To learn more about Scotti Cohn, visit www.scotticohn.com
To learn more about Christina Wald, visit www.christinawald.com
We have both been published by large houses (Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Penguin, Sylvan Dell); we want to try our hand at publishing in the world of new media.
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Why Contribute?
Wordsworth and the Dragon is a "giggle-icious" fantasy-adventure story for children in grades 3-5. I wrote it to entertain and educate, to inspire and instruct. Christina Wald's illustrations are great fun, bringing the story to life in amazing ways. By sponsoring the publication of Wordsworth and the Dragon, you will be helping to give children the gifts of laughter and learning.
The Video
I created the Wordsworth and the Dragon video using Powerpoint, adding animation and music, and finally converting the document to a .wmv file using Leowo. Watch the video to get a sense of what this book is like. I hope you enjoy it!
![Wordsworth Teaser]()
Synopsis
When the letter "C" is stolen out of the Royal Alphabet, the Kingdom of Atoz is thrown into a panic. No one can say or write the letter, and it has vanished from all the books in the kingdom. Sir Clooney becomes Sir Looney, and a sign in a bakery window offers "akes" and "fresh baked pie rust."
"A terrible rime has been ommitted!" wails the librarian, Lord Reading.
Hoping to prove his mettle and be named a knight by King Omicron, a young page named Wordsworth sets out to recover the letter C. A bit fearful but determined, he rides into the Forest of Spells on his trusty steed, Klause (a gift from Phrasia, the local witch). Wordsworth's quest leads him to a dragon named Dash and a village of savage creatures called muddletongues. With the help of Dash, Klause, and Princess Rho (the king's daughter), Wordsworth reclaims the letter "C" and learns the true meaning of courage and friendship -- and the value of having a whole, intact alphabet.
When readers stop giggling, they may find that they have unwittingly learned various bits of grammar and punctuation, as well as how to spell a number of useful words.
To read some of the chapters and see some of Christina's wonderful illustrations, visit the Wordsworth and the Dragon Blog!
Campaign Backstory
![Book]()
Back when I first decided to publish my children's book Wordsworth and the Dragon, I set about looking for an illustrator. I put the word out, emphasizing the fact that I would not be able to pay any money up front. To my surprise, a response came from Christina Wald, a top-notch professional illustrator. Christina and I had met through our mutual connection to Sylvan Dell Publishing (publisher of my three picture books). We had done a book signing together and participated in Cincinnati's annual Books by the Banks event. Christina told me that she had not had an opportunity to illustrate a fantasy story like Wordsworth in a long time, and would really enjoy doing it.
So far Christina has produced a glorious cover and is working on fantastic black-and-white illustrations -- two for each of the ten chapters.
Where Will the Money Go?
At this stage of the project, I am looking for sponsors to help with two major funding needs:
(1) In order to publish Wordsworth and the Dragon through Create Space, I will need to purchase their Total Design Freedom Children's Book Interior service. This will ensure that the text and illustrations are laid out properly and that the printed book has an attractive, professional appearance.
(2) I think it's about time Christina got paid something for her amazing work, don't you?
Other Ways to Support the Project
Another way you can contribute to "the cause" is to purchase an item from the Wordsworth and the Dragon Zazzle store: http://www.zazzle.com/wordsworthdragon
You can also help a lot by simply sharing this indiegogo campaign with others using the "Share" buttons on this page.
![Wordsworth meets the dragon]()
Feel free to contact me by email if you have any questions:
sm_cohn@hotmail.com
