Peterborough playwright Carly Smale and her mother Wendy, a former educator, have written a children’s book.
Peterborough mother-daughter duo Wendy and Carly Smale recently saw their dreams become reality with the launch of their own children’s book.
The women combined their skill sets to write, drawing on Wendy’s decades of knowledge as an early childhood educator and Carly’s expertise as a feature screenwriter. little astronauta book for children aged 12 and under.
Illustrations by Raymond James Dakei, little astronaut The film tells the story of a small boy named Oliver who feels ostracized and insecure because he is the smallest boy in his class. Only after he goes to space and meets all the planets does he begin to realize his own worth.
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“When he meets Pluto, he learns that just because he’s small doesn’t mean he can’t influence the world,” Wendy explains, and the story also includes facts about each planet. he added.
A former educator who has worked in daycares, Rhema Christian School, and James Strass Public Schools, Wendy has over 40 years of experience working with school children of all ages. She knows the types of stories kids want to read (space stories, of course) and the types of stories kids need to read.
“During my many years of teaching, I have also seen bullying in elementary school (grades),” says Wendy. “[I’m]especially thinking about playgrounds and kids trying to find their way at recess. Getting comfortable in situations where kids feel a little bit inferior or lack confidence. This idea really resonated with me in that it could be done.”
Wendy amassed a large collection of children’s books throughout her years of teaching, as reading to the children she taught was always one of her favorite things to do. Her passion has been passed down to her daughter Carly, who has written more than a dozen screenplays that have been produced and sold by Netflix, Hallmark Channel, Disney+, and Lifetime.
“Growing up reading her various children’s books definitely made me love reading and writing,” Carly says. “It’s something that I’ve always loved and now I’ve gotten back to reading a lot of children’s books with her nieces and nephews and a lot of my friends’ kids. I just think they have so much fun. Yo.”
Carly has had great success writing holiday-themed feature films since her 2014 work. christmas parade on Hallmark Channel, following in 2017. snowy in christmas2018 christmas pen pal (starring Sarah Drew from Grey’s Anatomy), 2019 There’s no time like Christmas2020s See you again on Christmas Eve2022 gingerbread christmas.In addition to her holiday film, she directed her first feature film cold season He wrote the screenplay in 2014 and the movie “Lifetime” in 2020. his deadly obsession and romantic comedy midnight magnolia.
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meanwhile little astronaut Although this is the first time the two have written together, Wendy has been the editor of Carly’s work since the beginning of her daughter’s career.
“When it comes to her own work, the imagination is all Carly’s, but I usually try to make sure there aren’t any flow issues or grand grammar issues,” Wendy says of her teaching career. I admit this and say: “I get irritated by really small things in grammar.”
She jokes that she was relieved to find out after publication: little astronaut It contained no grammatical errors that persistently annoyed her.
Writing a children’s book with her mother was something Carly had wanted to do for a long time, as they had a bond over reading. She also has it pinned to a vision board she keeps at her home in Peterborough.
“Most of what I do, I do alone,” Carly explains. “I spend a lot of time alone writing screenplays, so I wanted to do something with someone else. We both love children’s books, so it made sense.”
to express it little astronaut Although the process was “fun,” the women aren’t opposed to teaming up to write another children’s book in the future.
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But in the meantime, Carly has three made-for-TV specials set to be released this holiday season, and she’s going to be busy over the next few months. christmas by design It will premiere on Hallmark on October 27th and will also include two special features with the working title yes!chef christmas (starring Tia Mowry) lighthouse christmasthe release date will be announced in the future.
Following in her mother’s educational footsteps, Carly will also be leading an eight-week introductory screenwriting course starting Thursday, October 26th. Courses run weekly from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. The beginner’s course takes participants through screenwriting steps and techniques, from formatting to structure to character development, to get ideas for full-length novels.
“If you’ve always had a movie idea in your head and want to write a script but don’t know where to start, I’d love to help,” Carly explains. “I help people understand how to write a screenplay and try to get them from concept to hopefully at least halfway through the first act of the actual screenplay by the end of the eight weeks.”
Wendy can attest to the quality of the workshop by joking that she joined Carly when she first offered this course in 2018 and didn’t have to edit Carly’s course or her teaching abilities. .
“It certainly makes you appreciate the process,” Wendy says. “I already knew some of it, but it becomes concise when you actually do it in class. But it’s a huge amount and it makes people realize how much work[on a screenplay]is.” It is.”
For more information about screenwriting courses, please email Carley at carleysmale23@gmail.com. little astronaut Available as hardcover or paperback from Amazon.
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