Melbourne’s Simon Camilleri has two clever niches, promoting reading (and reciting) the Bible publically and writing Children’s books. He’s launching a new one “Read Think Pray Do.” The Other Cheek pinned him down to do an interview
1) Simon, you dipped your toe into the water of Children’s books with When Santa learned the gospel and Wow God! Thank you, Sorry. Please. What sort of reaction did you get? (Obviously good enough to have a second and third go)
It’s been wonderful to see the reception to my books. I launched the Kickstarter for When Santa Learned the Gospel way back in 2016, and it’s still being used in churches all over the world each year to share the gospel at Christmas.
It was a long time coming, but I finally got my second children’s book published last year: Wow God! Thank You, Sorry, Please – a kid’s guide to prayer. This new book is part of a “kid’s guide” series, designed to help Christian parents disciple their kids, and maybe also introduce Christian ideas to others as well.
2) Read Think Pray Do is your latest – which sort of kid is it aimed at?
I am very excited to share this next book in the series: Read, Think, Pray, Do – a kid’s guide to reading the Bible. From the first proposal to my publisher, I always planned Wow God! Thank You, Sorry, Please and Read, Think, Pray, Do to be a set, as both prayer and Bible reading are two staples of the Christian life.
This new book is designed for a slightly older audience to Wow God – maybe mid to upper Primary school aged. The family from Wow God is back and slightly older to reflect this. I hope though that it will have broad appeal. My two year old son loves the rhyming lyrics and beautiful imagery, and there are enough little easter eggs and depth of content that older kids and adults will find it engaging.
The message of the book is targeted to Christian parents who want to read the Bible with their kids, but feel that that task is too daunting for them and their kids. My hope is this book will acknowledge that feeling and give steps to make Bible reading easier to tackle.
3) The illustrations are excellent. Please tell us about the illustrator. Is there a place to see more of their stuff?
The illustrator is Dominic On, an incredible young Melbourne-based artist. I knew both Wow God and Read, Think, Pray, Do needed someone who had a real skill at illustrating natural environments whilst also creating warm and friendly characters. Dominic excelled in both.
He was also a delight to work with, putting up with my organic creative process and commitment to excellence whilst bring his own ideas and perfectionism to the project. It really was a collaborative journey and I’m so glad we have been able to work on at least these two books together.
Read, Think, Pray, Do was a particular challenge to put together as the illustrations move from the real world to a sort of fantasy metaphor land where reading the Bible is like riding the waves of the ocean. It all came together though and both Dominc and I are very keen for people to see it.
You can see more of Dominic’s work at: www.dominicdraws.art
4) Were you taken by surprise by how your books have gone?
On one level, I am floored and humbled by it. I honestly did not expect that I’d have the likes of Colin Buchanan and Glen Schrivener reading and publicly endorsing my books. I never thought they would reach to other countries and I am so grateful for how God has turned my meagre loaves and fishes into food for multitudes.
Having said all that, I always believed in these books. It’s taken me around eight years to produce three children’s books, so I don’t tackle something I don’t have some level of confidence in. I’m also not interested in just producing another Christian book like “Little Billy Learns to Say Please”. I want to create things that the church needs. We need more books that teach the fundamentals of the Christian gospel and life. I am definitely not the only one out there doing that, but whenever I do invest the time and effort to create a children’s book, I want to do so because I feel it meets a need in the Body of Christ.
5) There are other examples of your creativity. Spruik them!
Apart from writing children’s books, I also have a passion for equipping people in the ministry of Public Bible Reading. I maintain and resource the website: www.PublicBibleReading.com, I do Bible Readings at conferences and I love to run workshops for people involved in this ministry.
Apart from that, and more importantly, my primary ministry is to my own family. Raising two kids and being a husband gives me daily opportunities to live out the gospel and try to communicate it to those I love and live with. The principles of both “Wow God! Thank You, Sorry, Please” and “Read, Think, Pray, Do” are part of the fabric of how I disciple my children.
The Other Cheek loves the idea that children will see praying and reading the Bible reflected in a “normal” children’s book. The high production values of this book means that it slips naturally into the pile of books that children have access to.
And if you are in Melbourne the book launch is on 2-4pm, Saturday 28th June
Bundoora Presbyterian Church, 19 Enterprise Drive, Bundoora.
Find out more about the books at:
www.kidsguidebooks.com
