The Associates of the Boston Public Library, the group responsible for the Children’s Writer-in-Residence program, has also seen growth.
In her three-year tenure, Stephens said applications for the $20,000-a-year stipend have doubled, and the majority of applicants are Massachusetts-based.
Nationally, Stephen Mooser, president of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, said self-publishing and small publishers, such as Scarletta, are also helping sustain interest.
“This is a second golden age in terms of the quality of children’s books,” Mooser said.
To learn more about Paul Czajak’s “Monster & Me” books, go to paulczajak.com.
