This brief required me to write, illustrate, design and ‘publish’ an 8 - 12 page book for the ages 3 – 6 inspired by the Book Dash incentive. Book Dash is an initiative that gathers creative volunteers to create new African storybooks that anyone can freely print, translate and distribute. The story was developed and inspired by an idiom that I am quite fond of.
The Book comes in two versions, an English version and an Afrikaans version.
The idiom that I used is “the pen is mightier than the sword”. The story aims to teach kids that even if you live in a rough environment, communication and using words in a powerful manner is a more effective tool than violence.
The story is based on the idiom “the pen is mightier than the sword”, the concept that I created is about a young boy who is a great rapper living in a rough neighbourhood, however he is scared to go out and play basketball on his own, so he tries to take his father’s gun but he gets caught. At which point his father explains to him that violence is not the answer and that he should use his gift of lyrical ability to make a difference in the community by using a magical pen which is a family air loom and he does so.
