My Inner Kid: A Guest Post by Matthew Paul Turner
Hardcover $13.99
You Will Always Belong
You Will Always Belong
By
Matthew Paul Turner
Illustrator
Lauren Gallegos
In Stock Online
Hardcover $13.99
Without conforming to one particular faith, You Will Always Belong will appeal to a broad religious perspective, centered on the concept and comfort of God. With gorgeous illustrations alongside, it’s sure to bring a little warmth to family story time.
Without conforming to one particular faith, You Will Always Belong will appeal to a broad religious perspective, centered on the concept and comfort of God. With gorgeous illustrations alongside, it’s sure to bring a little warmth to family story time.
Every children’s book I’ve written has come to fruition in its own unique way. Sometimes the initial inspiration is a spontaneous thought or comes from a conversation I’ve engaged with. And sometimes it’s a gift given to me by a friend or creative partner. The inspiration to write about belonging was something my ex-wife suggested to me. Despite being divorced, Jessica and I are still best friends. Receiving an idea from her carries particular weight because she knows my talent and has believed in what I do from the beginning.
But no matter where the initial inspiration comes from, I have to spend time with an idea before I begin writing it. I need to “feel” it before I can begin crafting words, thoughts, and rhymes about it.
While every book is different in how it begins to take shape, feeling an idea pushes me to explore how it relates to my role as a dad. As a father who writes picture books, it’s impossible for me to not be inspired by my own kids. Their stories, their dreams, even their challenges all play important roles in helping me decide on what to write about and how to shape the message of a book I’m in the middle of writing.
I think my kids’s influence was especially felt as I was writing about belonging. As my kids have gotten older, I’ve seen firsthand how important belonging, and their need to experience how they belong, is to their daily well- being. They desire to feel connected to me, to their mom, and to their circle of friends. And too, their mom and I have always tried to help them remain grounded in their own connection to themselves. Their stories certainly inspired this new book.
But I’ve learned that the most affecting inspiration in writing children’s books has been my relationship to the kid in me. All of my children’s books have been love letters to my inner kid. When I’m writing words for 8-year-old Matthew, I know I’m doing my best work, that I’m connecting to the idea with creativity and life.
Writing You Will Always Belong was a personal awakening for me. These words helped me rediscover my own belonging and reconnect with my own self- worth and value, which I want it to do for everyone who reads. I hope it will remind them that they matter, that they belong to themselves, and that their belonging is a gift they can offer others.