Imagination and Scary Noises at Bedtime Conquered in Amazing Picture Book

Mathew Franklin's Frankie's Scared of Everything is the perfect bedtime book for young children who have trouble with getting to sleep. Parents know very well that noises in the night can be scary if one does not know where the noises are coming from. Imagination can conjure up monsters in all shapes and sizes. What's a kid to do when their imagination is going wild?

Frankie is ready for bed. Mom says good night and noises are all around in Frankie's head. Crashing, scratching, and wailing are conjuring up all kinds of scary monsters. There could be monsters everywhere! Where can Frankie go? The basement might not be the best choice because one of the monsters might be in the basement. Frankie solves his problem with the only solution that will work. Young children will quickly learn that his solution is the right solution. The ending is one that teaches a lesson about imagination.

The amazing illustrations in this creative picture book will engage young children in the story. Colors and words that conjure up the sounds that are swirling around in Frankie's head are highly creative. A robot will certainly capture the attention of young readers. The text with large print encourages dramatic reading.

Frankie's Scared of Everything is recommended for ages 5-8. It was published by Building Block Press and has an ISBN of 978-1-944201-22-7.

I was privileged to submit questions through the publicist for Mathew to answer. His picture book Frankie's Scared of Everything is a fun and highly creative venture that he is excited about.

Question: "How did you decide to wirte a book on the subject of being afraid?"

Mathew: "I took the classic approach of writing about what you know! There have been so many times in my own life when I felt like the task ahead was impossible and that can be terrifying. Turns out that many of the things I have been afraid to do at first later became important assets in my life. Also everyone is afraid at times, so I thought it would reach a wide audience."

Question: "Frankie's mom uses the word "imagination" to talk to him. Do you think in our society today with all of the media outlets, that all of these things fuel children's imagination and sometimes cause them to be frightened?"

Mathew: "The social media climate today can make everyone on edge. You have to be so careful about what you say, what you do, what you wear. That can totally quelch imagination.

On the flip side of that you have access to all information, all cultures, all creativity. I think that if we can teach kids to not be afraid of all of this information and make them excited to interact with what's out there, then fear won't be considered such a bad thing.

I hope that the road we are on is one that really lifts up imagination and creativity instead of telling people how they are supposed to act/feel."

Question: "The illustrations in your Frankie book are amazing. What are your favorite tools to use when illustrating a children's book?"

Mathew: "First, thank you! I have a background in 2D visual art. I studied painting and drawing in college but in a very traditional sense... With Frankie I took those tools and applied them to digital media. I illustrated the entire book on an IPad Pro using the App "Procreate". I have been doing that for the past 2 years for my tattoo work and it just made sense to apply it to illustrating Frankie. Everything is completely hand drawn, no tricks of effects, just using pencils/markers/ and paint in a digital world. It's sort of digital mixed media!"

Question: "Your choice of words in your text are also very creative. What sparked your use of all of these creative words to use to describe all of the noises that Frankie hears? Do you like to play with language when writing?"

Mathew: "This was really my first crack at writing for children. A friend of mine said "you don't need all of those words, let the art speak for you". I took that very seriously and decided to make the words more illustration than just text. When I started doing that the sounds I imagined happening in the scenes started to come to life. I don't know how it happened exactly...but it worked."

Question: "Do you plan to write other books for children?"

Mathew: "I had so much fun working on Frankie that it is very likely there will be at least 1 sequel in the not too distant future. I don't think I can say anything official yet...but I think Frankie deserves to go outside and see what else he is scared of!

Thank you so much for the great questions and your time."