Several years ago, I lost my father, and the experience was shattering. I regretted putting off spending time with him due to work commitments, and when he suddenly had a stroke and went into a coma, it hit me hard. In my grief, I turned to my family and friends for strength, but it was my one-year-old son who truly helped me heal.
His smile, giggles, and hugs were my favourite medicine for heartache, and I felt that he possessed a superpower: his smile, and his tiny hands hugs and kisses felt magical. Spending time with him was (and still is!) my favourite medicine for any kind of heat ache. I think he is a magical creature, as all mothers think of their children I am sure.
Rawry is a T-Rex (with tiny hands!) and a huge grin which he thinks is his superpower. So, you see, Rawry is actually my son, who has been showing off his superpower every single day to our delight.
I initially decided to create Rawry as a birthday gift for my son, and started writing his story. Then, as we all know children are very visual creatures, they consume stories in colour and graphics, and without illustrations the experience isn’t really as interesting. So I started working on drawing it out. Now, I have many talents, but illustration isn’t one so I worked with a professional illustrator very closely to make sure Rawry comes to life just like I saw him in my minds’ eye. After weeks of back and forth, hard work and trial and error, Rawry was born… with a carrot in between his teeth. We laughed very hard at that one.
There were a few versions of scenarios and ideas of how Rawry could fix his missing tooth problem, from when the tooth is loose and wobbly and until when it get back in, but I had to land on the “safest” ones to make sure children don’t try it at home! As any writer would know, it’s very easy to get carried away by our imagination, but we must remember our audience!
When Rawry’s Missing Tooth was finished, I realised how valuable it is to share the story with other parents and children. I truly believe in the superpower of smiles and have seen it work: once I started telling my son that his smile was a superpower, he owned it, believed it, and exuded positivity, just like Rawry. Smiles are contagious, and so is self-confidence, ambition, and positivity. If we instill these values in children at an early age, they are more likely to stick with them as they grow up.
Now Rawry’s Missing Tooth is available out there, it gives me such satisfaction to know that his story will soon be in the hands of children and parents everywhere, making their lives a little more fun, one smile at a time.
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