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A few years ago, I became a single mom after my divorce, and I began working full-time, leaving my little boy at home with my mother. I was a stay-at-home mom when I got divorced, so it pained me to leave him for over eight hours. Every day I came home, I was greeted by my beautiful, bright-eyed little boy. He was always so happy to see me and show me what seemed like hundreds of pictures he drew of shapes or the solar system. My clever boy fascinated me (as he still does) with how much detail he absorbed and how much enthusiasm he exuded while speaking about his favorite topics. From two to four years old, my son Lukas had a passion for geometric 3D shapes. I remember taking him to a doctor’s appointment when he was three, and he blurted out that the chart on the wall had a tetrahedron on it. When we got home, he drew a stack of pictures of tetrahedrons. His stack of art was growing, and I kept meaning to gather it all up and do something with it, but I had very little time, and I was just so exhausted.
Soon after, he began reciting all the known objects in the solar system, including the official and unofficial dwarf planets. I felt like I was missing out on my son’s development and longed to be at home where I could play with him and experience his growth. Every day was the same when I came home from work, except the kitchen table where he sat and did his homeschool lessons was scattered with loose-leaf drawings that he was so eager to show me. It looked like utter chaos—but beautiful chaos. Since I was a kid, I have always been able to draw for hours, creating little stories and activity books for myself. I would draw as many pictures as I could, but the loose-leaf pages ended up everywhere and then in a storage box, packed away. I guess Lukas was taking after me. But, I always hoped that one day I would arrange my artwork into some kind of published kid’s book later on in life.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I got laid off from my job. Ironically, being laid off came as a relief because I was finally able to take a break and be home with my son. As horrifying as the pandemic was, the fact that we were forced to stay home and be together every day was like an answer to my prayers. I finally had time to feel like I could heal after my divorce and catch my breath. I began collecting all of Lukas’ best drawings of the solar system, and we started to create our first book. As Lukas added to his drawings, I also started writing and taking pictures. After purchasing an Adobe InDesign subscription, I tried to teach myself how to use the software while simultaneously trying to format my book. My frustration was through the roof, but I watched many training videos on YouTube. We were making steady progress in organizing all of Lukas’ artwork.
In August 2020, we published our children’s book series, Lukas’ Favorite Things, to celebrate all the things Lukas loves. Our first book, Lukas’ Favorite Things: A Kid’s Introduction to Our Solar System, is a 64-page overview of the solar system with facts, colorful illustrations, and space activities. In October 2022, I published the second book, Lukas’ Favorite Things: Curly Hair. For the first time, I felt I was fully living my dream of becoming an author. Self-publishing the first book technically made me an author, but Curly Hair was a topic that was not only close to Lukas’ heart but mine as well. Over the years, Lukas’ fine curls have become thicker and more textured like mine. I let his hair grow out during the pandemic, and it was sometimes a struggle during comb-outs. Friends and random people suggested that I should just cut his hair if it took so long to maintain. But Lukas loved the length of his curly hair and didn’t want it cut. I felt his hair shouldn’t be cut just because it takes more effort.
Natural curly and afro-textured hair matter and deserve proper care, and I want Lukas to be proud of his hair. He was confident about his cute little afro until one day, a woman at church put her hand in his hair and mentioned that she wasn’t used to his kind of hair. Aside from letting the woman know how I felt about her touching my child, I had to do damage control. Lukas questioned if his hair was special and asked me if I could straighten it and dye it blond. So, Lukas’ experiences with haircare and prejudice as a child of color inspired me to write and illustrate Curly Hair. I would call our book a guide for Black children and children of color to maintain hair love, self-esteem, and a haircare routine. The format is similar to our first book and has facts, photos of Lukas, and a self-portrait project for the reader. Lukas and I are really looking forward to introducing his next favorite thing in 2023!
Amaris Crouch-Nowoisky is an English language teacher with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies and a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language. She grew up writing stories, drawing, making short videos, crafting, and exploring science.
Connect with Amaris Crouch-Nowoisky: Imagination Books | Facebook | Instagram
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