A Narrative Arc with a Message

By the author, Jim Doti

A Christmas Adventure in Little Italy (CALI) told a simple story: boy loses dog then finds dog.  No message other than the love between a boy, his dog and his grandmother and how that love forms the basis for warm family traditions and values.

What brings CALI to life is Lisa’s illustrations and a narrative arc to the story.  That arc includes an introduction of the characters and setting followed by the drama of the dog’s loss and a climactic scene of a boy finding his dog with a denouement of everyone happy and cozy together.

A “narrative arc” may sound like a bit much, but it is my feeling that most children’s picture books don’t have much of a plot.

So for our second book I certainly want to tell a story with a strong plot.  But this second time around I also want the book to have a message.  Since the problem of bullying in children’s social interactions is an issue that has received heightened attention recently, I think that might be the kind of story that will hit a responsive chord.