I think that if you know me, it probably wouldn’t cross your mind that I wrote a children’s book. Well, it was a bit of a surprise for me too :) But encouraged by positive reactions from others and the support of my wife, I decided to give it a try. And so – with the help of illustrator Martyna Jażdżejewska – I published my first book.
An old beaver writes a children's book
Added:
It’s a story about two beavers – one young and one old – who have completely different approaches to building a shelter. The young beaver learns by doing, makes mistakes, but gradually gets better. The old beaver, on the other hand, strives for perfection – he spends a long time planning and preparing, but because of that, he doesn’t finish his lodge in time.
This book shows that:
- mistakes are a natural part of the process,
- perfectionism can be harmful,
- practice makes perfect.
I believe kids will enjoy it because the rhyming makes it easy to remember and fun to listen to. But I have a feeling that adults will also find something in it for themselves ;) There’s no preaching here – just a story that naturally conveys important values.
If you'd like to buy it, you can find it here: dobrzebobrze.pl (available only in Polish!).
Many people, after reading the book, smiled and said: “I’m the old beaver.” Well… I’m the old beaver too, fighting every day to be at least a little bit like the young one. This book is proof of that – because if I had tried to perfect it, I probably would have never finished it. I did it well enough – and that’s why it actually exists.
The final thought from the book became my mantra for every decision I made. It helped me finish it:
So remember this, my little beaver:
not perfect – just good enough.
Officially, it’s a children’s book, but I suspect that adults, reading it to their kids, might benefit from it even more. :)