How a Ten Year Old Wrote a Book About Sewing Friendships

First, I had lots of help and encouragement from my family and friends. I got the idea for writing the book by observing that so many kids in my world were suffering from anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Many of these kids had no friends. I just couldn´t imagine having no friends to share my thoughts and dreams with and to talk with about problems. I wrote Sewing a Friendship in hopes that kids and parents who read it will realize the importance of inviting people who seem to be "different" into their lives. The result could be to form fun and lasting friendships.

The plot for "Sewing a Friendship" centers around five girls. Nina, who is happy with her life, loves music. Sokron Blossom finds pleasure in being neat and tidy and loves reading fashion magazines. Meeka loves mind games – the more numbers, the better. Jonsy Jipsy loves to sing and belly dance and all the girls love to share their passions with each other and have fun planning and scheming for their next adventure.

The fifth girl, Kiki Shaver, is a sad little girl who has no friends and hates her life. She lives with an aunt and uncle in a tiny house and she thinks she can´t do anything right and that she´s a big disappointment to everyone. Kiki enters into the friendship circle of the other four friends very reluctantly. She doesn´t want to be hurt and she doesn´t really know what a friendship is supposed to feel like.

Nina, Sokron, Jonsy and Meeka invite Kiki into their group because they want to enter a fashion contest – and they need a fifth person for their team. Preparing for the show brings all of the girls closer together and Kiki proves to be an inspiration and an asset for the team. When grandma and her dog, Dogon become involved with the creations for the fashion show, the fun begins.

"Sewing a Friendship" isn´t only about developing friendships. It´s also about listening to the wisdom of our elders and appreciating and cherishing the fact that we have this wisdom to draw upon when we need it most. It´s a story about seeing the differences in others as attractive rather than a detriment to forming friendships. If more kids would learn to think that way, we´d have far less bullies in our schools and less children who feel alone, rejected and unloved.

I attempted to make the illustrations in the book colorful and whimsical and I hope that it makes every reader smile when he or she sees them. Each illustration is different, just like the characters and their surroundings in the book. I wanted them to show that despite differences, lasting friendships can be formed and we really can all get along.

I hope that "Sewing a Friendship" will be an inspiration to other kids and let them know that they can do remarkable things when they really set their minds to it and tackle each problem in their lives with courage and creativity.