“Good stories change hearts. Good hearts change the world.”
Good Stories for Kids started when I began teaching in the under-served city of Macon, Georgia. While there, I came to realize that poverty, family brokenness, and racial disparity had firmly grasped the minds of many of my students. I experienced the blessing that is public education, but I also saw the giant gaps that exist in it as well.
One of those gaps was created by my students having less access to books. Yes, every school has a library, and every student can always check them out. However, many of my students’ parents told their students not to bring books home. Some told them to not even check them out! Why? Because kids lose stuff. Kids spill stuff. And when that “missing book” letter is sent home, many inner-city families can’t afford that bill.
That’s when I started writing children’s stories. Crazy thing is that I didn’t even know it at first. I was writing, because I loved it, because my students loved it, and because I wanted my kids to have access to all the books their hearts desired. Then, my coworkers caught wind of what I was doing and asked if I could send my stories to them so they could read my stories to their students. That’s when I realized I had something special, but that’s also when I realized not everyone is a conversationalist like myself. Some of my coworkers needed guidance on how to discuss the topics of the stories with their students. So, I started adding the question prompts at the ends of all of my books.
I couldn’t believe how much people enjoyed my writing. The stories were no doubt engaging and fun. Some of them even taught math and science standards. However, something was poking me—prodding me—to go deeper. I wrestled with this notion for a few weeks until an idea came to me: “What would it look like to teach culture, world problems, and social skills through stories?” Thus, Good Stories for Kids was born.
Now, fast forward to 2020, and our stories have reached as far as Japan, Canada, China, Germany, Finland, and the Netherlands. And this is just the beginning! Our mission is to offer families and schools HUNDREDS of children’s books absolutely FREE. We want our books read by all ages, spotlighting all ethnicities, and empowering all people.
This dream won’t happen overnight, but we that it’s possible. Here’s how you can support us:
If you’re a parent, grandparent, teacher, or caring adult, read our stories to a child you love and discuss the questions at the end. It’s in conversation that lives are impacted.
If you’re inspired by our mission, then join in with moving it forward! Share what you have found. Social media. Email. Text. Doesn’t matter. Just get the word out. There are many more stories and surprises to come.
If you’re a children’s writer and would like to be featured in our virtual library, then contact our team! We review submissions of unpublished work at no cost, and while we cannot offer you monetary compensation, we can offer you global exposure. Contact our team if you’re interested.
Let’s work together to educate our children and students on the important things of life. Let’s instill moral values in them that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Our children and students are in fact the next generation of doctors, mechanics, presidents, and teachers! Let’s make sure we leave the earth better than we found it. One story at a time.