Many children dream of one day seeing their stories in print and, thanks to technology, there is now a way for that dream to come true faster than ever! “Scribblitt” is a website that provides children with all the tools that they need to write, illustrate, and then publish their own story! Best of all, although there is a fee for physically published books, signing up to Scribblitt and creating content is FREE!
Statistics have proven that reading helps to develop writing skills and writing helps develop and stimulate cognitive growth, organizational abilities, and persuasiveness. In other words, writing powers the brain and this is particularly important during childhood when the mind is rapidly growing. Hence, a website like Scribblitt is extremely helpful in getting kids interested in reading, writing, and even illustrating!
Scribblitt is a child-friendly and comprehensive website that virtually provides all the tools that a child will need in order to create and publish their own book. For example, the “Planning Tool” helps children develop their story by thinking about the setting, the characters and the plot. If a child is having a particularly difficult time thinking up a story idea, the “Story Starters” section of the website offers some ideas to generate stories. Kids type directly into a template in order to create their book’s cover, content, and include an author biography on the back.
“Illustrate Itt” is Scribblitt’s ‘pick and click’ illustration tool where images can be created. Scanned images and photos can be uploaded to serve as the illustration for a finalized book. Stationary such as notepads and card can also be created using this feature.
Once a book is completed, the author can store it in the “My Project” segment of their Scribblitt account. If an author wishes to share their work then they can upload the story in “Scribblitt’s Library” (the author’s name is kept hidden so there is no need for parents to worry about privacy and/or safety issues). Although creating content requires the writer to have an account, anyone can read some of the stories that are presented in the “Library” section. Children can also submit their work to be featured via the “Featured Scribblitt” tab.
All books created on the website are eligible for entry into “Scribblitt Writing Contests.” Sometimes prizes are offered to the winners of the writing contests. For instance, Scribblitt is currently hosting an “Earth Day” contest and the winner will receive an autographed novel by Dan Gutman. The stories can also be printed in high-quality, hard-cover, 8x8 bound books. A standard printed 20-page book is $24.99 plus tax and shipping and additional pages can be added for a fee. Books usually ship within 8-10 business days. For every book that Scribblitt publishes, the company automatically donates one to a child in need!
Scribblitt is certainly an innovative new idea and its uniqueness and creativity has attracted attention even in celebrity circles. In the “Celebrity Authors” section of the website, Kate Klise has posted advice about “How to Write a Story” and Dan Gutman’s “6 Step Guide” is also on view. Other famous writers like Gordon Korman, Megan McDonald, Elise Broach, and Grace Lin have spoken with Scribblitt in an effort to share their backgrounds and give advice to young authors. This section of the website helps to provide children with an experienced adult’s real-world perspective about writing and publishing.
Andrea Bergstein, the founder of Scribblitt, was kind enough to grant me an interview about the company, including the background story of how it was started and who it is most useful to. According to Andrea:
“I started Scribblitt because my older daughter would write story after story and ask me to help her get them published. My younger daughter has also become quite a writer but also loves to draw. Together they made a picture book and I loved the collaboration between them. The paper piled up all over the kitchen and their bedrooms and I thought to myself, there has got to be a better way to do this. So, I created Scribblitt, an online space for kids to write, illustrate and publish their own books…Scribblitt was designed for kids but anyone can use Scribblitt! I actually created a coffee table book of my daughter's artwork as a gift for her and a way to get rid of those stacks of large paintings and creations that pile up at the end of every school year…Teachers use Scribblitt and create class writing projects or get kids publishing their year end book. PTO's use Scribblitt for school fundraisers and earn their schools 10% of sales. Gift cards are available, so anyone can get a child started on a book.”
Scribblitt is especially useful as a means of giving someone a personalized gift. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are perfect occasions for a child to give their own poetry, short story, picture book, or memory book (perhaps including photos) as a present. Grandparents, teachers, and even friends might also treasure such a gift for their birthday or holidays. Scribblitt has many applications for many people that are fun, useful, and extremely educationally beneficial and it deserved recognition for all that it offers.
For anyone who has a child who loves to write and draw, Scribblitt is a must-see website. For more information visit: http://www.scribblitt.com/
