Sophomore April Kus turned her passion for writing into a reality by publishing a children’s book, “Adventures of Tim and Squeak: The Blueberry Chase,” which is geared towards elementary students. This budding author is teaching kids important life lessons.

“The [main theme] is about being polite, having manners and not just taking people’s stuff but asking nicely first,” Kus said. “It’s also about taking deep breaths and actually thinking, not just acting on your emotions.”

Kus has always wanted to write a novel, but she wanted to “start out a little smaller” by publishing a children’s book.

“I just wanted to prove to myself that I actually can do this. I can publish a book,” Kus said. “I’m also definitely planning on writing more sequels to the Adventures of Tim and Squeak.”

Tim, who is a cat, and Squeak, who is a squirrel, have been floating around in Kus’ mind since she was young.

“I came up with Tim and Squeak when I was in elementary school, but then I didn’t really do anything with them until now,” Kus said.

Once Kus had the characters and the main ideas she wanted to share with kids, she wrote her book. Not only did she write this book, she also illustrated it.

“I first made [the illustrations] with pencil and paper and made a rough draft,” Kus said. “I then took pictures of it with my iPad and put it on my drawing software, Procreate.”

Kus has a few people she looks up to for inspiration.

“There’s this one YouTuber, Vixelzzz, and she is definitely a big inspiration to my work,” Kus said. “Graypillow is also another artist I [look up to].”

Kus also took inspiration from how the show, Bluey, does their backgrounds.

“I was having trouble making the background bright enough so kids would still be interested in it,” Kus said. “I did not want it to be too dark since it is in a forest and it’s not usually the brightest area.”

Making the background bright wasn’t the only problem Kus faced, she also had writer’s block.

“Usually when I’m stuck, I try to just draw something else,” Kus said. “Sometimes it’s just like silly little doodles that just sort of lead to an idea.”

Despite this creative block, Kus didn’t let it stop her. She hopes to use her experience to inspire others.

“I think my book will impact [young readers] positively,” Kus said. “Hopefully it will even get them inspired to write their own stories so they can make their own characters or have fun doing art. Don’t feel like you have to submit your book to a big company, just do it for yourself.”