Author: A True Story

Reach for this book when your child is staring at a blank page in frustration or crumpling up their drawings because they are not perfect. It is the ideal remedy for the 'perfectionist's block' that often hits creative children in the early elementary years. Through a lighthearted look at her own life, Helen Lester reveals that even professional authors struggle with spelling, messy desks, and rejection. This memoir serves as a gentle mirror for kids who feel they are 'bad' at school because they learn differently. It normalizes the messiness of the creative process and replaces the pressure to be perfect with the permission to be silly. By the end, children will see that mistakes are not just okay, they are actually part of the job description for a great storyteller.