Why I Preserve My Child’s Original Art in Our Picture Book ProjectsChildren's Books, Rainy Day I make picture books with my children every summer vacation. This work is always fun and I look forward to it. In particular, I became more confident as I watched my child grow through it. In fact, in tests conducted at school, he received high scores in language skills and sentence comprehension. Children spend more time reading books than writing. However, children are better writers than good readers. Children's potential is infinite. Reading a lot of books is important, but writing is more important. This is because when I teach students how to draw, I know that the reason why their drawings are not colorful and deep is because they lack connections. This connection is the act of finding the intention, reason, and meaning in something, an object, beauty, or my actions. When you do this well, your writing and drawings become richer, more plausible, and easier to read. However, many children have difficulty making this connection. This phenomenon is especially severe in children who grew up watching a lot of shorts. In my drawing class, there is always an attempt to find these reasons, intentions, and meanings. After drawing, I explain or write down why and what the intention is. It is fun to find out why I chose watercolor and why I drew this image. At first, children have a hard time doing this work. I chose watercolor because I like watercolor. That's how I answer. However, in order to draw well and write well, you need to add more diverse reasons, backgrounds, intentions, and meanings to make it colorful. So I think this work is like building a building and making windows. A house without windows is stuffy. Information is limited, can be distorted, and cannot be shared with others. Above all, there is no joy. However, if you put windows in your house, light pours in, you can see beautiful scenery, and you can talk to people passing by. Writing a book is a good work to create this kind of connection. While writing a book, students learn how to connect scenes. With this kind of work and training, it becomes easier to quickly create a story. And creativity is stimulated. Children who know this kind of fun want to write more.  https://amzn.to/423ancM While publishing a child’s book together, I once again realized the effectiveness and importance of picture book creation. At first, it started as a simple creative activity or a project to leave memories, but gradually I realized how much the process brought about deep emotions and growth for both the child and me. In particular, the most important principle I considered in this picture book project was to leave the child’s drawings as they were, without touching them as much as possible and without making them perfect. At first, I was tempted. Should I organize the lines? Should I organize the colors a little more? But I soon realized. What is more important than the completeness of the drawing is to capture the child’s emotions, breathing, and even the trembling of his hands at the moment he drew them. From an adult’s perspective, a child’s drawing may seem “unfinished.” The lines may be crooked, the colors may pop, and the composition may seem awkward. But inside them, there is an inexplicable vividness of expression, honesty, and, above all, sincerity. The world of a child’s perspective, emotions, and moments exist entirely in a single picture. That’s why I deliberately decided not to touch it. The moment an adult’s hand intervenes, it is no longer the ‘child’s world.’ This attitude was not simply an editing method, but an expression of respect for the child as a creator. “This is what you made. It is perfect enough in your own way.” It was an act of saying that. In addition, this process was very special to the child. The experience of having one’s own picture made into a book and having that picture accepted as it is gives the child confidence in expression and autonomy in creation. “It’s okay to be wrong. It’s okay to not be perfect. I am a person who can express myself.” As the child feels this message for himself, he begins to develop affection and pride in drawing pictures and creating stories. Furthermore, this experience is not limited to the realm of creation. It also has a great influence on growing into a child who believes in himself and is not afraid of self-expression. Rather than trying to fit the ‘correct answer’ and ‘organization’ that the world demands, the courage to speak, draw, and express in your own language and format -- that goes beyond simple art education or literacy, and becomes the real strength needed to live. That’s why I think this picture book project was not just a fun time with a child, but a way to acknowledge, respect, and love the child’s world as it is. While making this book, I once again felt that expressions that are a little awkward and imperfect from an adult’s perspective can actually be the most truthful, creative, and vivid language. In the future, I want to continue to record and share the world seen through the eyes of a child, and the stories that only a child can create, by capturing the child’s drawings in the child’s own way. This article is not about the educational philosophy or creative. This simple story—of wanting to go outside, making peace with the weather, and baking cookies—is more than a sweet anecdote. It is a powerful glimpse into the creative, flexible, and emotionally intelligent world of children. Children like Celina don’t just accept circumstances—they transform them. They imagine new possibilities, shift their moods with stories, and find joy in unexpected places. Emma’s story reflects the kind of emotional resilience we often overlook in children. It’s a reminder that imagination isn’t just about fantasy—it’s a tool that helps us cope, create, and connect. And in a world that often feels too fast, too structured, and too “perfect,” stories like this remind us of the value of messy, joyful, spontaneous creativity.  Discover the power of creating picture books with children’s original, unedited artwork. Learn how preserving their raw expression nurtures confidence, creativity, and true artistic voice.   Children have an incredible gift: the ability to empathize deeply and wholeheartedly. They speak for stuffed animals, care for tiny creatures, and create entire worlds filled with warmth and imagination. In our second book from the Children’s Author’s Picture Book Series, 8-year-old Celina shares her unique voice and love for nature through a whimsical and thoughtful story titled “Celina’s Dream.”  https://amzn.to/3XQTDmp Celina is not your typical main character—she loves spiders, has four adorable pets, and dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Her story begins with a powerful dream: a spider’s web is destroyed, and the spider is in distress. Moved by the spider’s suffering, Celina decides to help. But how can an 8-year-old girl save a spider? These days, my child is preparing his third picture book. This time, too, his imagination started from small objects that we had not noticed. A few days ago, while he was drawing, he happened to see the oval structure of a wet tissue cap and said, “Mom, this… doesn’t it look like a door that lives inside a tree?” That one word opened the door to a new story.  The lid of the wet tissue box seemed to the child like a doorway to creatures hidden in the tree.
What would come out if the lid opened? What if there were fluffy furball creatures living there? Stories were already starting to stir in the child's head. They were secretive beings living secretly in the tree, and each furball was a small, cute creature with a unique personality. Some furballs were scared, some were singing, and some were exploring and were dying to know the world outside the tree. This picture book will be a story about a village in a tree where little furballs live. There will be conflicts and reconciliations, challenges and failures, and moments of growth among friends. In particular, the child said that he would write a story about one of the furballs who musters up the courage to go explore the world outside the tree. At first, he is scared, but later he learns how to travel with the wind, and he goes on a journey to meet furballs living in other trees and learn about each other's cultures. At the end of the story, the furball returns to his tree and tells his friends: "The world is scary, but being different isn't a bad thing. There were many good furballs in other trees." This process of preparing the third book makes me realize once again how pure a joy it is to create a story. No special toys or fancy equipment are needed. The child's gaze, the child's questions, the child's expressions are the beginning of the story. This book is another autonomous world created by the child. In it, the child is a creator and explorer, and at the same time a little writer who shares comfort and imagination. How will the story of these furballs unfold, What colors will the picture be expressed in, Which scenes will make me laugh, and which scenes will make me stop quietly -- Everything is anticipated and exciting. This creative journey with a child is a beautiful story in itself.
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