When my son was in grades K-3, he faced challenges due to dyslexia and a mild hearing disorder. I constantly searched for books that would capture his interest. However, he would often read a book briefly and then quickly lose interest.

To spark a passion for reading and writing, I started writing short stories that featured him as a character. Developing the storylines fell upon me, and I discovered that generating ideas took work. I needed something funny and relatable to pique his interest.

I always crank up the radio amidst the heavy traffic on my daily commute to work. Surprisingly, during these moments of solitude, story ideas would unexpectedly pop into my head because the absence of distractions allowed my imagination to flourish.

Like most young kids, my son had a sense of humor and a fondness for dinosaurs. One day, his grandma took him to the Museum of Natural History in NYC, and that sparked a silly story idea: what if a dog somehow found its way into the dinosaur museum? This concept eventually developed into a story titled “Never Take a Dog to a Dinosaur Museum.” Collaboratively, we constructed sentences, and at times, he contributed funny ideas, such as having the dog nibble on a dinosaur bone. My primary goal was to nurture his interest in creating a world with words, encouraging his imagination to flourish.

Years later, I decided to self-publish some of our stories, thinking he may have children one day and would like to share the stories with them. I enlisted the services of a talented illustrator, Anna Duda, from Ukraine. Anna skillfully brought Otto, the mischievous dog, to life. Tom, a character based on my son, and his real grandma were also featured in the illustrations. His grandma cherished memories of taking him to the dinosaur museum, even when he was still in a stroller.

The book’s new title became “Otto’s Epic Adventure at the Dinosaur Museum.” Throughout the process, my now college-age son provided input on what he believed children would enjoy or dislike. His writing skills have developed so much that I am occasionally left in awe when he shares one of his essays.

By nurturing his love for storytelling and writing at a young age, I hope to have played a small part in empowering my son to embrace the world of literature, allowing him to leave his own creative footprint in the future.