Talk to the ‘Animiximals’? This mom does

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Social worker and mom Crystal Wenger has self-published her first children’s book, “Animiximals,” a colorful account of what might happen in a world filled with butterfoxes, chipenguins, belephants, flouses, and squigs.

Crystal Wenger has spent most of her professional life taking care of youngsters in need. She also has a passion for writing. So it was natural at some point that the children’s service specialist for the Missouri Department of Social Services would write a book for kids.

The result is “Animiximals,” a rhyming picture book filled with such imaginative creations as the duckaroo, crocogoat, frogtopus, catcoon, and butterfox.

Self-published through Xlibris press, “Animiximals” is currently available in both print and electronic formats and can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Xlibris.com.

Wenger, who graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 2005 with a degree in psychology, lives in Maitland with her husband, Jeremy. The couple has four children, including Jeremy’s 14-year-old daughter Gracie, 7-year-old daughter Chloe, 5-year-old daughter Kinley, and 2-year-old son Logan.

For years, Wenger has enjoyed writing poetry and keeping a journal, and as her children started to grow up she began setting down stories on paper to read to them.

Altogether, she said, she’s created about 10 manuscripts, including “I Like,” which was illustrated by Chloe.

“It’s about all the things a little girl might like,” Wenger said, “jumping in puddles and catching lightning bugs.”

As with “Animiximals,” “I Like” is a rhyming book in which Wenger said she attempted to mimic the rhythmic whimsy that was the hallmark of the late, legendary children’s author Theodor Geisel, known to the world at Dr. Seuss.

“I was a Head Start teacher before I went to work for the state,” Wenger said, “and that allowed me to tap into my creative side. We did a lot of reading, and I’m a big Dr. Seuss fan, so I tried to write in that style.”

But writing a “book” for your kids is one thing. Writing one that actually goes between covers and that other parents are willing to buy is something else.

Wenger said she was inspired to take her storytelling to the next level by a co-worker who had herself self-published a children’s book.

She said she got the idea for “Animiximals” while driving on a job-related trip. Suddenly the word “catcoon” popped into her head.

“I thought it was a really funny word,” Wenger said, “and it just went from there.”

When she sat down to write the story, Wenger said she started with a list of 50 animals then combined them two by two into 25 imaginary beasts, each of which gets its own page.

From there, it was just a matter of refining the original concept and finding a publisher.

“I started asking a lot of questions,” Wenger said. “I did the research and began to figure out how to make this possible. It finally got off the ground, and we have a book.”

The way self-publishing works is that the author pays a publisher up front to produce so many copies. In Wenger’s case, she had to put up nearly $2,000 for a 30-page, 8-and-a-half by 11-inch book with a glossy cardstock cover and professional full-color illustrations by Shannen Marie Paradero.

Actually writing the text for “Animiximals,” Wenger claims, took only about three hours. “It sort of poured out of me,” she said

But fine-tuning the manuscript, working with the artist via email, going over the proofs, and participating in other aspects of production meant it was another five months before Wenger held a copy of the book in her hands.

Since then, she’s sold about 100 copies, mostly to friends and family, enough to recoup her investment.

Asked what her goal is for “Animiximals,” Wenger said she wants it to become a “family favorite” for the moms and dads who buy it and the children who read it or have it read to them.

“I’ve had a lot of amazing feedback,” she said. “People tell me it’s a ‘frequent reader,’ which I really adore. I hate to see a book that’s just sitting there, that’s not all wrinkled and creased from a child flipping through it.”

With one published title under her belt, Wenger said she would like to write another children’s book at some point. But for the moment she just wants to see how far “Animiximals” will go.

“This was a bucket list thing for me,” she said. “I just kind of went with it, and then thought ‘OK, this could be a reality.’ It’s been quite a learning experience for me.”

Now that “Animiximals” is out, Wenger said she is seeking invitations to read the book at schools, library events, daycare centers, and anywhere else where there is a group of youngsters who might want to listen to a good story.

To contact the author, email [email protected].