In summary:

This project is to inspire children to take charge of their own thoughts, consider that their own opinions have value, and not be afraid to showcase their own ideas (even if they don’t conform to the prevailing opinion).  

Because if I asked you to draw a dragon - would it have wings, or not? Would it breathe fire, or ice? Live in the sea or a cave? Walk upright among people and shapeshift, or look like something else entirely? The truth is, they don’t exist and you are the illustrator, so they can look however you want them to.  Who can argue with you if no one has ever seen one?

There are many stories in this series including trolls, fairies, unicorns, monsters and lots, lots more...

Gareth wrote this series of stories for a few reasons. But, its primary function is to show children that their opinions matter and that they should not fear owning their ideas.  If they are shared in a manner that is respectful of other people's feelings and opinions, then they have a right to share what they think.  It’s how we learn.  Prevailing opinions are usually formulated by those who are most confident, shout the loudest, and have fewer opinions to counter their argument, because those who have great ideas might be afraid to showcase their thoughts. 

In Gareth's own words...

As a dyslexic person, I used to find it incredibly difficult to share any of my thoughts and ideas when they did not conform to the prevailing opinion.   However, what I didn't know at the time, is that the dyslexic mind doesn't suffer from a slower processing speed because they struggle to understand.  It's because the dyslexic mind is always asking the question 'why?'. Everything is considered from more than one angle, and answers aren’t always accepted at face value.  Further scrutiny is required to determine whether or not something is correct.  So, in my opinion, those with dyslexia could possess a far greater understanding of the world around them, if they stop getting told it is a learning difficulty.  It’s a gift.  If someone tells you something, but first you feel you need more information, from more sources, from more than one outlet, and delivered in more than one style (Visual, Auditory, Written, and Kinaesthetic), how could that ever be considered a difficulty?  It makes absolute sense to further your understanding of anything before making any decisions.  

However, it’s also why language is so difficult to grasp.  It's not that dyslexic people can’t spell, or read particularly well.  It’s that some words in languages like English form no logical patterns and/or sequences.  Silent letters make no sense.  Doubling letters together isn’t consistent.  Using letters like ‘X’ when there is a perfectly good letter that actually makes the correct sound (Z) is bizarre. For instance - why is ‘xylophone’ not spelt ‘zilofone’?  

The English language is a minefield of inconsistent, incoherent spellings, which are remnants of historic languages from far and wide.  If you look at a word and cannot accept it at face value, and need to know why, then this is not a bad thing in my opinion.  It’s just a small part of what being dyslexic is.  It means we question absolutely everything. However, unlike the English language, which is less malleable, we have the power to use our deeper understanding of subjects to make real changes elsewhere, every day. Questioning things is how we learn and how we understand something.  Blindly accepting something for how it is, means that we cannot change any aspect of it.  It means we can’t make things better.  

So, how does this have anything to do with this project and this book?  The first book in this series asked children to illustrate dragons based on how they were described in the rhymes on each page.  

We, as authors, tell people stories.  If it’s a children’s picture book, then the illustrator and author work together to try and show you what they are picturing with the words they are using.  But if you take the pictures away, then it’s up to the reader to create their own rendition within their mind of what they can see.  

In this book series, I decided not to show others how I thought the pages should be illustrated.  Instead, I provided my words and allowed the children to show me what they could see without any oversight, or influence.   

They have used the words in the rhymes I provided to illustrate some fabulous dragons.  They may not be how I pictured them, and they may not be the colours, shapes and sizes I would have chosen; but that was precisely the point of this project.  

I could have said that I didn’t think they were right, tell them how I pictured the dragons would look, and then asked them to have another go until I thought that they were illustrated right.  

But why would I be right?  Perhaps, it’s because I wrote the rhymes.  But does that really give me the right to tell another person that how the dragon looks in their mind is wrong?  

To humans the grass is green, but a butterfly sees in ultraviolet, and the grass may look a shade of blue.  So what colour is the grass really?  Green, blue, or something else entirely.  Who is right, and who is wrong?  Is it green simply because I planted the grass seed and grew it in my garden?  In my opinion, the answer is neither green, nor blue; opinion is the only consistency, and telling another person that their opinion is less important, less valid, or incorrect is wrong because everyone sees things differently; everyone sees the world differently.

Each and every one of these illustrations is neither correctly nor incorrectly illustrated.  But, in my opinion, they are all incredibly beautiful pieces of art.  I respect and value the children’s opinions even if they differ from my own.  

Everyone is subjected to different influences, experiences, people, and environments throughout their life.  No two people live the same lives, and each of the aforementioned factors within a person’s life will determine how they picture something.  If we consider this, then it is possible to have our own opinions and not judge others for theirs.  The terms opinion and judgement can remain mutually exclusive.  

Our opinions make us who we are, and to attack a person's opinions is an attack on them directly.  A person could argue that they have facts on their side.  But no one ever has all the facts, and facts are just theories; theories are just opinions.  So, is anything truly factual and is anything truly false?  Take the butterfly example for instance; is it a fact that the grass is green because that’s what we see?  

We all have our own opinions.  This is healthy.  It’s human.  Our opinions allow us to navigate the world; they sometimes keep us safe. Our opinions are the basis for our likes, dislikes and our hobbies.  They are the foundation for every relationship we will ever form, and the basis for every decision we have and will ever make.  Opinions are not a bad thing.  Opinions are not something to be ashamed of.  But they are something we have to learn to take charge of and utilise.  If we were talking about superheroes, and opinions were our superpowers, we could use them for good, or evil. 

If we put less energy into using our opinions to create unhealthy judgements about others, and more energy into using them to solve actual problems, then perhaps the world would be a better place.  So, we also have to know when another person's opinion is more accurate than ours as well.  But we should never accept something blindly and we should always seek to understand something first, and also the reason behind why others feel the way they do.  That way, we can have absolute faith that the decisions we make are the right ones.  We know when to compromise, when to accept someone else’s opinion prevails, and when to argue our case in the hope that the other party involved will have taken the same measured approach that we have.  

But, that’s just my opinion.  

Get involved!

So, in this book series, our intrepid explorer Rachel Ivy will describe the mythical creatures she comes into contact with.  However, it's up to you to decide how they look based on that description.  No one is wrong, and no one is right.  All are drawn based on how you see them and all, I'm sure, will be amazing.  

Lastly, the most exciting and inspiring illustrations will be selected to go in Rachel Ivy's next book.

For more details, please contact Gareth.